Digital Commons Network^™

Visible Practices Of Christian Community In Online Video Small Groups, Joel Peter Jupp

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Computers In Education, Edu 3640, Course Outline, Hon J. Teo

Open Educational Resources

A hands-on computing literacy course on how microcomputers can improve teaching and learning environments. Emphasis is placed on the process of planning, designing, and implementing pedagogical techniques that best facilitate student learning. Topics include Word Processing, Spreadsheet & Database Management Systems. Interactive Multimedia Software, Internet Multimedia Software, Internet and World Wide Web.

Education In Post-Conflict Colombia, Juliana Cabrera Pena

Master's Theses

After 52 years of civil war, Colombia now enters a period of precarious peace. The Colombian government and the largest guerrilla group, the FARC, signed a monumental peace agreement which ushered a period of change in a country which has yet to have sustained peace. Utilizing the power of civil society and social services, the Colombian government has the authority to maintain peace. Education, with its stabilizing power, has the capability of cultivating a society of peace. Thus, this thesis explores the level of value and importance the Colombian government is placing on the expansion of quality education to …

An Analysis Of Adult Educators’ Experiences With Professional Development Activities, Robbie Scott Cornelius

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to explore Adult Basic Education (ABE), Adult Secondary Education (ASE), and English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers’ experiences with professional development. The study sought to determine whether adult learning principles were evident in the facilitation of professional development activities. The study instrument was administered online to members of the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE), with a total of n=348 respondents to the survey. The survey consisted of demographic questions, questions related to professional development experiences, and an open response question. The majority of respondents were teachers/instructors (n=232, 66.7%), held a master’s degree (n=187, 54.4%), …

A Phenomenological Study Of Female Stem Majors Who Have Decided To Become Educators, Porcia Richardson-Spears

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate, identify, and describe the lived experiences that influence female STEM majors to become secondary educators rather than enter a STEM-related corporate profession. This study was guided by Mezirow’s transformative learning theory (TLT) and Lent, Brown and Hackett’s social cognitive career theory (SCCT) as they related to self-awareness, which guides and motivates the behaviors involved in choosing a career path. The research questions for this study were designed to investigate the experiences that prompted females to major in STEM majors and to enter the field of teaching rather than enter corporate …

Journeyman International: Malawi City Cottage, Stefan Denny

Construction Management

This report details the partnership between Journeyman International and City Cottage, to design and construct an educational facility near Lilongwe, Malawi. Journeyman International is a non-profit humanitarian design and construction organization with the mission of connecting top tier CAED students from around the nation to collaborate on philanthropic efforts in the form of senior projects. The proposed project is a 5,800 sqft educational facility built on an institutional land grant; designed to house an auditorium and additional classroom space. The project utilized rammed earth construction methods with steel reinforcement. This report’s focus is on the construction management process of this …

Notes From Johannesburg - Dialogues And Itineraries Of The South From Kinshasa: Art, History, And Education, David Andrew

Artl@s Bulletin

This text was originally a brief speech in a debate – Dialogues and Itineraries of the South from Kinshasa: Art, History and Education that took place at Mário de Andrade Library’s Auditorium in São Paulo (Brazil) on October 26^th 2016. It draws from questions and discussions in Kinshasa, concerning arts education, the challenges in decolonizing curriculum and methods, connecting them to South African experiences, particularly at the Wits School of Arts (Johannesburg) and also from the Another Road Map School research group workshops.

Mental Mathematics In The Classroom, Linda Li

Honors Projects

The purpose of this action research study is to investigate the impact of mental mathematics in the classroom and how it affects student achievement. Participants are students in a 9^th grade Honors Geometry classroom with a class length of 43 minutes in a suburban setting. An initial survey was conducted to evaluate student confidence and reasoning abilities on a Likert scale. Throughout the research time frame, students were presented tasks requiring mental mathematics as an in-class activity. At the end of the experiment, students were to complete a post- survey to measure growth in areas like number fluency, self-confidence, …

Code4her Spring 2018, Rebeccah Knoop

Honors Projects

CODE4her is a mentorship program with a goal of sparking interest in computer science organized by the BGSU Women in Computing (BGWIC) student organization. Participation is open to middle school girls (grades 5-8), and participants are paired with BGWIC members who serve as mentors.

