Digital Commons Network^™

Collaborating With K-12 Partners: Improving Preservice Teachers’ Self-Efficacy In Teaching Rural English Learners Science Through A Guided Experiential Learning Opportunity, Dana Manning, Erin Pearce

Journal of English Learner Education

With changing demographics in the United States, educator preparations programs (EPPs) must consider incorporating more experiential learning opportunities for preservice teachers to grow in their self-efficacy when working in diverse classrooms. At a rural university in the southern United States, researchers designed an instructional unit that transcended three educator preparation courses to provide an opportunity for students to design and deliver a 5E science lesson to English learners from a rural school district. The results from this study indicate that preservice teachers’ self-efficacy in teaching English learners increased as evidenced by the Teacher Sense of Self- Efficacy Scale, adapted for …

Embracing The New Normal: Infusing Academic Language And Technology To Empower Ells, Scott B. Freiberger

Journal of English Learner Education

This au courant, research-based article offers specific program ideas for teachers during this unprecedented time when supporting our ELLs is especially needed.

A Snapshot Semester: Students’ Reflections Of Performance And Mental State Throughout A Graduate Course, Bradley D. Borges

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Graduate students are anecdotally reputed to be among the most stressed groups of young adults. Common sources of stress for graduate students have included coursework, assistantships, finances, career preparation, and family (Wyatt & Oswalt, 2013; Mazzola, Walker, Shockley & Spector, 2011; Oswalt & Riddock, 2007). Guided reflection can be used by educators to assist students in both learning (Boud, Keogh & Walker, 2013; Kolb, 1984) and managing stress (Shoulders, Whitehead, & Morrison, 2018). By understanding how students’ progress through a semester in terms of both their learning and their management of stress, instructors and academic advisors can better anticipate times …

A Program Evaluation Of The Implementation Process Of A Phonics First® Initiative, Amanda Picard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of the Phonics First® program within one district to inform district level curriculum team decisions and program planning moving forward. As a level 4 Directed State Support district, the studied district was looking for ways to close the achievement gap and raise overall academic achievement in reading. To do so, the implementation of core reading program initiatives such as Phonics First® was assessed to determine how best to utilize and monitor the Phonics First® program to achieve the district’s desired outcomes. This study utilized a decision-oriented program evaluation using a …

Legislating Social Inclusion: Social Interaction And Perceptions Of Middle Level Students Toward Those With Disabilities, Deidre Necol Whitehead

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recognition of the need for students with disabilities to receive free and appropriate education was brought to the forefront with the passage of Public Law 93 – 112, Rehabilitation Act in 1973. In 1975 Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was enacted requiring all schools to develop and provide a free, appropriate public education for all children and youth with disabilities in the regular classroom to ensure an appropriate education. However, mandating inclusion in classrooms does not ensure social interaction, which is an integral part of learning, especially for early adolescents.

This dissertation uses the Chedoke-McMaster …

Lowering Language Learner Anxiety: The Impact Of Collaborative-Dynamic Assessment In The Intermediate University Spanish Classroom, Lynda Mcclellan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a new framework for the application of Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory (SCT) in the second language (L2) classroom called Collaborative-Dynamic Assessment (C-DA). C-DA is a melding of Collaborative Learning (CL), Dynamic Assessment (DA), and Group Evaluation (GE) in all aspects of L2 instruction and assessment. A study was conducted with 64 university students in an intermediate Spanish classroom to determine if the application of C-DA would lower Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA). Horwitz’ (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was administered to the participants at the beginning of the course and then again at the end of …

Support For Teacher Candidates And The Edtpa, Dia Gary, Dylan Thomas, Joseph Miller

Journal of Global Education and Research

Equipping new teachers in today’s society is a noble and challenging task. Of late, many additional licensing standards for teachers create additional responsibilities for universities that provide pedagogy, knowledge, and content for teacher candidates. Identification of best practices that support teacher candidates on the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) is of interest to many teacher education programs. The purpose of this research was to analyze whether incorporating a mock edTPA had beneficial results on the passage of the edTPA. This study spanned fourteen ten-week quarters and included 688 teacher candidates who were preparing to become certificated teachers at a university …

Removing The Fence?: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Corequisite Courses, Faculty Validation, And Equity For Men Of Color In Community College English, Daniel Hogan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The passage of California’s AB 705 in 2017 mandated that community colleges drastically reimagine their English course offerings in an effort to increase student throughput and eliminate equity gaps. This typically meant replacing traditional remedial coursework and placement with corequisite models of remediation, wherein students took transfer-level courses with built-in concurrent remedial support.

