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“Let’S Get A Coffee!”: A Transformative International Honors Partnership, Leslie Kaplan, Sophia Zevgoli, Andres Gallo

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Advocates of study abroad have emphasized that semester- and year-long programs offer greater opportunities than short-term programs for students to enhance their personal, academic, and professional development (Dwyer). But can carefully constructed short-term study abroad experiences, which are increasingly popular choices for undergraduates, have similar effects? One study suggests they can achieve important outcomes, such as encouraging tolerance for ambiguity, appreciation for diversity, and openness to experience (Shadowen et al.). Another study shows that even shortterm exposure to other cultures can enhance creativity (Leung et al.), and a third demonstrates that creative problem solving was improved by cultural study in …

Engendering Empathy For Immigrants In Middle Grade Readers Through Culturally Relevant Young Adult Literature, Amy J. Cattapan

Dissertations

This dissertation uncovered the ways through which culturally relevant young adult literature (YAL) engenders empathy for immigrants in middle grade readers. Empathy was displayed through both affective and cognitive responses and resulted in mirror and window moments (Bishop, 1990) as well as crystallizing experiences. Their empathetic responses led students to apply critical literacy skills to issues related to stereotypes, racism, discrimination, and immigration policies.

I conducted a qualitative case study to examine the ways in which reading and discussing YAL about immigrants created empathy in eighth graders in a culturally and linguistically diverse middle school and in what ways it …

Technology-Based Culturally Relevant Chemistry Education (Crce), Mercy Adoma Fosu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The relevance of chemistry concepts and principles remains a challenge for most students enrolled in college chemistry courses. Part of this problem is the disconnect with what students experience in their every-day lives, and how the material, specifically chemistry content is presented via textbooks, lectures, and laboratory teaching. Moreover, the teaching of general chemistry has traditionally focused on traditional, instructor-centric expository delivery of course materials, that treats students as empty vessels devoid of prior knowledge. Students prior knowledge and experiences are crucial in shaping their understanding of scientific concepts and principles. Even students with relatively low expectations for success in …

How Secondary English Language Arts Teachers Determine, Select, And Plan Using Complex Text, April Hughes

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examined how secondary English language arts teachers determined, selected, and planned how to use complex text. Another aim was to detail what resources and instructional activities they found successful in assisting students with diverse, academic, and sociocultural needs. Finally, this study shows the need for additional resources and scaffolding currently absent in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The conceptual framework for this study was based on the RAND™ reading comprehension model.

The descriptive design employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants included secondary level ELA teachers from the Denver Public School system. The teachers took a survey, …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Teaching Of Climate Change, Daniel Diego

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which educators address climate change and the impacts of human activity on the environment in conjunction with the Next Generation Science Standards. This study utilized qualitative methods, a phenomenological methodology informed by Moustakas, and a Systems Theory and Ecojustice Education conceptual framework. The central research questions was: in what ways do educators who are implementing the Next Generation Science Standards address climate change and the impacts of human activity on the environment? The supporting research questions were: in what ways do educators who are implementing the Next Generation Science …

Internationalizing Honors, Kim Klein, Mary Kay Mulvaney

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs

This monograph takes a “holistic approach to internationalization. [It] highlights how honors programs and colleges have gone beyond providing often one-time, short-term international experiences for their students and made global issues and experiences central features of their honors curricular and co-curricular programming. It presents case studies that can serve as models for honors programs and colleges seeking to initiate and further their internationalization efforts and highlights the latest research on the impact of internationalization on our students, campuses, and communities.” * * * “Our hope is that this monograph will serve multiple audiences: faculty wishing to develop new globally focused …

Parent Home-Based Literacy Activities With Third-Grade Students, Erin Antionette Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a widening reading achievement gap for third grade students in a southern state as indicated by declining reading achievement scores of third-grade students on the state standardized assessment over the last few years. The problem in the local setting is that little is known about how the local school district includes home-based literacy activities as an aid to improve literacy instruction and student achievement. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore ways that home-based literacy instruction is currently implemented in the local setting and to capture how parents’ experience this instructional partnership. The conceptual framework …

Investigating Middle School Teachers’ Experiences In Inclusive Classrooms, Jilleane Archie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Meeting the needs of students with disabilities, while implementing research-based instructional strategies in inclusive settings, presents an array of successes and challenges for both general and special education teachers. The problem at the local study site was that both general and special education teachers faced challenges as they implemented inclusion practices to meet the College and Career Readiness Performance Index, Closing Gaps component improvement targets for students with disabilities. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate general and special education teachers’ successes, challenges, and needs as they implemented inclusion practices in middle school classrooms. This study was …

