Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons^™

Using Inquiry In Teacher Professional Learning To Build Efficacy For Writing Instruction, Jacqueline B. Koonce, Melissa Brooks-Yip, Kathleen Gibson

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Whitacre (2019) and Curtis (2017) found that participants’ efficacy impacted their writing instruction and ability to engage students. We share our experiences with a professional development program aimed to improve teacher efficacy and literacy of elementary teachers. In this professional learning network, the Study of Early Literacy (SOEL), a higher percentage of teachers reported to a Hanover Research survey that they felt less confident in teaching writing than other areas of literacy. To address this need, one of the authors developed a subgroup to specifically address the teaching of writing with an inquiry-based action research component. Most of the teachers …

Across The Atlantic: Service-Learning In Spain And Morocco, Lauren Ward

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Purdue provides many activities in service-learning each year, and though they are varied experiences, many of the same lessons can be learned. I had the opportunity to participate in two service-learning study abroad trips while at Purdue- the first to Spain and Morocco, and the second to Haiti. While on these trips, I was involved in projects that seemed very different. In Morocco, my group taught high school students about the history of mathematics during the Islamic Golden Age and how mathematics is utilized in Purdue research. In Haiti, I worked with my teammates to teach water sanitation and storage …

Chinese Culture Club, Ashley Thyes

Honors Expanded Learning Clubs

Afterschool club that teaches students about Chinese culture and teaches them how to speak and white various words and phrases.

Writing Instruction In China: Challenges And Efforts, Rongrong Dong, Danling Fu, Xiaodi Zhou, Buyi Wang

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This qualitative study examined the current writing instruction in 1-12 level education with the data collected in three Chinese cities. The data from the Interviews of teachers and teacher-educators at different levels and from classroom observations at upper elementary to high schools in three metropolitan cities across China provide insights into 1-12 writing instruction in contemporary China. To further reveal the efforts taken by writing teacher under China’s high-stakes testing culture, this paper also presented a case study of an exemplary 10th grade writing teacher, who took tremendous efforts in nurturing true readers and writers in his classroom under the …

Deaf Characters In Young Adult Literature, Kimberly Gangwish

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

The multicultural literature movement has its roots in civil rights and the desire to give voice and representation to marginalized cultures. Literature is a societal artifact that can inform and influence the development of cultural identity. Deaf culture is a unique culture that is underrepresented in young adult literature. This underrepresentation places more importance on accurate representations of Deaf culture since young adult fiction may be the only exposure to Deaf culture that both hearing and deaf teenagers may have. Accurate representation in literature is necessary for deaf to see themselves in what they read and for hearing to better …

“We Listened To Each Other:” Social-Emotional Growth In Literature Circles, Elena M. Venegas

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Literature circles undoubtedly foster literacy. Yet successful participation in literature circles requires social and emotional competence of students. This article presents findings from a study of a fifth-grade student who demonstrated social-emotional growth while participating in literature circles. Specifically, growth in intrapersonal and interpersonal skills such as self-management, social awareness, social metacognition, and empathy were evident. These findings suggest that literature circles not only foster literacy but also social-emotional learning.

Enduring Resilience: An Exploration Of Puerto Rican Colonization, Hurricane Maria, And Ongoing Healing Through Cultural Rituals, Jasmin Isabel Torrejón

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis seeks to illuminate the economic, cultural and social subjugation of Puerto Rico, and its people, through the stripping of personal and political self-determination imposed by U.S. colonization. This research explores historic examples of Puerto Rican perseverance and analyzes psychologically protective factors supporting survivorship and resilience, such as familism and ontological security. The effects of Hurricane Maria on mental health are highlighted in the research, as is the correlation between a lack of electrical power and adverse health/wellness outcomes. Models for collective liberation and social justice are discussed and exemplified through the case study of a march that took …

Cultural Heritage Preservation In The Context Of Climate Change Adaptation Or Relocation: Barbuda As A Case Study, Martha B. Lerski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This case study introduces an arts camp methodology of engaging communities in identifying their key cultural heritage features, thus serving as a meta study. It presents original research based on field studies on the climate-vulnerable Caribbean island of Barbuda during 2017 and 2018. Its Valued Cultural Elements survey, enabling precise identification of key tangible and intangible art forms and biocultural practices, may serve as a basis for further studies. Such approaches may facilitate future research or planning as climate-vulnerable communities harness Local or Indigenous Knowledge for purposes of biocultural heritage preservation, or towards adaptation or relocation. I report on findings …

Remaking Identities, Reworking Graduate Study : Stories From First-Generation-To-College Rhetoric And Composition Phd Students On Navigating The Doctorate., Ashanka Kumari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation responds to the decreasing number of first-generation-to-college doctorates in the humanities and the limited scholarship on graduate students in Rhetoric and Composition. Scholars in Rhetoric and Composition have long been invested in discussions of academic and/or disciplinary enculturation, yet these discussions primarily focus on undergraduate students, with few studies on graduate students and far fewer on the doctoral students training to become the next wave of a profession. In this dissertation, I argue that if we engage intersectional identities as assets in the design of doctoral programs, access to higher education and academic enculturation can become more manageable …

Why Study Language? Discussing Language And Its Influence On Gender Discrimination, Katelyn Eisenmann

Honors Projects

An applied research project, with the culminating piece being a panel discussion that focused on the ways in which language use and structure contribute to attitudes and perceptions of gender within our society, and the politics that surround concepts of gender.

Tour The World Club, Joy Karges

Honors Expanded Learning Clubs

This Tour the World club gives students the opportunity to interact with the world, other cultures, and people groups. Through six or seven different countries and many hands-on activities, students will learn what it means to keep an open mind, they will develop a curiosity for the world, and they will be encouraged to prioritize learning and asking questions over giving judgments when faced with something new.