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the relationship between these structural changes and non-traditional relational success markers, namely faculty validation, especially for male Black and Latino students in English at a large urban California community college. The quantitative phase was a survey of over …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Thompson’S (2105) Survey Of Language Usage And Spanish Of Heritage Learners Placement Program Exam At The High-School Level, Elizabeth Villanueva

Doctoral Dissertations

Language placement test serve with multiple purposes to measure the language abilities and performance of language learners to place them in the most appropriate language course with curriculum that best meets the language needs. There is the need to assess appropriately the Spanish heritage language learners’ (SHLLs) abilities at the high-school level. Therefore, this mixed-method study investigated how Thompson’s (2015) modified Yes or No 10-question Survey of Language Usage (Survey) and the three part Spanish for Heritage Language Learners Placement Program Exam (Placement Test) could be used effectively with three Spanish class levels of HLLs at the high-school level to …

The Problem-Based Learning Approach Towards Developing Soft Skills: A Systematic Review, Sadia Deep, Ali Ahmed, Nazia Suleman, Muhammad Zahid Abbas, Uzma Naza, Hina Shaheen, Abdul Razzaq

The Qualitative Report

In this paper, we review systematically the role of problem-based learning (PBL) in developing soft skills in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and other fields of studies. The Systematic Literature Review (SLR) includes the most recent empirical, review, and conceptual studies from TVET and other multiple fields of studies including medicine, humanities, and engineering between the years of 2001 and 2016 collected from four databases. A qualitative method was used to accomplish the systematic review. After the collection of articles, the selected studies were analyzed through thematic analysis. From this review, we concluded that PBL as an instructional …

The Lived Experiences Of Indian International Female Graduate Students In American Higher Education, Sarita Revulagadda

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The United States continues to be the primary country of destination that international students choose for enrollment in American colleges and universities. Indian international students constitute the second largest enrollment among international students in America with over 200,000 enrolled in 2019 (Institute of International Education, 2020). However, research on the transition experiences of international students is relatively devoid of critical explorations on the transition experiences of Indian international female students to the effects of acculturation.

The current research explored the lived experiences of twelve Indian international female students enrolled in graduate programs at five American universities. The participants’ descriptions of …

Investigating Early Childhood Educators’ Experiences In Teaching Phonological Awareness: A Case Study, Kristine Reilly

All Theses And Dissertations

Literacy instruction, or teaching educators how to teach reading, is increasingly important as the effects of illiteracy impact everyone from the individual level to the societal level. The cost of illiteracy to the global economy is estimated at $1.2 trillion U.S. dollars (World Literacy Foundation, 2015). Improving literacy for all becomes a social justice concern as access to literacy opens avenues to further education and to improved physical and mental wellbeing. Over the past forty years, neurocognitive and behavioral science has demonstrated how the human brain learns to read. However, educator training programs and professional development have not kept pace …

Keefektifan Pelatihan Kontrol Diri Siswa Smp Melalui Permainan Cublak-Cublak Suweng, Fitri Widya Ningsih, Muslihati Muslihati, Nur Hidayah

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

Self-control helps junior high school students behave positively towards themselves and others. This study aims to test the effectiveness of the use of local wisdom in the cublak-cublak suweng game to the junior high school student self-control training. The research subjects were 8 junior high school students in Malang City using one group pretest-posttest design. Measurements used the Self-Control Scale and were analyzed by the Wilcoxon test and paired t-test. The results showed a significant difference in the improvement of junior high school students' self-control. Positive values of the cublak-cublak suweng game are internalized so that they can improve the …

The Development Of Supplementary Teaching Material For Ibnu Hadjar’S Biography To Improve Collagers’ Critical Thinking Skills Of History Education, Febri Irwandi, Joko Sayono, R Reza Hudiyanto

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

The purpose of this research is to improve capability of critical thingking of the student which relates to historical local figure of South Borneo. The realization of this research is research and develpoment (R&D). The explanation of Ibnu Hadjar's figure was realized in the form of Ibnu Hadjar's biography teaching material supplement products for students of history education offering B class of 2019 as an experimental class and Offering A as a control class at Lambung Mangkurat University who were taking Local History courses. The stages in this study use the 4D model that is indicated by four components, namely …

Improving Primary Teacher Education Students’ Writing Performance Using Flipped Classroom, Nurul Masyithah Rery, Niamika El Khoiri

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This study aimed to improve students’ writing performance in ESP subject by implementing Flipped Classroom and Collaborative activities. Classroom action research was applied as the method in this study was. According to the data obtained, 88,89% of the students experienced improvement at least 10 points compared to their initial writing product. Students active participation also improved which was shown by the average score that was above 3,0 points obtained from peer assessment rubric. Therefore, the combination of these two strategies was proven successful in improving students’ writing performance in ESP subject.

