Education Commons^™

Integrating Language And Content Instruction: A Linguistic And Cultural Guide For Content-Area Teachers Of Asian International Secondary School Students In The Us, Joy R. Suzuki

Master's Projects and Capstones

As more and more international Asian ESL high school students seek an education at private American high schools, where students spend most of their time in content-area classrooms, it is imperative that content-area teachers understand the important role they play in their students’ linguistic development and cultural adjustment. The purpose of this project is to provide teachers of content-area classes with an easily accessible professional development opportunity, including tools they need to help their international ESL students achieve linguistic and academic success and guide these students through a rewarding cross-cultural experience. As supported by second language acquisition theory, with the …

Creating A Curriculum For Preschool Educators In Asia: How To Teach Kindergarteners Speaking And Listening Skills In English Through Games, Yue Kuang

Master's Projects and Capstones

There is a rapid development of science and technology, and international information exchanges have become increasingly frequent as well in 21^st century. English learning is becoming a requirement of career success, especially in Asia (Graddol, 2006). So people are beginning to pay more attention to English education, especially early childhood English education. However, most Asian kindergarten teachers prefer to pay more attention to teaching English reading and writing skills, while ignoring the teaching and practices of English listening and speaking (Wang, 2016). Most 3-6 age children do not have the attention span of adults (Garba, Yusuf, & Busthami, 2015), …

Incorporating The Cultures Of English-Language Learners In Daily Lesson Plans: A Two-Way Street, James G. Doyle

Master's Projects and Capstones

Teaching and learning culture have been matters of interest for teachers of English to speakers of other languages during the past half century. Since the development of the concept of communicative competence, theorists and practitioners have asked questions about the role of culture in the classroom. This field project was designed assist teachers in developing a heightened awareness of the roles of culture in the acquisition of communicative competence. It is my hope that teachers will use the awareness and the skills developed in the exercises and interactions presented in the field project to increase their effectiveness by adapting materials …

Better Alternatives For Youth: Peace, Education And Human Rights, Abraham Jones

Master's Theses

Many urban youth in the United States live in what are identified as high stress neighborhoods, where trauma is a normative reality within which common life themes permeate. Colloquially, the communities in these high stress areas reclaim space by naming them as hoods, barrios and ghettos. However, depending on one’s perception, these words can have a negative connotation. Even when these communities hold various forms of community cultural wealth and capital, urban narratives are often dominated by false common perceptions that associate these spaces with the violence that occurs within them. There is a need for spaces that produce counter …

Embodying The Oppressed And The Oppressor: Critical Mixed Race Studies For Liberation And Social Justice Education, Gwendlyn C. Snider

Master's Theses

This study will focus on the educational and social experiences of mixed race Filipinx PEP (Pin@y Educational Partnerships) instructors in the San Francisco/Bay Area and the connection of these various, lived experiences to their teaching pedagogy and praxis in Ethnic Studies curriculum. The main purpose of this research is to create additional evidence for the need of critical mixed race studies and acknowledgement of mixed race students’ unique experiences to be valued and included in Ethnic Studies curriculum. In addition, the research will also serve as reaffirmation of not only the efficacy of Ethnic Studies curriculum but also the need …

With Language Brings Light: Narratives By Deaf Ethiopians And Their Right To Sign Language, Jackie M. Eugster

Master's Theses

The goal of this case study is to share the narratives of Deaf individuals in Ethiopia and how the Deaf community uses Deaf Community Cultural Wealth in order to explore and flourish in audist and colonized spaces. This study engaged photovoice, in a participatory action research technique that can empower and enhance the community’s sense of identity (Wang & Burris, 1997). This study considers the influence of American missionaries and how colonization of African nations has also influenced the trajectory of Deaf education in Ethiopia. Moving away from deficient thinking, DCCW attempts to reframe the Deaf experience as one that …

Music Speaks, We Listen: A Teacher's Guide For Using Music In The Adult Ell Classroom, Honora Mitchell

Master's Projects and Capstones

Too often adult ESL students are stymied by high levels of perfectionism, self-consciousness and anxiety when trying to learn English. They are further challenged because they may have come from a country where language teaching methods have not kept up with the times, so have an imbalance of skills—lacking speaking and listening skills. When students’ affective filters are high and their motivation is low they are less open to learning. Students need authentic, culturally-relevant material to stimulate learning and activate their multiple intelligences. The purpose of this project is to introduce adult ESL teachers to using popular songs to teach …

Integrating Idea Mapping Into Professional Development And Practice: A Guidebook For Educators, Sarah Rose Parsons

