Education Commons^™

Engaging Students In Authentic Discussion In The Secondary English Classroom, Lisa Ann Carpenter

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Using the social constructivist lens, I frame a call for action that advocates for the use of critical literacy and a protocol for discussion in the English language arts classroom. Salon authentic discussion will present teachers with a powerful new pedagogy for critical literacy instruction in the secondary ELA classroom especially in this critical time when standards and accountability for both students and teachers is being redefined.

As a teacher-researcher, I am in the best position to investigate how students can become equipped to meet proficiency in speaking and listening a standards based era. Using grounded theory methodology, I examine …

Professional Development In Historical Inquiry, Thalia Wood

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Educators in the social studies content area have struggled for over a century with how to best instruct their students in critical thinking. A growing group of researchers in the discipline of history, one of the major components of social studies education, support teaching the domain-specific skills of historical thinking through the process of historical inquiry. Nevertheless, many social studies teachers lack the pedagogical content knowledge to instruct their students in historical thinking skills through historical inquiry. This multiple case study sought to examine how two social studies teachers might change their knowledge, beliefs and practices after engaging in eight …

Teachers Developing Exemplary Inquiry Practices, Sara Berry Sweetman

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

If students are to be successful in the ever-changing scientific world they need to be taught how to think critically, to manipulate materials, and to gather evidence to build knowledge. Most teachers fall short in providing students the inquiry instruction described in the Next Generation Science Frameworks (National Research Council, 2011). This study examined three elementary science teachers’ processes as they developed inquiry practices over time. The Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol (EQUIP) was used to gather quantitative and qualitative evidence of the teachers’ inquiry practices in terms of four factors, Curriculum, Instruction, Discourse, and Assessment. A chronological analysis was …