Digital Commons Network^™

Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Identity Development In Learning To Teach Science: A Multi-Site Case Study, Deepika Menon, Saiqa Azam

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

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate preservice elementary teachers’ science teacher identity development during their participation in the field-based science methods course and a year after. Grounded within the Feiman-Nemser’s thematic framework of learning to teach, this study utilized a case study approach aimed to examine the experiences that contributed to formation of science teacher identities of two participants uniquely positioned in the teacher education programs at the two sites, USA and Canada. Data collected over a year included science autobiographies, reflective journals, interviews, classroom observations, and artifacts. The analysis of the data revealed that experiences and …

Immigrant Background Students’ Names And Identities In U.S. Schools: Voices From The Underground, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba

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

This poem is a recreation of conversational interviews with five immigrant background adolescent African girls (Pendo, Furaha, Amani, Faraja, and Neema), all names are pseudonyms. In those interviews, the girls continuously shared how important their names are for them and the challenges they encountered with teachers and peers mispronouncing their names. One student mentioned taking time to teach her teachers, but was often told, “It’s just a name.” Weird gazes on her teachers’ faces are the best pronunciation she had received. This free verse poem speaks to the relationship between students’ individual names and identities, biases—which are often based on …

Cultural And Linguistic Experiences Of Immigrant Youth: Voices Of African Immigrant Youth In United States Urban Schools, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba, Alex Kumi-Yeboah, Patriann Smith, Anthony Mawuli Sallard

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

This study explores experiences of 50 culturally and linguistically diverse African immigrant students attending public urban middle and high schools in the US. Drawing on in-depth interviews, and through constant comparison analysis, emerging findings highlight pedagogical, linguistic, and curricular variation struggles in the classroom; transitional contextual challenges; cultural mismatch; miscommunication, and stereotypes. In light of these experiences, African immigrant urban youth draw on familial, navigational and aspirational capital to resist stereotypical assumptions and to develop resilient skills necessary to navigate the inherent challenges. Findings underscore the importance of appreciating ways of knowing that deviate from the host country knowledges as …

Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used By Esl Saudi Students In The United States, Alya Abdullah K. Suliman

Dissertations

Problem

The purpose of this study was to discover the preferred and used English vocabulary learning strategies of Saudi Arabic-speaking English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. In the light insufficient empirical and theoretical studies exploring the complex structure of vocabulary learning by Arabic-speaking ESL learners, this study investigated which strategies students viewed as significant in assisting them in learning new English vocabulary. Finally, the study sought to identify Saudi Arabic-speaking student attitudes toward and motivations for learning English as a second language; and whether these attitudes influenced which vocabulary learning strategies they preferred and used commonly.

Method

The research …

Culturally And Linguistically Relevant Content Area Instruction For Diverse Students With Learning Disabilities, Shaqwana Freeman-Green, Melissa Driver, Peishi Wang, Jessica Kamuru, Dia Jackson

Faculty Articles

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students comprise a substantial population of students with learning disabilities, and are historically disproportionately represented in spe- cial education. To effectively teach CLD students with learning disabilities, teachers should integrate evidence-based practices and culturally sustaining pedagogy in their practice. This article highlights several practical examples of culturally sustaining evidence-based practices across the content areas of mathematics, reading, and writing. Suggestions for practice and future research are presented in the article.

Exploring The Relationship Between Clout And Cognitive Processing In Mooc Discussion Forums, Robert L. Moore, Cherng-Jyh Yen, F. Eamonn Powers

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between clout and cognitive processing in massive open online course (MOOC) discussion forum posts. Cognitive processing, a category variable generated by the automated text analysis tool, Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC), is made up of six sub-scores (insight, causation, discrepancy, tentativeness, certainty and differentiation). Clout is a nontransparent summary variable in LIWC that can be used to understand the level of confidence conveyed in the text. Because clout is nontransparent, we do not know the algorithm used to calculate its value. To better understand this variable, this study examined cognitive …

