Digital Commons Network^™

Teaching Juan Rodriguez: Enacting Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy In Elementary Social Studies, Natalie Kuhl

Graduate Student Independent Studies

A fourth grade social studies curriculum and corresponding rationale are presented on the topic of Dominican historical figure Juan Rodriguez, his appearance in the Hudson harbor in 1613, and his legacy as captured by the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute in upper Manhattan. Curricularized racism in education and the responsibility of teachers to correct entrenched curricularized racism is addressed in undertaking the writing of an original curriculum centered on the known scholarship of Juan Rodriguez. As a relatively unknown historical actor and a free man of color from colonial La Española (modern-day Dominican Republic), his story is leveraged to help Dominican …

Cowboy City: An Original Children’S Book, Erica Lynch

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Cowboy City is an original children’s book written for eight to ten year olds that touches on themes of race and representation. Too often the stories of Black cowboys go untold. The book was created to provide children with an accurate portrayal of who the cowboys of the Wild West were, as well as who they are now, while also providing teachers with a tool to introduce the concepts of racial representation throughout history. Told through the voice of nine-year-old Jayden, an African American boy living in the city, Cowboy City follows Jayden’s normal school day, interrupted by an extraordinary …

The Art Curriculum As A Model Approach For Cultivating Higher Order Thinking Skills, Nicole Ross

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

As a life-long learner, I am fascinated by the abyss of knowledge that characterizes and composes a life of consciousness. As a teacher and mentor, I am committed to igniting this quest for knowledge in others and developing effective practices in doing so. The curriculum functions as an invitation to knowledge—or what can be seen as the crux of an education. The question I am most interested in answering is: “how can we most effectively approach curriculum in a way that inspires higher order thinking?” Throughout this study, I examined the factors that go into the formation of curriculum, the …

Access To Culturally Responsive Teaching For English Language Learners : Mainstream Teacher Perceptions And Practice On Inclusion., Tamela N. Compton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation was designed to inform educators, practitioners, and policy makers on equity-based instruction for ELLs by examining secondary teachers’ perceptions and practice on inclusion. A dominant qualitative research design was used for this study. A survey adapted from Reeves (2002) research on secondary teacher’s attitudes and perceptions on the inclusion of English as a Second Language (ESL) student in mainstream classrooms was administered to 212 secondary teachers in three high schools who have shown significant growth in their ESL student enrollment. The study then interviewed six teachers who participated in the survey on their personal experiences with instructing ELLs …

Supporting English Language Learners Inside The Mathematics Classroom: One Teacher’S Unique Perspective Working With Students During Their First Years In America, Amy Marie Fendrick

Research and Evaluation in Education, Technology, Art, and Design

Reflecting upon my personal experiences teaching mathematics to English Language Learners (ELL) in a public high school in Lincoln, Nebraska, this essay largely focuses on the time I spent as the only Accelerated Math teacher in my school building. From 2012 – 2017, I taught three different subjects at this high school: Advanced Algebra, Algebra, and Accelerated Math. This essay highlights why I chose to become a math and ELL teacher, as well as the challenges, issues, struggles, and successes I experienced during my time teaching. I focus on the challenges I faced teaching students who did not share my …

The Impact Of Computer-Based Programs On Middle School Math Achievement, Kenyatta Gilmore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this correlation research study was to investigate the impact of computer-based learning on middle school math achievement of at-risk students. The participants for this study were drawn from a convenience sample of 83 middle school students located in southeastern Georgia. At-risk middle school students were achieving below their grade equivalent and failing to meet local and state proficiency standards. Computer-based instruction was implemented as an intervention to increase student achievement in mathematics. The study used a pretest-posttest control group design and used SPSS software to conduct the statistical analyses using an ANCOVA and t-test. The results indicated …

A Study Of The Teaching Beliefs Of Globe Teachers, Laila Ali

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the teaching beliefs of GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) teachers, and to analyze their pedagogical practices. This study contributes to bridging the gap between our understanding of teachers’ beliefs of teaching science with inquiry and practicing science in class with inquiry. A descriptive research approach was used for both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Data was collected from seventy-two trained GLOBE teachers across the U.S. using Qualtrics.com.

Quantitatively, the pedagogical beliefs of GLOBE teachers were measured using the Beliefs about Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL) questionnaire. Differences between …

A New Model For Creative Education, Carolina Schnapp R.