Master's Projects and Capstones

The daily metrics of the teaching profession can prove emotionally and physically taxing, especially when compared to the current rapidly growing veil of technological advancement and a lack of support from one’s community and administration in their field. The means of support for professional development, which are often presented in schools for educators, focus mostly on students and content delivery. These programs rarely pay attention to the personal growth of the individual educator. Educators can in turn help themselves if they are provided with the tools and time to do so. Thus, this project seeks to serve that purpose, founded …

Reimagining Ability, Reimagining America: Teaching Disability In United States History Classes, Maya L. Steinborn

Master's Projects and Capstones

In service to the FAIR Education Act (2012) and the awareness-raising mission of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2008), this project reviews historical and educational literature about disability in the United States and provides a curriculum guide for teaching Human Rights Education (HRE) and disability studies (DS) at the high school level in California. This project traces the historical development of deficit attitudes toward disability back to the colonial era, uncovering the dichotomy between the vast resources in DS and the ableist omission of disability from K-12 curricula. Survey data and interviews further show how teachers …

Teaching While White: White Identity Development And Antiracism For Educators, Amber Mackenzie Taylor

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project explores the use of mindfulness in antiracist professional development for educators, documenting the development and implementation of workshop curriculum across three conference settings. The purpose of the project was to engage White educators in the important inner work of understanding White racial conditioning and actively challenging the institutional and structural racism inherent in our education system. Beginning with an understanding of race, racism and Critical Race Theory, the curriculum was designed to support White educators in developing their own racial identities to further their own personal development. The workshop focuses on White Identity development (Helms, 1990) to support …

Neighborhood Strategizing: Understanding Community Collaborations Within California Bay Area Public Schools, Windi Hazzard

Master's Projects and Capstones

For the better half of a century, education policy has been guided by economics and profit. One after another, every U.S. president since the 1960s has championed legislation that reflects neoliberal ideals of competition and profitable skills. Through the standardization of the public school system, education has become a marketplace rather than an environment for cultivating empowered learners and critical thinkers. The purpose of this field project is to show how communities are challenging the current education system in order to influence education policy in San Francisco, California. I interviewed four participants from two organizations that advocate parents’ rights as …

Enhancing Listening Comprehension Skills Through Exposure To Authentic Conversation, Michael Mcclure

Master's Projects and Capstones

In this field project, the author created a listening comprehension workbook for adult ESL students. The emphasis of the project was to improve the listening comprehension abilities of students through exposing them to authentic American English. The recordings were provided by StoryCorps.gov.

Strategies For First-Year University Esl Students To Improve Essay Writing Skills, Mengjie Wei

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project provides a writing guidebook for first-year university level English as a Second Language (ESL) students and teachers. Most ESL students have difficulties in academic English writing, especially first-year university ESL students. Due to the differences in linguistic and education backgrounds, first-year university level ESL students desire a writing guidebook that is appropriate for them; ESL teachers should be provided with professional teaching methods and materials in delivering lectures too. By applying Schema Theory and Stephen D. Krashen’s Monitor Model, strategies for students and teachers are professionally designed in this guidebook.

In order to help ESL students better their …

That’S So Gay: An Analysis Of Lgbtqia+ Students And School Climate Within Institutions Of Higher Education, Daniel Macmaster Fox

Master's Projects and Capstones

Institutions of higher education are composed of LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and + to be inclusive of all identities) communities that are more diverse, out, and active than ever before. However, studies have shown time and again how institutions are unable to accommodate the changes in their demographics, harming the LGBTQIA+ community and limiting student success. Overall, LGBTQIA+ students experience a very hostile school climate, with many reporting high levels of anti-LGBTQIA+ perceptions and experiences. Generally, the LGBTQIA+ community is ignored by institutions of higher education. When LGBTQIA+ inclusive policies, awareness programs, and other resources are …

A Challenge To Inclusive Excellence: What We Can Learn From A Jesuit Catholic University, Terri Lewis-King

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper draws attention to the ethics of the organization (institutional structure) to fulfill its mission by examining what does it mean that a Jesuit higher education institution strives for "inclusive excellence". From a staff member lens, what does the campus climate tell us about how that impact is felt. The result of this project are tools for professionals to use in their assessment and development of organizational support for staff.

