Holistic Education Commons^™

Innovating Education Through Design Thinking: A Case Study Of Problem-Solving Educators, Matthew Pimental

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study aimed to identify methodologies and practices that enable innovation to thrive in the public education system. Design thinking (DT) was selected for examination given its demonstrated ability to: (a) make people and teams more innovative , (b) change institutional cultures to be more creative and solution-oriented, and (c) create conditions necessary for innovation to thrive within established organizational structures. This intrinsic case study explored the experiences of a group of educators who used design thinking to innovate solutions to the intractable problems they faced. Participants in this study were teachers and administrators who received training in DT, and …

Social Capital Development In Community College Alumni Who Studies Abroad, Heidi Fischer, Rosalind Latiner Raby

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This qualitative study explores how US community college students who studied abroad use their existing social capital to enhance their engagement with other students and host country residents. The study also shows that students who studied abroad develop new social capitals for bridging and bonding with others. Data collection consisted of two rounds of in-depth interviews with 27 alumni students as well as a survey on participant background. Findings show that students use their social capital to enhance their relationships with other students and host country individuals. These positive relationships, in turn, enrich and build new social capitals that remained …

Reaching And Teaching The Whole Person: Investigating The Relationships Between Empathy, Attitude Towards Trauma Informed Care, And Level Of Teacher Self-Efficacy Related To Classroom Management, Amanda Ray

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized a correlational research design to investigate the relationships that may exist between teacher empathy, attitudes, and levels of self-efficacy. In particular, the study was designed to (a) determine whether attitudes towards trauma-informed care mediated the relationship between teacher empathy and teacher self-efficacy related to classroom management and (b) uncover what teachers find most challenging in their efforts to support students experiencing trauma.

An online survey, completed by 146 American teachers, included items from three established measures: the Empathy Scale for Teachers (Wang et al., 2022); the Underlying Causes of Problem Behaviors and Symptoms subscale of the Attitudes …

Barriers For Learners In Postsecondary Education In The Age Of Covid: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Michael C. Farris

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Postsecondary education changed dramatically in March of 2020. Colleges and universities across the nation were forced to acknowledge the immediacy of the crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic and completely transition their learning and academic support models to a virtual environment. This transition, in many cases, took place over a matter of days, to ensure some measure of continuity for their students. At Central Virginia Community College (CVCC), a public, two-year college serving approximately 3,400 students in the greater Central Virginia region, the transition occurred expeditiously, and with a strong sense of purpose—helping the students we serve stay connected to …

Ways Of Orienting Secondary Schools To Becoming Learning Communities, Jennifer Bryce

Lifelong learning

This paper focuses on work carried out over the past two years at the Australian Council for Educational Research for a project entitled: Improving the Foundations for Lifelong Learning in Secondary Schools. Lifelong learning at secondary school level in particular is concerned with keeping students engaged in learning at school and developing in students those characteristics that will make learning an integral part of their lives when they leave school. To a large extent this involves developing the idea of schools as learning communities. The research is underpinned by an exploration of issues through the extensive literature on lifelong learning …

Agroecology Curriculum Proposal, Emily Kuhn

Pitzer Senior Theses

The purpose of this research is to establish the viability of an Agroecology major at Pitzer College. I begin by problematizing Industrial Agriculture and making a case for Pitzer College to become a higher education leader in the global paradigm shift towards socially and ecologically just food systems. The proposed curriculum compiles pre-existing classes, objectives expanded from the EA field group, and an internship component embedded at five local land-based learning partner sites. I conducted a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of the Environmental Analysis field group as a potential host for the agroecology track, including study abroad …

Stressors And Resilience Are Associated With Well-Being In Young Adult College Students, Kimberly R. Hartson, Lynne A. Hall, Sara A. Choate

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Objective: The purposes were to describe stressors and resilience behaviors of college students and examine the relationships among stressors, resilience, and well-being. Hypothesis: Resilience will modify the relationship between stressors and well-being. Participants: The sample included 1,010 college students, ages 18–26, from an urban Midwestern university. Methods: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from an anonymous survey was conducted using multiple regression and simple slopes analysis. Results: Resilience did not modify the relationship between stressors and well-being. Stressors (β = −.44, p < .0001) and resilience (β = .33, p < .0001) accounted for 42% of the variance in well-being (adjusted R2 = .42, F2,999 = 365.98, p < .0001). The most frequently endorsed stressors were sleep problems, anxiety, and relationships. Conclusions: Stressors and resilience …

Analysis Of Blended And Multi-Modal Instruction And Its Effects On Spatial Visualization Ability, Diana Bairaktarova, Daron Williams, Petros Katsioloudis

STEMPS Faculty Publications

For the last decade, remedial spatial visualization training has been offered to first-year engineering students in traditional classroom settings where students attend class and interact face-to-face with an instructor and peers. An alternative to the traditional pedagogical approach is a multi-modal blended learning format that combines in-class instruction with videos that can be viewed at the student’s convenience. The new setting affords students the opportunity to repeatedly revisit the basic instruction at the time and place of their choosing. This case study investigated student outcomes in a blended multi-modal Introduction to Spatial Visualization course that integrated video lectures; free-hand sketching …

Learning Style Relationship To Motivation And Success In The Flipped Vs Non-Flipped Classroom, Shannon Seaver

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This research paper will provide a brief overview of what a “flipped classroom” is and the variations of it. It will address whether a flipped classroom is a possible way of addressing students of all learning styles and if all learning styles are motivated in a flipped classroom. The VARK learning style inventory will be given to all students in four College Algebra Prep classes. Two classes will be the flipped “inverted” style of classroom and the other two will be the traditional (control) style of classroom. All students in both formats will also be given a periodic survey to …

Implementation Of Statway For Non-Stem Majors At Two-Year Community Colleges With Focus On The Teacher’S Experience, Joan Carter

Mathematics Graduate Theses

"A Research Paper Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS & COMPUTER SCIENCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN MATHEMATICS"

The Impact And Effectiveness Of Student-Centered Classroom Structure, Amie P. Westberg

Mathematics Graduate Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of student-centered learning as an alternative classroom structure. It is important that we continually reflect on our teaching methods and explore alternatives that can help give our students the best chance to succeed. While the literature is mixed with regard to which classroom style is best, there are many sources showing the benefits of student-centered instruction over a strictly teacher- centered classroom. Sources also showed that teachers do not need to choose exclusively one style of teaching, and that a blended classroom using a variety of teaching styles can be …

The Case For Adding Prosocial Education To Current Education Policy: Preparing Students For The Tests Of Life, Not Just A Life Of Tests, Michael W. Corrigan, Ann Higgins-D’ Alessandro, Philip M. Brown

Elementary & Secondary Education Faculty Research

This article presents the case for prosocial education as: 1) being the right of every student, parent, and teacher; 2) providing a systemic evidence-based process designed to enhance school attachment, promote social development, and increase academic success; and 3) offering a necessary foundation for effective educational policy. We develop the idea of prosocial education in the context of U.S. education and its challenges; however, we also show how it can be a useful framework to organize school improvement efforts in different nations as well as to inform educational policy for any nation. We illustrate how helping educators create positive, stimulating …