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“I Had To Adapt To Continue Being A Student To The Best Of My Ability”: Identifying Occupational Therapy Students’ Processes Of Adapting To Academic Disruption, Laura H. Vanpuymbrouck, Linda M. Olson

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

In the wake of COVID-19, practitioners, educators, and students had to shift to virtual interactions while experiencing significant unknowns and valid fears. This project describes the lived experiences of 37 occupational therapy students who lived through this international pandemic examining their reflections of how occupational therapy theories and models of practice could inform approaches to adapt to the changing context of their lives. Narratives of students collected as part of routine educational assessments in an introduction to occupational therapy theory course were examined using methods of content analysis to understand the perspectives of students’ needs, supports, and mechanisms of adaption …

Teacher Self-Efficacy And Mathematics Achievement Among Racial And Ethnic Minority Students: Evidence From The High School Longitudinal Study Of 2009, Eliud Partida

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Current data suggests that for every 1000 U.S. high school students only about a dozen from Racial and Ethnic Minority (REM) groups will obtain a STEM degree and pursue a STEM occupation. These numbers underscore the wealth of untapped talent in our high schools and the pressing need to broaden participation among REM students in STEM. Yet, policies aimed at improving teacher quality as a vehicle for broadening participation of REM students in STEM use measures that at best, are only weakly associated with positive educational outcomes for REM students. This study contributes an ecological perspective and analysis to advance …

All Scientists Should Write Poetry: Creative Writing As Essential Academic Practice, Mariya Deykute

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Creative writing in undergraduate academics has often been regarded as an elective practice that has benefits primarily for students who plan to pursue creative or literary majors. However, poetic inquiry specifically offers crucial benefits to STEM students, owing both to the transformative nature of poetic process and to the way poetic inquiry can stimulate innovative, ethical, multilingual and interdisciplinary growth. The author frames the issue through individual experience of teaching poetry to STEM undergraduates in the context of a rich multilingual environment, in which many students are fluent or proficient in several languages. The author argues that due to the …

“Weaving All Of Them Together”: How Writing Majors Talk About Creative Writing, T J. Geiger

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

The labels “creative” and “creative writing” serve several purposes in the discourses of undergraduate writing majors. In a study of students in two writing major programs, students often exerted significant effort to negotiate among diverse writing experiences and to integrate different understandings of writing. Their efforts mirror scholars’ conversations about negotiation and integration at the level of curricula and programs. Writing majors in this study raised issues relevant to the well-established curricular domains of theoretical knowledge, professional expertise, and civic action. They explained their insights using a mix of idiosyncratic, institutional, and disciplinary language that frequently relied on forms of …

Review Of Self+Culture+Writing: Autoethnography For/As Writing Studies, Rebecca Jackson And Jackie Grutsch Mckinney, Editors, Amanda E. Scott

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

This volume brings together a compendium of works that explore autoethnography and its emerging applications. A qualitative approach that first appeared in the social sciences, autoethnography has recently gained traction within other disciplines over the last two decades, including rhetoric and composition studies. However, due to its theoretically and methodologically amorphous qualities, over the years researchers have struggled to firmly define autoethnography, especially as the field continues to evolve. Still, many within writing studies have championed the method and now understand it as a recursive tool for studying “the relationship between self and other and all of its dimensions” (Kafar …

Perceptions Of Academic Self-Concept: Testimonios Of Junior High School Latinas, Ernestina Aguilar

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Eurocentric and marginalizing schooling practices hinder Latino student persistence in US Schools. Furthermore, an intentional focus placed on Latinas uncovers compounding layers of oppression permeating the educational system. Through an analysis of testimonios, this qualitative critical narrative study better understands the schooling experiences and academic self-concept of seven Latina junior high students. Guided by Latino Critical Race (LatCrit) and Intersectionality Theories, it contributes to understandings of how Latina youth experience the transition from elementary to junior high school and how they perceived themselves as scholars. Testimonios were captured through a three-part series of semi-structured videoconference interviews. Data analysis utilized tenets …

Teacher Education For A Rural-Ready Teaching Force: Swings, Roundabouts, And Slippery Slides?, Philip Roberts, Natalie Downes, Jo-Anne Reid

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The preparation of teachers for rural schools has been a significant focus of research for many decades. In this paper we update previous reports of the extent of Initial Teacher Education courses that prepare teachers for rural schools in Australia. We found that despite significant and continued calls for rural teacher education, there are still very few rural-teaching units offered in teacher education courses, and there are no courses at all that seek this as an explicit outcome. As the Australian Professional Standards for Teaching claim the importance of teachers understanding students and their contexts, we argue that effective teacher …

Changing Needs Of Special Education Preservice Teachers In The Practicum, Stella Gidalevich, Maayan Shalev

