Digital Commons Network^™

Free Improvisation Pedagogy: An Arts Based Research Approach To Promoting Student Agency And Embracing Difference, Nicholas Catino

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Free Improvisation Pedagogy explores the changing perspectives of students as they co-create musical improvisations. Free improvisation is understood as a site for transformative pedagogy, with the possibility for people to break free of structures, think and perform independently, broaden their perspective of proper tonality, engage in musical democracy and equality of voice, and participate in music making that is active, participatory, and continually evolving.

Working with a small group of High School students in suburban New York, this research explores these topics and documents, through audio, video, visual art, and conversation, how students experience this type of music making and …

A Queens Community Teacher Storytelling Project: A Qualitative Research Study Of Five Local Afro-Caribbean And Latina Public School Teachers And Community Teachers In New York City, José Alfredo Menjivar Ortéz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation thesis examines the lived experiences, life stories, and storytelling of five Afro-Caribbean and Latina people, who are all local from the borough of Queens, alumni of New York City’s public schools, and since then, became their local public school teachers, classroom practitioners, and local community teachers. We refer to this specific and unique population of teachers as alumni-community teachers and to these and other similar stories as teacher life stories.

This qualitative research and study were conducted through a series of writing workshops and semi-structured interviews. The study’s main examination is preoccupied to understand how local teachers make …

Principal Decision-Making And Perception Of Fine Arts Programing In Curricular Design, Osvaldo Altamirano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study included an exploration of the concept of perception affecting decision- making in curriculum design and the support of school administrators toward fine art programs in West Texas School Regions 18 and 19. Research shows that the fine arts provide students the social and creative skills to become productive citizens. However, research shows that in the current realm of urban and rural public school curricula, the fine arts exist at either a limited capacity or are nonexistent. This dissertation included an attempt to answer how a school leader's fine arts perception affects a principal's ability to support, build, …

Exploring The Motivational Factors That Empower Military Spouses To Pursue Degrees In Higher Education, Veronica Gregg, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study aimed to explore the factors that motivate and empower military spouses to persist in pursuing degrees in higher education. The following research question guided this study? What do military spouses perceive as the factors that motivate and empower them to persist in earning college degrees? Fifteen military spouses participated in this study. The military spouses who participated in the study shared their experiences on motivating factors that empowered them to continue earning a college degree. The theory of Cultural Capital was used as the theoretical framework to guide the concept that the military environment is a culture within …

Practical Leadership In Implementing Online Education Programs, Felix O. Quayson, Christopher Zirkle

Journal of Research Initiatives

The growing presence of online education can become a challenge for academic leaders and institutions to lead, manage, and explore in higher education. Online education can be complex when considering the social presence (Keast, 2022; Quayson, 2022), course development (Martin et al., 2019; Orlando, 2019), and economic outcomes (Burnett & Conley, 2013; Rubin, 2013; Seaman et al., 2019). However, unraveling the fundamentals of practical leadership can help educational leaders to facilitate, maintain, and implement online education programs. The study found published research studies that helped us to extricate the fundamentals of practical leadership in implementing online education programs in the …

Trauma-Informed Practices For Test-Taking Anxiety At The Elementary Grade Level, Kate Campbell, Shalini Mathew

Journal of Research Initiatives

Test -Taking Anxiety (TTA) is a challenging experience for children of all ages. Childhood exposure to trauma and adverse experience has been increasing. Fortunately, trauma-informed practices, such as mindfulness activities have become more widespread in schools throughout the last few years. Existing school counseling literature offers limited perspectives on how school counselors can support elementary students for TTA. This conceptual article explores the effects of trauma-informed practices on elementary-age students' test anxiety and overall academic success in schools and offers implications for practice.

Improving Language Teaching And Learning Process With Dual Coding Theory Approaches, Citra Kurniawan, Shirly Rizki Kusumaningrum, Kee-Fui Turner Lam, Ence Surahman

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

Dual coding theory (DCT) allows students to process information based on stimuli in the form of visual-verbal signals. This study aims to measure the relationship between the implementation of DCT on the process of Teaching & Learning. An experimental approach involving 101 students was used. The results showed that the DCT theoretical approach can be used to improve the language learning process. The research findings also showed that the learning strategies correlation coefficient is positive 0.826** which means that DCT has a very strong relationship with learning outcomes. In addition, the variables of gender and learning strategies demonstrated a positive …

‘Freedom To Learn-Independent Campus’And Pre-Service Teachers Proffesional Identity Development, Lemmuela Alvita Kurniawati, Vinanda Kristianti

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

In response to the implementation of Merdeka Belajar (Freedom to Learn)- Kampus Merdeka (Independent Campus), this study aimed to investigate the perceived impacts of Freedom to Learn-Independent Campus (henceforth FLIC), on pre-service Teacher Professional Identity (henceforth, TPI) development. A qualitative research method by using a thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Homogeneous online focus group discussions with three different groups of participants joining FLIC program were conducted to collect the data. There were twelve pre-service teachers who joined FLIC program involved in this study. The findings were elaborated under three themes. The themes were becoming and being didactical …

