Digital Commons Network^™

Teach Peacefully: Fostering A Positive And Engaging Classroom Environment, Kate E. Orbon

Community Engagement Student Work

This study explores the impact discipline strategies and classroom management techniques have on both students and teachers. Discipline strategies can positively and negatively affect student engagement, student behaviors, and student self-perception. They can also affect both negatively and positively teacher retention and job satisfaction. Evidence-based practices in peaceful, positive discipline create a learning environment that is engaging, respectful, and collaborative. Discipline strategies that promote connection, collaboration, empowerment, and respect foster the social, emotional, cognitive, and academic wellbeing of students.

Educating For Democracy: Policy Recommendations For The Revitalization Of Civic Learning In The United States, Meghan E. O'Brien

Community Engagement Student Work

The recent decades have brought upon a dramatic shift in the United States’ political and social climate. Increases in ideological polarization and extremism have taken hold as individual trust, knowledge, and participation in democratic processes has declined (Gould et al., 2011). These trends have contributed to the rising severity of social issues facing the United States - climate change, income inequality, systemic racism - as well as an inability to collectively address these issues. The need for a solution to these trends has never been greater as the nation struggles to perfect a democratic structure in which citizens are equitably …

Race And Culturally Responsive Teaching, Sarah Whittier

Community Engagement Student Work

The U.S. population is becoming more diverse with researchers projecting that minorities will be the majority by 2030. These trends are reflected within the education system; however, the racial makeup of educators and whiteness of teacher preparatory programs is not representative of the students, posing educational gaps for all and prompting researchers and educators to investigate best teaching practices. Culturally responsive teaching is a teaching practice in which the educator is aware of the different cultures and identities within and outside of their classroom, incorporates diversity into the curriculum, and challenges Eurocentric values being upheld by traditional education models. Despite …

Raising Cross-Cultural Awareness Among The Undergraduates Through Intentional Design In A Culture Course In The Us—An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Experimental Design, Hua Wang

Dissertations

The cultivation of intercultural competence is a growing trend globally, and integration of intercultural competence into coursework was widely acknowledged as a valid strategy to achieve this goal. The purpose of this study is to examine (1) the effects of the intervention of connecting one’s own culture to affect students' cross-cultural awareness development in American colleges; and (2) students’ perceptions of their own cultural‐awareness changes. Data was collected through pre-and post-questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. This study also compared between-group participants’ posttest ratings on a cross-cultural awareness scale, as well as pre- and post-test ratings within each group. The quantitative and …

Sculpting Organs: An Arts-Based Educational Activity For Anatomy Learning, Annika Gupta

Senior Theses

As an integral component of healthcare, a comprehensive understanding of anatomy is necessary for accurate clinical diagnoses and medical procedures. Beginning in undergraduate classrooms (premedical), there is a need to explore new ways of teaching and learning anatomy to train healthcare professionals. Traditional methods of attending a lecture and reading a textbook may not be the most effective method to learn about anatomical structures—or to engage learners. However, recent studies have reported promising results in the use of arts-based approaches to enhance anatomy learning. Of these, clay sculpting can provide an opportunity for students to participate in an active and …

Understanding The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Honors College Students: A Qualitative Content Analysis, Bibha M. Das, Carmen Walker, Elizabeth Hodge, Tim Christensen, Teal Darkenwald, Wayne Godwin, Gerald Weckesser

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

While the coronavirus crisis altered all facets of life across the globe, its impact on American higher education posed immediate challenges to students and faculty alike. Disruptions in normal, in-person instruction affected all students’ abilities to connect and create, but first-year students and their professors were particularly restricted in areas relating to classroom engagement, interpersonal exchange, and academic support. This pilot study presents first-year experiences of honors students during this time. Using reflective writing exercises, authors examine and assess a range of student responses (n = 98) to this extraordinary circumstance. Qualitative content analyses and coding reveal eight major themes: …

Bridging The Interval: Teaching Global Awareness Through Music And Politics, Galit Gertsenzon

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Inquiry in Global Studies: Music and Politics is a regular course offering in which first-year honors students examine the social and cultural import of music in a global context. This qualitative study examines the practical and pedagogical implications of teaching music and politics during the coronavirus crisis. In a thematic, five-part series analyzing non-Western music both in service to the government and as protest against it, the author describes how students perceived the commonalities and diversities in global culture, history, politics, and society through music while at the same time demonstrating growth in music-making processes and confronting a remote learning …

Holding Tight To Our Convictions And Lightly To Our Ways: Inviting Shared Expertise As A Strategy For Expanding Inclusion, Reach, And Impact, Kylie Korsnack, Leslie Ortquist-Ahrens

