Secondary Education Commons^™

Does Teaching The History Of Mathematics In High School Aid In Student Understanding?, Anne Campbell

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

This research will study the effect teaching the history of mathematics in a high school classroom has on student understanding. To accomplish this, lessons both including and excluding historical background on different topics were taught in an Honors Algebra 2 class in the high school setting. This research aims to engage student learning and investigation of topics that normally do not draw a lot of student focus and spark a new or revived interest in mathematics for students by broadening lessons to include material of which students would not otherwise be exposed. The lessons themselves aim to engage other current …

An Application Of Systems Science For The Usage Of Web–Tools In Environmental Education: The Case Of Western Attica, Greece, Anastasios Mavrakis, Evangelos C. Papakitsos, Christina Papapanousi, Christina Papavasileiou

Journal of Research Initiatives

Geography plays a leading role in developing the objectives of Environmental Education. Through Geography lessons, applications and tools, pupils should learn about the major environmental and developmental problems through issue-based learning. They must be given opportunities to explore how these issues relate to their everyday lives and what is the impact on the quality of the natural and social environment. Teachers can promote a holistic outlook, through promoting a multidimensional study of environmental problems on a variety of scales, e.g., through historical maps, which are of significant value, because through them students gain perspective on the living environment and the …

Understanding The Language Experiences And Motivations Of Deaf Adolescent Latino Struggling Readers, Melissa Herzig

JADARA

Current American methods for educating Deaf adolescent Latino struggling readers need to change in order to maximize learning opportunities. This begins with identifying student strengths and building on them to help students gain new and productive skills. It is imperative to understand Deaf students’ socio-cultural backgrounds, interests, needs, and values through ethnographic research in order to identify what motivates these Latino Deaf adolescents to read. This information could guide teachers and specialists in redesigning and tailoring instruction for these students.

Student Connectedness And Academic Achievement: A Quantitative Study Of Career And Technical Education Students, Kern Mcginley

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The focus of this correlational study in an Alaskan career and technical (CTE) school environment was to explore the research question that guided this study: In a large urban school district of Alaska, with a diverse student population, what is the relationship between the CTE student connectedness level and academic achievement levels? Participants included 132 high school students, Grades 10 through 12. Additional research questions were developed to examine the strength of the relationship between student connectedness and academic achievement by gender and ethnicity. Data were collected using an online survey with a combination of demographic questions and Goodenow’s (1993b) …

Combating The Minimum Mindset: Changing Schools From The Inside, Juliette Dayen

Andrews University Teaching and Learning Conference

Facilitating change in learning organizations must be approached from a multitude of perspectives. Students are often ignored and uninvolved in improvement efforts. As key participants in schooling practices, students should be involved in change processes. Students can take an active role in developing skills and knowledge to help them thrive in learning environments. This presentation focuses on how students can be supported to develop a growth mindset through a model that could work in multiple learning contexts.

Well-Designed Learning Objectives, Kezia Osei

Andrews University Teaching and Learning Conference

Writing effective and well-designed learning objectives is a necessary skill in structuring teaching curriculum. Learning objectives are clearly written, specific statements of observable learner behavior or action that can be measured upon completion of an educational activity. They are the foundation for instructional alignment whereby the learning objectives, assessment tools, and instructional methods mutually support the desired learning outcome. This poster describes the essential components of a learning objective and provides practical tips on writing well-defined learning objectives.

Training For Secondary Educators To Decrease School Violence, Katie Grosz

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Violence has been an evident problem in schools across the United States. The literature review is designed to educate school personnel on current research to decrease school violence. A universal proactive approach is used with a trauma informed lens, to focus on students and teachers social/emotional and physical safety. A training has been implemented to increase educator’s awareness of the different types of violence. The training implements strategies for physical, social, and emotional safety needs, with positive change to improve school climate.