Physical Education: Study Of Different Perceptions Of Students On The Concept Of Physical Education In First Middle School And Vocational Middle School, Mu’Arifin Mu’Arifin, Mashud Mashud, Zsolt Nemeth

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This research aims to measure the truth level of the perception of the students on the physical education concept, and to figure out the difference perception between male and female students at the junior high school and vocational high school levels. Method used is survey with the use of closed inventory questionnaire. This study is conducted on two populations, that are 3700 students of X class at Vocational High School in the Regency of Banyuwangi and 750 students of VIII class at Junior High School in the Regency of Pacitan. Study sample is taken by purposive so that it is …

Penguatan Karakter Bernalar Kritis Berbasis Integratif Moral Untuk Siswa Sekolah Dasar Dalam Program Kampus Mengajar Di Indonesia, Nursalam Nursalam, Suardi Suardi

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

The research objective is to produce a model for strengthening character education based on critical reasoning moral integration for elementary school students in campus teaching activities in Makassar City. This research uses mixed research methods, using questionnaires, observations, interviews and documentation, then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The results showed that strengthening the character of critical reasoning based on moral integrative and social collaboration was in the very frequent category at all stages of moral knowing, feeling, sinverbal, action, habitus and culture from various campus teaching activities such as task assignment, giving direction, thinking together, and carry out tasks according to …

Integrating Electronic Portfolio Assessment Into Teaching Materials: An Exploratory Study On Speaking Course Syllabus Development, Moh. Taufik, Nur Mukminatien, Suharyadi Suharyadi, Sari Karmina, Bambang Yudi Cahyono, Tengku Intan Suzila Bt Tengku Sharif

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

The ICT advancement provokes the possibility of developing speaking skill through portfolio assessment which was commonly attributable mostly to writing skill. Hence, an exploratory study adopting ADDIE model was conducted to develop an electronic portfolio assessment integrated into teaching materials. A triangulated technique of data collection: questionnaire respondents, interviews and data from evaluation sheets was gathered. Statistical descriptive analysis, discourse and content analysis were conducted and positive possibilities were found to ffacilitate the development of speaking skills through electronic portfolio assessment.

Developing Intercultural Communicative Competence In Foreign Language Classrooms: A Study Of Efl Learners In China, Li Liu, Bo Jiang, Ziwei Guo

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) has been accentuated with the wave of globalization. Universities in China have highlighted ICC in language classrooms. Following Byram’s (1997) ICC model (including knowledge, skills and attitudes), this study focuses on the efficacy of explicit instruction in developing ICC among EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners in classrooms in China, and to discover how this development is related to the English proficiency. This research therefore has two purposes: (1) to use a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to assess ICC including questionnaire through self and others after explicit instruction. And (2) to investigate the …

Identifying Basic Aircraft Structures Using Project-Based Learning In Esp Context: Is It Effective?, Dewanti Ratna Pertiwi, Ndaru Atmi Purnami

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

English for specific purposes (ESP) is a branch of English instruction prepared to facilitate the students master English used in a particular field. In aerospace field, one of the objectives of ESP is mastering basic aircraft structures as the fundamental knowledge for further development such as aircraft maintenance and management. Mastering a number of technical terms in aerospace is challenging since they are not commonly used in daily life. Thus, a strategy is needed. Project-based learning (PBL) is proposed as an appropriate technique for engineering students due to its advantages; facilitating communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. Nevertheless, identifying whether …

The Dominant Soft Skills That Affect Readiness Of Vocational Graduate In Entering Construction Labor Market, Nathanael Sitanggang, Putri Lynna Adelinna Luthan, Felix Andika Dwiyanto, Satrio Dwi Sanjaya

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This study aims to recognize the dominant soft skills factors that influence the readiness of vocational education graduates to enter the job market in the field of construction. The method used is survey study including samples that consisted of 40 workers graduated from State University of Medan civil engineering diploma 3. The instruments used were the soft skills and the competence readiness questionnaire with reliability coefficients of 0.93 and 0.98. Furthermore, the multiple regression analysis techniques is used to test the hypothesis. The results shows that the soft skills readiness influencing 74% the vocational education skills readiness in entering the …

Multidisciplinarity In Data Science Curricula, Hossana Twinomurinzi, Siyabonga Mhlongo, Kelvin J. Bwalya, Tebogo Bokaba, Steven Mbeya