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

When the global pandemic forced campuses across the United States to send students home in March 2020, instructors were thrown into triage mode, forced to rapidly transition their on-the-ground classroom curriculum to a format that could be completed remotely by students spread out across the country. At the same time, centers for teaching and learning (CTLs) also entered triage mode, puzzling over how to quickly but effectively provide appropriate training and meaningful support to prepare faculty for this rapid transition (Aebersold et al., 2020). The situation’s urgency, coupled with the significant constraints many CTL directors already experienced, necessitated creative, flexible, …

What Happens When You Close The Door On Remote Proctoring? Moving Toward Authentic Assessments With A People-Centered Approach, Sarah Silverman, Autumn Caines, Christopher Casey, Belen Garcia De Hurtado, Jessica Riviere, Alfonso Sintjago, Carla Vecchiola

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The COVID-19 pandemic made traditionally proctored in-person exams impossible. This article provides a summary of the arguments against institutional adoption of remote proctoring services with a focus on equity, an account of the decision to avoid remote proctoring on the University of Michigan–Dearborn campus, and conclusions and suggestions for other teaching and learning professionals who would like to take a similar approach. Remote proctoring services require access to technology that not all students are guaranteed to have, can constitute an invasion of privacy for students, and can discriminate against students of color and disabled students. Administrators and teaching and learning …

Rebuilding A Teaching Conference In A Pandemic: User-Centered Guiding Principles And Lessons Learned, Laura A. Lukes, E. Shelley Reid

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged educational developers, like instructors across the world, to pivot their traditionally face-to-face faculty development programs to online formats. At the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning at George Mason University (classified as research-intensive and the largest public institution in Virginia, United States), we faced the challenge of reimagining our annual pedagogy conference that scaled from 497 registered in 2019 when it was face-to-face to over 800 in 2020 as it was moved online. Under pressures of limited resources and increased uncertainty, leaders can find it difficult to imagine pathways toward innovation rather than just daily responses …

Student Perceptions Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy And The Impact On Teacher-Student Relationships, Robert Louis Harris

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how six eighth-grade Magnet Program students perceive their teacher-student relationship through the teacher’s use of culturally relevant pedagogy. This case study provided information that guides a classroom teacher in the implementation of culturally relevant pedagogy that helps develop and maintain teacher-student relationships. The resulting analysis and interpretation provided major themes that developed regarding the use of culturally relevant strategies in the classroom.

This study informs educators in the profession about the extent to which students perceptions impact their relationship with the teacher. Findings could be used by teachers and administrators to advocate …

Community Engagement In Tpc Programs During Times Of Crisis: Embracing Chicana And Latina Feminist Practices, Nora Rivera, Laura Gonzales

English Faculty Articles and Research

Drawing on lessons gathered while teaching community engagement in technical communication courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, two Latina instructors, one in New Mexico and one in Florida, highlight the value that Chicana and Latina feminism can bring to technical communication pedagogies. The authors share course assignments and student examples that demonstrate their applications of Chicana/Latina feminist practices in technical communication. Through pláticas and testimonios, methodologies and methods grounded in Latina/Chicana feminism, the authors demonstrate how they navigate the challenges of the pandemic while also creating spaces for students to share, heal, and contribute to the activist work taking place in …

A Phenomenological Study Of Teacher Efficacy In Career And Technical Education Coaching And Mentoring Programs, Sharon Louise Largent-Necessary

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

School districts are tasked with improving teacher performance in response to an overwhelming need for students who are both college and career-ready (Brand, Valent, & Browning, 2013). A lack of quality professional development programs specifically designed for Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers that promote the development of teacher efficacy and instructional skills is a significant concern. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to describe the lived experiences with self-efficacy of CTE teachers who have participated in the Vision of Excellent Instruction in Career and Technical Education Coaching and Mentoring Program in Northeast Tennessee. This research study utilized …

The Benefits And Barriers To Arts Integration: Arts Accessibility In Public Montessori, Heather Teems

All Theses And Dissertations

This mixed-method exploratory case study investigates the research question: To what extent do pre-K through eighth-grade public Montessori school teachers perceive that their professional knowledge and abilities, experiences, and resources impact their capacity to integrate arts into their general classroom curriculum? Public Montessori teachers from five public-choice Montessori schools in a school district of the suburban and urban areas of southeastern South Carolina were invited to participate. The teachers in these public Montessori schools have varied levels of education and professional development experience with the arts in education. Some participants were general education teachers prior to becoming Montessori teachers due …

Incorporating Scripts With Cooperative Learning To Promote Critical Thinking Skills In Secondary Science, Jaime L. Wetherby

