Education Commons^™

Lessons From The First Universities, J.R. Webb

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Teaching Note - Yes, We Can Make A Difference: Bsu Alumni Light The Way For Service Learning, Marybeth Tobin

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Continuing The Conversation: Scholarly Inspiration After Retirement. An Interview With Ed James, Matthew R. Dasti

Bridgewater Review

Ed James is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Bridgewater State University. His research has been published in leading journals that include Mind and Ethics. His recent work includes two papers, “Too Soon to Say” (July 2012) and “Beyond the Magical Thinking Behind the Principal Principle” (July 2015). Ed taught at BSU 1976-2009. The interview was conducted in summer 2015.

Gateway Reads: Finding Texts That Matter To Students, Anne Smith

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Teaching Pronunciation Communicatively To Cape Verdean English Language Learners: Sao Vicente Variety, Jacira Monteiro

Master’s Theses and Projects

The thesis is based on the researcher’s observation that pronunciation is underestimated in teaching English in Cape Verde in Sao Vicente Island. The Cape Verdean school program does not focus on pronunciation but it gives importance to grammar learning. As a result students show several difficulties in pronunciation which, although these are recognized by teacher, are nevertheless ignored in the teaching process. This paper primarily explains the phonological systems of English and CVSV, highlighting the difference between them; and critiques current approaches to teaching EFL, in general, pronunciation and specifically to Cape Verdean English language learners. The thesis concludes suggesting …

The Effects Of Listening Comprehension On English Language Learners Writing Performance While Taking Notes, Juary De Brito

Master’s Theses and Projects

The main goal of this investigation is to examine the effects of listening comprehension on English Language Learners` (ELLs) writing performance while taking notes. A total of 30 ELLs were administered a questionnaire in order to find out the difficulties they face when taking notes. The results indicates that student face various difficulties when taking notes, citing speech rate and different range of accent as the main problems. It was concluded that during the note taking process students could perform better if they were exposed first to any teaching materials like a power point or a hand out to improve …

Literature Of The First Encounters: Using Self-Immersion In The Scholarly Study Of First Encounter Texts To Develop A Fifth Grade Text Set, Angela Skrabec

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This interdisciplinary research project integrated training and techniques from two disciplines: English and Elementary Education. The purpose of the project was to immerse myself in the scholarly study of First Encounter (encounter between the natives and English settlers in the New World) texts in order to create a fifth grade text set, a selection of approximately 20-25 quality children’s books that represent a diverse range of reading levels and genres. My research entailed reading a variety of First Encounter literatures and using New Historicism to analyze each as part of my English scholarship. In addition, after reviewing research on literacy …

How Does Tutoring To Develop Conceptual Understanding Impact Student Understanding?, Kelsey Cummings

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Elementary School Teachers’ Instructional Practices On The Self-Confidence Of College Students With Dyslexia, Christina Miceli

Honors Program Theses and Projects

When learning to cope with dyslexia, it is not uncommon for a child to develop a lack of self-confidence when falling behind academically in comparison to his or her same-aged peers. The teaching style and method of instruction in the classroom directly affects a dyslexic student’s self-confidence (Burden, 2009). Teacher responses collected through a questionnaire and voice recorded interviews were compared to college students with dyslexia’s survey and interview responses. This research determined there are discrepancies that exist among students self-identified with dyslexia, their descriptions of the impacts of elementary school teachers, and the perceptions of the strategies, attitudes, and …

Exploring Similarities Between Instruction In Grade 7 Ela And Mathematics Classrooms, And The Possible Benefits Of Interdisciplinary Instructional Comprehension Strategies, Danielle Caron

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This study took place in an English language arts (ELA) and mathematics classrooms at a suburban junior high school in southeastern Massachusetts. Surveys indicated that mathematical problems elicit nervousness more often than reading assignments do, and mathematical vocabulary is harder for students to understand than vocabulary of other subject. This research focused on integrating reading comprehension-strategies of vocabulary integration, graphic organizers, and visual aids within a mathematics curriculum to combat student apprehension. The purpose of this study was to provide evidence-based, interdisciplinary mathematics and ELA lesson plans in alignment with Common Core Standards to a seventh grade algebra class. Pre-assessment …

Contentious Compatibility And The Common Good: The University As Servant And Critic In A Democracy, Stephen J. Nelson

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Differentiated Instruction: Strategies For English Language Learners Listening Comprehension Development, Stefanie Moreno

Master’s Theses and Projects

Differentiated Instruction is a hot topic right now and teachers need to keep up with the changes in the educational system. The one-size-fits-all approach that we have being dealing with for so long, no longer fits the needs, preferences and learning styles of our students. Teachers need to differentiate instruction and provide students with different avenues of learning in order to maximize their learning process. Because more attention and practice is needed on listening skills, knowledge in differentiated instruction and the different strategies to teach listening skills can be used together to help develop English language learners listening comprehension skills. …

Adapting The Process Writing Approach To English Language Learners With Special Needs: Using Visuals, Lindinalva Lima