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

This paper sought to identify and compare disciplinary emphases in data science curricula across South Africa’s 26 public universities using a website scoping review method. The key findings reveal that only 12 of the 26 universities offer data science programmes that are publicly accessible on their websites. Of those 12, only 5 offer data science at the undergraduate level, and these undergraduate programmes are objectified (entirely leaning) to the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Only seven of the universities offer a few non-STEM subjects with only one offering more non-STEM subjects compared to STEM subjects. The implications are …

Teachers’ Assessment Literacy And Design Competence Framework, Sladana Krstic, Sarah Manlove, Sarah Richardson

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Teachers play a central role in facilitating learning and empowering learners (Pastore & Andrade, 2019). They must possess a high level of assessment literacy to properly fulfil their role of implementing teaching and facilitating students’ learning (Hattie, 2009). Without it, the quality of educational provision can be impacted (Looney et al., 2018). The expectations placed on teachers in relation to their assessment knowledge and skills tend to focus on their ability to design and implement assessment with students, and to use assessment data to inform teaching practices (Brookhart, 2011). Much of the emphasis in the literature is on the mechanical …

Assessing Reading: How Assessment Can Be Used To Target Teaching And Enhance Understanding Of Reading Comprehension, Sandra Knowles

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The skills demonstrated by a proficient reader are not easy to untangle. Current research acknowledges that reading comprehension is a highly complex area of ability, one that needs to be understood as the coordination of several integrated processes. Using example test questions and data, this presentation explores how assessment can help us make sense of reading comprehension in a way that curricula and commonly used teaching strategies cannot. Assessment is evidence that informs us about the skills involved in the reading process, how they relate to each other, and how they develop in complexity. When assessment is understood in this …

Exploring The K-12 School Experiences That Contribute To Resilience In Adulthood As Described By Resilient Adults With Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Phenomenology, Susannah Wyndi Bradley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to describe the K-12 school experiences that contributed to resilience in adulthood for individuals with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The theory guiding this study is Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as it explains how students’ achievement and engagement in learning, as well as their barriers to the same are related to students’ unmet basic needs, the pursuit of safety, and feelings of fear and mistrust. The research questions will explore how resilient adults with ACEs describe the K-12 classroom experiences that contributed to their resilience in adulthood, the classrooms where they were …

An Innovative Method For Teachers To Formatively Assess Writing Online, Dr Sandy Heldsinger, Stephen Humphry

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Assessment is an integral component of effective teaching and a teacher’s professional judgement influences all routine aspects of their work. In the last 20 years, there has been considerable work internationally to support teachers in using assessment to improve student learning. However, there is a pressing issue that impedes teacher professional judgement being exploited to its full potential. The issue relates to teacher assessments in the context of extended performances such as essays and arises from the complexity of obtaining reliable or consistent teacher assessments of students’ work. Literature published in the United States, England and Australia details evidence of …

Reimagining The Purpose Of Assessment, Geoff N. Masters

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Assessment is commonly understood as the process of judging how well students have learnt what they have been taught. It comes at the end of a sequence that begins with a curriculum or course syllabus. Teachers are expected to deliver this body of specified content, students are expected to learn it, and assessment is the process of judging and grading students on how well they have learnt what teachers have taught. This is a common view of assessment among students, parents and many teachers. I will argue in this presentation that this traditional understanding of what it means to learn …

Research Conference 2022: Reimagining Assessment: Proceedings And Program, Kylie Burns (Ed.)

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The focus of this year’s Research Conference is on the use of assessment to support improved teaching and learning. The conference is titled ‘reimagining assessment’ because we believe there is a need to transform the essential purposes of educational assessment to provide better information about the deep conceptual learning, skills, competencies, and personal attributes that teachers and schools now have as objectives for student learning and development. Reimagined assessments must now be focused on monitoring learning across this broader range of intended outcomes and provide quality information about the points individuals have reached in their long-term development.

Restorative Pedagogies In Primary And Secondary Education: A Review Of Selected Literature, Gwynn Alexander

School of Leadership and Education Sciences: Student Scholarship

Purpose

Restorative justice is a philosophy and set of practices aimed toward centering student well-being and positive social relationships in the classroom. Restorative pedagogies offer an approach to teaching/learning that seeks to remedy persistent patterns of punitive and exclusionary school-based practices.