Disciplinary Literacy Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Dlpck) Today: An Exploration Of Disciplinary Literacy Pedagogical Content Knowledge Of Middle And High School Science, Social Studies, And English Language Arts, Linda M. Saraceno

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this exploratory qualitative study were to a) gain an understanding of middle and high school science, social studies, and English language arts teachers' disciplinary literacy pedagogical content knowledge b) explore teachers' dispositions towards disciplinary literacy and c) to determine whether teachers dispositions influenced disciplinary literacy instruction in the classroom. Using a pre - and post-survey, semi-structured interviews, professional development workshops, teacher reflections, and classroom observation field notes, this study discovered teachers' disciplinary literacy pedagogical content knowledge was a combination of generic literacy and disciplinary literacy skills knowledge. Teachers dispositions towards disciplinary literacy were found to be favorable …

The “Soft Bigotry Of Low Expectations” And Its Role In Maintaining White Supremacy Through Mathematics Education, Laurie Rubel, Andrea V. Mccloskey

Occasional Paper Series

In this study, we offer an analysis of the phrase the "soft bigotry of low expectations" and considers its role in rhetoric about U.S. mathematics education policy and practice, especially in regards to Critical Mathematical Inquiry. From the phrase’s origins in a speech given by President George W. Bush in 2000, to its current use on social media, this phrase offers a lens into white supremacy and "tools of whiteness" (Picower, 2009), and their persistence in U.S. schooling paradigms, especially about mathematics. We analyze specific, recent instantiations of the phrase on blogrolls and Twitter, in addition to more implicit …

Perceptions Of Public Middle School Teachers About The Influence Their Personal Religious Beliefs Have On Their Professional Lives As Educators, Matthew Edward Brooks

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Teacher beliefs can encompass a variety of influences such as the individual’s view of the world and self, perspective on classroom experiences, and personal values. This qualitative case study explored how a teacher’s religious beliefs, in particular, may have influenced their professional practice. This study was based on the conceptual frameworks of Mezirow’s transformative learning theory, and Fullan’s framework of teacher as agent of change. Each participant engaged in the transformative learning process by having the opportunity to think about and reflect upon their belief systems and how those might influence their professional practices as educators. Drawing from qualitative data …

Understanding Alternative Education Student Self-Efficacy Related To Experiential And Organizational Factors, Megan Maczonis Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The need for a high school diploma or equivalent is a social justice concern as the consequences of not earning a diploma or equivalent degree are lower income, higher crime rates, and poorer health (McClatchy, 2013; NCES, 2015; NCES, 2017; Freudenberg & Ruglis, 2007; Thrane, 2006). The median earnings of young adults with a high school diploma and young adults with a bachelor's degree were 22 and 100 percent higher respectively than those of young adults without a high school diploma. Additionally, lower levels of educational attainment are related to higher rates of arrests and incarceration (Eby, 2013). Lower levels …

Recycling Aluminum, Steffani Burwitz, Kristin M. Roe, Matthew L. Miller, Madhav P. Nepal, Larry B. Browning, P. Troy White

iLEARN Teaching Resources

Students will investigate and compare the energy cost to produce aluminum products from aluminum ore and recycled aluminum. Students will perform an electrolysis activity to reinforce the idea that recycling metal requires less energy than mining and refining metals from their original source in the earth.

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Teacher Factors And Academic Performance Of High School Students, William S. Castellane

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the relationship between teacher factors and student achievement, measured by high school grade point average while controlling for student and school-level factors. The study focused on teacher certification, teacher experience, full-time employment status, level of academic degree, and teacher absenteeism for the first semester of the school year. The student factors that were included are gender, race, socioeconomic status, the number of students enrolled in Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate courses the students took during their high school careers. The school-level factor included in the study was the percentage of students who receive free and reduced lunches. …

Stratification, Tracking And Course-Taking Patterns: An Examination Of The Impact Of Mathematics Course Placement On Achievement In A Regional High School District, Charles B. Sampson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the impact of mathematics track placement on the academic achievement of students as measured by student performance on the 2014 New Jersey High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) in mathematics, and math course attainment in high school as measured by the level of math class completed by the end of grade 12. A substantive empirical base (Goodlad & Oakes, 1998; Slavin, 1995; Oakes, 2005; Darling-Hammond, 2010; Gamoran 2009) exists that outlines the inequalities often associated within tracked school systems. Despite widespread criticism, tracking remains dominant as a strategy to group students in American high schools (Loveless 2013). Regional …

