Digital Commons Network^™

The Status Of, Teacher Attitudes Towards, And The Lmpact Of Music Therapy Lnclusive Music Education In Michigan, Ann E. Armbruster

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine Michigan music teachers' attitudes and perceptions regarding their training for and experience with special learners in their classrooms, and their collaboration and consultation with music therapists. Eighty-six music educators completed a 51 item questionnaire. Results showed that music teachers' attitudes and perceptions are generally positive toward inclusion. Mean scores for attitude and perception were not influenced by whether participants had or had not taken a course in special education as a student, whether they had access to continuing education regarding inclusion through their school district, or participants' predominant teaching area or degree …

How Do Middle School Core Content Area Teachers In A Title 1 School Use Cooperative Learning In The Context Of High Accountability For Student Proficiency: A Multiple Case Study, Martha Cunigan-Wells

Dissertations

This action research case study describes how content area teachers in a middle school with low reading achievement levels utilize cooperative learning and curriculum integration (with a focus on the integration of literacy skills and thinking skills) in their content area given the current context of accountability for student mastery of tested core content outcomes. The participants were four urban middle school teachers from the core areas of science, social studies, mathematics, and language arts who had varying levels of training and experience with cooperative learning and curriculum integration. Data sources included audio-recorded pre-conferences, video-taped classroom observations, audio-recorded post-conferences, and …

Teachers' Making Meaning Of Reduced Class Sizes: A Phenomenology, Brenda Ludy Snow

Dissertations

It is every teacher’s dream to have a classroom full of students who come to class each and every day highly motivated to learn. However, in all reality teachers know that this is not always the case. Researchers continue to search for reasonable alternatives to improve students’ learning. As children enter school a good start is imperative if they are to succeed in school, (Achilles & Finn, 2000). Class size reduction is a strong alternative and should be considered as part of a reasonable plan for student learning.

For this qualitative study, I examined and described the experiences of 12 …

A Suryey Of Music Therapists' Use Of Music To Facilitate Reading Development In Children, Cynthia Cross

Masters Theses

This study utilized Naturalistic Inquiry methods to investigate how music therapists use music elements to impact reading development in school-aged children. Eleven Board-Certified Music Therapists were interviewed providing information regarding music therapy interventions, reading skills targeted, theoretical influences, and professional influences. Transcripts of interviews were analyzedto determine themes, coÍtmon use of language related to the subject, common perceptions, and techniques and uses for music to impact reading development. In general subjects did not report specifically using music elements to target reading behavior. Rather, most subjects identified reading objectives determined by classroom teachers and developed music interventions to accommodate those objectives. …

Translating And Adapting The Postt For Formative Assessment Of Indonesian Preservice Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Orientations, Listiani

Masters Theses

Indonesia has experienced problems in teacher quality, especially science teachers. Regarding this problem, a teacher-training program, in which preservice teachers are directed to use the most appropriate science teaching methods, is important to prepare qualified teachers. Having formative assessments for assessing Indonesian preservice science teachers’ teaching orientations is important. Therefore, the Pedagogy of Science Teaching Test (POSTT) was translated and adapted into Bahasa as a formative assessment for preservice science teachers. There were eight steps to translate and validate the POSTT into Bahasa (Indonesian language). The translation and validation processes involved eight experts in the target language and eight science …

November 24, 2014: Comparative Drama Essay Wins Award, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

November 18, 2014: Traub Visit Big Success, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

"You Can't Be Creative Anymore": Students Reflect On The Lingering Effects Of The Five-Paragraph Essay, Jennifer P. Gray

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

The five-paragraph essay continues to make headlines in composition and pedagogy journals and on teacher listservs. This long-cherished genre has been touted for teaching the basics to writers in college, and teachers often claim that it is the best foundation for solid essay writing. In contrast, there are numerous five-paragraph essay critics who claim that the essay is a “school-created thing” that has no real-world value and persists due to an enshrinement in textbooks as preparation for objective standardized testing. Regardless of the debate, one thing remains: there is little research on the essay from the students’ perspective. This essay …

