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Reimagining Traditional Education Through Humanizing Models Of Personalized Learning: Examining Implementation In The Midwest, Laura R. Garland

Dissertations of Practice

ABSTRACT

REIMAGINING TRADITIONAL EDUCATION THROUGH HUMANIZING MODELS OF PERSONALIZED LEARNING: EXAMINING IMPLEMENTATION IN THE MIDWEST

Laura Garland, EdD

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Northern Illinois University, 2025

Michael Manderino, Director

This qualitative document analysis, supported by semi-structured interviews, investigated the ways in which three Midwestern, K-12 public school districts implemented humanizing models of personalized learning, as a method of shifting from a traditional, teacher-centered instructional paradigm to a learner-centered one. Additionally, it sought to identify how the pedagogical attributes employed in participant districts explicitly and implicitly aligned with humanizing pedagogies. Participant districts were chosen based on their relationship with the …

The Perceptions Of Directors And Supervisors Of Guidance As It Pertains To Counselors Preparing High School Students For Their Future Careers, Kitty R. Klein

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Early career awareness is essential in guiding students to explore their strengths and interests. Counselors serve as vital constituents in helping students foster academic and personal growth, while also providing opportunities to build salient ramps for career exploration. Although professional literature has recognized the vital role school counselors have in promoting college and career readiness, limited research has examined how their efforts are perceived by individuals in supervisory and administrative roles. Hence, the purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of directors and supervisors of guidance on the importance and existence of career development practices. Understanding how high …

Southern Adventist University Undergraduate Catalog 2024-2025, Southern Adventist University

Catalog, Undergraduate

Southern Adventist University's undergraduate catalog for the academic year 2024-2025.

Exploring Educator Perceptions Of The Impact Of Career And Technical Education On Student Outcomes, Michael J. Mosca

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

This qualitative study demonstrated the benefits of Career and Technical Education (CTE) over the traditional educational system and identified key components necessary to implement CTE programs in smaller-sized secondary schools, like those found in the Long Island Region of New York. Although an abundance of research existed on the benefits of CTE, these studies focused on programs in large school districts with high student enrollment and, most often, multiple high schools. Long Island consisted of school districts that are unique from other geographical locations in that its school districts are community based and 87% contain a single high school with …

The Impact Of Gender On Literacy Engagement, Perception, And Academic Practice In Grades 3–12, Dennis John Wickes Jr.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Gender disparities in literacy persist across the globe, shaping academic and career opportunities in profound ways. Despite advances in educational research and interventions, boys continue to trail their female counterparts in literacy from an early age, and this gap persists. The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in students’ self-perception, academic practice in literacy-based tasks, and enjoyment of these activities. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was employed. Participants included students in Grades 3–12 from international sites in the United States, the Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, recruited through convenience and purposive sampling based on site access and …

Commotio Cordis In The Introductory Classroom, Gregory A. Dilisi, Linda M. Dilisi, Mojtaba E. Youssefi, Richard A. Rarick, Carmela M. Dilisi

2025 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

A Teacher Preparation Program's Stakeholders' Perceptions Since Campus Closure Due To Covid-19, Laurie J. Mccormick

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

COVID-19 closed colleges and forced faculty and students to learn a new way of teaching and learning. Like most institutions, Marshall University’s College of Education and Professional Development struggled to provide the practicum experience required for teacher preparation when most public schools shifted to remote learning. This qualitative study investigated the reactions of, and ongoing impact on, a university’s college of education’s administrators, faculty, undergraduates, the institution’s instructional designers, and the Counseling Center’s director when the campus closed spring of 2020 due to the pandemic. Initial and ongoing challenges faced, and strategies implemented were categorized by the four themes that …

Leadership And Change From Within: An Honors College And Ctl Partnership, Connie M. Schroeder, Hilary K. Snow

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Scaling sustainable change in teaching and learning is an institutional priority in higher education, yet often it is elusive, given the decentralized and siloed academic landscape. Most colleges and departments lack the necessary expertise to design and implement scaled change or the critical organizational structures to sustain change. Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) seek to advance improvement in teaching and learning and highlight improving institutional culture as part of their mission. Reliance on traditional programming and consultations, however, primarily targets individual change versus scaled or sustainable change.