Master’s Theses and Projects

The available literature on the writing characteristics and best practices to teach writing to English Language Learners who also present some disability is scarce. In order to understand and provide some insight on the developments in this field, I propose an adaptation of the Process Writing Approach based on a literature review of the existing bibliography about the writing characteristics of English Language Learners, Special Needs Learners, and English Language Learners with Special Needs’ writing, the effects of the Process Writing Approach in teaching writing to these groups, and the use of visuals in writing instruction. The main assumptions of …

Alternative Assessment Of Writing In Learning English As A Foreign Language: Analytical Scoring And Self-Assessment, Lenite Silva Lopes

Master’s Theses and Projects

While the educational benefits of alternative assessment are being increasingly recognized and alternative assessment procedures introduced into the different educational levels, in Cape Verde, many EFL teachers are not aware of its importance. The main purpose of this thesis is to synthesize and review the available literature on alternative assessment tools to evaluate the writing of EFL students of Cape Verde secondary schools. The issue of accurate and fair assessment of students writing probably constitutes the major dilemma in both L1 and L2 writing fields, and EFL field is not an exception. The paper also aims to make Cape Verdean …

The Relationship Between Teachers And Students In The Classroom: Communicative Language Teaching Approach And Cooperative Learning Strategy To Improve Learning, Fredson Soares Dos Reis Da Luz

Master’s Theses and Projects

The aim of this research is to investigate how a supportive relationship between teachers and students in the classroom can improve the learning process. By having a good relationship with students, teachers can offer to students chances to be motivated and feel engaged in the learning process. Students will be engaged actively in the learning instead of being passive learners. I wish to investigate how using communicative approach and cooperative learning strategies while teaching do affect and improve students’ learning performance. To achieve these goals qualitative data collection was used as the primary method. The results show that teachers and …

The Arc Of Teacher Education: From The Normal School To Now, Thomas R. Turner

The Arc of Teacher Education: From Normal Schools to Now

When Horace Mann delivered the dedication address at Bridgewater’s newly completed academic building in 1846 he said “Coiled up in this institution, as in a spring, there is a vigor whose uncoiling may wheel the spheres.” Even a visionary like Mann, however, would undoubtedly be astounded if he could view the multi-purpose university which Bridgewater has become including its College of Business and $100,000,000 Science and Math facility.

While Bridgewater has witnessed enormous change over its 175 years there have nonetheless been areas of strong continuity. One of these is remarkable stability in leadership; the school has had only 11 …

Radical Social Purpose In 19th Century Teacher Education: Normal Schools And The Port Royal Experiment, Mary-Lou Breitborde, Louise Swiniarski

The Arc of Teacher Education: From Normal Schools to Now

State normal schools and the professionalizing of teaching broadened women’s vision and the public and political spheres of their work. The opportunity for higher education and career inspired teachers to improve the lives of children and the health of the nation. Despite the intentions of founding legislators aiming to prepare teachers for the common schools; despite criticisms that the curriculum was too limited, or, conversely, too taxing; despite claims that “normalites” lacked “scholarship,” even “knowledge and interest in human life”[i], countless graduates left with a passion to do good, do it well and do it with a sense …

A Theory-Driven Reappraisal Of The Historiography Of Normal Schools, Garrett Gowen, Ezekiel Kimball

The Arc of Teacher Education: From Normal Schools to Now

Mainstream historiography understates the importance of normal schools; as a result, historians cannot fully appreciate normal schools’ influence on institutional forms. We support this contention through a review of: 1) the description of normal schools in synthetic histories; 2) literature specifically on normal schools; and 3) a reappraisal of each using social theories that illuminate relationships between people, institutions, and society related to normal schools.

The dominant historiography of American higher education relegates the normal school to a discursive cul-de-sac whereby they offered roughly the same academic rigor as a high school and are quickly superseded by teachers colleges (Brubacher …

Finding A Future In Our Past: Student Writers, A Normal School Archive, And What Happens When They Meet, Lee Torda

The Arc of Teacher Education: From Normal Schools to Now

In “A Rediscovered Tradition: European Pedagogy and Composition in Nineteenth-Century Midwestern Normal Schools” Kathryn Fitzgerald argues that the Normal School tradition, though unrecognized by elite institutions, challenges dominant histories of education, offering a democratizing force for post-secondary education today. While Fitzgerald looks at institutional change and the Normal School narrative, this presentation showcases student writing that demonstrates a changed relationship among students and their home institution, former Normal Schools, and the students’ sense of intellectual power.