Lessons From The Past And Challenges For The Future: Inclusive Education For Students With Unique Needs, William Evans, Robert A. Gable, Amany Habib

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

The school-age population of students is becoming increasingly more culturally and linguistically diverse. There is mounting recognition that English Learners (EL) represent a unique group of students who have special educational and linguistic needs. This article considered the needs of learners with diverse special needs such as (a) learning and behavior challenges and (b) English Learners identified as students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE). We highlighted some potential lessons to be learned from past-to-present efforts to serve students with behavior problems. Selected evidence-based practices were featured that are applicable to learners with special needs, thereby supporting the development …

Supporting Advocacy, Deliberation, And Civic Learning In The Classroom, Leslie Martin, P. Anand Rao, Adrienne Brovero, Gonzalo Campos-Dintrans, Steve Greenlaw, Pamela R. Grothe, Jason Hayob-Matzke, Jodie Hayob-Matzke, Christine Henry, Joseph Romero, Andrea Livi Smith

Interdisciplinary

We live, teach and learn in complicated times. As faculty in higher education, we have the opportunity to help uphold the civic purpose of higher education. We are accustomed to helping students navigate academic information, and to equipping them for more standard academic tasks. Through thoughtful course design, we can also help our students become better consumers and evaluators of less traditionally academic information: from critically interpreting what they read and see in the news media, to engaging the arguments of their friends, peers and family members. Further, we can challenge our students to use these evaluative skills to engage …

“I Felt Seen”: A Mixed-Methods Investigation Of Culturally Responsive Teaching In Postsecondary Education, Caiti Siobhan Griffiths

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Instructors’ beliefs and behaviors shape students’ learning environments (Bandura, 2007). Culturally responsive teaching can make instruction more relevant and supportive to historically marginalized students (Gay, 2000, 2018). Instructor support and care for students are important to undergraduate persistence (Tinto, 1986, 1993). However, White postsecondary instructors may not feel prepared to use culturally responsive teaching (Heitner & Jennings, 2016; Sue et al., 2009). This study used a sequential mixed-methods design to examine postsecondary instructors’ self-perceptions, and students’ lived experiences, related to culturally responsive teaching. In Fall 2020, instructors (N = 99) rated their self-efficacy for culturally responsive teaching on a …

Drop Everything And Read And Write By Hand: Reimagining In-Person Instruction In The Wake Of Covid-19, Noah E. Borrero, Eleanor Scott

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

As ELA teachers and teacher educators, we present a classroom project—On the Daily Cards—in an attempt to showcase possibilities for reimagining in-person instruction in the wake of the COVID-19 school shutdowns and forced distance learning. We present a theoretical framework to connect contemporary learning theory with current calls for substantive changes in the ways we envision classroom learning. We focus on youths’ lived experiences and stories as classroom texts and attempt to honor the cultural assets that young people bring with them to school.

Course Redesign To New Paradigms: Exploring Humanizing Racial Literacies With Pre-Service Teachers, Becky Beucher, Tisha Ortega, Grant Souder, Kimberly Martin-Boyd, Katy Killian

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Spring 2021, undergraduate students across the country were entering their second year of obligatory online learning. This moment in time correlated with an increased attention to the Black Lives Matter movement by white youth and the mainstream public. This study, guided by a team of teacher educators committed to realizing racial justice in Secondary literacy education, designed and examined the impact of humanizing racial literacies curriculum taught through forced on learning on undergraduate pre-service teacher’s perspectives about anti-racist curriculum design. This study builds upon a growing body of research on realizing humanizing racial literacies in teacher education pedagogy. The curriculum …

(Missed) Connections: How The Textual Communication Environment Caused By Covid-19 Impacted English Composition Instructors' Ability To Communicate And Connect With Colleagues And Students, Alyssa G. Cummings

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

No abstract provided.

A Comprehensive Audit Of Professional Development For K-12 School Leaders In The Commonwealth Of Virginia, Melissa Davis Hill, Melisa J. Naumann, Timothy M. Tillman, Major R. Warner Jr.

