Educational Methods Commons^™

Effects Of Altering Student Seating Position On Student Learning In An 8th Grade Mathematics Classroom, Rebecca Szparagowski

Honors Projects

There is a general lack of research on how altering student seating positions in middle and high school classrooms can affect students’ performance in learning the classroom content. In this study I aimed to create a seating position chart to optimize student learning through cooperative learning groups. Student seating positions in two classes were altered with two different methods to compare the effects on students learning and belief in learning

Universal Design For Learning And The Teaching Of Social Studies, Rebecca Larntz

Honors Projects

After conducting research into the idea of Universal Design for Learning, I created a rubric based on the principles of UDL. To test the rubric, a study was conducted in which participants were asked to evaluate a Stanford History Education Group lesson plan using my rubric. Before the study, the rubric was tested for ambiguities by four other respondents. The rubric was then modified based on their feedback, and then the rubric was used by 95 participants to evaluate the selected lesson plan.

The Impact Of Scaffolding Through The Use Of Board Games On Student Goal Orientation, Lyndsey Eicher

Honors Projects

American students have continuously performed lower than students from other countries on multiple different standardized tests. New methods of teaching students are needed in order to help American students to develop a deeper understanding of the math curriculum. This article focuses on the impact that using board games as scaffolds has on student goal orientation. It is proposed that implementing the use of board games as scaffolds appropriately, and according to effective scaffold design framework, the games will support mastery goal orientation and a deep understanding of the concepts. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory of cognitive development supports the research and findings …

The Effectiveness Of The Flipped Classroom, Raymond Szparagowski

Honors Projects

This research study explores the “flipped” or “inverted” classroom and its effects on student learning. The flipped classroom is a form of education in which students learn new content during out-of-class-time instead of the traditional review exercises that are normally given, which opens up class time for activities, problem solving, and other forms of instruction. During this study, a flipped classroom was implemented in a high school mathematics course. Data was collected from student grades, a pre and post survey, a class interview/discussion, and my personal notes from teaching. My results indicate that some potential benefits of the flipped classroom …

The Power Of Parody And Satire In The 21st Century English Classroom, Ashley N. Shelton

Honors Projects

A frequent question in today’s high school English classroom is how "the classics" fit into our 21st century curriculum. Students ask, "How is this relevant to me?" and complain that the literature they are reading in class is outdated and difficult to understand. Therefore, my project embraces a few canonical texts that are most frequently used in America's schools and presents them in an innovative way that students will not only understand, but engage on a critical level. Based on emerging research in the education field, my project explains how modern technology and the techniques of parody and satire can …

Effects Of Disability Awareness Educational Programs On An Inclusive Classroom, Cecelia Williamson

Honors Projects

Students with disabilities are more often than not included in the general education classroom. This study develops and implements a Disability Awareness Program in a fourth grade classroom and through action research, determines whether the program was influential in shaping positive behaviors towards students with disabilities. The students were exposed to five disability lessons on autism, physical disabilities, dyslexia, blindness/ vision impairments and accessibility. Three lessons, beginning, middle and end, began with questionnaires on disability knowledge and moral thinking. Each lesson was partnered with open discussion. In response to the positive attitudes, the classroom environment become more inclusive of students …

Teaching Styles And Teacher Growth, Evan Spooner

Honors Projects

Through the use of empirical research and a personal reflection journal, this project examines how differing teaching styles between mentor and student teachers affect student learning and offers a chronicling of my experiences running a classroom for the first time. Several sources were utilized for this project including pre and post-assessment surveys to study the negative or positive impact my teaching had in the classroom, one video-recorded lesson, and a reflection journal covering my experiences each day in class. The results indicate that most students were able to adapt to the teaching style, and in some cases felt their learning …

Culturally Responsive Leadership: A Case Study To Explore Stakeholders’ Perceptions Of Culturally Responsive Leadership In A K-12 Public Charter School In North Carolina, Kimberly Michelle Jones Goods

Dissertations

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore stakeholders’ perceptions of the culturally responsive leadership practices of charter school leaders. The goals were: (a) to explore how the school leadership team perceived culturally responsive leadership in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina, (b) to explore how the teachers perceived culturally responsive teaching and learning in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina, and (c) to explore how parents perceived a culturally responsive home-school connection in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina. Because this study involved an examination of stakeholders’ perceptions of culturally responsive leadership in a …

Design Research Using Game Design As An Instructional Strategy, Jason Paul Siko, Michael Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

Game design as an instructional tool can be expensive and time-consuming, as new software requires not only capital outlay but also training for teachers and students. Therefore, researchers have looked at low-tech design platforms to accomplish the same educational goals. One such way is to use Microsoft PowerPoint as a game design tool. In the second iteration of a design study, we have changed the way a homemade PowerPoint game project is implemented in an environmental chemistry classroom by providing more structure and more opportunities for instruction and feedback on the elements of the game design. We compared the performance …

Implementing Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports At The Secondary Level, Sheri L. Allen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) at the secondary school level. The study used a mixed-method research approach. Concurrently, a qualitative survey about PBIS implementation with a quantitative open-ended question identifying how to improve implementation was administered to all secondary staff at one middle school. While the results affirmed that the four systems of PBIS were in place, this dissertation provides recommendations for implementation and how to improve implementation in a Midwestern middle school.