The successful process of change at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Honors College …

A Faculty Inquiry Group For The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning In Honors, Kevin Sackreiter, Rebecca C. Bott-Knutson, Christine Larson, Evren Celik-Wiltse

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

This chapter details a collaboration between the Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College and the Center for Professional Enrichment and Teaching Excellence (CPETE), formerly known as the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), at South Dakota State University (SDSU). This collaboration launched an Honors Faculty Inquiry Group (FIG) on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Greater philosophical themes, such as the desire to normalize scholarly emphasis on teaching and learning and how honors faculty can serve as teaching leaders on campus, will be explored in addition to the practical details and outcomes of the collaboration.

Staar 2.0 Redesign: Literacy Implications For New Critical Questions, Carol Revelle Phd, Bambi Hobelman, Natasha Reeves, Steve Tiemann

2024-2025 Bill Martin Jr. Yearbook

STAAR 2.0 includes new question types across all content areas and grade levels that are unfamiliar to educators and students. These new question types include short constructed responses (SCRs), multiselect questions, multipart questions, and extended responses. Educators and students should be aware of the literacy demands required with these changes. This article will describe the new question types, analyze the skills required to attack the questions, consider the literacy significance for the different content areas, and provide instructional support for educators.

Launching Cures In Non-Traditional Settings: How One Honors Program Propels Primary Research For The Institution, Kathryn M. Macdonald

Honors in Practice Online Archive

This essay considers how course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) can drive original research. Honors students in career-oriented majors (accounting, hospitality management, health services administration, criminal justice) develop primary research studies that are proposed for institutional review and then conducted within a specific population across the university. The author describes the CURE model within an honors curriculum, observing that it actively engages students in the full research cycle from conceptualization to dissemination and fosters critical thinking, methodological rigor, and ethical awareness. The author recommends its use in either group or individual settings to honors programs seeking to position students as active …

Sharing The Stage With The Future: Humans And Robots Together At Last, Donna L. Clevinger

Honors in Practice Online Archive

This essay presents a co-curricular collaboration bringing ancient comedy to a modern audience. Students and faculty at a large, public R1 university combine art and engineering to create a STEAM-based approach to theatrical production. The author describes how integrating classical text, creative expression, and transformational technologies demonstrates that collaboration between disciplines can produce gains for each, fostering advancements and human understanding that would be unattainable independently. Script writing, casting, stage production, and outcomes are presented.

Honors Thesis Proposal Course Components, Lynn Stallings, Anete Vásquez

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Completion of an undergraduate thesis can be a transformational experience for honors students because they learn that they can contribute original intellectual thought to the record of scholarly knowledge. This essay considers how the misconceptions and challenges of an honors thesis can discourage students from undertaking the task. Authors describe the design, delivery, sequencing, resources, and administration of a junior-level thesis proposal course aimed at abating student anxiety over and supporting faculty engagement of thesis work. The Hopscotch Model, a tool to help novice researchers thoroughly design qualitative research studies while learning the philosophical underpinnings of a particular form of …

Toward A Welcoming Classroom: Assessment Of Student Perceptions Of Writing Education In Introductory Honors College Courses, Hilary K. Snow

Honors in Practice Online Archive

This study examines student perceptions of an introductory-level writing program in honors at a large, public R1 university. Author considers the efficacy of pedagogical interventions aimed at identifying gaps in the experience of writing for students from BIPOC and first-generation backgrounds and at developing more inclusive teaching practices. Collective revisions to the program’s writing philosophy, objectives, and rubrics helped instructors gain clarity and consistency across sections. A two-part survey was conducted at the beginning and end of the semester, and metrics were calculated for all respondents (N = 176) and targeted subgroups (n = 37; n = 30). …

Ally With Ai: An Icebreaker To Unlock Career Aspirations For Online Or Hybrid Organizational Behavior Cohorts, Jyro B. Triviño

Leadership and Strategy Faculty Publications

Modern organizational behavior classroom, which are increasing in size, diversity, and complexity, are shifting to online and hybrid learning environments, challenging the use of traditional icebreaker activities. This paper introduces a 15-minute icebreaker designed to address these issues while integrating the principles of Kolb's experiential learning theory and fostering social capital through peerr engagement in an online setting. By leveraging the availability of generative AI, students prompt a template code to unlock their career aspirations and stimulate social connections among their classmates. This provides an innovative teaching model for meeting the foundational icebreaker goal while serving a suitable tool for …

Colby College Catalogue 2025-2026, Colby College

Colby Catalogues

No abstract provided.