Understanding A Transitional Educational Program For Students With Autism And Intellectual Disabilities, Robin E. Ruiz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of children in U.S. schools diagnosed with autism and intellectual disabilities disorders is increasing and they face low levels of employment after graduation. Without a viable education, including work skills training, these students cannot be successful citizens. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand the experiences and perceptions of educators implementing an innovative transitional secondary education program designed to prepare students who have intellectual disabilities and autism to be successful in college or the workplace. The conceptual framework for this study included the theory of self-efficacy, sociocultural learning theory, differentiated instruction, and experiential learning theory. …

Experiences Of Teachers Of The Deaf Using Project-Based Learning To Build Higher Order Thinking Skills, Susan Joan Elliott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Project-based learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy used to develop higher order thinking skills (HOTS) with a range of student populations. Although all students need to build HOTS for success in the 21st century, PBL studies with deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students were nearly absent; therefore, it was unknown how PBL could be used to develop HOTS with this population. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of teachers of the deaf using PBL to build HOTS with DHH students in the dimensions of pedagogy, product, and process. A self-designed conceptual framework called …

Exploring The Use Of Learner-Centered Instruction With English Language Learners In Social Studies Classrooms, Taraneh Sabouri

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractLearner-centered instructional strategies in social studies are currently ineffective in meeting the learning needs of the ELL population in an urban school in the northeastern United States. Despite English language learner (ELL) supplemental instruction on Saturdays and evenings and professional development for teachers, strategies being used to deliver curriculum have had a marginal effect on learning for ELL students, and the local school board supported the importance of exploring this problem. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore the learner-centered instructional practices used at the study site and how teachers are using Weimer’s learner-centered framework to engage …

High School Teachers’ Perceptions Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Jeffrey Allen Hinton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem at the local site was a gap in practice in that teachers were not using culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) in their delivery of lessons, which may have contributed to an achievement gap between European American and Asian American students and African American and Latinx students. This problem was important because local ACT results indicated that a significant achievement gap existed between these student populations. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers’ use of CRP, which may serve to mitigate the achievement gap. The conceptual framework for this study was self-determination theory. The research questions focused on …

Book Review: Neha Vora, Teach For Arabia: American Universities, Liberalism, And Transnational Qatar, Loukia K. Sarroub

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

With a provocative title that inherently questions who might be served and educated best by the branch campuses of top US universities in Qatar and Gulf states, Vora’s new book debunks some old myths and reminds readers from the outset that “liberalism has Arabian roots” (18). Vora wonders about and studies the transplant of liberal education into “so-called illiberal” countries like Qatar and other Gulf States. Her timely book offers on-the-ground perspectives of students and faculty in these transplant institutions as they engage with curriculum and one another in a new knowledge economy. The book contributes to scholarship about how …

Identity Negotiation In Multilingual Contexts: A Narrative Inquiry Into Experiences Of An African Immigrant High School Student, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba, James Oloo

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

Background/Context: Inclusion of African immigrant youth voices in educational and research discourses remains rare despite the steady growth of this population in the United States over the past four decades. Consequently, the multilingual abilities of these youth remain typically unnoticed or ignored in the classroom, and little is specifically known about their histories, cultures, expectations, and achievements.

Purpose: Using the narrative inquiry approach and the Natural, Institutional, Discursive, Affinity, Learner, and Solidarity (NIDALS) theoretical lens, we explore the lived experiences of one African immigrant high school student in the Midwestern United States.

Research Design: Using narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, …

My Journey On Becoming A Critical Social Justice Educator As A Woman Of Color, America Lopez

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This writing is a narrative that retells different stages throughout my life, including the different experiences I have endured being a graduate student and a first-year teacher at the same time. Its purpose is to share my journey from the beginning to the end of my first year as a teacher. I share my reflections as I continuously look back on how I began to slowly-but surely-develop my criticality lens. While being a graduate student [of color] in a space that was historically and intentionally not created for me, this roller coaster ride has been anything but easy. However, I …

Gazing At Scattered Stars: Immigration Through The Lens Of Elementary Graphic Literature, Jennifer K. Stanerson

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to analyze graphic literature for respectful and authentic portrayals of immigrants to help librarians and classroom teachers build culturally inclusive library collections. The study sought to answer the question of how immigrants are portrayed in elementary level graphic texts. Nine books were chosen utilizing reviews from authoritative sources along with the Wilson’s Children’s Collection and Wilson’s Middle and Junior High Core Collection databases to ensure the study was comprised of high-quality literature. The selected texts were analyzed to determine the themes present in both the text and illustrations. Results of the study found the …