Select Proceedings Of The 2nd Annual Graduate Student Conference: Games, Sins & Mafia, Samuel Gilpin, Carly Hunter, Jenessa Kenway, Alexander Valle, Jarret Keene

Graduate Student Conference

The four papers collected here were originally presented at the Second Annual Graduate Student Conference: "Games, Sins & Mafia." Hosted by the UNLV World Languages & Cultures department and the Organization of Vistas of Hispanic Studies, the conference took place on the UNLV campus on March 16, 2019. These proceedings feature three (at the time) graduate students and one undergraduate student from the UNLV English department. Taken as a whole, the proceedings explore the aesthetic, sociological, and philosophical concerns of a range of authors—William Faulkner, Juan Rulfo (Mexico), Roberto Harrison, and Clarice Lispector (Brazil).

Journey To Refuge: Understanding Refugees, Exploring Trauma, And Best Practices For Newcomers And Schools, Trina D. Harlow

NPP eBooks

Pre-K through 12th grade schools within the United States have become much more diverse in recent years. Schools are now commonly not only diverse because of diverse students born in the United States, but also have many immigrant students. A growing number of these immigrant students are resettled children who have refugee status. In schools, these recent immigrants are called newcomers. This book is a culmination of research and anecdotal experiences regarding the refugee issue as it pertains to these students in American schools and schools elsewhere in the world. Scholars, policy makers, educators, those who work in the refugee …

Using Spanish In English-Language Spaces: Identifying Bilingual Composition Students' Translanguaging Practices, Maria Isela Maier

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation is a qualitative study that uses ethnographic research methods to examine the translanguaging practices of bilingual students in first-year composition at a university along the U.S.-Mexico border. Specifically, I observe how and why bilingual students employ translanguaging practices, as they are encouraged or invited by their instructors, in contexts where English Standard Language policies exist. The results of this qualitative project demonstrate bilingual students' use of translation as part of their translanguaging practices, as well as a tool that uncovers students' writing processes which also demonstrates their language negotiation. Furthermore, the students' translanguaging practices reveal the rhetorical use …

Understanding Diverse Bilingual Learners: The Need For A Transdisciplinary Lens, Amy Weimer, Mario Gil, J. Joy Esquierdo

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The chapter synthesizes findings from diverse disciplinary perspectives to make the case that we need a new lens to better serve the diversity of bilingual learners. Drawing upon theories and findings from studies by educators, child developmentalists, and neuroscientists, but moving beyond any one disciplinary perspective, the authors aim to create a unity of new knowledge developed of theories from across disciplines. This approach is exactly what is needed to address the complexity of factors surrounding bilingual learners. Taking a transdisciplinary approach will allow us to move closer toward an understanding of the many factors affecting bilingual children and families, …

Magnifying English Language Learners' Success Through Culturally Relevant Teaching And Learning Frameworks: Acknowledging The Multidimensional Implications On Language, Literacy, And Learning, Isela Almaguer

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is a need to amplify the voices of English language learners through authentic language and literacy learning using a multifaceted culturally relevant and responsive teaching and learning framework that encompasses social justice. Specifically, framing the chapter through the lens of the sociocultural theory to better recognize, acknowledge, and understand the influence of culturally relevant learning. Culture plays a crucial role in forming identity and agency, so we must rethink the effect of culturally relevant pedagogy by linking principles of learning to the cultural realities of children, families, and communities on literacy. English language learners require more empowering and engaging …

Exploring Diversity With A "Culture Box" In First-Year Legal Writing, Ann N. Sinsheimer

Articles

Studying law is in many ways like studying another culture. Students often feel as though they are learning a new language with unfamiliar vocabulary and different styles of communication. Throughout their legal education, students are also exposed to a profession comprised of unique traditions and expectations. As a result, learning law takes time and energy. It can be both engaging and frustrating and may even challenge some of students’ values and belief systems. To ease her students’ transition to law school, the author starts her course each year with a “culture box” exercise, which encourages students to examine who they …

“It’S Making Me A Better Teacher.” Transforming Latinx Teacher Candidates Clinical Field Experiences In A Hispanic Serving Institution, Sandra I. Musanti, Alma D. Rodriguez, Patricia Alvarez Mchatton

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This manuscript explores the outcomes of a university-district partnership that provides Latinx teacher candidates with a yearlong clinical experience as the culmination of their teacher preparation. Qualitative data collected as part of a mixed methods study were analyzed to determine how Latinx teacher candidates and cooperating teachers understand learning to teach, and perceptions of the partnership. Results show an emphasis on mastering routines, learning to teach through observation, and reciprocal growth derived from their mentoring relationship. Salient is the tendency to homogenize Latinx students and a reductionist vision of diversity. The authors explore the positionality of culture and language in …

Implications Of Dual Language Scoring Of The Preschool Language Scale-Fifth Edition Spanish For Bilingual Preschool-Aged Children, Callie Mae Mathis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: Spanish versions of standardized tests used in language evaluations are not well studied. The purpose of this study is to further examine the appropriateness of the Preschool Language Scale, Fifth Edition Spanish (PLS-5S) in a U.S./Mexico border community by comparing the Dual language scores versus the Spanish only scores and comparing the normative sample of the PLS-5S to the population of El Paso, TX.

Method: Twenty-three bilingual preschool aged children in the El Paso area completed the Spanish Edition of the PLS-5S. The parents and teachers of the participants completed two language proficiency questionnaires (Bilingual Input Output Survey; BIOS …