Secondary Education Commons^™

Teaching The Power Of Pictures, Rachel Speranza

KUCC -- Kutztown University Composition Conference

Though choosing sources that have specific copyright that allows for the reuse, modification, and redistribution of pictures is an important lesson for all students of all grade levels, what’s even a more important lesson is that of the power of social media. The perfect picture can spread like a wildfire across all social media platforms. Pictures have the power to change someone’s mood, political opinion, and even advocate for change on the other side of the world.

Teachers' Sensemaking: Middle School And High School Language Arts Grading And Assessing Practices For Writing, Lana Michele Cook

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study will examine how middle and high school language arts teachers in a single school district make sense of their grading practices. This paper explores how Language Arts teachers at different grade levels may be faced with a variety of contextual factors that influence their grading practices. In order to do justice to this topic, a literature review will situate and contextualize writing instruction, learning standards, and assessments. Using a qualitative single case study design, this study will present the findings from nineteen in-depth teacher interviews, document analysis, and field notes.

The Lost Boys: A Phenomenological Study Of Freshmen Year Failure, Holly Miele

Doctor of Education (EdD)

In educational circles and beyond, there is increased concern for young men who are deemed underperforming in schools. This concern has been persistent for years, and has led to many studies exploring the growing academic divide between young men and women. Few have endeavored to investigate this phenomenon by studying young men’s experiences. Using Eccles’ Value-Expectancy (2000) framework as a guide, this phenomenological study explored the lived-experience of six young men who failed courses during their freshman year of high school. The aim of this study was to investigate the intersection of stereotypes, expectations, and perceptions within the context of …

An Analysis Of Pre-Service Agricultural Educators’ Self-Efficacy With Exceptional Learners, Sara Edwards, Sara Edwards

Honors College Theses

The total program of agricultural education has established that the inclusion of all students is a priority, including students who fall under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and other similar legislation. However, upon reviewing the literature, a significant deficit has been identified in terms of training and preparation to work with students with disabilities within agricultural education. Literature and philosophy regarding the concepts of self-efficacy and experiential learning theories are explored. Additionally, works regarding special education in the agriculture classroom and primary challenges faced by agriculture educators are reviewed. A need to establish better preparatory training within preservice …

College And Career Pathway Endorsement Framework, Education Systems Center

Practitioner Toolkits and Resources

No abstract provided.

Helping Students Choose A Reading Frame: Three Ways Of Teaching Jacqueline Woodson’S Harbor Me, Emily S. Meixner, Anne Peel

New Jersey English Journal

Choice and autonomy in ways of reading are just as important as choice and autonomy in what to read. Teaching students different frames for reading novels provides students with essential tools for making meaning of texts. This article explores three frames using the middle grade novel Harbor Me.

The Enemy Of Digital Literacy Is Digital Marketing, Erika Hurth

New Jersey English Journal

This article considers the role that targeted advertising might play in reading comprehension. It is concerned with how the addictive design of online platforms may influence adolescent learning and well-being.

Book Challenges And Bannings: Young Adult Literature Censorship In Yakima County Secondary Schools, Elizabeth Daley

New Jersey English Journal

Even though young adult literature (YAL) is known to reflect current issues and have few boundaries, it is challenged and banned on an almost-daily basis. Using data from the American Library Association and primary research from Yakima, Washington, this article explores YAL censorship trends on nationwide, statewide, and countywide levels.

Louder Than A Bomb: Poetry Slams And Community Activism Create A Powerful Brew, Kristin Lems

Faculty Publications

Louder than a Bomb is the oldest youth poetry slam in the country, born out of Chicago's oral performance resources, including Second City. The article shares LTAB's beginnings, evolution, growth, and influence, and the author describes the experience of being a judge at the annual poetry slam.

“Pushing Past The Margins” With Micro-Content Analysis: A Tool To Identify Gender-Bias In Textbooks, Erica M. Southworth, Rebekah Cleaver, Haley Herbst

Faculty Creative and Scholarly Works

We present Micro-content Analysis (MCA) as a tool for social studies educators to quickly review their current textbook and determine if it contains gender-biased content. Our MCA Guide and Toolkit retain traditional content analysis components in a compact manner to ensure that MCA is a time-efficient process for educators. We demonstrate how we implemented the Guide and Toolkit on a secondary world history textbook currently utilized in a Midwest high school. Our MCA Toolkit includes resources for locating information on female historical agents so educators can present gender-inclusive content to their students and rectify any gender-biased messages presented in textbooks.