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project explored the design of a pedagogical model for the development of creativity, targeted for teachers and educational institutions. The development of creativity has become highly relevant over the past few decades, especially with the emphasis given to 21st Century Skills and the responsibility that schools have on fostering these skills. In this project, you will find the ideas based on research and experience, that were the foundation for the model, the creative process behind the design of the model, and the final version. The project was shared with experts who validated parts of the model and opened space …

Empowering Hispanic English Language Learners For Academic Success, Tanya Navarro

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The following senior capstone research project examines the issue of empowerment of Hispanic English Language Learners (ELLs). Through the construction of this literature review and through interviews with various specialists at a middle school level, the following were identified as issues that have impacted the ELL students: academic disparities, dropout rate, modified curriculum, cultural relevance and lack of motivation and aspiration. The result findings indicate that there is a need to implement culturally relevant curriculum and instructions along with language support that could facilitate and empower the ELL students for academic success.

Exploring Experienced Educators' Perspectives On Teacher Professional Development: Potential Implications For English Language Learners, Mary Mann Endress

Theses and Dissertations

Growth in the ELL student population triggers a need for more educators equipped to address the academic and linguistic needs of this growing population. Through a phenomenological case study, this dissertation addresses the following over-arching research question, "What can be learned about the implementation of professional development for teachers of ELLs from the reflections and experiences of former ESL/Bilingual educators?" This dissertation provides a look at PD through the reflective lenses of retired educators who worked directly with ELLs and teachers of ELLs. Data were collected from a questionnaire, interviews and a focus group describes how participants. Through their stories …

In- And Out- Of-School Literacy Practices Of Student Refugees: A Cross-Case Analysis In A South Texas Middle School, Maria L. Mendez

Theses and Dissertations

As the leading U.S. state currently welcoming all kinds of refugees, Texas has a public school system that offers a formal education to refugee students (Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration, 2015). For many student refugees, formal schooling begins in this system. Thus it is important to understand how Texas public schools support the linguistic and academic development of these diverse learners. In order to fill this research gap, this study examines student refugee school-based literacy interactions in the U.S. public school system and how these practices connect or do not connect with the literacy practices these students experience in …

Teaching And Living In La Frontera: Teacher Perceptions Of Mexican Immigrant Students' Lived Experiences With Border Violence, Edith Trevino

Theses and Dissertations

This research is grounded in the truth of my own lived experience with border violence in La Frontera. Gloria Anzaldua (1987), describes the U.S. Mexico border (La Frontera) as an “open wound where the Third World grates against the First World and bleeds”(p. 3). Border violence in La Frontera is discussed in this research through four lenses which create a nexus of intertwined connections within curriculum and education. I use the lens of a grieving displaced daughter, a desperate mother trying to find support for her traumatized child in a failing educational system, a teacher who tries to honor her …

Improving Spatial Visualization Abilities Using 3d Printed Blocks, Vanessa Lebow, Michelle Bernhardt-Barry, Jyotishka Datta

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Spatial visualization abilities have been shown to be a key predictor of success in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. Past research has revealed that women and underrepresented minorities tend to lag behind in spatial visual abilities, however, research has also shown that these skills can be improved with guided practice. This study seeks to examine whether 3D printed aids help spatial visual retention in 6th graders. A modified Purdue spatial visualization test was used as the assessment standard. Students’ mental rotation abilities were assessed before and after the 3D printed aids were administered. Data was collected from five different …

Exploring Existing Innovative Education Models: A Best Practice Guide For A New School Design In Lewiston, Maine, Katie Bosse

Sustainability and Social Justice

The purpose of this research is to both identify best practices in innovative school design and then identify a guide to assist new school design teams on how to make the transition out of current practices of traditional education. First, I describe the current structure of traditional education, the challenges schools face in regard to school structure, community, and academics. Then I examine six public schools that are working to create strategies to address the challenges stated in traditional schools. Through school site visits and interviews with teacher and faculty, I explore the strategies of existing innovative school models and …

Exploring Arabic Emergent Literacy Instruction In Al Ain Private Schools: A Case Study Of Two Teachers, Iman Nader Alamirah

Curriculum and Instruction Theses

The concept of emergent literacy reflects a view of children’s development and learning of language in which the emerging language skills gradually progress in alignment with the developmental aspects of children (Sandvik, van Daal, & Adèr, 2014). This case study aimed at delving into the nature of Arabic emergent literacy instruction by exploring the perceptions and practices of a case of two teachers in one private school in Al Ain city. The questions this study attempted to answer were: (a) what are the perceptions of private schools’ teachers’ in Al Ain regarding the Arabic emergent literacy instruction? (b) What are …

Examining The Effects Of A Content-Based Peer Feedback Writing Intervention In Community College Classrooms, Jennifer M. Gilken