Set Adrift: A Study Of Characteristics, Sustainability, And The Lifelines Tethering Connecticut Forensic Social Workers In The Criminal And Juvenile Justice Systems, Jennie Jerome Albert

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite its roots as a leader in juvenile justice, prison advocacy and reform, appreciation and professional support for forensic social work (FSW) has waxed and waned over the last one hundred and twenty years. It has gone from leadership in the field of criminal justice to becoming nearly invisible to the profession of social work itself. Over the last decade, FSW began experiencing a resurgence thanks to a shift in policy and practice toward treatment and diversion for justice-involved individuals. Despite FSW’s historical roots and relevance to today’s justice systems, there is a dearth of materials about who is practicing …

Human Rights Education In Different Contexts. A Book Review Of Human Rights And Schooling: An Ethical Framework For Teaching For Social Justice, Steven P. Camicia

Democracy & Education

In her book, Human rights and schooling: An ethical framework for teaching for social justice, Audrey Osler covered design and implementation of human rights education (HRE) within local and global contexts, as well as for students ranging from childhood to university levels. One of the central themes that Osler developed throughout the book is a complex recognition of diversity while embracing solidarity in the name of social justice. Osler supported the development of her framework through examples from multiple contexts around the globe where HRE education has been implemented. These tangible illustrations from her experiences and research provided pictures …

Renewed Commitment To Democratic Schools. A Book Review Of These Schools Belong To You And Me: Why We Can’T Afford To Abandon Our Public Schools, Pamela Fisher

Democracy & Education

In These Schools Belong to You and Me, renowned educator Deborah Meier partners with a younger former colleague, Emily Gasoi, to offer both a multigenerational perspective of their successful work in small, autonomous, democratic schools and a rich commentary on the evolution of the small schools movement in light of the recent press for high-stakes accountability. Writing in alternating chapters and reflecting on their decades of experience, MacArthur award winner Meier and Gasoi present a compelling argument for renewed support for democracy and equity in all our public schools.

Does The Common Core Further Democracy? A Response To "The Common Core And Democratic Education: Examining Potential Costs And Benefits To Public And Private Autonomy", Johann N. Neem

Democracy & Education

The Common Core does not advance democratic education. Far from it, the opening section of the language standards argues that the goal of public K–12 education is “college and career readiness.” Only at the end of their introductory section do the Common Core’s authors suggest that K–12 education has any goals beyond the economic: learning to read and write well has “wide applicability outside the classroom and work place,” including preparing people for “private deliberation and responsible citizenship in a republic.” The democratic purposes of K–12 education are not goals but, in the Common Core’s words, a “natural outgrowth” of …

Drawing On The Past To Open Up Possible Futures. A Response To "The Cultural Contours Of Democracy: Indigenous Epistemologies Informing South African Citizenship", John Ambrosio

Democracy & Education

This article is a response to a qualitative study that examined how the indigenous African notion of ubuntu informs how some school teachers in a Black township in South Africa conceptualize Western-oriented narratives of democracy. While the study acknowledges important differences in how ubuntu is understood and defined, the author argues that it nonetheless tends to overlook them in order to harness ubuntu as a force for positive social change and national development. The author argues that ubuntu could potentially serve as a powerful cultural force for change, but this requires a context in which some of the moral qualities …

Deliberation Or Simulated Deliberation?, Peter Levine

Democracy & Education

The work of Crocco and her colleagues, "Deliberating Public Policy Issues with Adolescents," combines two important fields—deliberative democracy and discussion as a pedagogy—with a study of policy deliberations in three classrooms. Their article yields valuable insights. As the authors note, the results are disappointing. This may be because the students were not actually asked to deliberate, if "deliberation" means discussing in order to make a decision. After all, the students could not decide US policy on immigration. Their discussion was a kind of simulated deliberation. Evidence suggests that we may see better results from real deliberations that occur within student-led …

Contention And Conversation In The K–12 Classroom. A Review Essay Of Teaching Controversial Issues And The Case For Contention, Robert Kunzman

