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Front Matter, Vol. 17, No. 2

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Cover

Mast Head

Contents

Call for Papers

Editorial Policy

Submission Guidelines

Dedication - Dail W. Mullins Jr.

The Beliefs, Perceptions, And Strategies Of Vocabulary Instruction In Middle Grades Social Studies: A Phenomenological Study, Lisa-Renee Gilford

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Content specific vocabulary instruction at the secondary level is an area that had a minimal research focus. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the beliefs, perceptions, and experiences of 8 middle school social studies teachers in lesson delivery and instruction at Cornerstone Middle School (pseudonym), a middle school located in a major city in the southeastern United States. Data was collected from interviews, classroom observations, and artifacts from participants. The theoretical framework providing a foundation for this study centered on Vygotsky’s (1978) work on social interaction playing an integral role in cognitive development. The research questions that …

Technology-Mediated Synchronous Virtual Education: An Empirical Study, Xiaofeng Chen, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Many higher education institutions have used Internet technology to develop virtual education for a new generation of college students. In this research, the authors assessed the relative effectiveness of two technology-mediated learning environments for synchronous higher education compared to a traditional face-to-face learning environment. Specifically, they assessed the effects of these three learning environments on interactivity, perceived learning, and satisfaction when different instructional strategies were used. The authors' findings suggest that learning environments interact with instructional strategies to affect the learners' perception of learning and satisfaction. Their findings also support the proposition that the new generation of college students prefer …

Perceptions Of Fidelity And Adaptation In Evidence-Informed Interventions By Women Of Color Sexuality Health Educators, Sara C. Flowers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sexuality health educators (SHEs) adapt interventions to the participants’ needs in the dissemination and implementation of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programming. However, there is a lack of understanding of how, why and when SHEs make such adaptations. Success or failure of the transfer of prevention technology to practitioners occurs by determining community capacities and preparedness to adopt/adapt high-impact interventions to effectively manage implementation. Experts argue for evidence-informed interventions (EII), as opposed to evidence-based interventions (EBI), as the best way to incorporate research in applied settings. EBIs are solely guided by recommendations from current evidence, whereas EIIs recognize and incorporate the …

September Agenda, Wku Graduate Council

Graduate School

Meeting agenda.

Culture Shock: Understanding World Cultures Through Arts Integration, Shelby Wooldridge

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Teachers often have difficulty engaging students in arts and humanities classes. To aid in this struggle, a series of lesson plans applicable for kindergarten through twelfth grade students in music and arts and humanities classes will be presented. These lesson plans will teach students about world cultures, such as West African, Appalachian, and Latin America, through arts integration. In order to reach this goal, there will be a component on student development in order to match the units with students’ developmental levels. From there, the lesson plans will be developed to incorporate all of the art forms, with an emphasis …

In This Issue [Of Tesol Quarterly, On Language Teacher Identity], Monka M. Varghese, Suhanthie Motha, Gloria Park, Jenelle Reeves, John Trent

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

Our decision to propose a special issue of TESOL Quarterly on language teacher identity (LTI) grew out of our growing recognition of the profound embeddedness of LTI within the research, teaching, and policy practices of (multi)lingual professionals and the immense interest generated by LTI work within the disciplines that engage with language education. We use (multi) in (multi)lingual to underscore our desire to move beyond a monolingual lens in TESOL and to highlight potential extensions to the notion of multilingualism, such as (pluri), (trans), (ethno), and (racio). This allows us …

Meeting Minutes, Wku Graduate Council

Graduate School

Meeting minutes.

The American Revolutionary War Through Differentiated Instruction: A Series Of 8th Grade Lesson Plans, Danya Crow

Honors Projects

Just like no two people are exactly alike, no two students learn in the same ways. While using traditional teaching strategies seems to have worked well through the years in today’s society, where children are surrounded by distractions, teachers are faced with the challenge of keeping their students’ attention. Making class interesting and different is a way to not only keep the students engaged with the material they are being taught, but can also be used as an effective tool to tailor lessons to the ways the students learn best. While one lesson structure could work very well for one …

Internationalizing Teacher Education: A Case Study Of A School Of Education, Florence Bromfield

Capstone Collection

Schools of Education across the US are some of the furthest behind in the race to internationalize departments across campuses in higher education. What does this mean for students in the K-12 classroom? The purpose of this case study is to explore the internationalization of teacher education within the context of a medium-sized state university in the South-East of the US. Working with the School of Education on this campus, qualitative interviews and surveys were administered to faculty and pre-service teachers to understand the extent of internationalization at the university, and the needs of the K-12 classroom. For this research, …

Teaching History: Effective Teaching For Learning History - Chronological Vs. Thematic Approaches To Student Historical Comprehension, Shane Williams

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research study investigated the effects of different types of instruction on student learning of historical thinking. There are several instructional methods to teaching history but most fall into two major approaches: chronological or thematic. This study used twenty-eight high school students in two sections of a junior-senior World History course. The research project utilized three full eighteen day instructional units: The World War II unit was taught from the chronological perspective, the Cold War unit was taught from the thematic, and the instruction for the globalization unit utilized a blended approach or combination of the chronological and thematic …

Student Outcomes In Traditional, Hybrid, And Online Courses In Community College Career And Technical Education Programs, Thomas R. Sewell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether differences in student course outcomes as defined by final course grades existed between three content delivery methods in career and technical education courses: Traditional (face to face), hybrid, and online. Final course grades in career and technical education courses at one community college for the Fall 2011 through the Fall 2015 semesters were used in this study to compare the success of students in courses employing the three content delivery methods. The outcomes for male and female students and the outcomes for traditional and nontraditional students in career and technical …

Action Items, Wku Graduate Council

Graduate School

Overview of action items handled by the Graduate Council.