Doctor of Education Capstones

The intent of this paper is to provide a mixed-methods audit of professional development provided to K-12 school leadership in Virginia's diverse landscape to include identification of providers, funding, effectiveness, and expectations.

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, geographical, political, and socio-economical differences across 132 school divisions cause variability in leaders' experiences with professional development. A mixed-methods approach was used, including a review of current literature, an online survey, virtual interviews, and virtual focus group discussions. This data collection results in a comprehensive audit of professional development provided to school leaders in Virginia's diverse landscape. The study defines effective professional development …

Unchallenged And Obedient: Status Of Nigerian Junior Secondary School Social Studies Curriculum, Toluwalase Solomon

Masters Theses

Bolstering best practice social studies pedagogy is crucial to raising analytical, responsible, moral, and civic-minded students in Nigeria. This study, using content analysis research methods, examined the contents of Nigerian junior secondary school (JSS) social studies curriculum materials to determine the extent to which the curriculum aligns with major social studies teachers’ epistemologies (citizenship transmission, social sciences, and reflective inquiry). Though there have been numerous studies on examining the major social studies teachers’ epistemologies—citizenship transmission, social sciences, and reflective inquiry—yet few have examined the extent to which Nigerian social studies curriculum materials aligns with these epistemologies. Three major findings emerged …

Cultivating A Stem Investigation: Reading And Task Expectations For Introductory Biology Courses, Tina M. Ballard

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

College completion is an important discussion in today’s world with only about 30% of community college students completing their degrees within three years of starting their programs. Especially in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, students are changing their majors or not completing their degrees for a variety of reasons. Previous research has established that there are high attrition and failure rates for introductory biology courses which may be causing some students to change their majors or not complete their degrees. This multicase study investigated the reading and task demands for introductory biology courses designed for STEM majors …

To Note Or Not To Note: Students' Conceptualizations Of Note Taking During Academic Reading In A Developmental Reading Course, Margaret J. O'Kerns

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This grounded theory research study investigated one active reading strategy, note taking, with a goal of creating student-centered, evidence-based curriculum for the developmental reading instructor. Sixteen students participated in a two-part session: a semi-structured interview and a think aloud of an assigned, academic text. The students were asked to discuss their attitudes regarding reading, both academically and for pleasure, and about any previous reading instruction. They were then observed reading their assigned text, an expository article, and queried as to their use (or not) of any note taking procedures or strategies. As an outcome of this study, it became apparent …

Instructional Practices Associated With Science Proficiency Of English Language Learners, Sherly Yadira Soto-Ortiz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe study addressed the gap in fifth-grade science proficiency between English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in two different science programs in a large school district in the Southeast United States. The Inspire program was implemented in 125 schools, while a combination of Inspire and Promoting Science among English Language Learners (PSELL) developed to facilitate science learning for non-English learners, was implemented in 25 schools. A concurrent mixed-methods case study design was used to examine how instructional practices of each program were (1) aligned with the instructional framework of the Sheltered Instructional Observation Protocol (SIOP), (2) how the two programs supported …

Teacher Perceptions Of Junior High Student Reading Motivation When Using Authentic Audiences, Cynthia Wise Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Reading achievement at the junior high level continues to be a concern in the United States and research has indicated that decreased reading motivation is one possible reason. Researchers have established that the use of authentic audiences leads to increased motivation and achievement at the elementary, high school, and college levels but have yet to demonstrate the same findings at the junior high level. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore teacher perceptions of how the use of authentic audiences influences the reading motivation, autonomy, and feelings of relatedness of junior high students. The conceptual framework for …

Invited Dialogue: Mapping The Intersections Of Religion, Literacy, And Public Schooling For Displaced, Immigrant, And Refugee Children: A Conversation With Loukia K. Sarroub, Jennifer D. Turner, Loukia K. Sarroub

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

Drawing on her award-winning research, Dr. Loukia K. Sarroub explains how teachers can help displaced, immigrant, and refugee youth navigate literacy, religion, and success in public schools.