This presentation describes student work written in a creative nonfiction course, using the archives (dating back to 1840) of the third oldest normal school …

The "Great Experiment" And The Transformation Of The Michigan State Normal School, Ron Flowers, James Barott

The Arc of Teacher Education: From Normal Schools to Now

Of the normal schools that existed in 1910, 180 would evolve into state colleges or universities. One of these, the Michigan State Normal School (MSNS), founded in 1849, would be the first such school outside the original 13 colonies, the fifth normal school in the country, and the first to offer a four-year curriculum leading to a bachelor’s degree. This essay examines the transition of MSNS from a quasi-secondary school into a college-level institution. The conflict that unfolded in 1878 with the beginning of what became known as “the Great Experiment” and ended with the dismissal of Charles Bellows in …

Preventive Counseling Without Borders: Using Mobile Devices For Teaching, Training, And Wellness Promotion, Maxine L. Rawlins, Elizabeth Hughes

Counselor Education Faculty Publications

Despite documented benefits regarding the utilization of technology in counseling, it has been underutilized by school, mental health, and student affairs counselors. Even less information has been available regarding the professional use of mobile devices by counselors in this area. This interactive presentation examines the utilization of iPads in Preventive Counseling for instruction, training, social marketing, and wellness promotion. This practice-focused workshop reflects the presenters’ yearlong exploration of the iPad and selected apps for use in teaching, training, and wellness promotion. The workshop revisits the evidence-based Indivisible Self Wellness Model (Myers and Sweeney, 2004) and uses it as the conceptual …

Using Student Feedback To Fuel The Family Project, Susan Eliason

Faculty Scholarship (SoTL)

The author shares her desire to create with students more authentic assignments that enhance learning through the use of the project approach.

Refreshed & Humbled: Altered Assumptions About Power And Payoffs, Roben Torosyan

Faculty Scholarship (SoTL)

The author starts with a focus on a long-term, shifting relationship with work-study students serving as students consultants in his class, then takes an outward turn as he describes how he included graduate student voices from around the country as he wrote an external grant to support partnerships between research and teaching intensive institutions.

Sharing Power To Promote Deeper Learning, Maura Rosenthal

Faculty Scholarship (SoTL)

The author explores her partnership with an entire class during the semester to solve a problem in the book club learning activities she had planned. She addresses her experience of sharing power with students and how doing so alleviated the “tug-o-war” she had previously experienced between pulling students towards learning course content and their resistance.

Peer Assisted Learning: Unexpected Benefits For All Stakeholders - Students, Peer Leaders & Faculty, Marybeth Tobin, Caitlin Golden

Faculty Scholarship (SoTL)

The authors share their experience in co-leading a peer-leader program and the unexpected benefits that inure to students, faculty and especially, peer leaders. They share the value of peer leader feedback in their efforts to continually improve the program and in informing their own pedagogy in an entry-level financial accounting course.

Developing Student-Faculty Partnerships At Bridgewater State University, Lee Torda, Karen Pagnano Richardson

Faculty Scholarship (SoTL)

The introduction frames the essays included in this issue as developing student-faculty partnerships with a range of collaborative relationships. The first three essays explore partnerships that are program-based partnerships. The next four essays explore various kinds of student-faculty partnerships that unfold within classroom-focused experiences. In the final section, three essays that focus on partnerships beyond the boundaries of the classroom and the campus are shared. All ten essays contribute to chronicling multiple versions of the development of student-faculty partnerships at Bridgewater State University.

Chaos In The Promiseland: Mentorship As Partnership In Undergraduate Research, Lee Torda, Marjorie Howe, Kirsten Ridlen

Faculty Scholarship (SoTL)

The authors write about their experience co-creating a writing and travel experience in Israel. They explore how they all negotiated respective expertise and inexperience while traveling, reading, and writing in a study abroad/undergraduate research opportunity.

Learning To Soar: Partnering With Underrepresented Students In Research, Jennifer Manak, Jenny Olin Shanahan

Faculty Scholarship (SoTL)

The authors examine the mentor relationships that developed within the SOAR (Student Opportunities as Apprentice Researchers) program. The program matches underrepresented students with faculty in research partnerships that facilitate faculty scholarship and improve the retention and success of students from underserved groups.

Students As Partners With Faculty In A Teacher Education Program, Karen Pagnano Richardson, Deborah Sheehy, Misti Neutzling

Faculty Scholarship (SoTL)

The authors share their experiences of working with student partners within a Physical Education Teacher Education Program. Through partnership they more deeply understand how their role as professor was a barrier to open and honest student-faculty communication.

Co-Creating Equity And Justice: Student And Employee Partnerships For Racial Justice, Judith Willison, Laura Boutwell, Mark Conrad, Sabrina Gentlewarrior, Richardson Pierre-Louis, Colleen Rua, Jeff Saint Dic

Faculty Scholarship (SoTL)

The faculty/staff authors and current Bridgewater State University Undergraduate students: Jessie Barbosa, Ye Chen, Ruby Lila De La Rosa, Marvin Ezhan, Danielle Marie Galstian, Frank Iaquinta, Tashima Point du jour, Brian Owusu, Marina Smoske, Jovan Taylor; Bridgewater State University Alumni, Class of 2015: James Gouzias, Kasheida Hector, Julian Millan, Michael Molyneaux, Jamaal Rodney-Bonnette, share reflections on partnerships between campus staff, faculty and students to put on three specific social justice events designed to initiate discussion and raise awareness about racial justice.