Education Commons^™

On The Importance Of Engaging Students In Crafting Definitions, Angela Little, Leslie Atkins Elliott

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper we describe an activity for engaging students in crafting definitions. We explore the strengths of this particular activity as well as the broader implications of engaging students in crafting definitions more generally.

Examining Validity And Reliability Of A Mathematics Assessment Tool For K-2 Students, Carl F. Siebert, Jonathan L. Brendefur

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Primary Math Assessment (PMA) tool is increasingly being used in multiple districts in a northwestern state. The PMA provides both screening and diagnostic information in six domains to assess mathematical proficiency in young students in their early educational years. A previous study using multidimensional Rasch analyses found support for the PMA’s six-dimensional theoretical framework, and that the PMA is a reliable mathematics assessment for early grades. This study extended the examination of a Rasch model, implementing exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Item Response Theory, and Differential Item Functioning analyses. In doing so, this study found an IRT 2-PL model …

Building Place Value Understanding Through Modeling And Structure, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Sam Strother, Kelli Rich

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Place value is a concept in which students in elementary school struggle and instruction and curricular materials continue to introduce and teach place value in a disconnected fashion. This study introduced place value through a modeling perspective, focusing specifically on using the bar model to represent units and quantity. The investigation piloted a place value module highlighting the use of the bar model in four first grade classrooms with high percentages of diverse learners, many from low-income families and with limited English language proficiency. The results indicated students successfully described the differences between units of 1 and 10 and could …

Developing A Multi-Dimensional Early Elementary Mathematics Screener And Diagnostic Tool: The Primary Mathematics Assessment, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Evelyn S. Johnson, Keith W. Thiede, Sam Strother, Herbert H. Severson

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is a critical need to identify primary level students experiencing difficulties in mathematics to provide immediate and targeted instruction that remediates their deficits. However, most early math screening instruments focus only on the concept of number, resulting in inadequate and incomplete information for teachers to design intervention efforts. We propose a mathematics assessment that screens and provides diagnostic information in six domains that are important to building a strong foundation in mathematics. This article describes the conceptual framework and psychometric qualities of a web-based assessment tool, the Primary Math Assessment (PMA). The PMA includes a screener to identify students …

Revisiting The Rural Superintendency: Rethinking Guiding Theories For Contemporary Practice, Erin Mchenry-Sorber, Kathleen Budge

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This conceptual article challenges researchers and practitioners to reconsider the utility of current constructs used to understand the rural school superintendency. We evaluate the rural leadership literature through two waves of scholarship: insider/outsider conceptions and place-conscious/critical place-conscious constructs. We assert critical place-conscious leadership as potentially responsive to contemporary rural realities, but we provide a number of revisions for theoretical development to increase applicability to the realities of the rural superintendency in practice in the early part of the twenty-first century.

Funneling Versus Focusing: When Talk, Tasks, And Tools Work Together To Support Students’ Collective Sensemaking, Sara Hagenah, Carolyn Colley, Jessica Thompson

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rigorous and responsive science teaching is based on supporting all students in making progress in their understanding of important science ideas over time. In this article, we explore how did classroom talk patterns of funneling and focusing support student sensemaking. We share how talk, tasks, and tools within classroom activity work together to either funnel students toward reproducing normative scientific answers or focus students on deepening their understanding about unobservable causal mechanisms of phenomena. We use classroom examples from two science lessons where students used data to describe and communicate about how and why stars change over time. By recognizing …

It’S A Balancing Act: A Self-Study Of Teacher Educators’ Feedback Practices And The Underlying Tensions, Sherry Dismuke, Esther A. Enright, Julianne A. Wenner

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

While there are documented benefits of full-time faculty participating in clinical supervision, challenges, such as conflicting time demands, personal bias, adherence to common evaluation forms, and power differentials, can create impediments to effective practicum supervision (Ciuffetelli Parker & Volante, 2009). We, as teacher educators, turned to reflection through self-study to investigate our professional practice with the aim of better understanding and overcoming those challenges. Like Bullock (2017), we utilized teacher candidates’ perspectives to disrupt, confirm, and extend our narratives. We focused on the practice of giving teacher candidates feedback on their developing teaching during their clinical placement in elementary schools. …

Focused Video Reflections In Concert With Practice-Based Structures To Support Elementary Teacher Candidates In Learning To Teach Science, Julianne A. Wenner, Julie Kittleson