This column features Dr. Loukia K. Sarroub and her award-winning research on how Arab Muslim refugee and immigrant youth navigate religion, gender, and literacy in school. Dr. Sarroub is a professor of literacy studies, education, and linguistics, and she serves as the graduate programs chair in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was the recipient of the LRA Edward B. Fry Book Award for All …

Picturing Dual Language And Gentrification: An Analysis Of Visual Media And Their Connection To Language Policy, Edmund T. Hamann, Theresa Catalano

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

Dual language (DL) programs propose to be vehicles of social justice and transformation by valuing an additional language other than the dominant one in a society and thereby contesting language hierarchies and the subordination of those who speak/use a non-dominant language (Flores, Flores, Educational Policy 30:13–38, 2016; Menken and García, Menken, K., & García, O. (2021). Constructing translanguaging school policies and practices. In: CUNY-New York State Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals (Eds.) Translanguaging and transformative teaching for emergent bilingual students. Project. Routledge, New York.). However, Palmer (Henderson, K. I., & Palmer, D. K. (2020). Dual Language Bilingual Education: Teacher Cases and …

What Educators In Mexico And In The United States Need To Know And Acknowledge To Attend To The Educational Needs Of Transnational Students, Edmund T. Hamann, Víctor Zúñiga

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

This chapter from the edited volume "The Students We Share" explains to both US and Mexican audiences that a persistent number and proportion of K-12 students continue to circulate between both countries and thus that it is a challenge for both countries' education systems—including teacher preparation, curriculum, assessment, etc.—to see how students' knowledge and experience from the other system is both salient to their new schooling in a new country and valuable for how it will contribute to their future means for negotiating adulthood.

Development Of A Curriculum Based On Content And Language Integrated Learning And Competency-Based Education For Enhancing Business English Writing Ability Of Undergraduate Students, Meassnguon Saint

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The purposes of this study were 1) to develop a curriculum based on content and language integrated language learning and competency-based education for enhancing business English writing ability of undergraduate students 2) to investigate the effectiveness of a developed curriculum. The research and development process consists of four phases: 1) studying the research problem and significance, and learning approaches, 2) developing a curriculum based on content and language integrated learning and competency-based education, 3) studying the effectiveness of the developed curriculum, and 4) revising and improving the developed curriculum. This pre-experimental research involved 13 undergraduate students in the business major …

การพัฒนารูปแบบการเรียนการสอนตามทฤษฎีการจัดการความหมายร่วมกันและแนวคิดการอ่านบทละครเพื่อส่งเสริมความสามารถในการพูดสื่อสารภาษาญี่ปุ่นสำหรับผู้เรียนระดับต้น, กวิตา ฟองสถาพร