Design, Methodology, and Approach

In this literature review, I employ a constructivist grounded theory approach to first define restorative pedagogies, then offer key themes that emerged across the body of literature. I introduce key foundational texts with a focus on the proliferation of research in the last decade. Lastly, I present critiques and limitations in the body of literature …

Building Racial Literacy Through Relational Trust, Teacher Solidarity, And Antiracist Praxis, Tanya E. Friedman

Theses and Dissertations

Schools in the United States continue to dramatically under-educate students with marginalized identities. Although professional development for teachers regularly fails to develop the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and commitment needed to interrupt educational inequities and ensure all students thrive, scholarship on teacher learning has identified promising practices such as critical inquiry groups for social justice which can foster teachers’ capacity to interrupt inequitable instructional practices and school policies. (Gorski & Dalton, 2020; Manfra, 2019; Peters, 2016). The three manuscripts in this dissertation explore the experience of a CIG comprised of seven teachers working in an urban elementary school that serves multiply …

Relationships Between And Student Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy, Growth Mindset, And Mathematics Identity Of Adolescents In A Rural South Georgia Charter School, Carrie Cooper Pierce

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods study investigated the relationships between the constructs of self-efficacy, growth mindset, and mathematics identity among middle school students at a South Georgia charter school. Constructivist grounded theory was used to investigate the strength of these constructs along with student perceptions of what factors make one a math person. The study was an explanatory sequential design consisting of an online survey followed by student interviews. Ninety-one students participated in the survey. Multiple linear regression was used to determine whether a correlation existed between the variables as well as among student subgroups. Self-efficacy was found to be a predictor …

A Case Study Of The Retention-Supporting Needs Of Beginning Teachers In A West Central Georgia School System, Vicki Thrailkill Pheil

Theses and Dissertations

Even though the State of Georgia has issued suggested guidance for new teacher induction programs, not all school systems follow that guidance and varying induction practices have been implemented. Because replacing exiting teachers in the first 5 years of their career has become costly to school systems—both financially and academically regarding student achievement—it is in all stakeholders’ best interest to support new teachers to increase retention rates. The purpose of this case study was to describe 1st-year teachers’ experiences in a West Central Georgia school system induction program and to identify the retention-supporting needs these new teachers reported as part …

A Survey Of School Psychologists To Promote Support For Developing Self-Advocacy Skills In Students With Disabilities, Kiarra K. Steer

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Self-advocacy is a critical skill for effective communication and for individual assertion of interests, needs, and rights (Hengen & Weaver, 2018). It is especially important for people with disabilities to be able to self-advocate, which includes understanding their own abilities and rights and being able to voice when they need assistance or when their rights are being violated (Hengen & Weaver, 2018).

Even though self-advocacy has been determined to be a necessary skill for students with disabilities to develop, research indicates that self-advocacy instruction is often not provided to students with disabilities. Furthermore, while researchers have shown that teaching students …

The Effects Of Computer-Assisted Instruction On Student Learning Of Fractions In Middle School Mathematics, Rebecca Love Palculict

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In today’s increasingly technologically-driven classroom, exploring whether computer-assisted instruction ensures students gain critical mathematic skills is an important area of study. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of computer-assisted instruction in learning manipulation of fractions. This study used archival data collected in August 2021 (pre-test) and January 2022 (post-test). Sixty-nine fifth-grade students in a middle school in rural Mississippi were participants in the study. This quantitative quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test control group design analyzed data from the i-Ready diagnostic using an Analysis of Covariance. Results indicated a significant difference between the post-test scores of students who received interventions …

Fall Faculty Conference 2022, Academic Affairs

Fall Faculty Conference

The Fall Faculty Conference featured a talk entitled Healing Through Connection: Lessons Learned from the Frontlines of Healthcare by Dr. Laurie Hommema, Senior Medical Director, Provider and Associate Well-Being, Ohio Health, Kristi McClure, MSN, RN, and Lois Sallee, MA, CCC-SLP.

Following the community conversation, faculty broke into different sessions that dealt with helping students become ready for Otterbein, advising success, immersive experiences, launching, and succeeding. After the breakout sessions, several faculty members showcased topics they had been working on. Jennifer Merkowitz (Music, 2022 Teacher of the Year) presented Making a Melody, Leesa Kern (Sociology, Criminology & Justice Studies) presented …

Evaluating Phonemic Proficiency And Oral Reading Fluency In Middle School Students, Cara Mcquaid

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Research on reading performance in both public and private schools in the United States notes that students’ reading skills are declining compared to previous years, and there is a need for effective identification of skills and interventions to bridge the gap between current performance and the target skill level. While some research on reading instruction and reading skills primarily focuses on initial skills such as phonological awareness only in early grades, other research suggests that as reading skills develop and become more advanced, foundational skills such as phonological awareness also develop.

The purpose of the current study was to assess …

A Situational Analysis Grounded Theory Study Of University Inclusive Physics Learning Environments, Tali Hairston, W. Tali Hairston, Wilford T. Hairston

Education Dissertations

Different teaching and learning strategies have informed physics educators on addressing the cultural meanings and practices of physics that have sustained homogeneity within university programs. However, literature evidence physics learning environments are under-theorized in dismantling homogeneity and conceptually changes physics student learning for those struggling to learn physics. The purpose of this situational analysis grounded theory study was to explain a theoretical construct of inclusive physics learning environment strategies of eighteen college and university faculty, collected from interview data in a 2017 study. The research question guiding this study was to describe the sociocultural theoretical structure emergent in the inclusive …