A Descriptive Multicultural Phenomenology For Culturally Responsive Leadership, Christopher J. Kazanjian, David Rutledge, Sandra M. Gandarilla

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

As public schools in the United States continue to diversify in culture, educational leaders committed to multicultural education seek qualitative research methodologies for understanding phenomena in order to build culturally responsive leadership initiatives and interventions. This paper argues that a phenomenological research methodology is appropriate and relevant to understand cultural phenomena in the 21st century school. To serve this, the authors elaborate on a descriptive multicultural phenomenological research methodology for educational leaders. A phenomenological framework positions educational leaders to understand the nature and essence of personal experience. This approach will help educational leaders better understand the experiences of the diverse …

Enhancing English Learners' Academic Resilience: A Professional Development/Learning Design Study, Mabel E Lamprea Altuve

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This professional development/learning design study sought to create, evaluate, and refine a learning experience for English language learning (ELL) teachers that provided them with additional instructional tools to support improvement of Multilingual Learners and English Learners’ (MLs/ELs) academic resilience. MLs/ELs are one of the fastest growing groups of students in U.S. schools with one of the lowest academic performance and graduation rates. These students are also a vulnerable and resilient population that could have been exposed to distressing and adverse experiences. ELL teacher preparation has concentrated on fostering language and literacy development; still, MLs/ELs’ achievement gap fails to close significantly, …

A Story To Tell… How To Integrate The Three Modes Of Communication Through A Story Time Program In French, Frederique Grim

The Coastal Review

Bilingual story time programs found in local community libraries not only benefit children, they can also serve a need for L2 college students: the development of their communicative skills in an authentic environment. In addition to linguistic benefits, experiential learning has proven to prepare students for real-world skills, such as networking, mock professional experience and a sense of community engagement. This paper recounts how a world language story time program supports L2 learners’ three modes of communication, as articulated by ACTFL, and necessary for language development. Based on students’ perceptions, this study highlights their increase in motivation and confidence in …

Google Docs-Mediated Small Group Writing In Arabic As A Foreign Language Classes: Interaction Patterns, Written Text Quality, And Students’ Perceptions, Maher Alkhateeb

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This study used an exploratory holistic single case study design to understand how Arabic as a foreign language (AFL) students completed a small group writing assignment using Google Docs. More specifically, this study investigated the interaction patterns that emerged between the students throughout the writing process, and if a relationship existed between the emerging interaction patterns and the holistic quality of the final written text. This study also explored the content focus of students’ comments and students’ perceptions of Google Docs-mediated small group writing.

Informed by the sociocultural theory in language learning and by drawing on Google Docs comments and …

The Agricorps Experience: A Phenomenology Of International Agricultural Educators, Kendall Mallory Wright

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

With the growing world population, agricultural education may play a role in increasing the production of agricultural products and services in developing nations by improving knowledge and participation in the agricultural field, specifically with regard to the nations’ youth. Few researchers have sought to understand how the experience of teaching agriculture abroad impacts the agricultural educator. The purpose of this dissertation was to understand the essence of an international agricultural educator experience. In this phenomenological study, I interviewed past AgriCorps fellows to examine the lived experiences of fellows, how the fellows were impacted personally and professionally, and the transformative learning …

Differential Effects Of Digital Vs. Print Text On Reading Comprehension And Behaviors In Students With Adhd, Lara Nash Campbell

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This study was conducted using a qualitative single-case, embedded design in a 4th grade elementary classroom with five participants. One purpose of this inquiry was to evaluate the differential effects between digital and print text on reading comprehension of literary texts on students with ADHD. A second purpose of this study was to evaluate and determine the differential effects reading digitally and from print have on specific off and on-task reading behaviors with these same participants. The goal of this research was to generate a comprehensive case description and analysis that will contribute to the evolving theories of best practice …

How The Change To Online Learning Affected Chinese Language Teaching In California Schools Due To The 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic, Jing Ren

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This research study investigates how Chinese language teachers in California made the change from in-person learning to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, how they set up and taught virtual classes and what their reactions were to the online transitions. Teachers utilized various interactive tools and strategies to teach students in their virtual classrooms. Parental involvement with the child’s education at home increased. Some public school district polices caused greater reductions in student participation than others. Teachers applied various communication strategies to engage students in creative ways while teaching online. This together with curriculum development and assessment design required that …

A Study On Teacher Candidates’ Questioning Strategies For English Learners Through An Interactive Classroom Simulation, Alex P. Davies Ph.D., Donita Grissom Ph.D., Michele Regalla Ph.D.