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การวิจัยนี้เป็นการวิจัยและพัฒนา มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อพัฒนาและศึกษาประสิทธิผลของรูปแบบการเรียนการสอนตามทฤษฎีการจัดการความหมายร่วมกันและแนวคิดการอ่านบทละครเพื่อส่งเสริมความสามารถในการพูดสื่อสารภาษาญี่ปุ่นสำหรับผู้เรียนระดับต้น การดำเนินการวิจัยแบ่งเป็น 4 ระยะ ได้แก่ 1) ศึกษาข้อมูลพื้นฐานเพื่อใช้ในการพัฒนารูปแบบการเรียนการสอน 2) พัฒนารูปแบบการเรียนการสอน 3) ศึกษาประสิทธิผลของรูปแบบการเรียนการสอนที่พัฒนาขึ้น 4) นำเสนอรูปแบบการเรียนการสอนฉบับสมบูรณ์ ตัวอย่างคือ นักเรียนระดับมัธยมศึกษาปีที่ 5 ศิลป์ภาษาญี่ปุ่น ณ โรงเรียนแห่งหนึ่งในกรุงเทพฯ จำนวน 11 คน เลือกตัวอย่างแบบเจาะจง ระยะเวลาในการดำเนินการทดลอง 4 วงจร ต่อเนื่อง 16 สัปดาห์ รวม 48 คาบ เครื่องมือที่ใช้ในการวิจัย ได้แก่ แบบทดสอบความสามารถในการพูดภาษาญี่ปุ่นร่วมกับเกณฑ์การให้คะแนนแบบรูบริคส์ที่พัฒนาขึ้น วิเคราะห์ข้อมูลด้วยสถิติเชิงพรรณนาและสถิติทดสอบ Wilcoxon signed - rank test ผลการวิจัยสรุปได้ ดังนี้ 1. รูปแบบการเรียนการสอนที่พัฒนาขึ้นมีหลักการสำคัญ 4 ประการ ได้แก่ 1) การเรียนรู้ภาษาและวัฒนธรรมจะเกิดขึ้นดีผ่านการทำความเข้าใจบทละครที่เสมือนจริง ทำให้ผู้เรียนคุ้นเคยกับภาษาและเห็นความเชื่อมโยงระหว่างภาษา ลักษณะการใช้ภาษา และวัฒนธรรมอย่างเป็นรูปธรรม 2) การเรียนรู้ผ่านกระบวนการกลุ่ม จะช่วยส่งเสริมผู้เรียนเกิดการแลกเปลี่ยนเรียนรู้ช่วยเหลือซึ่งกันและกันระหว่างการทำกิจกรรม จะทำให้การเรียนรู้มีประสิทธิภาพยิ่งขึ้น 3) การเรียนรู้ที่เปิดโอกาสให้ผู้เรียนได้ฝึกพูดผ่านการแสดงละคร จะส่งเสริมให้ผู้เรียนใช้ภาษาที่ถูกต้องตามหลักภาษาและเหมาะสมกับบริบทต่างๆ 4) การเรียนรู้จะเกิดได้ดี หากมีการสะท้อนคิดการเรียนรู้และแลกเปลี่ยนข้อมูลย้อนกลับ ทำให้รู้จุดแข็งและจุดที่ต้องนำไปพัฒนาต่อไป โดยรูปแบบการเรียนการสอนที่พัฒนาขึ้นประกอบด้วย 4 ขั้นตอน ได้แก่ 1) รู้ภาษาอย่างเข้าใจ 2) นำภาษาไปฝึกฝน 3) แสดงละครกระตือรือร้น 4) สะท้อนคิดสู่การพัฒนา 2. ประสิทธิผลของรูปแบบการเรียนการสอน พบว่า คะแนนเฉลี่ยของความสามารถในการพูดสื่อสารภาษาญี่ปุ่นในภาพรวมและจำแนกตามองค์ประกอบหลังการทดลองสูงกว่าก่อนการทดลองอย่างมีนัยสำคัญทางสถิติที่ระดับ .05 และความสามารถในการพูดสื่อสารภาษาญี่ปุ่นของนักเรียนมีการเปลี่ยนแปลงในทิศทางที่ดีขึ้น

Academic Goal Orientation: New Insights And Cultural Adaptation Of Academic Goal Orientation Questionnaire Into The Turkish Language, Fuat Findikoglu, Mehmet Gurol

Georgia Educational Researcher

This study aims to review and provide new perspectives for academic goal orientation. The study introduces first chronological history of goal orientation and depicts how goal orientation evolved into a new construct in learning from the discussion on motivational factors. At first, this study isolates goal orientation from motivation and provides novel insights into goal orientation as a separated factor affecting learning. Then, this study provides analyses of the adaptation work of the academic goal orientation questionnaire into the Turkish language. The translated scale was applied to a sample of 729 undergraduate students, 376 (51.6%) of which were female and …

Virtual Empowerment: The Exploration Of Leadership Aspirations Of Young Nepali Girls Using Virtual Participatory Action Research, Sara Safari

