Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Patterns In Teachers’ Conceptions Of Citizenship And Political Participation: A Survey Of Secondary School Teachers In Karachi, Pakistan, Karim Panah

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This paper examines patterns in teachers’ understanding of conceptual and practical aspects of citizenship by analyzing survey data obtained from 320 teachers of public and private sector secondary schools in Karachi, Pakistan. The survey was conducted using a five-point-Likert scale ranging from ‘strongly disagree through ‘neutral’ to ‘strongly-agree’ and openended questions on citizen participation in politics. The survey questionnaire included 28 items that reflected various aspects of citizen rights and responsibilities. Principal Component Analysis (PCA)) showed several patterns in teacher’s conceptions of citizenship with reference to democratization. The analysis demonstrates that teachers’ conception of citizenship is shaped by confusions and …

Professional Development Initiatives That Bridge, Develop And Support Learning Environments For Culturally And Linguistically Diverse School Communities In The Us And Guatemala, Miriam Pepper-Sanello, Adrienne Andi Sosin, Michelle Zucaro, Cynthia Rainbow

NERA Conference Proceedings 2008

This paper describes action research initiated by members of the Alpha Upsilon Alpha Literacy Honor Society of the International Reading Association at Adelphi University. In an ongoing service project sponsored by the Nassau Reading Council (NRC) and sanctioned by the Minister of Education in Guatemala, the participants are teacher educators and teacher-researchers studying their own professional learning as they provide literacy pedagogical techniques for colleagues in the US, as well as observing the effects of the NRC professional development initiative in literacy for Guatemalan teachers. Educational insights will resonate in improved literacy practices in the US and Guatemala.

Rigorous Curriculum And Sat, Feifei Li, Thanos Patelis, Robert Lissitz

NERA Conference Proceedings 2008

The main purposes of this study are to investigate the relation between course-taking pattern and the SAT score, and examine the invariance of this relation across subgroups. In addition, we are also going to verify the accuracy of self-reported information from the SAT Questionnaire by examining the actual high school transcripts, and build the link between SAT and the achievement by correlating SAT scores with state assessment scores. If the SAT score is a function of high school course-taking behaviors regardless of students' gender, socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnicity, every student should be provided with equal opportunity for rigorous curriculum.

Sports Metaphors As A Motivational Leadership Strategy, Kay Woelfel

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal (2003-2012)

In schools, the theme of sports can be used throughout the building to motivate staff and students. The students are players, staff members are coaches, and the administration are head coaches. All are necessary members of the team, and all must work together to achieve team goals. This theme kicks off the school year by having a training camp for staff (professional development) to launch the beginning of the school year. Sports-themed snacks including peanuts, popcorn, and crackerjacks and giveaways such as pompoms in school colors, pennants, and sports-themed school supplies generate interest.

Transformative Education For Culturally Diverse Learners Through Narrative And Ethnography, Aileen Hale, Jennifer Snow-Gerono, Fernanda Morales

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article presents a study of the effects of creating a bridge between the narrative and ethnographic methods and writing processes as a means to more effectively educate teachers of culturally diverse learners. Ten teacher-participants from a Masters of Education (M.Ed.) degree programme in Bilingual Education at a university in the northwestern United States took a sequence of courses in which instructor-researchers taught them narrative and ethnographic pedagogy, theory, and methodology. Through qualitative methods, instructor-researchers analyzed teacher-participants’ personal narratives and ethnographic case studies for generative themes. In discovering the commonalities of themes between these two methods of inquiry, the research …

Standards Vs. 'Standard' Knowledge, Edmund T. Hamann

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

This chapter (one of 40 in the book "Everyday Antiracism", edited by Mica Pollock) matches the format of other entries in the book by providing direct, research-grounded advice for ways of reducing racism in American schools and reducing its damage for students. This chapter focuses on the de facto recognized skills of two English learners (ELLs) who were kept in an intermediate class because of their teacher's need to have their assistance as interpreters, but highlights how this linguistic competence actually de jure counted against these learners making their progress appear slower than it was.