The Mirror Up To Nature: Identity Exploration Through Drama For English Language Learners, Grace Hudkins

Master's Projects and Capstones

It is widely accepted that language acquisition through content, arts integration, and identity development in concert with foreign or second language development are all important and valid approaches to ESOL education. However, there is a lack of literature addressing these three elements in concert. This project attempts to bridge this gap through the creation of an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) unit that addresses language acquisition, drama integration, and personal and cultural identity development. The unit also promotes intercultural understanding, as students share their personal and cultural identity backgrounds with one another throughout the course of the unit …

Increasing Access To Aba Intervention For Children With Developmental Disabilities In Taiwan, Noel Hsu

Master's Projects and Capstones

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) uses a behavioral approach to help clients and their behavioral challenges. This treatment has been proven to be a highly effective intervention for children with developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders. It is widely practiced in the United States and many other developed countries; however, this intervention is not widely available in Taiwan. This phenomenon requires our investigation because it raises questions about the available supports and interventions for children with special needs in Taiwan. This project is to explore factors that influence the development of ABA intervention in Taiwan. The goal of this project …

Practical Pragmatics: A Workshop To Learn Strategies For Teaching Pragmatic Awareness To Adult English Language Leaners, Sara G. Ziogas

Master's Projects and Capstones

The lack of teacher training and textbook teaching materials for developing pragmatic awareness in ESL (English as a second language) and EFL (English as a foreign language) classrooms has led to a gap in the development of students’ communicative competence in English as a second or foreign language. The purpose of this project is to provide an opportunity for teachers, who may be unaware of how to recognize their own first language pragmatic competence, to learn how to reverse-engineer their innate knowledge and then use those strategies to create practical, teachable lessons for their students to gain pragmatic awareness in …

Cultivating Student Voice: Writing As A Tool For Multilingual And Multicultural Students To Develop Language, Identity, And Cultural Competence, Gaeun Lee

Master's Projects and Capstones

The importance of using writing as an educational tool to English learners cannot be understated. It is critical for youth learning English as their second language to be encouraged to value their first language, culture, and identity by writing. Unfortunately, many teachers overlook the significance of the writing activity, which can be greatly helpful to develop the English learners’ language and cultural competence and their identity, specifically for multilingual and multicultural youth.

This project is developed with the purpose of cultivating student voice by using writing as a tool. The project is based on the two theories: the affective filter …

Using Multiple Technologies To Promote Teaching Efficiency In Esl Writing Class, You Wu

Master's Projects and Capstones

With the development of the computer and mobile phone, learning does not limit to traditional methods.How to avoid redundancy and stress is essential for the application of educational technology. The field project mainly creative a lesson plan and learning management system for both teachers and students as an example of using multiple technologies to promote teaching efficiency. It first introduces how memory, attention and comprehension work for ESL learners and then it focuses on how CLT (Cognitive Load Theory) and CALL (Computer-assisted Language Learning) work.

Rapping Back: Counter-Narratives From Auckland, New Zealand, Mariel Lopez Rogers

Master's Theses

Across the Pacific in Auckland, New Zealand two rap groups, Homebrew and @Peace, are contributing to a theoretically rich and socially conscious Hip Hop scene. Their music critically questions commercialism and conformity in a culture shaped by a history of colonialism. This makes their message starkly opposed to the normative values of New Zealand. The musicians of Homebrew and @Peace, a mix of Polynesian and Pakeha (people of European descent), employ methods of decolonization theory through the use of storytelling and focus on indigenous values. In a country that has adopted the neoliberal beliefs that competition drives human relations, and …

Using Humor To Enhance Metalinguistic Awareness And Expand Cultural Competence In Adult Esl Classrooms, Jean L. Hilburn

Master's Projects and Capstones

Research has shown that there are many benefits to using humor in the ESL classroom. Although this is known, oftentimes humor is avoided. There are a variety of reasons for humor not being incorporated into the ESL classroom. In addition, because much of the research and curriculum development regarding humorous wordplay and its benefits for ESL students has been focused on children, there is a paucity of curriculum, materials, and resources which focus on humor and wordplay relating to adult topics and themes.

The purpose of this project is to fill the gap between what is available and what is …

Going With The Flow: Using Menstrual Education As A Tool For Empowering Post Pubescent Nepali Girls, Graceann L. Cadiz

Master's Theses

Global discourse and research evidence on the benefits of girl’s education show that prioritizing girl’s education is the most successful strategy of breaking the cycle of poverty, gender inequality, and overpopulation. Moreover, there is a growing interest in closing the gender gap in education, but there has been insufficient attention to the specific needs of girls experiencing menses or menarche within schooling environments. The beginning of menstruation represents a pivotal event in development of the adolescent girl but is under-recognized and deemed insignificant with a culture of silence present throughout the rest of their lives. While providing access to education …

Individual And Intra-Individual Differences In Interest During Instrumental Music Classes In Suburban High Schools, Beth Ann Turner