Writing At School: Test-Prep Writing And Digital Storytelling, Patricia A. Jacobs Phd, Danling Fu Phd

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This article presents a study on two students’ from nonmainstream and working class backgrounds writing experiences in two different writing situations: writing for test preparation and writing for digital stories. The students’ writing behaviors, processes and products in these two settings are contrasted. The differences of the students’ writing experiences in this classroom during a four-month period suggest that it may be our teaching that trails behind the time rather than students from diverse backgrounds trailing behind in their school learning. The research findings point out that a test-driven teaching approach tends to limit students’ ability as learners and in …

Transforming Writing Teachers: Two Professional Development Possibilities, Jessica Gallo, Bailey Herrmann

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This article focuses on two professional development opportunities, The National Writing Project and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, that provide transformative experiences for teachers. These two programs offer opportunities for meaningful, situated, and complex professional development that focus on the person and the professional.

Three Heuristics For Writing And Revising Qualitative Research Articles In English Education, Ann M. Lawrence

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

In this essay, I present three heuristics for writing and revising qualitative research articles in English education: “PAGE” (Purpose, Audience, Genre, Engagement), “Problem Posing, Problem Addressing, Problem Posing,” and “The Three INs” (INtroduction, INsertion, INterpretation). In so doing, I describe the rhetorical functions and conventional structure of all of the major sections of qualitative research articles, and show how the problem for study brings the rhetorical “jobs” of each section into purposive relationship with those of the other sections. Together, the three curricular resources that I offer in this essay prompt writers to connect general rhetorical concerns with specific writing …

A “Great Balancing Act:” Becoming Dexterous And Deft With New Literacies Pedagogy, Jill Mcclay, Shelley Stagg Peterson, Christine Portier

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

In response to recent mandates in literacy curricula, literacy teachers must integrate Web 2.0 and new literacies perspectives into their writing instruction. Such transitions in their pedagogy, however, are often accomplished without adequate support or opportunities for professional development. How do teachers approach the difficult task of changing their perspectives to take new literacies practices into account? This article traces the learning and pedagogical practices of five teachers who worked with the authors in a dual-sited action research study (one in a large urban district, one in a small rural district) for more than two years. We present two themes …

Learning To Develop A Culturally Relevant Approach To 21st Century Writing Instruction, Detra Price-Dennis, Molly Trinh Wiebe, Michelle Fowler-Amato

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

In a position statement, Beliefs about the Teaching of Writing (2004), NCTE outlines eleven broad principles to serve as a guide for teaching language arts. Among the key ideas in this document is the call for language arts teacher educators to consider how literacy courses can create opportunities for pre-service teachers to account for the multifaceted and multimodal world of literacy with students in K-12 settings. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to learn from the experience of one pre-service teacher during his language arts methods course. Drawing on a subset of data from two, our research team …

Asking And Understanding Questions: An Inquiry-Based Framework For Writing Teacher Development, Jessica Rivera-Mueller

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Teachers develop when they critically examine the questions they ask about their work because questions make pedagogical beliefs visible and available for critical reflection and revision. In a standards-based educational climate—a time when writing becomes a set of measurable skills rather than a complex social practice—teachers may feel that a critical examination of their questions is (at best) a luxury or (at worst) a distraction to work they need to accomplish. Therefore, writing teacher educators may find it increasingly challenging to help teachers engage in reflexive inquiry. This essay describes a Deweyian-informed framework that shows how addressing inquiries and critically …

Co-Planning And Co-Teaching In A Summer Writing Institute: A Formative Experiment, Kelly Chandler-Olcott, Janine Nieroda, Bryan Ripley Crandall