Democracy & Education

This review essay explores the complexities and challenges involved in addressing controversial issues in the K–12 public school classroom, drawing from two recent books: Noddings and Brooks’s Teaching Controversial Issues: The Case for Critical Thinking and Moral Commitment in the Classroom and Zimmerman and Robertson’s The Case for Contention: Teaching Controversial Issues in American Schools. This educational work requires thoughtful preparation by teachers, support from administrators and communities, and careful discernment about whether issues require pedagogical neutrality or directive instruction. Teaching young people how to understand unfamiliar perspectives and engage respectfully across ethical disagreement should be a fundamental priority for …

Deliberating Public Policy Issues With Adolescents: Classroom Dynamics And Sociocultural Considerations, Margaret S. Crocco, Avner Segall, Anne-Lise S. Halvorsen, Rebecca J. Jacobsen

Democracy & Education

Classroom discussion and deliberation have been widely touted in the research literature as a centerpiece of high quality civic education. Empirical studies, however, of such processes are relatively few. In a public policy deliberation on immigration conducted in three Midwestern high schools during the academic year 2015–16, the authors found that analysis of a set of deliberations on the subject of immigration policy in the United States reveals the ways in which sociocultural identity aspects of the settings and participants influenced the processes and dynamics of these classroom events. Reflecting upon this analysis suggests a set of factors that reveal …

Education For Deliberative Democracy And The Aim Of Consensus, Martin Samuelsson

Democracy & Education

The aim of consensus is essential to deliberative democracy. However, this aim has also been frequently criticized. In this article, I present two different forms of criticism against consensus in democratic education. The first, articulated by scholars of education for democracy, claims that the aim of consensus fails to account for the conflictual nature of democracy and thereby disallows disagreement and dissensus. The second, formulated by classroom practitioners, argues that it disrupts the pattern of communication in classroom discussions. I nevertheless attempt to defend consensus on both accounts by arguing that it is a multifaceted concept that allows for different …

Democratic Education And Agonism: Exploring The Critique From Deliberative Theory, Ásgeir Tryggvason

Democracy & Education

Due to the current political challenges facing democratic societies, including an apparent presence of populist rhetoric, the question of how political discussions should take place in democratic education is as urgent as ever. In the last two decades, one of the most prominent approaches to this question has been the use of deliberative theory. However, the deliberative approach has been criticized from an agonistic perspective for neglecting the role of emotions in political discussions. Deliberative theorists have in turn responded to this critique and argued that the agonistic approach tends to put too much emphasis on students’ emotions and identities …

Effects Of Cooperative Learning On Middle School Inclusion Students' State Mathematics Test Performance, Andrea B. Jones

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This research study was conducted to determine whether cooperative learning increased the percentage of middle school inclusion students who performed at basic or proficient levels of mathematics test. A descriptive analysis was chosen to examine mathematics state test performance pre and post the implementation of cooperative learning in inclusive middle schools. Cooperative learning was initiated in the state in the 2011-2012 school year. The data on mathematics state test performance for the selected site were public records on the department of education website for 2009-2013. The results indicated that cooperative learning impacted disabled students' performance positively and to a greater …

My Mother's Body, Anika N. Jensen

SURGE

On Friday, April 20, 2018, Gettysburg College students organized a campus-wide walkout to protest all forms of gun violence as part of Gettysburg College’s first annual Peace and Justice Week. Over the next several days, SURGE published the poems and personal testimonies of the student speakers who participated in the event.

Begin in sukhasa–easy pose–with your legs crossed the way children used to sit during show and tell before they had to worry about what position gives them enough time to stand and scramble toward the door when the shooting starts. [excerpt]

Thought Forge: Investment In Critical Thinking, Christian Hampton

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

Critical thinking is an essential part of holistic education. Research shows that it has benefits across curriculum. In both core subject areas and elective subjects alike, critical thinking benefits the development of the needed thought processes. Despite this it is woefully underrepresented in classroom. Thought Forge is a program designed to provide accessible and fun critical thinking curriculum through technology. Designed as a longitudinal difficulty scaffolding program, Thought Forge aims to assess, develop, and reveal critical thinking skills in students of all ages.