Doctoral Dissertations

Individual differences in interest (how students’ interest differs from one another in response to the same experiences) and intra-individual differences in interest (how each student’s interest changes across different experiences) are theorized to play a part in a complex system of interactions between students, lesson content, and educational context. In this study, 360 students from two suburban high school instrumental programs in Northern California rated an average of 12 classroom tasks and music selections on the dimensions of interest, meaning, involvement, complexity, and comprehension. Expected relationships between interest and the other variables were informed by literature on situational interest in …

Successful African American Community College Student Athletes’ Perceptions Of Factors Of Academic Success, Tanika Lee Byrd

Doctoral Dissertations

California community colleges are facing serious obstacles in relation to students of color achieving academic success. African American men see the community college as a pathway toward economic and social mobility; however, collectively they have disparate outcomes in every conceivable marker of success; persistence, achievement, transfer, completion. The live experiences of academically successful community college student athletes may hold key factors that can assist all African American males in their journey toward academic success. Even though research is limited, it is suggested that student athletes at the community college achieve their academic goals at higher rates than their nonathlete peers. …

A Phenomenological Study Of Lesbian And Gay People In Leadership Roles: How Perspectives And Priorities Shift In The Workplace As Sexual Orientation Evolves Through Social Constructs, Justin Moore

Doctoral Dissertations

The queer community's presence continues to increase in the United States, while more individuals become visible throughout workplaces. An increasingly diverse workforce leaves organizations struggling to leverage the knowledge and experience lesbian and gay leaders bring to discussions. Limited research informs organizations of the strategies lesbian and gay people in leadership roles use to navigate their ascension into their positions, while managing the disclosure of their sexual orientation and professional identity. This qualitative, phenomenological study involved recruiting 15 participants through purposeful, homogeneous sampling processes and snowball sampling, identifying cisgender lesbian or gay people in leadership or managerial roles, with a …

Epistemology, Wisdom, And Social Transformation: Strategies At The Forefront Of The Contemplative Movement In Higher Education, Nicola Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

American society is currently experiencing a surging interest in contemplative practices. The secularization and professionalization of contemplative practices can be seen in the adoption of mindfulness-based approaches in sectors as wide-ranging as technology, nonprofit, and higher education. Amongst all these fields, institutions of higher education play a unique role within the contemplative movement in that the academy lays claim to the powerful social roles of producing and disseminating knowledge and, subsequently, of shaping societal values and behaviors.

In conducting this qualitative study, the researcher analyzed 1) what the academics in the contemplative movement expressed through their speech regarding the activities …

Relative Importance Of Anxiety And Motivational Variables In Predicting Language Achievement For College Learners Of Chinese, Qi Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

The growing worldwide enthusiasm in learning Chinese calls for more research on learner characteristics in Chinese classrooms to better inform teaching practice. Language anxiety, which falls under the umbrella of learner’s affect, is considered an important affective aspect that negatively influences language learning and acquisition. As research on language anxiety mainly focused on the learning of Western languages, this study constitutes an initial attempt to investigate anxiety in the learning of Chinese through the testing of a structural model. The purpose of the study was to examine the relative importance of language anxiety in predicting Chinese achievement when motivation, integrativeness, …

Perceptions And Practices Of Administrators And Teachers In Jesuit Secondary Schools In The Hazaribag Province Of India Regarding Ideal Ignatian Educators, Vincent Hansdak

Doctoral Dissertations

The growing number of complex learning contexts and needs of students has challenged the quality of education at all levels. The need to offer the most satisfactory and meaningful education to all students consistently attracts researchers, policymakers, and educators to comprehensively understand what comprises successful learning, and in particular, what qualities do effective teachers have around the world. Though some developed countries have made significant progress toward quality education, many developing countries experience numerous obstructions to guaranteeing quality education to students. Most importantly, India, due to its economic, cultural, and social divides, still grapples with equity and the quality of …

Writing-To-Learn In High-School Chemistry: The Effects Of Using The Science Writing Heuristic To Increase Scientific Literacy, Denae Nurnberg

Doctoral Dissertations

Writing-to-Learn in High-School Chemistry: The Effects of Using the Science Writing Heuristic to Increase Scientific Literacy

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of using the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) as an instructional tool to improve academic achievement and writing in the context of scientific literacy. This quasi-experimental study compared the effects of using the SWH in five laboratory settings over a 16-week span. The SWH was administered to a treatment group (n=63), whereas the comparison group (n=67) received laboratory sessions using a traditional laboratory report format.

There were four classes (n=130) of general chemistry enrolled in …