Understanding Middle School Teachers’ Content Knowledge And Pedagogical Content Knowledge For Effective Teaching Of The Nature Of Science, Austin C. Wilson

Curriculum and Instruction (Ed.D.) Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine middle school science teachers’ knowledge of the nature of science (NOS) and their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching NOS. Developing students’ scientific literacy requires teachers who not only understand NOS but also know how to effectively integrate it into classroom instruction. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study investigated in-service middle school science teachers’ NOS content knowledge (NOS-CK), their NOS-PCK, the relationship between these two constructs, and the extent to which demographic variables predicted teacher knowledge. NOS-CK and NOS-PCK data were collected from 61 teachers in a large suburban district through the Views …

Teaching Object-Oriented Design Through Interactive Uml: A Dual-Approach Framework For Code-Based Generation And Direct Diagram Manipulation, Moses Kayuni

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis introduces an interactive educational framework for teaching object-oriented design through UML class diagrams. The framework implements a dual-approach methodology: code-based generation, where students write Java code that automatically transforms into UML diagrams, and direct diagram manipulation, where students build diagrams by interacting with highlighted terms in problem descriptions. This approach addresses common challenges in teaching UML, including cognitive load difficulties, visualization problems, and the disconnect between code implementation and visual design. Built on the Mermaid diagramming framework, the system features a React frontend for diagram creation and manipulation, and a Flask backend that handles some code parsing and …

The Impact Of Leadership Curriculum On High School Students’ Self-Efficacy, Shannon R. Brown

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This explanatory sequential mixed methods-case study design grounded in Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory, examines the impact of leadership development curriculum on high school students’ perceived levels of self-efficacy as well as researching characteristics students report are most important for strengthening their self-efficacy. Quantitatively, via convenience non-probabilistic sampling, an online Qualtrics questionnaire was used to collect data from 17 students currently in high school who were enrolled in a one-semester leadership development course in their junior or senior year. Qualitatively, six students who completed the questionnaire participated in semi-structured interviews. Additionally, nine students who completed the questionnaire provided three different reflective artifacts …

Using The Foundational Numeracy Transformation Cycle To Gain Insights And Perspectives On Teaching And Learning, Brooke Custis

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The Foundational Numeracy Transformation Cycle (FNTC) was created in part to increase the percentage of students with disabilities performing at or above grade level in middle school mathematics. Through professional development and support, the FNTC worked within regional co-ops to increase math proficiency at all grade levels by building instructional capacity in primary educators. In addition to increasing student proficiency, the FNTC also aimed to enhance educator confidence in implementing Mathematical Teaching Practice (MTP) #2. This study used quantitative analysis to determine that participation in the FNTC had no statistically significant effect on student achievement. This study also explored the …

The Role Of Faith-Based Adult Education In Black And Marginalized Communities, Brian Jones

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how faith-based and strengths-based adult education programs impact the cognitive well-being, life purpose, and socioeconomic outcomes of Black, and marginalized adult learners. The research seeks to understand the lived experiences of participants, motivations, and barriers to inform more inclusive and effective adult education practices. Additionally, the study aims to understand what impact these organizations are having on the self-efficacy, socioeconomic outcomes of Black and marginalized students, while looking to align areas for improvement. While the study uses quantitative methods to answer research question, the focus of questions bring insight that would …

Middle School Students’ Perceptions Of Social And Emotional Learning, Janelle Butler

Curriculum and Instruction (Ed.D.) Dissertations

This mixed methodology study analyzed the perceptions of middle school students at a rural middle school in the Southeast United States, as they experience social and emotional learning lessons. Data was explored through the lens of the subgroups of gender, grade level, and ethnicity in order to fully conceptualize the unique perspective of Black students. Through convenience sampling study participants were recruited from individuals who were currently participating in social and emotional learning lessons at the research site resulting in a total of 66 participants. Six case representatives were selected from those that participated in the survey for follow-up semi-structured …

Transitive Pedagogy In Creative Teaching: The Lived Experiences Of K–6 Teachers Who Intentionally Adapt For Creativity, Rebekah Marie Andersen

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

Creative pedagogy in the K–6 classroom is being increasingly recognized as an essential tool for increasing student engagement, practicing critical thinking, and fostering higher-order learning. However, research gaps in creative pedagogy are contextualized accounts of teacher thinking, planning, and enactment of strategies for student creativity. This study explored the lived experiences of teachers as they constructed and enacted creative lesson adaptations and how they identified and supported creative behaviors in students. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed, involving semi-structured think-aloud and stimulated recall interviews with five K–6 teachers who consistently adapt instruction to promote student creativity. Findings revealed that; (a) …

