Education Commons^™

Natural, Experimental, And Educational Explorations Of The Interiors Of Terrestrial Planetary Bodies, Nadine L. Grambling

Doctoral Dissertations

Planetary interiors are enigmatic, inaccessible, and vital to the processes that have formed the rocks we see on the surface of bodies in the inner Solar System today. Based on geophysical explorations of the Moon and Earth, along with information gleaned from rocks at the surface today, there is understanding of the basic structure and processes at depth. Using a combination of natural samples and experimental studies, we attempt to learn more about the physical conditions beneath the surface, and their effect on material properties and tectonics processes in the mantle.

On Earth, mid-ocean ridge processes have long been debated, …

Learning By Doing: Preparing Student Activists For Democratic Engagement, Marjorie G. Valdivia

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores how college students' experiences with co-curricular social justice advocacy activities supports capacity-building for progressive, democratic, civic engagement. Given the increasing and widening of economic inequality in the U.S. (Hernandez Kent & Ricketts, 2020), exploring how co-curricular experiences in higher education settings can support students to gain capacities for progressive, democratic, civic engagement. While there is a significant amount of scholarship on how diversity education and service-learning contribute to college students' civic engagement, the literature on student involvement in campus activism on progressive, democratic, civic engagement is sparse (Kezar & Maxey, 2014) Using a mixed methods approach, this …

A Comparison Of Guided Reading And Systematic Phonics Approaches To Supplementary Reading Instruction, Madeline R. Berkowitz

Doctoral Dissertations

Early mastery of reading fundamentals is essential. However currently there is a debate on the best way to teach reading. Across the US schools are choosing to use varying forms or reading curricula aligned with different pedagogies. However, not all curricula are based in empiral science. This study compares two approaches to supplementary reading instruction: guided reading and explicit phonics. A randomized controlled design was used, and first grade students were assigned to receive either explicit phonics or guided reading intervention three days per week for approximately thirty minutes each lesson. Reading fluency and a broad reading measure served as …

"I Can't Say That I Hate It": Reading And Ela Teachers' Experiences With A Scripted Curriculum, Amanda Rigell

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand how teachers implemented, modified, or resisted the implementation of a scripted English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum. This critical case study used qualitative interviews to investigate reading and ELA teachers’ experiences with implementing a scripted ELA curriculum in a single school district. Findings include teachers’ observations about the role of the curriculum in their teaching, the role of their self-efficacy as teachers, the role of reciprocal trust between administrators and teachers, and the role of power in the adoption and implementation of the curriculum. These findings may be of interest to school and …

Building Together: Problem Solving For Sustainability Consciousness, Paul M. Bocko

Doctoral Dissertations

BUILDING TOGETHER: PROBLEM SOLVING FOR SUSTAINABILITY CONSCIOUSNESS FEBRUARY 2022 PAUL M. BOCKO, B.A., UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE M.S., ANTIOCH UNIVERSITY NEW ENGLAND M.Ed. ANITOCH UNIVERSITY NEW ENGLAND Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Linda Griffin This case study examined the relationship of problem-based learning (PBL) and sustainability education in a combined fifth and sixth grade classroom in the northeast U.S. Research questions focused on PBL instructional strategies that promote sustainability education, skills and understandings promoted by PBL, and the extent that PBL affects students’ sustainability consciousness. One teacher and eleven students participated. Problem-posing, reconstructionist, and sociocultural theories framed …

The Critical Workshop: Writing Revision And Critical Pedagogy In The Middle School Classroom, Andrea R. Griswold

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the question of whether focusing on revision in writing instruction can be a form of critical pedagogy in middle school classrooms. Building on the work of A. Suresh Canagarajah, Lisa Delpit, Paulo Freire, Henry Giroux, Kay Halasek, Joseph Harris, Amy Lee, Timothy Lensmire, Min-Zhan Lu, Peter McLaren, Richard Ohmann, Ira Shor, and others, I explore and challenge commonly held attitudes about revision and language, primarily that the goal of revision is to correct errors and that language and its conventions should be thought of in terms of correctness. I explore the ways in which traditional writing workshops …