Learning Naturally: An Inquiry Study Of Streams In Hawaii, Becca Kesler

Occasional Paper Series

Describes a teacher-guided, place-based inquiry curriculum.

"I anticipated that it would give my students opportunities for exploration, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and collaboration, while developing a relationship with the natural world. This is the story I would like to share. My hope is that it will provide other teachers with the inspiration to consider the rich learning opportunities available in their local environments." -- Author

Playing In Literary Landscapes: Considering Children's Need For Fantasy Literature In The Place-Based Classroom, Sarah Fischer

Occasional Paper Series

Are the philosophies and pedagogical practices of literature-based classrooms congruent with place-based classrooms? In this paper, the author argues that not only is imaginative literature compatible with place-based philosophies, but it can become a powerful centerpiece of a curriculum aimed at educating for a sense of place and inspiring life-long readers.

The Rise Of Neoliberalism - A Transrational Analysis: Towards A New Vision For Urban Education, Dennis Kevin Gregory

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

I was driven to this study by witnessing dramatic changes in urban education in recent years and began to ask the questions: What is going on? And why now? This dissertation will show that an extremely powerful and pervasive global ideology known as neoliberalism is at the core of the answers to these questions. As a result, understanding the Rise of Neoliberalism has become a passionate mission for me.

Ferguson (2009) argues that a different approach to the study of neoliberalism is needed because the current scholarship is unsatisfactory; generating common pejorative and unsurprising conclusions like ‘it is bad for …

Effects Of Two Prereading Activities On Comprehending Science Text: Reading Abridged Text And Learning Vocabulary Words, Audrey J. Fowler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study examined the effects of two prereading activities designed to improve fifth-grade students’ vocabulary learning and comprehension of science textbook content containing those words. Ninety-three fifth grade students participated in this study. The prereading activities consisted of students reading an abridged version of the text or receiving instruction on vocabulary words drawn from the text before reading the full text once. Students receiving these treatments were compared to a control condition in which students reread the full text passage twice but did not receive any prereading treatment. Students were grouped by reading ability levels into above average, average, …

Your Story, Your History: Social Studies And History Instruction In A Nicaraguan Primary School, Nicole Akin

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In the latter half of the 20th century, the country of Nicaragua experienced major political upheaval, which not only affected political, social and economic policies, but education as a whole. Education has been a constant struggle in Nicaragua – this country is the second poorest in Latin America and has the highest dropout rate in Latin America with 52% of individuals leaving school before finishing their primary school education. The Sandinista movement rallied the country together and as a result helped to foster a rich culture and history of Nicaragua, which can be found in primary school social studies classes. …

Aligning Citylab Biotechnology Curriculum With Ngss Standards And Practices, Arianna Jefferson

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

To Build A Better Textbook: Developing A Literature Curriculum For Today’S Christian Schooling, Abby L. Cockrell

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis explores the educational philosophy and the creative process behind the creation of a new textbook and curriculum. The goal of this new textbook and curriculum is to help persuade high school students to view literature as an avenue of life-long learning. The plan to develop this textbook and curriculum is built on five objectives: a recognition of the need for holistic education, the implementation of differentiated teaching methods, the cultivation of student interest, the reflection of diversity within classrooms, and the integration of modern technology. This plan will be proposed in the creation of a textbook for use …

The Empathy Project: Using A Project-Based Learning Assignment To Increase First-Year College Students’ Comfort With Interdisciplinarity, Micol Hutchison

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Empathy and interdisciplinarity are both concepts that are current and relevant—across professions, in research, and in academia. This paper describes a large, interdisciplinary, project-based assignment, the Empathy Project, which allows students to delve into and increase comfort and skill with interdisciplinary thinking and collaborative learning, while improving the core college skills of written and oral communication, ethical and quantitative reasoning, and critical thinking. As I revised the assignment based on student feedback and results, I found that group conferences and time in class to work collaboratively were beneficial. Additionally, building increased scaffolding into the assignment, including greater student and group …

Exploring Undocumented Immigration From Central America Through Art And Activism: A Fourth Grade Social Studies Curriculum, Carmen Romero

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This social studies curriculum strives to teach fourth grade students about undocumented immigration from Central America through the lens of art and activism.