Exploring The Use Of Translation As A Strategy To Learn English, Ajeng Dini Arfianti, Utami Widiati

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This study primarily wanted to explore students’ views and how they employ translation-related strategies to learn English. Five students from the accounting department, Universitas Negeri Malang participate in this qualitative case study. The findings showed that students consider translation has a positive contribution to their English learning. They also mentioned learning activities by using translation that can be categorized into several learning strategies. It is expected that the results of the study can raise awareness and exercise cautious use of translation as an effective learning strategy in English for the benefits of the students.

The Implementation Of Csr On Efl Students’ Reading Class In Different Group Sizes, Ita Moraliawati, Johannes Ananto Prayogo, Gunadi Harry Sulistyo

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This study addresses senior high school students’ reading comprehension on expository texts and its relation with the group sizes assigned to the students. It involves 133 eleventh grade students of SMAN Model Terpadu Bojonegoro. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively. The findings show that CSR affect the students’ reading comprehension significantly. Yet, it fails to reveal the effect of group sizes arrangement on the strategies applied towards the students reading comprehension. Consequently, the use of CSR in reading class can not be related to the group sizes assigned to the students.

When You Can’T R.I.O.T., R.I.O.: Tele-Assessment For School Psychologists, Michael R. Hass, Brian P. Leung

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The acronym R.I.O.T., record review, interview, observation, and test, is a well-known tool for conceptualizing a comprehensive assessment. With COVID-19 and the need to provide school psychological services virtually, it is important to reconsider R.I.O.T. in light of the limitations of virtual assessment. We describe the limitations of virtual assessment and argue that in spite of these barriers, the first three elements of R.I.O.T., record review, interviews, and observations, when used systematically, can provide useful comprehensive assessment data. Specific recommendations are provided for implementing assessment virtually.

The Role Of Test Making In Learning Process, Dilbar Xasanova, Hugh Cartwright Cheonan Assistant Professor

The Light of Islam

Almost always with the word "test" a question comes to mind with four or fve possible answers. Students usually think of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) when they are told to get tested. Testing means testing students' knowledge using different types of question forms. The proposed article examines the academic performance test, which was developed by the administration of the Uzbekistan English Teachers Association (UZTEA) for Year 2 students of lyceums and colleges. The purpose of this study is to discuss test constructs and propose a more reliable version of them if the reason for the unsatisfactory results depends on the evaluation …

Response To Intervention For English Language Learners (Ells): Using Data Collection, Goal Setting, And District Level Support For Instructional Improvement, Stacie K. Pettit, Nao-Cheng Kuo

Journal of Contemporary Research in Education

Response to Intervention (RTI) has become a mandatory educational policy in many states. However, issues on how school districts use RTI to support English Language Learners (ELLs) has not been fully discussed in literature. In this study, artifacts including school RTI manuals and handbooks for instructing ELLs were analyzed. A survey with all school district ELL coordinators in one of the states where RTI is mandated in K – 12 was also conducted. The purpose of this study is to help educators and researchers in the field of language education understand how schools use RTI to support ELLs and how …

Diversity Issues In Literacy Teacher Education, Sue Ann Sharma, Wendy C. Kasten, Lynn A. Smolen, Abha Gupta, Julie Kidd, Tanya S. Wright

Journal of Contemporary Research in Education

In this study, the researchers examine how diversity and knowledge about diversity were viewed and integrated into higher education literacy programs. Using online focus groups, we collected information about diversity in literacy at the program and course levels. Literacy teacher educators reported complexities in the preparation of current and future teachers regarding working with diverse learners. The three themes of perspectives and dispositions, curriculum issues and decisions, and outside influences emerged. The researchers recommend that teacher educators find innovative ways to increase teacher education program effectiveness to enhance the dispositions and practices of the teachers whom they prepare where diversity …

4 Advanced Comprehension Strategies To Use With Adolescent Readers, Gerlinde Beckers, Elizabeth M. Wadlington

Journal of Contemporary Research in Education

Reading comprehension involves an intricate interaction between the reader and attention to the text. Teachers should employ reading strategies to increase comprehension skills required by adolescent students to address the increase in use of informational text and text complexity as stipulated in the newly adopted Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Four advanced reading comprehension strategies that teachers can use to help their students navigate the increase in higher level comprehension skills stipulated by the CCSS are presented here. Also, presented are a justification for why to use the strategy, information on how to use the strategy, research that supports the …