The National Socialists And How They Ostracized An Entire Population, Kathryn Weber

Geifman Prize in Holocaust Studies

In this paper, I analyze how the National Socialists ostracized the Jews before the start of World War II. I also discuss the importance of teaching students about this topic in US schools in a way that promotes historical inquiry, historical empathy, and critical thinking skills. There is an attached lesson plan that I did with 6th-grade students to provide an example of one way to teach students about the Holocaust. Here is my thesis for the paper:

"By examining laws passed by the Reichstag, the organization of the ghettos and the camps, the German education system, correspondence between …

Lego Robotics Club, Keith Tran

Honors Program: Expanded Learning Clubs

An after school club focused on problem solving and computational thinking using LEGO Mindstorm EV3.

Aged 539 Internship Report - Waterford High School Agriculture Department, Crestina M. Abraham

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship and project report includes validation documents required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The supporting material includes information to receive state and local funding, outline the goals and objectives of the program, along with an overview of Waterford High School, the agriculture program, and the community.

Art For All: An Inclusive Curriculum For A Secondary Art Room, Michelle Ann Fuller

Masters Theses

Art classrooms in a secondary public school tend to be a place where students feel inspired to be creative, improve social skills and self-esteem. But what about those who have a learning disability? If the art educator establishes a positive and safe learning environment, all students, including those requiring adaptations can create meaningful work. Do art teachers feel prepared to guide students who require extra attention? How can pre-service teachers enter the profession feeling more qualified instructing these students? This thesis explores the support of inclusion in the high school art room by defining what an ideal collaboration might look …

The Equity And Engagement Challenges Of Teaching Reading In Middle School, Edmund T. Hamann, Stephanie Malone

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The point is to look at midlevel and high school students—those often encapsulated by the term ‘adolescent literacy’—and to ask what it is that makes those students less likely to engage in productive reading practice. That may at first look like a psychological question about motivation, which makes the challenge seem like it is something inside the student that needs attention or ‘fixing’. But the orientation here is instead more sociological. If we talk about instruction, in this case reading instruction, it is intrinsically interactive, between teacher and student most obviously, but also interactive between students and their peers (e.g. …

Wearing Policy: Uniform Foolishness In The Public School, Jeremy T. Murphy

Education Department Faculty Scholarship

In this personal account, the author recounts navigating a school uniform policy as a new teacher in a large public high school in Baltimore. He loosely situates this telling in the recent history of the public school uniform movement, of which Baltimore was central. Writing in an urgent present tense, the author details the many complexities posed by a rigid policy regulating students’ bodies. Unfolding over the course of a single school year, this article charts a system newcomer’s evolving understanding of the uniform policy, a school, and his students. The article additionally raises broader considerations about policy enforcement in …

To What Extent Did Title Ix Create Equality Within Athletics: Analyzing Female Athletic Participation In High School Institutions, Kellyn M. Webster

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Since Title IX was signed into law in 1972, the legislation has long been associated with athletics. After the passage of Title IX, high school level and any other federally funded institution, now had to promote gender equality, including athletics. However, even though equality was and still is required, those demands are still not being met. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics and the Civil Rights Data Collection in the 2013-2014 school year, I examine equality within high school athletics. I analyze the characteristics in high schools throughout the United States to determine what types of schools …

Impacts Of Parent Involvement On Student Success At The Secondary Grade Levels, Kimberly Sorbo

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Parent involvement has been an important aspect of public education in the United States since the beginning of public education. Much research has been conducted over the years to show the importance of parent involvement, but the majority of these studies have focused on involvement at the elementary level. Recent studies have shown that even though the level of parent involvement at the high school level is equally as important as at any other grade level in terms of student success, the number of parents who stay involved in their child’s educational journey once they reach the high school level …

Building Student Confidence And Performance Through Emphasis On Academic Language, Christopher Irick

Honors Projects

The purpose of this action research study was to observe the effects of vocabulary learning tools and reflective journaling on student confidence. Participants were from three classes of 15-20 students who attend math class for 45-90 minutes each weekday in a suburban high school setting. They were assigned Frayer Model vocabulary learning tables, as well as three journal prompts a week regarding either mathematics content or personal thoughts on classroom activities. These were completed across two units in the course. Several classroom benefits were observed over the course of the study, including but not limited to higher student confidence and …

A Phenomenological Study That Examined The Experiences Of High School Teachers Who Build Supportive Classroom Environments That Encourage African-American Students To Graduate, Tressa D. Matthews

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of high school teachers who have created supportive classroom environments that encourage African-American students to graduate. The theory guiding this study was the self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2008) as it explains the psychological needs of students to encourage persistence toward high school graduation. The central question guided the research in describing the experiences of high school teachers who have created a supportive classroom environment at high schools with high graduation rates for African-American students in Southeastern Michigan. The study sought to determine the experiences …