The Sons Of Emmett Till: Addressing Black Male Masculinity In Urban High Schools In New Orleans, Michael J. Seaberry

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores how Black boys in New Orleans’ urban high schools develop, define, and do masculinity. Beginning with a narrative literature review, this study provides themes common among the six peer-reviewed articles that are specifically written on the subject of Black boys’ masculinity in urban high schools in the United States. Analyzed using Critical Race Theory, the themes discussed in these six articles were used to formulate interview questions for 10 Black male students in New Orleans high schools. The empirical portion of this study found that Black boys in New Orleans urban high schools develop masculinity at birth, …

Academic Achievement And Participation In Out-Of-School Educational Robotics Competitions For High School Latino/A Students In Southern California, Jesus Ulloa-Higuera

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in academic performance in mathematics as measured by class grades between high school Latino/a students in Southern California who participated two consecutive years in robotics competitions and high school Latino/a students who did not participate. A secondary purpose was to examine the difference in mathematics academic performance between Latino and Latina students who participated in robotics competitions. A third and final purpose was to describe the experiences of Latino/a college students who participated in robotics competitions and how those experiences influenced their interest in pursuing a STEM college …

Culturally Responsive School Leadership: How Principals Use Culturally Responsive Leadership Strategies To Develop Engaging And Inclusive School Environments For All Students, Cherilynne Hollowell

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this ethnographic investigation was to identify and describe culturally responsive leadership practices and strategies principals of Title I high schools, in suburban contexts, of the Inland Empire in Southern California use to develop schools that engage and include all students.

Methodology: This qualitative study identified and described the practices and strategies of 15 Inland Empire principals of Title I comprehensive high schools in Southern California, used to develop schools that engage and include all students, particularly students that have been historically and traditionally marginalized. Participants were purposively chosen based on specific criteria. The researcher collected data …

A Longitudinal Analysis Of Volunteerism Activities For Individuals Educated In Public And Private Schools, Albert Cheng, David Sikkink

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Previous studies offer evidence that U.S. public and private high schools differentially influence volunteerism in adolescence. However, these studies are typically cross-sectional and only consider whether the individual volunteered or not. We address patterns of volunteering from adolescence into adulthood and the kind of volunteering activity in which individuals engage. We also theorize that distinctive civic values within public and private schools together with their respective organizational ties to other civic organizations channel students into particular volunteering activities. Relying on a longitudinal, nationally-representative sample of U.S. adolescents, we track volunteering from adolescence into young adulthood and identify the types of …

Getting To What Is: Poetry As A Genre Of Access For Multilingual Learners, Audrey A. Friedman, Joelle M. Pedersen, Chris K. Bacon

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This paper explores the poetry writing of 15, multilingual ninth graders to construct a practitioner framework for analyzing writing as discourse with multilingual learners (MLs). Grounded in an understanding of poetry as a genre of access for both teachers and students, we asked: How does poetry—read as a specific, situated discourse—reveal linguistic and cultural competence among MLs in an urban, high-school classroom?

Using four tools of Critical Discourse Analysis—situated meaning, significance building, connections building, and identity building—we analyzed student poetry produced via an online mentoring platform. Through applying these lenses, three major themes emerged, which structured our framework: language experimentation, …

Willowcreek Middle School Alternative Program: Successfully Working Through Trauma, Debra B. Ekdahl, Taria Nicole Taylor, Michelle Stewart

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Not your typical Alternative School, Willowcreek Middle School offers trauma informed practices in place of student expulsions. A safe structured environment, reduced class time, academic strategies, mindfulness, yoga, and community service, all help to provide the educational and social/emotional supports necessary to help students at risk reach their potential and eventually transition back to the traditional classroom.