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research has documented that low-level writing skills among postsecondary students are an ongoing concern and contribute to the lack of persistence and degree attainment for community college students (Karp, 2011; Perin, 2013). Since academic writing is a process that develops over time (Perin, 2003), many students require writing support beyond remedial course work for long-term success in more advanced courses (Karp, Hughes, & O’Gara 2010; Perin, 2013; Tapp, 2013). The current study used a Community of Practice (CoP) framework (Lave & Wenger, 1991) to create a content-based peer feedback intervention to examine two key ways in which a content-based peer …

Pathways To Strengthen Multicultural Education. A Book Review Of Citizenship Education And Global Migration: Implications For Theory, Research, And Teaching, Isolde De Groot

Democracy & Education

The edited book Citizenship Education and Global Migration, published by the founding director of the University of Washington’s Center for Multicultural Education, James Banks, offers a rich and multivocal account of conceptual and empirical work on multicultural education in light of persistent—and perhaps intractable—issues that follow from migration movements in the history of mankind, as well as recent shifts in migration patterns. To illustrate the significance of the book, I highlight some of the theoretical frameworks that the authors adopt and some of the teacher initiatives employed within and across different contexts. As a teacher educator in citizenship and …

Deliberating Public Policy Issues With Adolescents: Classroom Dynamics And Sociocultural Considerations, Margaret S. Crocco, Avner Segall, Anne-Lise S. Halvorsen, Rebecca J. Jacobsen

Democracy & Education

Classroom discussion and deliberation have been widely touted in the research literature as a centerpiece of high quality civic education. Empirical studies, however, of such processes are relatively few. In a public policy deliberation on immigration conducted in three Midwestern high schools during the academic year 2015–16, the authors found that analysis of a set of deliberations on the subject of immigration policy in the United States reveals the ways in which sociocultural identity aspects of the settings and participants influenced the processes and dynamics of these classroom events. Reflecting upon this analysis suggests a set of factors that reveal …

From Page To Place: Wordless Picture Books And Field Trips For A 21st Century Curriculum, Margaret Stein

Graduate Student Independent Studies

With the purpose of education being to produce successful world citizens, the educational system must grow with the changing economic and social climate. Operating in a creative and knowledge-based economy, students educated in the 21st Century must be in an environment that fosters creativity, critical thinking, and recognition of complex patterns in order to thrive in the new economic structures. Proposing a curricular sequence using wordless picture books and field trips to develop and strengthen these skills, this paper focuses on the growth of literacy in all forms as the strongest foundation for creating curious and life-long learners. Utilizing the …

Eliciting Student Voice To Explore The Need For Culturally Responsive Teaching In Secondary Schools, Henna Lopez Rahimi

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

The aim of this research was to elicit student voice in regard to school climate, belonging, racial identity, and culturally responsive teaching, to glean a greater understanding of the academic achievement gap in a secondary school with predominantly White students and a minority group of students of color. Current studies are limited when it comes student perspective on the effects of culturally responsive teaching, identity formation, belonging, and school climate in this specific demographic. The purpose of this research is to discover how students experience culturally responsive practices and to understand how school programs, extracurricular programs, and actions by other …

Public Education For Democracy: Teaching Immigrant And Bilingual Children As Equals, Luis E. Poza, Sheila M. Shannon

Faculty Publications

This theoretical essay offers a genealogical analysis (Foucault, 1975) that problematizes the idea of “public” with respect to schooling immigrant and bilingual students. “Public” has been reconfigured in ways that privilege hegemonic whiteness, resulting in policies and practices such as standardized testing, for example, that primarily evaluate, sort, and penalize (Foucault, 1975) schools serving these students. We contend that testing’s pernicious impacts stem from a raciolinguistic project of American identity (Flores & Rosa, 2015). Educators, adapting to the tests (Freire, 1974), cement linguistic and racial hierarchies. Referencing classrooms from our teaching and empirical work, we argue for teacher education that …

The Impact Of Responsive Partnership Strategies On The Satisfaction Of Co-Teaching Relationships In Early Childhood Classrooms, Caroline Lee Hulin

LSU Master's Theses

BACKGROUND: Lack of coordinated action between two adults in the classroom can lead to disjointed instruction for young children and teacher stress (Masterson, 2015; Nilsson, 2015). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to measure the effects of a Responsive Partnership Strategies intervention (Masterson) on teacher satisfaction with their co-teaching relationship. METHODS: Teachers were observed within the context of their classroom and during weekly planning sessions to record Responsive Partnership Strategies. Following baseline observations, teachers completed the Teaching Models Identification (Appendix B), Relationship Satisfaction Questionnaire (Appendix C), and the Responsive Partnership Strategies Checklist (Appendix D). The Responsive Partnership …