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recommendations for science education, including elementary education, highlight instructional practices such as using discussion to promote deep understandings of science. A task facing science teacher educators is to craft instruction to support teacher candidates (TCs) to develop skills that will encourage such practices in classrooms. In 2011, we developed and implemented a class activity —the Supported, Collaborative Teaching Model (SCTM)—to focus TCs’ attention on key aspects of science teaching. The SCTM, which is designed around the idea that practical experience is critically important to teacher education, involves having TCs teach science to elementary students in three different grade levels three …

Assessing Teacher Attentiveness To Student Mathematical Thinking, Michele B. Carney, Laurie Cavey, Gwyneth Hughes

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article illustrates an argument-based approach to presenting validity evidence for assessment items intended to measure a complex construct. Our focus is developing a measure of teachers’ ability to analyze and respond to students’ mathematical thinking for the purpose of program evaluation. Our validity argument consists of claims addressing connections between our item-development process and the theoretical model for the construct we are trying to measure: attentiveness. Evidence derived from theoretical arguments in conjunction with our multiphased item-development process is used to support the claims, including psychometric evidence of Rasch model fit and category ordering. Taken collectively, the evidence provides …

“All Students Are Brilliant”: A Confession Of Injustice And A Call To Action, Amy D. Robertson, Leslie J. Atkins Elliott

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The two of us (AR and LAE), in our teaching, research, and work with teachers, advocate for responsive teaching—an approach that seeks out and builds on the productive “seeds of science” in what our students say and do and assumes that “all students…are brilliant.” This pedagogical approach requires a commitment to listening to and intellectually empathizing with students’ scientific ideas.

Two Departments, Two Models Of Interdisciplinary Peer Learning, Julianne A. Wenner, Paul J. Simmonds

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

On graduation, teacher candidates (TCs) are typically underprepared to teach science, particularly physical science, whereas physics graduates frequently lack training in teaching or effective communication. In response, we created two models for interdisciplinary peer learning where TCs were paired with either graduate or undergraduate physics students. In both models, physics students teach TCs content knowledge relevant to a given area of either classical or quantum physics, which TCs then use to design and implement a short lesson for K-5 students. Overall, both models were successful, with the two sets of students reporting benefits in each case. Affordances for TCs included …

Measuring Rights-Based Perspectives: A Validation Of The Human Rights Lens In Social Work Scale, Jane Mcpherson, Carl F. Siebert, Darcy Clay Siebert

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: This article reports the initial validation of the Human Rights Lens in Social Work (HRLSW) scale, a tool designed to measure a social worker’s ability to see individual and social problems as resulting from human rights violations. The purpose of the research was to gather evidence regarding the validity of this multidimensional measure of a new construct, i.e., human rights lens. Method: Data from a convenience sample of 1,014 licensed clinical social workers were collected by electronic survey, and the sample was split to conduct discrete exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The exploratory factor analysis was performed on …

The Theoretical And Empirical Basis Of Teacher Leadership: A Review Of The Literature, Julianne A. Wenner, Todd Campbell

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The current review examined teacher leadership research completed since York-Barr and Duke published the seminal review on teacher leadership in 2004. The review was undertaken to examine how teacher leadership is defined, how teacher leaders are prepared, their impact, and those factors that facilitate or inhibit teacher leaders’ work. Beyond this, the review considered theories informing teacher leadership, teacher leadership within disciplinary contexts, and the roles of teacher leaders in social justice and equity issues. Within this review, the most salient findings were (a) teacher leadership, although rarely defined, focused on roles beyond the classroom, supporting the professional learning of …

Consolidated Energy: Hillary Clinton And The 2016 U.S. Presidential Campaign, David Gabbard

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The one on a one-dollar bill signifies a quantitive measure of that one’s symbolic energy – what we would normally call its value. In the absence of energy, life cannot form. Just as nature abhors a vacuum, we learn to abhor a debt. This understanding of value and debt informs the larger framework of analysis used to examine the seemingly never ending U.S. Presidential campaign of 2016. While many argue that Hillary Clinton represented the maintenance of the status quo, this paper points to evidence supporting a different conclusion. In the first place, to what status quo could they be …

Urban Elementary Science Teacher Leaders: Responsibilities, Supports, And Needs, Julianne A. Wenner

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The challenge of science achievement gaps is one that scholars have struggled to solve. Teacher leadership holds great promise in closing those gaps. Therefore, the purpose of the research reported here was to explore the responsibilities and supports of formally designated science teacher leaders (STLs) in urban elementary schools that have been successful in closing science achievement gaps. Using York-Barr and Duke’s (2004) review on teacher leadership as a framework, findings from this study indicate that urban elementary STLs emphasize certain dimensions of practice (e.g., building partnerships) while deemphasizing or even omitting others (e.g., working with preservice teachers). Findings also …