Enhancing Literacy Instruction Through Technology, Kaylin M. Haugen

Senior Honors Theses

Technology has altered how children experience language. As technology has taken root in society, literacy skills have expanded beyond simply reading and writing print texts to include interacting with digital texts and media. To prepare students to operate in this digital environment, teachers should integrate technology into language arts instruction; however, many teachers feel unprepared to do so effectively. Additionally, some teachers hesitate to implement technology into language arts instruction as a tool because of its supposed negative effects on literacy. Despite beliefs about technology inhibiting reading and writing, teachers can utilize technology to enhance literacy instruction. The digital age …

The Evolution Of The Perceptions Of The Goth Subculture, Sabrina Newman

Honors Theses - Providence Campus

No abstract provided.

Getting An Education In Cuba, Sarah Asp Olson

Frontiers

Ruth Dawley-Carr takes lessons learned from multiple trips to Cuba and applies them in her Minnesota State Mankato classroom.

Using An Evidence-Based Tobacco Cessation Treatment Guideline Workshop To Increase Nurses’ Skill, Confidence, And Provision Of Care, Tonya Tyson

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Translational and Clinical Research Projects

Abstract Approximately 15% of adults 18 years of age or older in the United States smoke tobacco. Over 16 million people who smoke tobacco have a related disease. Since nurses comprise the largest group of health care providers in the country, they could have a big impact on client cessation efforts. Many nurses, however, feel unprepared to provide evidence-based smoking cessation counseling (SCC) per established national guidelines. The aim of this project was to provide a brief workshop providing nursing students and faculty training. The theory of planned behavior was used as a framework to measure attitudes toward providing SCC, …

Death And Dying: Deciding Between Hospice And Palliative Care, Kelly Castro

Academic Festival

Title: Death and Dying: Deciding Between Hospice and Palliative Care

Author: Kelly Castro

Purpose: Provide education on death and dying to family members as they navigate through this time specifically differentiating between hospice and palliative care.

Background: After spending several weeks on an oncology unit it was discovered that many patients and family members are ill informed about their options at end of life. They are often confused about the differences between hospice and palliative care. It is a difficult time for families and it is essential to provide all the necessary information to decide upon a plan of care. …

A New Vision Of Liberal Education: The Good Of The Unexamined Life, Daniel R. Denicola

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Alistair Miller’s book, A New Vision of Liberal Education, is a dilation of his doctoral thesis, but it is enormously ambitious in aim: “My specific aim in this book is to explore whether aspects of the two traditions [of Enlightenment and Aristotelian ethics] might be synthesised in the concrete form of a liberal-humanist education” (NVLE, 11). Indeed, the arc of Miller’s argument ranges from these contrasting traditions of moral philosophy, through alternate versions of liberal education, to a proposal for curricular content. The book is well researched and proceeds dialectically, as Miller sifts through scholarship on liberal education, moral education, …

Cultural Identity Silencing Of Native American Identity In Education: A Descriptive Phenomenological Investigation, Katheryne Leigh

Dissertations

Native American Nations have been subjected to colonialism for centuries the impact of which led to further traumatic events and disparities. Although recent scholarship has investigated possible relationships between traumas experienced in education and issues such as depression, substance use, poor academic achievement, and suicide, there remained a need for qualitative studies exploring the phenomenon from the voice of the experiencer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the phenomenon of cultural identity silencing of Native American identity in education. Eight young adult self-identified Native American/Alaskan college students between the ages of 18-25 who experienced cultural identity silencing in …

Bridging Civic Engagement To Civic Responsibility Through Short-Term, International Service-Learning Experiences: A Qualitative Analysis Of Student Reflections, Stephanie Malinenko, Justine Tutuska, Lynn Matthews

eJournal of Public Affairs

Written reflection is a tool commonly used by faculty to assess student learning in service-learning courses, which are frequently offered as short-term international experiences. This article discusses a qualitative analysis of students’ written reflections on a short-term, international service-learning project that was conducted to determine whether undergraduate students bridged their engagement to the development of civic or social responsibility. Results of the analysis revealed that students demonstrated nominal progress toward civic responsibility when not specifically prompted by assignments. Multiple themes emerged from the analysis related to students’ goals, challenges, and lessons learned. Based on the findings, the authors recommend that …