Changes In Kindergarteners' Writing Complexity When Using Story Elements, Lynne M. Watanabe

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined changes in kindergarteners' writing complexity after implementing writing instruction based on story elements (character, setting, problem, and solution). Writing samples from six students of three ability levels (i.e., beginning, intermediate, and advanced) were collected over a six-week period within a guided writing context. These samples included three types of texts (oral language, pictures, and written text)and were analyzed using two analytic rubrics specifically created for this study, one for writing development and the other for the inclusion of story elements. Findings from this study suggest that all students, regardless of ability level wrote in more complex ways …

Examination Of Interactions Among Eighth-Grade Language Arts Students During Literature Circles, Rachel Marie Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the nature of interactions that took place among eighth-graders as they participated in literature circles. The teacher/researcher organized students into literature circles based on the students' novel selection. Students completed a different role assignment each week. The role assignments included word wizard, passage picker, connector, summarizer, and question asker. As the students participated in literature circles, the teacher/researcher tape recorded their conversations and took observational field notes. Analysis of the data four weeks later showed that some students' voices were silenced and students went through the motions of completing and talking about their role assignments with little …

Walking The Talk: Examining Privilege And Race In A Ninth-Grade Classroom, Kelly Sassi, Ebony Elizabeth Thomas

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Kelly Sassi and Ebony Elizabeth Thomas describe their struggles and eventual success with students in constructing a "counternarrative to colormuteness and colorblindness"--the self-imposed student segregation and silencing of voice. Because of discussions during a Native American unit and student participation in a classroom intervention activity, interpersonal dynamics openly shifted for the better.

Benefits Of A Parent Involvement Plan For Second Grade Students, Mila Hart

All Graduate Projects

The benefits of a parent involvement plan for second grade students were researched. Students, whose parents were actively involved in their education, did better in school (Henderson & Mapp, 2002). Most parents want what is best for their child and will provide the support needed when encouraged and shown how to be involved with their child in school. Active parent involvement can be facilitated by a parent handbook combined with an open house, follow-up workshops that provide helpful information to parents, and frequent and regular communication via phone, progress reports, e-mail, home visits, and formal or informal conferences (Epstein et …

The Nature Of K-12 Teacher Need Through 2050: A Demographic Investigation Of The Teacher Shortage Crisis In The United States, Rebecca M. Mullen

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

In this paper, I outlined research regarding a so-called "crisis" in K-12 education in the United States, which refers to an alleged shortage of teachers that is manifesting and will continue to manifest itself in the near future. I then used a modified version of the cohort component analysis to project the number of teachers needed to project the number of a) students who will be enrolled in public or private K-12 education in the united states, b) teachers needed to maintain the student to teacher ratio in the United States as of the year 2000, 16.0, by benchmark year …

Building Background Knowledge In Science: English Language Learners, Sheltered Instruction, And First Graders, Laura B. Freitag

Theses and Dissertations

Sheltered Instruction, a strategy used in teaching English Language Learners (ELLs), can improve the educational experience of ELLs. In this action research project, one component of Sheltered Instruction, building background knowledge, was used to teach science in a first grade classroom to see if it could increase the science comprehension of ELLs. Many strategies were used to teach vocabulary during the first four days of each science unit. These strategies included setting aside a vocabulary only day, playing vocabulary games and activities, having a science word wall, reading informational storybooks, and using real objects for the students to connect with. …

Teacher Perceptions Of Multicultural Education: A Research Proposal For A Study Of The Perceptions Of Five White, Female Teachers, Katherine Waight

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The population of the United States continues to become more and more culturally diverse. Yet, white middle-class women dominate the teaching force. Because there are such great numbers of white middle-class women teaching students of color, it is important to re-examine how they perceive and use multicultural education in their classrooms. There have been numerous studies that have examined how white, pre-service teachers’ perceptions impact their pre-service experiences, but it is important to look at how practicing teachers’ perceptions of multicultural education affect their teaching. This study explores how teachers’ perceptions of multicultural education influence the way they teach.

A …

Visual Culture In The Classroom, Tony Fetherston

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The visual aspect of classroom culture is becoming more important because students now have much greater access to the means of producing, viewing and manipulating images. Using a framework adapted from Foucault and taking a myth-making position, this paper puts forward six propositions as means of explaining how images in the classroom might be read. Theory relating to this emerging literacy is further explained through reference to three dominant classroom narratives. It is argued that the interesting elements of an image are often those that link the classroom metanarratives to wider, hegemonic concerns. Interesting research directions are proposed throughout the …

Advice, Cautions, And Opportunities For The Teachers Of Binational Teachers: Learning From Teacher Training Experiences Of Georgia And Nebraska Teachers In Mexico, Edmund T. Hamann

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

With the rapid growth and geographic spread of Mexican-origin student populations in the United States, the practice of U.S. teachers going to Mexico for travel study/professional development has become increasingly common. This paper considers what U.S teachers’ Mexican travel study experiences entail by looking at narratives from Nebraska and Georgia educators who made summer trips to Mexico to learn about Mexican education.