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This study examines a classroom simulation workshop designed for teacher candidates (TCs) to practice questioning strategies with English learners (ELs) at various English proficiency levels, through the lens of sociocultural theory. Data was collected from an assignment in an ESOL methods course consisting of questions that TCs prepared before the simulation, revised after the simulation, and responses to an open-ended questionnaire. Findings show that TCs made their questions comprehensible for beginner level ELs, however, overextended their question modification to both the intermediate and advanced levels. Implications highlight the importance of practicing questioning strategies that are appropriate for all proficiency levels.

Transformative Interviewing And The Experiences Of Multilingual Learners Not Labeled “Ell” In Us Schools, Theresa Catalano, Lydiah Kananu Kiramba, Kara Mitchell Viesca

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

Recent research has documented the ways that schools adapt to increasingly multilingual and multicultural student bodies. This qualitative study explores the schooling experiences of nine K-12 multilinguals not identified as English language learners in US schools. Using “deep interviewing” strategies, the authors expose the racializing function of language, but also semiotic processes such as markedness, iconicity, and erasure and sociological concepts such as habitus that are revealed through analysis of the participants’ discourse about language and schooling. Additionally, the authors illustrate how transformative interviewing practices can spur development of learners’ own agency in creating more equitable learning contexts for themselves.

An Investigation Of Elementary School Teachers’ Culturally Relevant Teaching Practices In Two Cultures: A Comparative Study In China And The United States, Alicia R. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Effective teaching is one of the most important factors in student achievement. Throughout the world, there are high expectations for teacher and student performance. Teachers and students need to navigate the demographic and cultural shifts occurring around the world. Teachers’ cultural awareness and knowledge base of culturally relevant teaching practices is critical to their effectiveness. Based on the need to better understand the cultural responsiveness of teachers, this comparative study investigated elementary school teachers’ culturally relevant teaching practices in China and the U.S. through the use of video-cued ethnography. The following findings were revealed from the study: (a) differences in …

Developing Text-Based Writing And Working Through The Revision Process, Valerie Clark

Masters Theses

A narrative continuation is designed to assess a student’s ability to comprehend a text selection and use their own creativity to redesign the text’s conclusion. This study took a narrative continuation writing assessment and analyzed the process which 41 sixth grade students followed, specifically looking at the prewriting and revision procedures. The goal was to determine if the supports and resources provided were effective for the type of writing and student population. Throughout the process, students’ behaviors which indicated motivation levels were noted (participation in discussions, level of focus, attentiveness, and amount of redirection required). Student work was then reviewed …

Examining Diversity In The Monarch Award, Michele Mcdaniel

Masters Theses

This study explores the 2016 Monarch Award Master List as an educational resource for kindergarten through grade three teachers and librarians. It focuses this exploration by examining how diversity was represented in the text and illustrations of the books in the sample. The Monarch Award is Illinois’ K-3 Kids’ Choice award. Illinois’ children are increasingly diverse, and it is important that they have access to literature that reflects their diversity. The study revealed that diverse characters were portrayed with nuance and respect, but they were still underrepresented on the list. Additionally, diverse characters often had to display extraordinary characteristics to …

Fidelity Of Implementation Of Arts Integration In Middle School English Language Arts, Barbara A. Sanders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An urban middle school in the southern U.S. introduced an arts integration (AI) program, however, student achievement in the English language arts (ELA) has not improved. Therefore, the problem to be investigated through this study is that it has not been determined if AI was implemented into ELA classrooms with fidelity. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of the fidelity of implementation (FOI) of the AI program in the ELA classrooms, as well as school documents and artifacts, to determine whether the delivery of instruction replicated the original instructional design. Guided by Rogers’s FOI …

Googly Eyes And Yard Signs: Deconstructing One Professor’S Successful Rebuffing Of A Right-Wing Attack On An Academic Institution, Theresa Catalano, Ari Kohen

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

Right-wing populism is on the rise worldwide, and political attacks against universities have increased in the United States since the election of Donald Trump. In 2017, an incident occurred at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln which resulted in accusations of hostility toward conservative students. Just over a year later, political forces again attempted to denigrate the university’s reputation, but this time they did not succeed. This (multimodal) positive discourse analysis/ generative critique combines collaborative auto-ethnography to describe the way these events were represented in the media, deconstructing a professor’s methods of countering a right-wing attack on an academic institution. Findings demonstrate …