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that people strive to fulfill three basic needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. In teacher education research, fulfilling those needs is connected to positive skill development and increased wellbeing of preservice teachers and their students. Teacher education programs for special education preservice teachers (SEPT) include a professional experience in various school settings with neurodiverse students. This professional experience gives rise to specific needs for these SEPT. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 SEPT, studying at various stages of two teacher education programs. The findings were analyzed qualitatively. Results revealed developing and changing needs throughout the educational …

Positioning Dispositions In Initial Teacher Education: An Action Research Approach, Qilong Zhang, Joanne Hayes, Rawhia Tehau-Grant, Roberta Skeoch, Lois France, Ke Jiang, Ruth Barnes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In spite of debate, ambiguity, and tension around teacher dispositions, in the past over two decades, the place of dispositions in initial teacher education (ITE) has been widely supported among policy makers and researchers. Specifically, debate on whether dispositions are teachable has largely given way to action to foster dispositions. Adopting a two-cycle participatory action research design, this study explored ways to teach the first-year teacher candidates’ dispositions in an early childhood ITE programme in New Zealand. The intervention included eight focus dispositions and corresponding strategies to teach each focus disposition. Data collection methods included student self-assessment surveys, individual and …

Foreign Language Teachers’ Knowledge Base And The Influence Of Teaching Experience, Marianna Levrints (Lőrincz)

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The present paper elucidated the issue of foreign language teachers’ knowledge base and the influence of teaching experience on their beliefs. A self-report questionnaire was utilised to explore what domains of knowledge language teachers prioritised in planning and delivering instruction, what sources they drew on to gain professional understanding and to compare teachers’ views relevant to the length of their experience. The analysis of data revealed quantitative dissimilarities in the assumed sources and knowledge domains, as well as teachers' instructional preferences. The study’s findings lend empirical evidence to the influence of experience on teachers’ cognitions and yield additional insight into …

Preservice Teachers’ Encounters With Dual Language Picturebooks, Nicola Daly, Kathy G. Short

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Our action research explored the potentialities of dual language picturebooks related to language inquiries with preservice teachers. For six weeks, preservice teachers browsed picturebooks featuring English and another language, starting with a familiar language and moving to unfamiliar languages. After browsing, we shared our responses to the books, made connections across books, and engaged in experiences to think about language. Initial comments indicated that readers were not familiar with dual language picturebooks and connected to their own complex personal relationships with language. The preservice teachers engaged in inquiries around audience and book design, including issues such as Indigenous books signalling …

Using Formative Assessment To Build Coherence Between Educational Policy And Classroom Practice: A Case Study Using Inquiry In Science, Connie Cirkony, John Daniel Kenny

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper we argue that the complexity of education systems can lead to a lack of coherence in the implementation of policy. More effective educational change requires policy-makers and researchers to pay more attention to supporting teachers in classrooms. As an example, we consider decades of research attempts in STEM education to implement learning through inquiry and note there has been little change in teaching practices in classrooms. Using formative assessment in science education as a case study, we developed a rubric for teachers that embeds key aspects of the desired pedagogy. We argue this builds teachers’ confidence to …

Teacher Educators’ Perceptions Of Schoolteacher Feedback Literacy: Implications For Feedback Training In Teacher Education Programmes, Ying Zhan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Few studies have empirically explored the specific elements of schoolteachers’ feedback literacy in spite of its crucial role in supporting student learning in classrooms. To address this research gap, individual interviews were conducted with 20 teacher educators in Hong Kong. The interviewees were asked to explicate the mind maps of schoolteacher feedback literacy that they had previously drawn. Data analysis revealed that the participants perceived schoolteacher feedback literacy as a three-dimensional concept, comprising knowledge, competence and disposition with specifications. In addition, the participants believed that schoolteacher feedback literacy was gradually evolving from a qualified level to a fully professional level …

Teacher Candidates’ Pivot To Virtual Literacy Field Experiences: The Interplay Of Culturally Responsive Sustaining Pedagogies And Improvisation, Mary Coakley-Fields, Courtney Kelly, Katherine Egan Cunningham, Kori Krafick

Education Faculty Publications

This qualitative investigation examines how teacher candidates enrolled in literacy courses navigated virtual field work experiences during summer and fall 2020. The study is grounded in theories of improvisation as a pedagogical practice and culturally responsive and sustaining approaches to teaching. Data show that teacher candidates took advantage of the affordances of the environment and adapted their practice to suit the new situation by improvising and growing their virtual teaching skillset for culturally responsive literacy instruction. Findings reveal the importance of teacher candidates developing improvisational culturally responsive and sustaining practices, including learning about students’ interests, cultures, and experiences and applying …

A View From Somewhere: Situating The Public Problem In Creative Writing Workshops, Erika Luckert