Social Justice Through Citizenship Education: A Collective Responsibility, Sara Winstead Fry, Jason O'Brien

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Existing research suggests that preservice elementary teachers tend to believe “good” citizens are people who follow laws and help others rather than people who embrace a more active model of citizenship that includes working to improve society. The authors propose that this trend results from a self-perpetuating cycle of passive citizenship that develops in part due to state curriculum standards and school experiences which focus on transmitting knowledge rather than preparing students to be active agents of change. The article presents the results of action research conducted in a teacher preparation course; the research was designed to investigate the impact …

Influence Of Proportional Number Relationships On Item Accessibility And Students’ Strategies, Michele B. Carney, Everett Smith, Gwyneth R. Hughes, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Angela Crawford

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Extensive evidence points to the need for mathematics instruction to tap into students’ informal understandings in order to conceptually develop formal mathematical ideas (Ahl, Moore, & Dixon, 1992; Freudenthal, 1973, 1991; Treffers, 1987). Contextual problems are a common means of helping students access their informal mathematical ideas (Lamon, 1993; Moore & Carlson, 2012). However, to successfully use context in this manner, we must ensure these problems are accessible to students and have the potential to promote connections to deeper or more formal mathematics (Jackson, Garrison, Wilson, Gibbons, & Shahan, 2013; Stein, Smith, Henningsen, & Silver, 2000). There is thus a …

The Effects Of Professional Development On Elementary Students’ Mathematics Achievement, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Keith W. Thiede, Sam Strother, Dan Jesse, John Sutton

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper describes the effects of a professional development (PD) program – Developing Mathematical Thinking – on student achievement. Six Title I elementary schools with similar demographics, within one school district, were chosen to participate as either a treatment or comparison school. Three schools were chosen to participate in professional development that incorporates effective PD recommendations. All the teachers had to participate in all aspects of the PD, thereby eliminating potential self-selection bias. Using the state standardized achievement test as the before and after measure, results suggest improved student performance after professional development was implemented over a two year period.

Interpersonal Neurobiology: Applications For The Counseling Profession, Raissa Miller

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Counselors are increasingly interested in how neuroscience research applies to the counseling profession. Evidence of that interest includes a growing number of session offerings on topics related to neuroscience at counseling conferences, publication of new “neuroscience for counselors” textbooks and the availability of this monthly column in Counseling Today.

Does Adlerian Theory Stand The Test Of Time: Examining Individual Psychology From A Neuroscience Perspective, Raissa Miller, Dalena Dillman Taylor

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The authors explored foundational principles of Individual Psychology through a neuroscience lens. In particular, the authors identified neuroscience support for the principles of social embeddedness, purposefulness of behavior, and holism. The authors also offered suggestions for expanding Adlerian theory through the integration of neuroscience-informed developmental theory, conceptualization of functionality, and interventions.

What About Writing?: A National Study Of Writing Instruction In Teacher Preparation Programs, Sherry Dismuke, Susan Martin

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study explores how writing instruction is taught to pre-service teachers across the US. Despite growing writing demands in K-12 classrooms, our national survey of literacy teacher educators revealed that colleges and universities rarely offer stand-alone writing instruction courses. Instead instructors are responsible for embedding writing instruction into their reading courses. Equally concerning, our data revealed a lack of confidence among many teacher educators regarding teaching writing. This study highlights the need for greater attention to writing in teacher education and adds to the conversation of why these issues continue to plague higher education.

The Relationship Between High-School Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs And Their Practices In Regards To Intellectual Quality, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Michelle B. Carney

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study examines the relationship between mathematics teachers’ beliefs and instructional practices related to learning, pedagogy, and mathematics in regards to components of intellectual quality for eight high-school mathematics teachers. Research has demonstrated that the higher the degree of intellectual quality for instruction is rated the higher student achievement is on standardized assessments. The findings in this study demonstrate a consistent pattern between teachers espoused beliefs and their instructional practices. Even though teachers’ practices changed as they wrote curricular units to be more in line with intellectual quality characteristics, their beliefs stayed consistent over an 18 month period and were …

Comparing The Effect Of Two Internship Structures On Supervision Experience And Learning, Robin D. Winslow, Meghan Eliason, Keith W. Thiede