The Art Of Loving In The Classroom : A Defence Of Affective Pedagogy., Allan Patience

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This essay proposes a defence of a form of teaching eroded by what Sennet (2006) calls ‘the culture of the new capitalism’. The term coined for the form under consideration here is ‘affective pedagogy.’ Affective pedagogy is evident in teachers who: • value a discipline (or disciplines) and their associated practices; • value imparting them to students; • challenge students’ learning achievements while respecting their developing intellects; • assess students’ academic progress transparently and constructively; • encourage students to move beyond their knowledge comfort zones; and • engage students in ‘dramatic friendship’ .

It's All About The Teachers: Bank Street's Math For Teachers As Professional Development, Robin Hummel

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This work describes a professional development initiative that was based on the graduate course, Mathematics for Teachers in Diverse and Inclusive Educational Settings (K-6), taught by Linda Metnetsky at Bank Street College of Education. The author wrote and implemented this professional development initiative for teachers in her former district: a large, middle class, suburban school district outside of Philadelphia. It consisted of six full day sessions, held from October through April during the 2004-05 school year. Eleven teachers from third, fourth, and fifth grades participated, and the impact of this professional development on two participants is the focus of this …

Accessing High-Quality Instructional Strategies, Edmund T. Hamann, Jenelle Reeves, Bradley Baurain, Graciela Valenciano

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

Superintendent O'Connell's 2007 call for greater public attention to the racial achievement gap in education provides the backdrop for our report. This report is intended to provide research-grounded policy recommendations related to assuring all students access to high quality instruction. This includes describing what California teachers should be helped to do in California classrooms if these classrooms are to be rich and successful learning environments where students from the many backgrounds represented in the nation's largest system of schools are all to fare well academically.

Superintendent O'Connell has expressed particular concern with inequities in current practice and current outcomes, so …

Meeting The Needs Of Ells: Acknowledging The Schism Between Esl/Bilingual And Mainstream Teachers And Illustrating That Problem's Remedy, Edmund T. Hamann

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

Nationwide, education researchers, policy makers, and school reformers agree that the education of English language learners (ELLs) is an increasingly important issue as (1) more students in more districts fit in that category (Ruiz-de-Velasco, 2005; Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 1999; Wortham, Murillo & Hamann, 2002); as (2) they, in aggregate, continue to fare less well than most other student populations (August & Hakuta, 1997; Callahan & Gindara, 2004; NCES, 1997); and as (3) policy compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act holds their schools accountable for their cumulative average yearly progress (Abedi, 2005; Crawford, 2004). There is also an emerging …

Successful Schooling For Ells: Principles For Building Responsive Learning Environments, Maria Coady, Edmund T. Hamann, Margaret Harrington, Samboen Pho, Jane Yedlin

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

Guiding Questions

• What are the goals of schooling in general and for ELLS in particular?
• What roles do language and culture play in teaching, in learning, and in the assessment of learning?
• How do we measure the successfulness of schooling for ELLs?
• What factors besides the quality of classroom instruction impact the education of ELLs? How?
• In addition to research-based, age-appropriate literacy instruction, what more do ELLS need in order to develop good literacy skills?
• What is the importance of parental and community involvement in the education of ELLs?

While measurable academic gains in …

University Students’ Conceptualization And Interpretation Of Topographic Maps, Douglas Clark, Stephen Reynolds, Vivian Lemanowski, Thomas Stiles, Senay Yaşar-Purzer, Sian Proctor, Elizabeth B. Lewis, Charlotte Stromfors, James Corkins

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

This study investigates the strategies and assumptions that college students entering an introductory physical geology laboratory use to interpret topographic maps, and follows the progress of the students during the laboratory to analyze changes in those strategies and assumptions. To elicit students’ strategies and assumptions, we created and refined a topographic visualization test that was administered before and after instruction to 26 students during the first semester of the study and to 92 students during the second semester. To more deeply understand how students think about and conceptualize topographic maps, we focused on eight individual students who were interviewed about …

Living “Glocally” With Literacy Success In The Midwest, Loukia K. Sarroub

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

This article examines the concept of glocality as a way to better understand why immigrants, poor people, print-illiterate families, and boys are short-changed by schools that often operate under a deficit model or deprivation model in which students’ economic, language, and gender status is the main determinant for school success. The author offers for discussion a set of themes that address (a) the challenges of recent immigration and resettlement in the Midwestern region of the United States, (b) the concept of glocality in connection to youth literacies and transnationalism, (c) the Midwest as a glocal context, and (d) the implications …