Investigating Teacher Self-Efficacy And Teacher Attitudes Toward Stem In North Carolina High School Science And Mathematics Classrooms, Kelly J. Ruff

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if North Carolina high school science and mathematics teachers differ in their STEM teacher self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and attitudes toward STEM instructional practices. The data collection instrument used in this study was the T-STEM survey. Science and math teachers voluntarily participated in the study and answered Likert-type survey items focusing on STEM teacher self-efficacy, STEM instructional practices, and outcome expectancy. Additionally, study participants answered demographic questions on gender, years of teaching experience, and the type of degree earned. Sub-scores for each survey section were calculated and analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistical …

Teacher Training For Diversity: Analyzing Inclusive And Intercultural Education In Early Childhood Degrees Of Three Universities Located In Spain, France And Columbia, Odet Moliner, Aida Sanahuja, Daniel Niclot, Mariaangelica Yazzo

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study examines the integration of inclusive and intercultural education principles in the Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education at three Universities located in Spain, France and Colombia. An analysis of 116 course syllabi is conducted to identify the specific references to Universal Design for Learning, accessibility, inclusion, diversity and interculturality. A second content analysis was conducted to categorize the units of meaning into four categories and determine the predominant underlying approach to the use of the term 'inclusion' in each degree program. The results indicate that the concepts of accessibility and UDL are the least represented, followed by …

Flags As Symbols Of Place: Unpacking Geographic Meaning And Identity In Student Flag Designs, Carlos A. Morales-Ramirez

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Flags have been around for centuries; however, vexillology, the study of flags, was not officially coined until the 1960s. Despite this, there is still a need for more scientific and empirical research. Using qualitative arts-based research (ABR) methodology, this study investigates the creative journey of students in an undergraduate geography course as they design a flag for a place of their choosing. Students were asked to interpret the concept of ‘place’ through their flag designs while also incorporating flag design principles. The results showed that participants selected places tied to themes such as hometown, family, love, memories, and culture often …

Where Honors Education And Faculty Development Meet, John Zubizarreta, Victoria M. Bryan

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs

Development is a contradictory terrain, as seen in the persistence of multiple and conflicting goals, uneven and unequal outcomes, and varied definitions and approaches to teaching and learning in higher education. How might universities support faculty development as a process rather than as isolated educational events? This collection highlights inherent complexities and challenges in sustained professional development and presents new ways of supporting faculty and designing curricula to encourage learning-centered teaching, experiential learning, collaborative undergraduate research, progressive forms of assessment, and other dynamic, inspiring forms of instruction. Engaging in interdisciplinary thinking ranging from Education and Education Policy, Biochemistry, Philosophy, Environmental …

Exploding The Silos: How Honors And Cetl Collaboration Can Transform Faculty Development, Christine Larson, Evren Celik-Wiltse, Kevin Sackreiter, Rebecca C. Bott-Knutson

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

The Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL) at South Dakota State University (SDSU) developed the Faculty Fellows program in the fall of 2018 to provide faculty in each academic college with a peer mentor who would offer tailored professional development opportunities.

Chaos To Confidence: Claiming Your Classroom, Lashae Tietsort, Dasha Glover, Keyana Jackson, Shanel Beason

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

Nearly half of educators reported that students' behaviors were “a lot worse” than in 2019 before the pandemic (Peetz, 2025). Since COVID, teachers report that students are more prone to misbehavior and defiance, less socially skilled and emotionally mature, less motivated, focused, and present in class, and academically behind, struggling with attendance (Macias, 2024).

The goal of this professional learning module is to equip educators with research-based strategies for establishing a clear classroom vision, implementing effective procedures and expectations, and fostering strong relationships with students and their families. These strategies aim to enhance student engagement and create a supportive learning …

An Interdisciplinary Unit For Today's Learners: Integrating Science, English, And Art To Teach Climate Change, Sydney M. Ruby-Pasternak

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As today’s global challenges grow increasingly complex, interdisciplinary thinking is essential for students to make meaningful connections in their learning. Despite this need, high school students continue to have educational experiences in one-subject classrooms, often preventing them from engaging in integrated learning models. This professional project addresses the gap by developing a five-week interdisciplinary unit titled Brushstrokes of Change, which combines climate science with English language arts and visual arts to amplify student understanding of climate change concepts. This unit was designed for grades 9-12 and prioritizes 21^st-Century skills in critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration through …