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A drastic growth of scientific and technological advancements in the 21st century have allowed for new jobs with innovative processes that require individuals who possess the ability to think deductively, reason through problems, and obtain information that can support the potential solutions to these problems. Many of the technological advancements have reduced the necessity to only memorize rote facts; rather, much of this information can be found through a quick internet search. What is needed, therefore, is education which requires students to think deeper than before – to examine new information through a more critical lens. The purpose of this …

01. Intro To Government, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

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05. Current Events - Gamestop,, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

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09. Aapi Justice Movement, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

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08. Dr. Seuss And Cancel Culture, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

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03. Enactivism, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

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04. Current Event: Capitol Riots, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

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12. Clash Of Enact, Illinois Mathematics Anacademyd Science

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09. Feedback Methods, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

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06. Market Research And Market Analysis, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

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Dancing In The Liminal Tension: A Phenomenological Study Of How Queer Black Boys Manifest Happiness In An Urban Midwest High School, Kendrick D. Johnson

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Urban public schools, as social institutions, have historically played an integral role in reproducing the oppressive ideologies of society writ large. As we depart an era of cautious optimism, many LGBTQ students are teetering on the brink of hopelessness and despair. So often many of these students’ voices—particularly those of queer Black boys—are still silenced. Ergo, there is a sense of urgency on the part of educators, researchers, and policy-makers to understand how and why queer Black boys consistently disrupt the hegemonic terrain of schools by transforming them into liminal spaces; it is in these sacred spaces-in-between that new identity …

Information Literacy Skills And College Students: A Mixed-Methods, Action Research Study Of Students’ Knowledge And Self-Efficacy For Applying Information Literacy Skills To Their Academic And Social Lives, Jade Geary

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to examine information literacy skills in undergraduate students. In particular, this research investigated students’ knowledge and self-efficacy of information literacy skills. Furthermore, this study explored students’ application of information literacy and how students apply information literacy skills to their academic and social lives. By developing a greater understanding of students’ knowledge, self-efficacy and the use of information literacy skills, it allows librarians to tailor information literacy instruction to fit students’ needs. The three research questions that guided this study were (1) What are undergraduate students’ knowledge of information literacy at the University of …

Professional Development Workshops On Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (Crp) And Its Impact On The Pedagogical Awareness Level Of Educators At Abc Middle School, Scott Napier Floyd

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the impact of professional development workshops on culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) and its impact on the pedagogical awareness level of middle school educators at ABC Middle School. This study took place during the Fall 2020 semester with seven participants: two eighth-grade social studies teachers, one seventh-grade science teacher, one eighth-grade science teacher, a German language teacher, a physical education teacher, and a front office clerical worker. Data were collected through pre- and post- questionnaires, post workshop journal reflections (written), field notes/researcher notes, and individual interviews. The results revealed that the workshop series had a positive impact on …

Ready Or Not For K5: A Study On Early Childhood Interventions Within Special Education And General Education Setting, Paulette Mizzell

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study describes how using the Enhanced Alphabet Knowledge model affects preschool students' readiness for Kindergarten. The theoretical framework that supported this study was based on Cindy Jones', Sarah Clark's, and D. Ray Reutzel's Enhanced Alphabet Knowledge Method (2013). This study used quantitative data to further indicate the impact and importance of early intervention classrooms. The participants of this study included eight students from one preschool intervention class. Data collection instruments included pre-and post- phonological awareness literacy screening scores and a teacher questionnaire. Results of this study indicated that the majority of student participants experienced an increase in …

The Impact Of Interactive Journaling On Seventh-Grade Students’ Writing Self-Efficacy, Writing Performance, And Attitudes Towards Writing, Nicholle Morgan Arman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study was to evaluate the impact of interactive journaling on the writing self-efficacy, writing performance, and attitudes towards writing of seventh-grade students. According to the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Writing Test, only one-fourth of 8th and 12th graders are proficient at writing. This means thousands of people are entering the job market with inadequate writing skills (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Research suggests that if people feel more confident in their writing abilities, writing performance will improve. This study was guided by several research questions. First, the study aimed to reveal …

When The Learning Environment Becomes E-Learning: A Narrative Inquiry Into High School Honors Students’ Motivation, Tyesha L. Deas

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 forever changed the landscape of the world, especially education. Due to the guidelines the pandemic caused, education abruptly moved the e-learning setting in the Spring of 2020, when students and teachers had to quickly adjust to new methods of teaching and learning. As a result, students were bearing the responsibility for their own motivation for learning as they took on the of learning from home (Rake & Dunn, 2010, p. 79). Therefore, this study seeks to better understand four high school honors students changes in motivation as the school environment changed to e-learning, determine what …