Promoting Student Collaboration In A Detracked, Heterogeneous Secondary Mathematics Classroom, Megan Staples

CRME Publications

Detracking and heterogeneous groupwork are two educational practices that have been shown to have promise for affording all students needed learning opportunities to develop mathematical proficiency. However, teachers face significant pedagogical challenges in organizing productive groupwork in these settings. This study offers an analysis of one teacher’s role in creating a classroom system that supported student collaboration within groups in a detracked, heterogeneous geometry classroom. The analysis focuses on four categories of the teacher’s work that created a set of affordances to support within group collaborative practices and links the teacher’s work with principles of complex systems.

Assessment Of Adult Esl Learners’ Preferable Learning Styles : Implications For An Effective Language Learning Environment, Kayoko Yamauchi

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This research was conducted to investigate how adult ESL students learn effectively according to their learning preferences and their cultural/educational backgrounds. A total of 117 respondents in this study were categorized in three types: 58 language-based ESL students (L-B ESL students), 48 content-based ESL students (C-B ESL students), and 11 ESL teachers at Marshall University. In 2008, during the fourth week of September, the Productivity Environmental Preference Survey (PEPS) and a demographic questionnaire were administered to both L-B ESL students and C-B ESL students at Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia. Descriptive statistics, including correlation analysis, were used to describe and …

Preparing Nebraska Teachers To See Demographic Change As An Opportunity, Jenelle Reeves, Edmund T. Hamann

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

This paper reflects on an effort to support Nebraska teachers, both practicing and preservice, to become more ready for the state‘s changing demographics, notably for the growth in Latino and Spanish-speaking populations. To that end, it describes an effort funded by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln‘s Initiative on Teaching and Learning Excellence called, ―Schooling in Nebraska‘s Demographically Transitioning Communities.‖ That initiative makes mentors of practicing teachers who have enrolled in summer courses in second language acquisition. In the fall of 2006, ten such teachers mentored 44 undergraduates enrolled in TEAC 331 ―Cultural Foundation of American Education‖ or TEAC 413A ―Second Language …

More Than A Native Speaker: A Teacher Training Program For Native English-Speaking Teachers In Korean Hakwons, Sunhee Kim

MA TESOL Collection

This paper describes a teacher training program for native English-speaking teachers who teach children at hakwons (private English-teaching institutions) in Korea. The emphasis on English as a necessary skill in the global economy has caused a kind of ‘English fever’ to sweep the nation. A massive number of native English speaker are being rushed to Korea to teach English in hakwons. The majority do not have a background in teaching English. This has caused widely publicized discontent among stakeholders such as parents and difficulties for the teachers. This paper outlines a teacher training program specifically designed to provide basic teaching …

Multicultural Education: More Than The Acknowledgement Of Black History Month, Owen Latimore

Perspectives In Learning

I remember clearly as a child, in the early nineteen sixties, the only African American mentioned in my school was Crispus Attucks. For a long time I thought there was only one black man that fought in the entire revolutionary war. From the big old musty textbooks we were given to study it was obvious very few black people had accomplished anything worth writing about. I hated history. I thought its only concern were old dead white men. Understandably, I did not do well in history. Since 2005, enrollment in public schools has increased, but “Black males continue spiraling down …

Catalogue 2008-2009, Bank Street College Of Education

Graduate School of Education

This course catalog from a past academic year is a resource for referring to previous course offerings, degree requirements, institutional policies, and more.

Beyond Writing: Integrative Learning And Teaching In First-Year Seminars, David H. Krause, Robert C. Lageaux

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Campuses across the country continue to establish first-year seminars that promise students integrative and transformative learning experiences necessary for the twenty-first century. This trend inevitably challenges faculty members to teach in ways that transcend or subvert both their disciplinary expertise and their familiar, comfortable ways of teaching. These challenges become especially visible in the design and evaluation of assignments. At Columbia College Chicago, for example, where the majority of students aspire to careers in the arts, media, and communication, teachers have been negotiating the place of writing in a required firstyear seminar in liberal learning. These negotiations play out differently …

Po? Pow? What! A Class Project To Study Linguistic Variation In English, Bruce Sofinski

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

This article explains how a final class project in an American Sign Language course teaches teamwork, critical thinking, and research methodology.