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Adolescent girls in developing countries, especially those from impoverished backgrounds, face many challenges, such as cultural preference for sons, child marriage, and gender-based violence and harassment, which limit their access, opportunities, and leadership skills. The purpose of this study was to create a virtual empowerment and leadership program for young women based on extant literature, as well as best practices empowerment programs from South East Asia and empirical data. The main goal of the study using Virtual Participatory Action Research (V-PAR) was to organically create a leadership development program where the participants are the developers of the program. The goal …

Educating For Global Competence: Co-Constructing Outcomes In The Field: An Action Research Project, Kristina A. Van Winkle

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Capacity building for globally competent educators is a 21st Century imperative to address contemporary complex and constantly changing challenges. This action research project is grounded in positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship, relational cultural theory, and relational leadership practices. It sought to identify adaptive challenges educators face as they try to integrate globally competent teaching practices into their curricula, demonstrate learning and growth experienced by the educators in this project, and provide guidance and solutions to the challenges globally competent educators face. Six educators participated in this three-phase project, which included focus groups, reflective journal entries, and an exit interview. Data …

Languages, Cultures, And Identities: Cross-Cultural Experiences Of Hbcu Students In A Study Abroad Program In Costa Rica, Irina M. Tedrick

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation was to illuminate how an immersive study abroad program enabled my Black and African American Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) students to have meaningful language acquisition, cultural exploration, and identity expansion experiences. The methods used in this research reflect the qualitative narrative nature of the cross-cultural narrative inquiry (He, 2003, 2006, 2010; Phillion & He, 2008; Phillion et al., 2009; Sharma & Phillion, 2021). Thus, to accurately capture the participants’ stories, I employed a variety of methods, gathering data through semi-structured interviews and the collection of personal artifacts, such as journal writings, pictures, and …

Countering The "Phenomenology Of Whiteness": The Nation Of Islam's Phenomenology Of Blackness, E. Anthony Muhammad

Curriculum, Foundations & Reading: Faculty Publications

The Nation of Islam (NOI) has intrigued American society since its inception in 1930. Historically, the religio-nationalist organization has been the object of admiration for its uncanny ability to reform the lives of downtrodden blacks. At the same time, the NOI has garnered condemnation for the controversial, racialized and divisive doctrine that it espouses. This condemnation has led to a dismissal of the NOI’s doctrine as reactionary, bigoted, and fanciful myth-making. In recent decades however, scholars have begun interrogating the doctrine of the NOI. Rather than dismissing it, scholars in various fields have recognized the critical and phenomenological nature of …

Bridging The Informal And Formal Learning Spaces With Whatsapp, Tutaleni I. Asino, Nandita Gurjar, Perien Boer

Faculty Publications

When it comes to digital-based learning, the question of engagement and presence is often focused on online learning involving traditional computing devices such as desktop computers or laptops. However, in areas where mobile devices are the most widely used computing technology, engagement and interaction between teachers and students looks different. In many parts of the world, interactions between individuals takes place through mobile texting applications to bridge formal and informal learning spaces.

One of the most popular mobile tools is WhatsApp, a free cross-platform mobile application that allows users to make calls (voice) and send messages (text). The app averages …

Exploring The Impact Of Field-Based Supervision Practices In Teaching For Social Justice, Detra Price-Dennis, Erica Colmenares

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The purpose of this study is to understand how field-based supervisory practices support preservice teachers’ conceptualizations of reflective practice, curriculum inquiry, and social justice-oriented pedagogies. Moving away from the more traditional supervisory triad model (e.g., preservice student--cooperating teacher--university supervisor), our qualitative investigation examined five supervisory practices: formal observation, Lesson Study, video debriefs/observations, guided observations, and participation in Intellectual Learning Communities (ILCs). Through a case study of two preservice teachers, this study highlights how these supervisory practices helped support preservice teachers’ notions of reflective practice and curriculum inquiry but did not deepen their notions of social justice and inclusivity.