The Effect Of A Self-Regulated Vocabulary Intervention On Word Knowledge, Reading Comprehension, And Self-Regulated Learning For Elementary English Language Learners, Qizhen Deng

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

English language learners (ELLs) represent an increasing population in U.S. public schools. Research reports from the past two decades suggest a persistent reading underachievement for ELLs. Academic vocabulary knowledge, due to its frequent use in academic texts, contributes significantly to ELL children’s English language development, reading comprehension, and general academic achievement. However, a gap of vocabulary knowledge exists between ELLs and their mainstream peers. One potential approach to address this issue is to help ELLs become mastery independent and proactive word learners. This study examined the effect of a researcher-led self-regulated vocabulary intervention on word knowledge, reading comprehension, and self-regulated …

Eighth Grade Mathematics Intervention: Improving Student Self-Esteem And Content Knowledge Of Targeted Mathematic Skills, Stephanie Hart

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

By eighth grade some students believe they are “not good” and never will be successful at mathematics. Discouraged by poor grades, negative feedback from teachers or demoralized by repeated academic failure, these students disengage from their mathematics classwork. In some cases, mathematics intervention classes are a last chance to get them back on track to qualify for Algebra I in 9^th grade. The purpose of this study is to identify strategies to reengage students by increasing their academic content knowledge in mathematics and boosting their self-esteem and sense of belonging in the school setting. The review of the literature …

Understanding Long-Term English Language Learners In The Developmental Classroom Of A Community College, Stanley S. Snelson

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, phenomenological study is focused on 13 identified LTELLs currently enrolled in a community college classroom near the Texas-Mexico border. Both male and female students were identified and invited for participation based on an initial questionnaire Through an emic, qualitative lens, this research explores the beliefs that LTELLs hold with regard to language, educational supports, and gender in college. Second, the research looks to understand how these beliefs may impact the education of LTELLs currently enrolled in developmental classes of a community college. The driving overarching questions were: (1.) How do LTELLs perceive their own use of language? (2.) …

Teacher Self-Efficacy In A Classical Christian Environment Versus A Traditional Christian Environment, Emily Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teachers in a classical Christian environment oftentimes are not taught in the classic manner themselves, requiring different training from that in teacher-education programs. This study compared teacher self-efficacy between traditional Christian-education environments and classical Christian-education environments. The purpose of this quantitative study was to discover if teachers’ perceptions of student engagement and instructional practices differ between a classical Christian environment and a traditional Christian environment. The research questions in this study explored whether teachers perceptions in traditional or classical education settings significantly differed with regard to student-engagement and instructional-strategies self-efficacy. This study was a causal-comparative quantitative research study with a …

College-Bound Students: A Study Of The Relationship Between Religiosity/Spirituality, And Achievement, William Wright

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The achievement gap between private and public school college-bound students has continued to widen each year since 1972. The researcher studied the relationship of Christian school college-bound students’ religiosity/spirituality using a validated survey instrument and their achievement as measured on the Scholastic Aptitude Test. The literature implies a relationship, but there is a gap in studying homogeneous religious groups. Therefore, the researcher selected a homogeneous grouping, Texas Christian high school college-bound seniors, as the sample for this study. The researcher obtained permission to use the Religiosity and Spirituality Scale for Youth (RASSY) survey instrument and included demographic and score data …

Relating Administrators’ Training In Technology Integration And Their Attitudes Toward Technology In Southeastern Virginia Schools, Abbie Martin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the study was to determine if there is a relationship between amount of training administrators receive in technology integration and their attitudes toward technology. Previous research has revealed a relationship between teachers’ attitudes (Shiue, 2007; Shoffner, 2009), training (Adcock, 2008; Donnell, 2009; Lei, 2009; Sadik, 2008), and actual usage of computers. However, a gap in the research exists around the role and influence of administrators’ training and attitudes on the integration technology. A quantitative correlational research design was employed to investigate three hypotheses: the relationship between training and attitude, age and attitude, and years of administrative experience …

The Effects Of Standards-Based Grading And Differentiated Reassessment On The Metacognition, Motivation, And End Of Course Assessments Of 9th Grade American History Students, Benjamin Jeffry Hartnell

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

This study attempts to determine whether Mastery Learning (with differentiated reassessment) and Mastery Teaching (within a standards-based curriculum) had a 1) metacognitive and/or motivational effect on how students perceive their learning and 2) whether or not Mastery Teaching had an impact on their mastery of the material when compared to students assessed in more traditional classrooms that did not offer reassessment. Using a standard district American History exam given pre- and post-semester and two student learning and motivation surveys (SMQII and PRO-SDLS), the results showed that being taught in a social studies classroom that utilizes differentiated reassessment and Standards-Based Grading …

Crisis In Education -- The Effect Of The Cold War On The American Education System, Spencer C.J. Gregg

Young Historians Conference

The Cold War era had a dramatic impact on the American educational system. Striving to demonstrate superiority over Soviet counterparts, new curriculum were developed to prepare the American youth intellectually, emotionally, and technologically to position the U.S. as a world power. With the American public polarized whether schools were a venue for the dissemination of national ideologies or institutions for the development of critical thinking; world events including nuclear warfare, space exploration, and military preparedness served as catalysts for the development of future citizens that would effectively contribute to the intellectual and technological growth of the nation.