What’S Art Got To Do With Math?, Eric L. Mann

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Spaces Of Nature: Producing Gilgit-Baltistan As The Eco-Body Of The Nation, Nosheen Ali

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

A while ago, when I was studying in Grade 8 at an English-medium school in Lahore, our class was divided up in four groups for a Geography project on Pakistan. The group of which I was a part had to make a sculptural map of Pakistan, demonstrating the diverse physical and social qualities of its landscape. And so we had set about carving our country with materials like styro-foam, cotton, cloth, and cardboard. In the final map that we made, the region of Gilgit-Baltistan - then the “Northern Areas” – had remained unlabeled and unpeopled, marked only with mountains made …

Including Nontargeted Information When Teaching Multiple Exemplars Of Shapes With The Constant Time Delay Procedure, Samantha D. Matthews

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

Five elementary age students with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities were taught shape identification. A multiple probe design across behaviors, replicated across participants, was used to determine the effectiveness of constant time delay to determine the effectiveness of Constant Time Delay to teach shapes. Nontarget information was included in praise statements. All students met criterion on target information of shape identification. All students increased their ability to identify shape words, spell shape words, tell the number of sides of the shapes when presented and tell the number of angles of shapes presented. Generalization occurred during daily walks through the school …

Career And Technical Education: A Best Kept Secret In Modern Education, Michael Kosloski

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The educational community continuously searches for the most proven and effective methods that enhance learning. One of the most successful and proven methods for academic success for all students is career and technical education. This article provides a description and explanation of why CTE is effective, as well as presents empirical finding to support CTE as a sound educational tool for the modern learner.

Student Attitudes About Distance Education: Focusing On Context And Effective Practices, Esther Smidt, Jennifer Bunk, Bridget Mcgrory, Rui Li, Tanya Gatenby

Languages & Cultures Faculty Publications

There has been an unquestionable upsurge in distance education in recent years. Given this, it is extremely important to understand the experience of online courses from students’ perspectives. The purpose of the current qualitative study is to understand student attitudes about distance education in a specific context, namely that of a Mid-Atlantic mid-sized state university. We then translate our findings into practical recommendations for instructors. Data sources consist of journal entries written by 36 teacher candidates taking the course, Teaching English Language Learners PreK-12. Findings are categorized according to Course Characteristics, e.g. students have definite opinions about the use of …

Nuestros Sonidos: A Case Study Of Bilingual Music And Play Among Primary-School Age Heritage Language Learners, Sara P. Alvarez

Theses and Dissertations--English

The demographics in the United States continue to show a dramatic increase of immigrant students who speak a language other than English at home (Smitherman; U.S. Census); however, schooling ideologies and practices continue to treat developing bilingualism as a detriment to students entering school rather than a resource (Canagarajah; Heath; Matsuda; Valdés et al; Richardson; Santa Ana; Street). In this case study, conducted in the “Nuevo New South” (Mohl; Rich and Miranda), I observed how bilingual music and play in school-like settings can promote bilingual literacy practices and bridge gaps between traditional schooling practices and communities ways of languaging. Engaging …

Learning To Retell Stories Through Comparative Teaching: Writing And Drawing, Rachel L. Lindle

Theses and Dissertations--Art and Visual Studies

Students who are emergent readers and writers are often difficult to assess, as they are unable to communicate understanding in writing. From my observations, these students communicate ideas best through concrete forms of expression, rather than the abstract formation of letters and writing that is unfamiliar to them. Drawing provides an alternate form of expression from writing. Based on information found in literature review and personal experiences from working with students who are emergent readers and writers, pictures and drawings are a bridge to communicate ideas with these students. This form of expression and communication may be a useful assessment …

La Educación Como Camino Hacia La Revitalización De Lenguas Indígenas: Problemas Y Prospectivas, Isabella Hendry

Scripps Senior Theses

Many indigenous languages have suffered irreparable damage or even extinction due to the violence of colonization and the violences that continue to be perpetrated by its successor institutions of neo-liberalism and global “development” projects. This thesis focuses on the attempts of two groups of indigenous people, the Imazighen (or Berbers) of Algeria and Morocco and the Runa (or Quechua) of Peru and Bolivia, to break these cycles of repression and revitalize their languages. A close comparison of these two groups’ struggles reveals the difficulty of transcending this assimilationist, imperialist framework, but it also highlights several successes that bode well for …

Proceedings Of The 1st Annual Cuny Games Festival, Robert O. Duncan, Joe Bisz, Francesco Crocco, Carlos Hernandez, Kathleen Offenholley, Leah Potter, Maura A. Smale, Cuny Games Network

Publications and Research

Proceedings of the CUNY Games Conference, held from January 17-18, 2014, at the CUNY Graduate Center and Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Topics in Game Design - Teaching with Virtual and Augmented Realities - Writing with Games - Breaking the Magic Circle: Games & Real Life - Interactive Game Design (What's Your Game Plan? - Designing Ethical Games - Games and Gender - Gaming English Language and Literature - Game, Narrative, Literacy - Teaching with Games - Games, Storytelling, and Narrative - Games and STEM - Learning by Design - Students as Game Designers - Experiencing Reality in Popular Games …

Development Of An Instrument To Measure Student Attitudes Toward Science Fairs, Claudia Huddleston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Science fairs are woven into the very fabric of science instruction in the United States and in other countries. Even though thousands of students participate in science fairs every year, no instrument to measure student attitudes toward partaking in this hands-on learning experience has been fully developed and available for school administrators and teachers to assess the perceived value that current students attribute to participation in science fairs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to continue the development and refinement of an instrument that measured student attitudes towards science fairs based on an unpublished instrument created by Michael (2005). …