Education Commons^™

Collaboration In The Technical Communication Classroom: Negotiating Team Contracts In A Pwi, Alyssa Herman

Theses and Dissertations

As TPC teacher-scholars, we must acknowledge the overwhelming Whiteness of our field and the racism, ableism, and sexism inherent in our institutions. We must actively work toward inclusivity and socially just collaborations in our classrooms by encouraging dominant-identified students to confront their privileges and implicit biases in order to better engage with historically marginalized students. With that said, this thesis examines how teacher-scholars might take up a cultural-rhetorical approach to teaching TPC and how we might negotiate team contracts in PWIs. Firmly situated within the social justice turn, Herman draws from both feminist disability theory and critical race theory to …

The Influence Of Instructor Mental Illness Disclosure On The Perceptions Of Mental Illness, Classroom Climate, Teacher Credibility, Homophily, And Social Attraction, Kirsten L. Bridgemen

Theses and Dissertations

This study uses the lens of Communication Privacy Management theory to analyze the impact an instructor’s depth of disclosure of their mental illness can have on mental illness stigmatization, classroom climate, as well as teacher credibility, homophily, and social attraction. Participants responded to a series of quantitative-based questions regarding a hypothetical syllabus with varied levels of a teacher disclosing their mental illness. Results indicated that none of the investigated dependent variables were negatively affected by the hypothetical instructor’s disclosure, and mental illness stigmatization was lessened. Implications, limitations, and areas for future research are discussed.

An Action Research Study On The Use Of Flipped Learning In A Spanish As A Foreign Language Class, Juan Carlos Acevedo Fontecha

Theses and Dissertations

The present action research evaluated the teacher’s perception and the students’ attitudes and practices over the impact of applying a flipped learning model for a basic Spanish course. Unlike previous studies that have evaluated the model considering students’ perceptions and language performance, this study also considered the teacher in a cyclical process of using the flip model. The intervention consisted of four classes that dealt with grammar topics transferred into tutorial videos and in-class activities to practice the content from the videos. To gain a broader spectrum of the teacher’s perception, this study used questionnaires, and field journals designed to …

Anxiety In Presentational And Interpersonal Oral Tasks Face-To-Face And Online, Angus Leydic

Theses and Dissertations

Within computer mediated communication, there has been a large focus on synchronous and asynchronous text-based methods and how it can be used to help oral proficiency and lower anxiety but very few studies have looked at how audio computer mediated communicative tasks affect anxiety. This study sets out to seek whether using audio computer mediated communication helps lower anxiety for beginner Spanish language students. In order to do so, three research questions are suggested: (1) How do participants’ levels of FLA differ between presentational oral tasks completed in the classroom and presentational tasks completed in an online interface? (2) How …

Perceptions Of Outreach, Theory, And Practice At Centers For Teaching And Learning, Samantha Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) and how they are perceived by the instructors and employees who work in higher education. CTLs focus on accessing and assessing faculty and staff while creating programs and research which offers insight into the faculty, instructional, and organizational needs of an institution. The needs that CTLs focus on include the professional, educational, instructional, and, sometimes, personal development of employees. Yet, the theories and practices which drive the research of educational development—specifically CTLs—are fragmented due to the interdisciplinary nature, vast scope, and practical-focus of directors and researchers.

This study builds upon previous …

Small-Town Living: Do Illinois Universities Understand The Rural College Student?, Erik Andrew Dalmasso

Theses and Dissertations

Rural students are confronted with unique challenges when considering postsecondary choices. According to McShane and Smarick (2018), scholarship on this overarching issue is limited, as it is “often shunted to specialized journals that have not been able to integrate findings into the broader education policy conversation” (p. 1). Rural students, and to a broader extent, rural education have little voice in the postsecondary pathways that have been created within higher education (Goldman, 2019). Recruitment of rural students, financial aid policy, remediation/developmental programming, state and federal postsecondary legislation have largely treated rural students in tandem with their urban and suburban peers, …