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

This essay is an effort to better situate the creative writing workshop in the diverse perspectives of its participants, by drawing on parallels between critiques of the writing workshop and critiques of the idealized public sphere. Habermas’s idealized public sphere has been critiqued for privileging dominant identities, much as creative writing workshops have been critiqued for privileging white writers like me. In this essay, I begin by listening to the critiques and testimony of BIPOC writers, which reveal that workshops are hegemonic spaces that reproduce and magnify racist, sexist, and classist systems. By reading these testimonies in conversation with critiques …

"I Am Not Alone": Supporting Teachers Of Color Through Affinity Groups, Marissa J. White

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

While research has indicated that teachers of color need to be better supported by building and district administrators to retain higher numbers, the literature lacks the best practices for targeted support specifically for teachers of color. This Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice utilizes a qualitative participatory social justice design to examine the efficacy of affinity groups as a viable practice to support and retain teachers of color. Through a Critical Race Theory (CRT) framework, this study also explores the reflections of teachers of color at a Pre-k – Grade 5 school in a large urban district in a Northeastern state. …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Reflective Writing And Learning In Early Field Experiences, Deborah Romero, Mandi Leigh, Weihsuan Lo

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

As cultural and linguistic diversity (CLD) in schools increases so does the demand for more qualified teachers. Enrollment declines in teacher preparation programs and national teacher shortages, particularly teachers prepared to work with CLD students, further exacerbate the situation. As teacher preparation programs seek to meet the demands for teachers, this study addresses a gap in research and practice that examines pre-service teacher (PST) reflections conducted as part of a non-credit very early field experience (EFE). The study addresses two questions:1) How does participation in EFE shape PST learning and professional identities as expressed in written reflections? 2) In what …

(Re)Turning To Freirean Philosophy In Preparing Content Teachers To Work With Multilingual Students, Kara Viesca, Peiwen Wang, Brandon Heinz, Alexa Yunes-Koch

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In 2019, Bettina Love published a call for abolitionist teaching, an effort for educational freedom and racial justice. In her work, she centered the role of theory in teaching calling it a "North Star." She suggested that theory provides teachers a "steadfast tool" that explains the experiences of people minoritized due to racism, sexism, ableism, linguicism, etc., as well as provides language for and knowledge about intersectional issues of injustice. Love literally calls theory a "practical guide" as well as a "location for healing" (Love, 2019, p. 132).

The work of Paulo Freire has long served as the kind of …

“It Was Just My Name!”: A Crt/Crf Analysis Of International Female Graduate Students’ Perception And Experiences Regarding Their Ethnic Name, Peiwen Wang, Xiaoyan Gu, Amanda R. Morales

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Although international female students accounted for 44% of the enrolled international students in the United States (U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, 2020), their experiences regarding their ethnic name are relatively understudied in onomastic literature. This study considers the experiences of eight international female graduate students of Color who are studying at a Midwestern predominantly White university. Utilizing Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Race Feminism (CRF) as the theoretical and analytical lenses, this qualitative phenomenological study collected data through semi-structured, in-depth interviews. We explore the meaning of ethnic names and their connection to participants’ …

Impact Of A Multi-Layered Autobiography Project For Transforming Intercultural Competence Among Pre-Service Teachers, Elizabeth J. Sandell, Luz Carime Bersh

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

This study investigated how a Multi-Layered Autobiography Project impacts the intercultural competence for undergraduate students, many of whom were aspiring teacher candidates in the United States. For purposes of this project, the concept of “culture” was adapted from West and Turner’s (2018) definition: the norms, behaviors, standards, values, etc. shared by a group of people, and passed along to later generations. Investigators deemed that “culture” was composed of numerous microcultures among a smaller group of human beings (with their own language, communication strategies, behavior rules, and expectations), who are bonded together by similar experiences, values, characteristics, organization, membership, location, or …

Curriculum 2013: Addressing The Needs Of High Ability Learners In Indonesian Secondary Schools, Lismawati Lapasi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

High ability learners are students with outstanding abilities in one domain or more and have varying learning abilities, interests, and needs. Due to their diversity, these students require curriculum and instruction that can address their needs and facilitate them to reach their full potential. In Indonesia, high ability education is rare to be found as the curriculum is oriented to meet the needs of students of all abilities. However, Indonesia's current national curriculum, Curriculum 2013, has the potential to address the needs of high ability learners in the regular classroom. Using the qualitative literature review method, this study analyzed the …

Transforming Educators' Social Emotional Learning (Sel): A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring The Impact Of A Trauma-Informed Sel Intervention To Mitigate Educator Implicit Bias, Kemen Holley