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This paper reports findings from a two-year formative experiment (Reinking & Bradley, 2008) investigating a summer writing institute for students entering ninth grade at an urban high school. The three-week program was staffed by both university researchers and teachers. In contrast to traditional summer school, it was intended as enrichment, not remediation, for a heterogeneous group of students, and a learning experience, not just a teaching opportunity, for practitioners. The pedagogical goals of the intervention were two-fold: 1) increase students’ writing engagement and skill, and 2) improve teachers’ capacity to teach writing to diverse student populations. Findings focused on co-teaching …

Navigating Collaborative Teaching Waters: Professors Go Back And Pre-Service Teachers Move Forward To Embody The Promise Of Story, Jill Adams, Kathleen Deakin, Gloria Eastman, Jay Arellano, Andrea Nieto, Eliza Spencer, Brianne Barber

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

A group of English education professors and secondary English education collaboratively planned a 3-week class for future high school freshmen in an academic summer camp held on our campus. Reflections of lessons learned from a variety of perspectives are shared.

Introduction: Building Bridges In Writing Teacher Education, Jonathan Bush, Erinn Bentley

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This introduction discusses the editors' decision to support publications in both APA and MLA formats and also provides contextual introductions for all articles.

Western News, Nov. 13, 2014, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: CHHS department awarded $3.7 million; Forums to discuss progress on diversity suggestions; Trustees extend president’s contract into 2017; Emeriti Council funds $9,200 in student scholarships; On Campus with Cassandra Motycka.

Medieval Women In Film: An Annotated Handlist And Reference Guide, With Essays On Teaching The Sorceress, Virginia Blanton, Martha M. Johnson-Olin, Charlene Miller Avrich

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

November 9, 2014: Traub To Deliver Comparative Drama Distinguished Lecture, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

College Of Arts And Sciences E-News Issue 19: November 2014, College Of Arts And Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences news

• University to honor its top four staffers for 2013-14 • WMU wins $779,072 grant, partners with Oxford in Web project • Constitution Day at WMU • Donald Southwell, 2014 Distinguished Alumnus • WMU taps alum, former K'zoo Public Safety officer as next police chief • Student Feature: Ted Carter • Student Recalls French Semester Abroad

Anorexia/Bulimia, Transcendence, And The Potential Impact Of Romanticized/Sexualized Death Imagery, Heather D. Schild

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented November 10, 2014. Papers presented for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University

October 31, 2014: Fellowship Opportunities At The John Carter Brown Library, 2015-16, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

Western News, Oct. 30, 2014, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: New tour shows off WMU’s beautiful gardens; Homecoming just keeps getting bigger, better; Day focuses on research resources for faculty; Some 50 longtime employees to be inducted into 25 Year Club; On Campus with Sue Beougher.

October 25, 2014: Acclaimed Frankenstein Production Exclusively At Kzoo10, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

Cas Global Learning Outcomes, College Of Arts And Sciences

Global Learning Outcomes

This is a draft document for the College of Arts & Sciences at Western Michigan University, an attempt to define the knowledge skills and perspectives we would like our students to have to graduate as informed, reflective and engaged global citizens. Includes some suggested activities.

October 19, 2014: Rare Book School Fellowship, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

U.S. And Spanish Newspapers And The Coverage Of The Land Campaign Of Cube In The Spanish-American War: June 7 - July 16, 1898, Tyler Wilson

Honors Theses

The Spanish-American War was a significant event in the history of the United States that initiated America’s imperialistic goals by spreading its economic and political influence in the Caribbean, the Pacific, and other overseas markets. In 1898, the U.S. saw its foreign and economic interests collide with Spain and its foreign policy in Cuba. This was an opportunity for the United States to expand and colonize areas of the world by challenging Spain and declaring itself as an emerging super power at the time.

The growth of journalism in the 1890s developed alongside America’s outward expansion by being the primary …

October 9, 2014: Patrick Brantlinger Visit, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

October 8, 2014: Anthony Ellis Speakers Series /Full Season Poster 2014/2015, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.