Education Commons^™

Supporting Curriculum Leadership Capacity Development At A Ministry Of Education, Jeannine A. Tremblay

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The objective of this organizational improvement plan (OIP) is to assist one Canadian ministry of education close the gap between its curriculum leaders’ roles and capacities. Tasked with leading curriculum reform projects, they are asking the ministry for help. By further supporting their continued education in the areas of curriculum theory, critical education studies, and social foundations, the organization can help its curriculum leaders deepen their knowledge and strengthen their practice. From a systems thinking perspective, focusing the ministry’s collective domain on curriculum leadership capacity development will shift individual and system domains, thereby affecting the education system’s instructional capacity and …

An Act Of Hospitality: From Clinical To Trauma-Informed Academic Support, Melinda M. Dewsbury

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Higher education environments tend to sustain interpretations of student success that place the responsibility on students alone. This perspective, often described as deficit thinking, shapes educational responses into remedial ones. In this view, students who struggle do so because of poor study skills or habits. Academic support, then, fills the students with what they lack. This approach assumes that all students access learning in the same way, and that all students are equally able to make good academic choices. However, research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) finds that many students bring with them a history of trauma, which changes the …

Supporting Faculty In Responding To Distressed Students, Karolina E. Kulinska

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

The increased numbers of students struggling with mental health problems require faculty to increase their competence and confidence in working with distressed students. In this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP), I explore this problem of practice, pursuing improved mental health literacy among higher education faculty and an enhanced ability to recognize signs of distress and employ role-appropriate interventions. A mentally healthy and supportive learning environment improves student engagement and academic achievement; therefore, it is pedagogically relevant. Well-being and mental health-related knowledge and a helpful network of colleagues can help faculty respond to distressed students. This OIP is rooted in the Okanagan …

Frozen In Time? Exploring Faith-Based Admission Standards In Christian Higher Education, Carol C. Burbee

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Low enrollment is a significant problem in small Christian liberal arts colleges. It is my position that addressing the adaptive challenge of organizational identity will create an inclusive, accessible, and relevant faith-based college community which appeals to applicants and thereby grow enrollment. Drawing on process organization theory, situated learning theory, and adaptive leadership theory, I propose in this organizational improvement plan a change process enacted by a community of practice to foster sensemaking about organizational identity through college admissions work. This plan identifies portfolio-based admissions and critical policy analysis as ways to invite applicants to demonstrate their strengths; the approaches …

Improving Online Student Engagement In The Online Classroom, Emily Chen-Bendle

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Plan seeks to address inadequate online student engagement within online classrooms at University X. Inadequate student engagement risks students’ learning, persistence, performance, and academic achievement (Kuh, Cruce, Shoup, Kinzi, & Gonyea, 2008; Meyer, 2014; Pardo, Han, & Ellis, 2016; Phan, McNeil, & Robin, 2016), demonstrating the pressing need to improve online student engagement. This work is undertaken in the context of substantial growth in online education, accelerated in the short term by a movement to online delivery of face-to-face post-secondary education necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. The author considers this problem from a non-traditional leadership …

A Call To Action: Indigenizing Curriculum Through Adaptive Leadership, Christie Rehmann Pettipas

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Since the release of the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2015, the post-secondary sector has focused their attention on the indigenization of programming and practices with mixed results. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) presents a possible solution to embed Indigenous knowledge and culture in a program offered at a large urban college in Canada.

Both decolonization theory and Schein’s cultural assessment (2017) are used to identify current values and structures that are barriers to the effective integration of Indigenous knowledge in course curriculum and teaching. Utilizing an adaptive leadership framework (Hefeitz, 1994, Northouse, …

Community Of Practice: Adult’S Informal Learning In An Online English Learning Community In China, Ran Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This netnographic research investigated features of an informal online English learning community in Shanbay, the biggest mobile English learning platform in China. Focusing on how these features shaped members’ informal English learning, I selected a theoretical framework that consisted of multiliteracies, new media literacy, participatory culture, and community of practice. Data resources included postings in the community forum, online voice-chat interviews, and dialogues among members in online group chats. Major findings related that this online English learning community reflected the three key features of a community of practice, namely, mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and shared repertoire. Also, participants perceived …

Multiliteracies Meaning-Making: How Four Boys’ Video Gaming Experiences Influence Their Cultural Knowledge—Two Ethnographic Cases, Carol Ann Lane

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Scholars have acknowledged the potential contribution of video gaming to complex forms of learning, identifying links between gaming and engagement, experiential learning spaces, problem-solving, strategies, transliteracy reflectivity, critical literacy, and metacognitive thinking. Despite this movement toward the inclusion of video gaming in literacy teaching, concerns about certain risks raised by scholars have slowed the adoption of using video games to foster learning.

Using a multiliteracies lens, this multi-case study examined the experiences of four boys engaged with video gaming in two different contexts: a community centre and an after-school video club. By drawing on Feminist Post-Structural Theory, Vygotskian, and video …

Increasing Teacher Capacity In Supporting Student Mental Health, Mary Louise Ireland

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Abstract

Increasing rates of adolescent anxiety and depression present new challenges for educators. This requires educators to increase their capacity to meet the unique learning needs of students with mental health concerns. The Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores this problem of practice, targeting improved teacher ability to understand student mental health, to recognize the signs of distress, and to employ teaching strategies and practices to accommodate learning needs. The notion that academic functioning is tied to mental health functioning in a bi-directional relationship (Powers, Bower, Webber & Martinson, 2011) underscores the need for teachers to be equipped with a greater …

Improving Principal Professional Practice Through Communities Of Practice, Lisa Clarke

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

This Organizational Improvement Project (OIP) explores a problem of practice (PoP) where the Association Office (AO), within a large, private school district (District), wishes to facilitate professional development of leadership skills, collaboration, and cooperation amongst the principals. Perspectives on the problem are gained through a thorough assessment of the District and its existing culture and practices. In addition, this OIP examines the District’s readiness for change and how both the internal and external forces for change can be used to create momentum to address the PoP. Various leadership approaches, including adaptive, agile, and servant leadership, and possible solutions are considered …