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

While research has indicated that social emotional learning (SEL) approaches promote essential, long-lasting individual and collective development for students, the literature indicates a lack of evidence that educators are implementing SEL approaches to affirm the assets, lived experiences, and identities of students, particularly those belonging to minoritized groups. This Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice (ISDiP) employed a mixed-methods pragmatic, researchintervention process model that utilized a community-based action research approach to evaluate a trauma-informed SEL professional learning (PL) intervention as a viable practice to mitigate high school educators’ implicit biases. Through an anti-racist, anti-oppression framework, this study sought to determine the …

The Effects Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy On Middle School Teachers' Sel Self-Efficacy And Instructional Practices, Caitlin A. O'Keefe

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

This Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice investigated the impact professional learning in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy had on teacher SEL self-efficacy and instructional practices in a middle school. Educators faced many new challenges with the onset of a global pandemic, increased political polarization, and social unrest fueled by system racism. In the blink of an eye, teachers adapted their instructional practices to teach in full remote, hybrid, and, eventually, in-person instruction with strict COVID-19 guidelines. Teachers noted a decrease in student connectedness and higher disengagement from school. Students’ social and emotional needs grew, and classroom teachers became the triage nurses in …

See Me, Hear Me, Teach Me: Addressing Equity, Diversity, And Student Engagement Through Culturally Responsive Teaching, Diana Diiorio

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

This Improvement Science Dissertation in Practice aimed to investigate how teachers' cultural backgrounds and potential cultural biases were manifested in their teaching and determine the degree to which student engagement is impacted as a result of teachers' proficiency in the use of Cultural-linguistic Responsiveness (CLR). Additionally, this study aims to intervene in the problem of practice (lack of use of Cultural-linguistic Responsiveness strategies) through assessment of the impact of training to increase Cultural-linguistic Responsiveness strategies. By utilizing a convergent mixed-method approach, this study follows a team of devoted school community members as they planned, implemented, studied, and reflected on the …

Unlocking Classroom Discourse: Supporting Early Career Teachers In Their Development Of Culturally Inclusive Social-Emotional Teaching Practices, Kelly L. Falvey

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

This Improvement Science research study investigates how school districts can support educators with one to three years of experience in developing culturally inclusive social-emotional teaching practices (CISEL). This mixed-methods study aimed to understand the early career teacher experience and their perspectives on CISEL to identify structures that support this area of pedagogical development during the transition from preparation to employment. First, an initial root cause analysis exposed the need for more explicit integration of cultural inclusivity into educator preparation and early career teacher professional learning in the state and district that employs the scholarly practitioner. Secondly, the root cause analysis …

Scamle Journal 2022 Full Volume

South Carolina Association for Middle Level Education Journal

No abstract provided.

Melody And Memory: Black Language In The Low Country, Dywanna Smith, Kenesha Johnson

South Carolina Association for Middle Level Education Journal

Black Language has historically been marginalized as a broken form of Standard English forcing the speakers of this language to conform and devalue their native tongue. This impact has led to a negative stigma on Black Language and forced Black people to relinquish their cultural literacies. This study reflects on understanding why Black Language must be recognized as a legitimate language. It also illustrates why Black Language should be welcomed into the classroom as it provides a pathway to self-actualization affording Black students the opportunity to self-define and self-validate their existence. Special emphasis is placed on how language impacts adolescent …

“Never Anything About The Asian Experience”: An Asiancrit Analysis Of Asian American Teachers In The Midwest, Jung Kim

Education Department Faculty Articles

Although Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial minority group in the United States, projected to be 10% of the population by 2050, they only comprise 2% of the teaching force. There is relatively little research about the experiences, recruitment efforts, or retention of Asian American teachers. This qualitative study seeks to add to the extant literature by seeking to better under the experiences of Asian American pK-12 teachers in the Midwest, primarily in northern Illinois. This study draws upon both a sociopolitical understanding of being Asian American and three specific tenets of AsianCrit: (re)constructive history; story, theory, and praxis; and …

Supporting Teacher Retention Through A Trauma-Informed Lens, Nicole C. Reddig

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between trauma-informed practices and teacher burnout and turnover. For the past decade, schools across the United States have seen high levels of burnout and turnover amongst their educators. At the same time, young children are experiencing high levels of exposure to traumatic events in childhood, affecting their behavior, social and emotional health, and ability to learn. While teachers play an important role in the support system for these students, they are also at risk for experiencing secondary trauma and burnout. To mitigate the effects of trauma, trauma-informed practices have been introduced in schools to respond …

Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On Spanish Speaking Families Who Have Children With Disabilities, Briceida Nuñez Martinez, Silvia M. Correa-Torres

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) families encounter many challenges when trying to effectively advocate for and be a part of their children’s education. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has added additional struggles for many CLD families, including families of children with disabilities. Utilizing a qualitative phenomenological design, this study aimed to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Spanish speaking families of students with special needs. Ten Spanish speaking parents of children with special needs participated in this study. Participants were asked to share their experiences receiving services for their children with disabilities during the first year of the pandemic. …