Bilingual Acculturation Assessment: An Overview Of Current Developments, Donna Chen

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

Assessments are often used for decision-making in education, mental health practices, and industry. Consequently, decisions based on these assessments affect multiple aspects of a person’s life. Given the increase of ethnic minorities in the U.S., factors concerning the appropriateness and interpretation of tests based on norms must be reconsidered. The multifaceted effects of culture are just one factor to consider so as to not overlook important cultural components that may negatively impact the decision-making process. Additionally, language, with close ties to culture, must also be considered. Thus, the complexity of culture and language in tandem to assessment-based decision-making necessitates fundamental …

Key Stakeholders’ Lived Experiences While Implementing An Aligned Curriculum: A Phenomenological Study, Pedro P. Aguas

The Qualitative Report

Furthering innovation in English as a foreign language curriculum has been a concern for the Colombian educational system for many years. Nevertheless, the major attempts at the national level continue to fail. Through this phenomenological study of 12 participants at a an urban public school in grades 6-12 I attempted to answer the phenomenological question, “What were the lived experiences of key stakeholders involved in implementing an aligned curriculum at an urban public school in a northern city in Colombia, South America? “The theoretical framework that guides this study included innovation, the theory of policy attribution, and the learner-centered philosophy. …

Estimating School-Level Achievement In Belize, Betty Jean Usher-Tate

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation consists of five chapters: introduction, literature review, methodology, results, and discussion with final thoughts. The research design of this dissertation study attended to structures, cultures, and characteristics associated with, and specific to, the Belize education system. The processes for data collection and types of analyses were appropriate, yielded meaningful results, and served as a segue for national application. The Belize Educator Survey was developed to capture the educators’ voices and illuminate their relationship to educational achievement in Belize. The Belize Educator Survey was piloted and revised with direct input from educators and experts who work in the Belize …

Persona Development: Unpacking The Process, 21cleo Research Team

21CLEO Research Project Blog Posts

In our last post, we introduced the concept of personas and discussed how we are using personas to create a compelling and approachable representation of our aggregated interview data with working learners. Our hope is that the personas we develop will help practitioners and program developers better understand the working learners' experiences. We have found that personas help us illustrate who working learners are and situate our findings within the existing instructional design paradigm. In this post, we discuss our process for creating person as.

Access And Stratification: One City, Two Dual Enrollment Programs, Clancy Ratliff, Daniel A. Smith

Faculty Publications

This article analyzes and reflects on dual enrollment programs at a two-year college and a four-year research university in the same city and branches into a critique of dual enrollment and an argument for the need for inter-institutional collaboration toward goals of student access and opportunity.

Preparing Aspiring School Principals: One Field-Based Approach, Maria De Lourdes Viloria, Lori Leyendecker, Graciela Brondo, Michael Salinas

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

In the United States, principals play a vital role in leading educational institutions. School principals are responsible for creating safe and supportive learning environments for all students. Previous studies have emphasized that all principals share one challenge, which is to identify effective instructional strategies that help decrease student achievement gaps. Studies of novice school principals are well-documented; it is also well-acknowledged that the acclimatization process for novice school principals is characterized with a high level of stress related to the organizational structures that influence the school’s culture and climate and student achievement. This study addresses the implementation of a field-based …

Developing An Assessment Framework For Cultural Responsiveness Through A Japanese Program In A Southeastern University, Yumiko Ono

All Theses And Dissertations

As its paralleled learning goals for students toward an increasingly globalized world, the Japanese program in a state university in North Carolina lists language fluency and cultural responsiveness. In order to evaluate students’ language fluency, the program adopted the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) and the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), however, no evaluation tool for cultural responsiveness was available. Therefore, in this study, the researcher created an assessment framework to evaluate students’ development of cultural responsiveness while they pursue the minor or Interdisciplinary Studies Undergraduate Degree (ISUD) in Japanese Studies.

The assessment was designed to provide answers to the following …

The Impact Of Direct Instruction At English Learner Instructional Sites Compared To Indirect Instruction At English Learner Support Sites, Lauren Shim

Dissertations

Approximately one in every ten public school students in the United States is considered an English learner (Sanchez, 2017). It has also been determined that the English learner population is one of the fastest-growing populations in the United States (Gibson, 2016). This study focused on a school district in the Midwest region of the United States, where approximately 4% of the student population was classified as English learners, and the population had been steadily growing since 2014 (School District Manual, 2019). This Midwestern school district offered a unique English learner program by transporting students to specific Instructional Sites for English …