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study examined whether two different internship structures affected educational leadership students’ supervision experience, beliefs about supervision, and learning of a clinical supervision model. Some students supervised pre-service teachers placed at their schools, while others supervised in-service teachers employed at their schools (a more traditional internship). Students who supervised pre-service teachers reported using the various supervision components to a greater extent than did students who supervised in-service teachers. Although beliefs about the importance of different supervision components did not differ across groups, learning of the clinical supervision model was greater for students who supervised pre-service teachers than for those who …

The Role Of Family Interactions In Hiv Risk For Gay And Bisexual Male Youth: A Pilot Study, Michael C. Lasala, Carl F. Siebert, James P. Fedor, Elyse J. Revere

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite ongoing prevention efforts, young gay and bisexual males continue to engage in sexual behaviors that place them at disproportionately high risk for HIV infection. Parental monitoring and parent-child communication have been found to be associated with low-risk sexual behavior among heterosexual youth, but the role of family interactions for gay and bisexual male youth remains largely unexplored. To help address this gap, an exploratory study of recorded and coded interactions among 35 gay and bisexual youth and their parents was done to begin to identify which types of family interactions were associated with youth high-risk sexual behavior. Parent-son communication …

Five Key Ideas To Teach Fractions And Decimals With Understanding, Sam Strother, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Keith Thiede, Sarah Appleton

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The teaching of fractions and decimals is a significant challenge for many teachers due to the inherent difficulty of the topic for students as well as the lack of high-quality, modernized curricular materials. This article examines the key ideas of teaching fractions and decimals for understanding that are evident in the current research literature and the curricular materials and teaching strategies from high-achieving nations.

Exploring And Examining Quantitative Measures, Jonathan D. Bostic, Erin Krupa, Michele Carney, Jeff Shih

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this working group is to bring together scholars with an interest in examining the research on quantitative tools and measures for gathering meaningful data, and to spark conversations and collaboration across individuals and groups with an interest in synthesizing the literature on large-scale tools used to measure student- and teacher-related outcomes. While syntheses of measures for use in mathematics education can be found in the literature, few can be described as a comprehensive analysis. The working group session will focus on (1) defining terms identified as critical (e.g., large-scale, quantitative, and validity evidence) for bounding the focus …

Students' Reasoning Around The Functional Relationship, Michele Carney, Angela Crawford

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Proportional reasoning is related to flexible use of the scalar and functional relationships that exist in proportional situations. More specifically, in regard to the functional relationship, students’ understanding of the multiplicative comparison that exists between two quantities in a ratio is a key concept. We conducted student interviews with 12 high performing students to examine their conception of the functional relationship. Analyses provided initial evidence that the majority of students did not conceive of the multiplicative comparison when solving problems designed to press the functional relationship, indicating students’ written work that makes use of the functional relationship should not imply …

Binge-Eating Disorder: A Primer For Professional Counselors, Raissa M. Miller, Jaime D. Mcmanus

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Binge-Eating Disorder (BED) is a primary diagnosis listed in the Feeding and Eating Disorders chapter of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Although BED is considered one of the most common eating disorders, symptoms often go unrecognized and untreated (Striegel-Moore et al. 2010). In this article, BED criteria are reviewed and guidelines for assessment, diagnosis, and treatment are offered. A case study is also provided to illustrate the application of BED utilizing best practices.

Rigor And Responsiveness In Classroom Activity, Jessica Thompson, Sara Hagenah, Hosun Kang, David Stroupe, Melissa Braaten, Carolyn Colley, Mark Windschitl

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background/Context: There are few examples from classrooms or the literature that provide a clear vision of teaching that simultaneously promotes rigorous disciplinary activity and is responsive to all students. Maintaining rigorous and equitable classroom discourse is a worthy goal, yet there is no clear consensus of how this actually works in a classroom.

Focus of Study: What does highly rigorous and responsive talk sound like and how is this dialogue embedded in the social practices and activities of classrooms? Our aim was to examine student and teacher interactions in classroom episodes (warm-ups, small group conversations, whole group conversation, etc.) and …

Grit, Biography, And Dedicated Teachers Who Struggled Academically As Students, Sara Winstead Fry

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Dedicated teachers who had and overcame academic challenges in their youth offer valuable insights into how to support students who struggle. This article presents a qualitative study of 46 teachers from across the United Stated [sic] who faced academic challenges as elementary, middle, and/or secondary students. Their memories of academic struggles lead them to use teaching practices that are grounded in the professional disposition that all children can learn. The findings suggest a positive interrelationship between a biography (Knowles, 1992) that includes academic struggles, the theoretical constructs of grit (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007) and self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977), and …