Culturally Responsive Teaching With Visual Art In The Social Studies, Julie Anne Taylor, Okezie Iroha, Vito Valdez

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This article explores high school students’ perceptions of visual arts integration in the social studies. In an all-boys, public school in a major metropolis in the Midwest, lessons on art by African American and Mexican artists were introduced in a social studies classroom. To assess the impact of the program, the students’ anonymous responses to two surveys and their work on a collaborative, digital portfolio were analyzed. The findings of this study suggest that arts integration in the social studies increases students’ interest in learning, appreciation of culture, and understanding of history.

The Hidden Curriculum Of Teach For America, Andrew Hartman

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

By way of a close reading of Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp's two books, this article examines TFA's role in the so-called education reform movement, and offers a critique of TFA and the movement.

Author Biography:

Andrew Hartman is an associate professor of history at Illinois State University. For the 2013-14 academic year, he will be on leave from ISU as the Fulbright Danish Distinguished Chair in American Studies at the University of Southern Denmark. Hartman teaches and researches 20^th Century U.S. History with a focus on intellectual history. He also is one of the faculty members in …

What Are We Teaching When We Teach About Religion?, Matthew Paul Schunke

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This article examines issues and difficulties with teaching and study religion in the university. Topics discussed include the distinction of religious studies and theology, the problem of apologetics in religious studies, and the role of the scholar of religion in relation to the subject matter.

The Role Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In The Preparation Of Secondary Teacher Candidates For Successful Teaching Of Diverse Learners: A Multiphase Mixed Methods Case Study, Rosalyn Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

The dramatic demographic shift occurring in this country makes it essential that our nation examines its policies, practices, and values as they relate to culturally diverse learners. That this student population remains underserved needs immediate attention. One arena that can become a part of the solution to the underachievement of diverse learners is teacher education and preparation programming.

The purpose of this research study was to give attention to this issue and to understand what an urban teacher education program (UTEP) with an educational equity and social justice mission does to prepare its secondary teacher candidates (STCs) to work successfully …

Brewed Awakening: Re-Imagining Education In Three Nineteenth-Century New Orleans Coffee Houses, Robyn Rene Andermann

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In dominant narratives of the history of education in America, the icon of the American educated citizen has traditionally been rooted in Jeffersonian Democracy, eventually taking shape in the Northern, Anglo-Protestant, Common School Movement in which the availability and acceptance of state-supported public education was a key measure of democratic progress. Within the institution of common schools, individuals were taught how to participate in a democratic society.

This dissertation reimagines the dominant narrative by suggesting that the multiethnic and multilingual nature of New Orleans, which some early American leaders had framed as discordant and disorderly, was vital to constructing an …

Transition With Purpose: Pathways From English Language To Academic Study, Michele Miller, Anne Greenhoe

PDXOpen: Open Educational Resources

This Open Access Textbook will guide students through their English language to academic degree studies.

Part one of this textbook is a guide for moving from ESL study to academic study at Portland State University*. It includes the resources students will use to understand policies and processes governing their degree study and their transition to academic coursework.

Part two focuses on how academic skills are used across various disciplines and is comprised of activities and assignments designed to practice these skills.

Key elements include culture and expectations in an American university, transferring academic skills from ESL to content-specific academic courses, …

Student Engagement Curriculum For The Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus, Michael Angelo Caban

Capstone Collection

This paper is a guide for a student engagement curriculum for the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus(PGMC). Included are the theoretical frameworks for youth empowerment and development, Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and more (LGBTQ+) empowerment, and intercultural training design and facilitation that are at the center and the considerations an intercultural trainer and youth programmer and facilitator should constantly regard. The main purpose of this is to put forth a document that PGMC, as well as any group or organization, can use to empower LGBTQ+ young people, as well as their straight allies, and to develop leaders in their schools …

The Use Of American Sign Language On The Sight Word Acquisition For Primary Elementary English Language Learners, Kaitlin Woodrow

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

While being a language with which to communicate, American Sign Language (ASL) has also been used in some elementary school settings to supplement curriculum for different students. There has been little research, however, on how sign language can be used to teach the specific population of English Language Learners. This is an important student group on which to focus because the number of EL students has consistently increased over the last ten years. With this in mind, teaching professionals need to find the most effective strategies to support their diverse students. Many primary EL students struggle particularly with sight words, …