Education Commons^™

Constructing A Transformative Methodology Of Discipleship: A Qualitative Case Study Of The African Strategic Discipleship Movement (Asdm), Anne Sylvia Meredith Frey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to discover how discipleship can be transformative for the learners within the African Strategic Discipleship Movement (ASDM) training program currently being offered to Christian denominations located in 33 countries throughout Africa. The educational theory that guided this study was Bruner’s constructivism methodology of learning as it suggested a theoretical framework that could be integrated into the field of discipleship. The Central Research Question asked how the specific instructional methods and practices of discipleship presented by the African Strategic Discipleship Movement (ASDM) provide or not provide the participants with transformational results. Sub-research questions asked about …

Constructivism, Curiosity, And Metacognitive Bias In The Age Of Google, Matthew Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this experimental, posttest-only control-group study was to determine if there are differences in levels of metacognitive bias between those who do and do not use Google on a practice activity prior to the administration of a general knowledge test, when controlling for epistemic curiosity. The study seeks to help fill the gap in the literature by examining differences in metacognitive bias across not only the experimental variable of Google access, but also by participant variables, providing a more thorough understanding of how differences in individuals may moderate the relationship between Google use and bias. A sample of …

Examining The Effect Of Utilizing 1:1 Ipad Technology On Third Grade Reading Achievement: A Causal-Comparative Analyis, Sharla E. Edwards

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative causal-comparative study examined the effects of one-to-one (1:1) iPad instruction versus traditional instruction on urban third-grade students' English Language Arts (ELA) achievement. The research is significant given the rising use of technology, like the 1:1 iPad initiative, to combat declining reading proficiency. It highlights the pivotal role of third-grade reading proficiency in future success, aligning with education policies and catering to modern learners. This study provides valuable insights for educators, administrators, and education stakeholders by elucidating the impact of technology on reading achievement. As one-to-one instruction gains prominence, understanding its influence on students' reading performance is crucial due …

Recommendations To Improve Active Learning Implementation At The National Security Space Institute In Colorado Springs, Colorado, Mark S. Mitchell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this research study was to provide recommendations to university leaders to improve active learning implementation at the National Security Space Institute in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The problem is that 80% of the faculty at the National Security Space Institute faced a forced transition into active learning with no pre-evaluation, coordination, or effective training with the faculty. (NSSI, n.d.). A study conducted to identify and provide recommendations will help improve active learning implementation at the National Security Space Institute. This is an applied research study using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. This research study addresses the central question …

A Phenomenological Study On The Strategies Used To Support Minority Gifted Students, Christina Patrice Cobb

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe effective constructivism teaching strategies and approaches for reducing the achievement gap between minority and non-minority students in a middle school gifted program at Stoneybrook Middle School in the Downey-Raine School System through an examination of the lived experiences of teacher participants. The theories that guided this study were Piaget’s cognitive constructivism and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Both theories focused on the possible obstacles that educators may face when addressing the reduction of the achievement gap within this type of setting. Methodologically, this study followed the qualitative phenomenological research design. The …

Did It Change How We Teach? A Qualitative Exploration Into Teacher Perceptions Of How Technology Changed In The Classroom As A Result Of The Pandemic, Leanne Michelle Hoiles

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to understand the perceived change in educator attitudes from the pandemic concerning technology at Cornerstone School. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of motivation of educators to try new ways to use technology in their classrooms. The theory guiding this study was J. Bruner’s constructivist theory which focuses on obtaining knowledge through discovery. The connection between Bruner’s theory and the perceived change in teachers’ attitudes was that teachers learned technology through their use and discovery. A qualitative case study design was used to carry out this investigation. Ten educators were …

Impressionist Composition Techniques In Modern Percussion Literature, David Scott Strait

Masters Theses

The purpose of this lecture recital was to explore the substantive contributions of impressionist composition techniques in contemporary percussion literature. Research was conducted by means of harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic analysis of contemporary works for solo marimba, marimba and electronics, and snare drum and electronics, as well as background research on composers of those works. Percussion composers Russell Wharton, Ivan Trevino, and Ian T. Jones utilize modern technology in their compositions as well as compositional techniques stemming from the Impressionist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In Impressionist composition, musical elements such as texture, non-pulsatic rhythm, and …

The Impact Of High School Math Teachers' Conceptions Of Teaching And Learning On Implementation Of Student-Centered Instructional Practices, Melissa Marie Lute

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, predictive, correlational study is to investigate the relationship between high school math teachers’ conceptions of constructivist instructional practices and their conceptions of traditional teaching practices with their implementation of student-centered learning (SCL) practices in their math classes. Cognitive constructivism, theories of teacher beliefs, and teacher self-efficacy provide a theoretical framework for understanding math teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning and their use of SCL. This quantitative, nonexperimental study uses a correlational research design to investigate teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning and their implementation of student-centered instructional practices. The convenience sample included 68 high school …

The Impact Of The Cuny Algebra For All Program On Teachers’ Beliefs And Practices About Teaching And Learning Mathematics, Celia C. Cruz, Rabab Abi-Hanna

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Teenagers Learn Through Play Too: Communicating High Expectations Through A Playful Learning Approach, Olivia Johnston, Helen Wildy, Jennifer Shand

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Play-based learning is an approach used in early childhood education that is well supported by research on its varieties and effectiveness for young children’s learning. Play-based learning meets the developmental needs of young children, but new research presented in this paper suggests that teenagers learn through play too. The experience of 25 Year 10 students in three Western Australian government schools was drawn upon to generate grounded theory about how students experience their teachers’ expectations of them, which included findings that playful learning approaches communicated high teacher expectations. The students were shadow-studied in their classrooms and interviewed at the end …

Circlet Themed Resource List On Key Topics Relevant To Community Engaged Research And Learning, Catherine Bates, Sinead Mccann, Caroline Mcgowan

Books/Book chapters

This Themed Resource List was produced as part of the process of developing a postgraduate Continuing Professional Development (CPD) module for lecturers who wish to build, or enhance, Community Engaged Research and Learning (CERL) projects in the modules they teach, as part of the Higher Education curriculum. CERL (or service-learning, as it can be known) is a high-impact activity in Higher Education (Kuh, 2008), increasing student engagement and learning. CERL also supports community goals and makes teaching more interesting for lecturers. The module was designed to build capacity among lecturers for CERL, including developing relevant knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. …

A Thematic Analysis Of Faculty Advice For Doctoral Students, Alexa Yunes-Koch, Katie Johnson

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

The present study examines advice given by the graduate faculty in a department (n=24) to new Ph.D. students in the department. The thematic analysis employed inductive coding to draw themes from the data, and seven salient themes emerged from the interviews: relationships, openness, individuality, purpose, academic work, self-care, and logistics. Grounded in a theoretical framework of social constructivism, the present study analyzes how knowledge is created as a social artifact that is passed down from faculty to graduate student and highlights the ways in which doctoral students then shape the meaning of said knowledge through their own interpretations and actions. …

Examining The Effects Of A Curriculum-Based Professional Learning Community On Teacher Efficacy Toward Inquiry-Based Science Instruction, Samuel Joel Northern

Dissertations

Improving STEM education is pivotal to our country’s economic future and security. Unfortunately, most young students have limited access to standards-based science education. Science instruction is notoriously difficult to implement in the early grades. This dissertation explored the root causes for the lack of effective science instruction in elementary schools, including accountability testing, instructional time, historically weak standards, family factors, teacher efficacy, and professional development.

This study aimed to understand how elementary school teachers’ attitudes promote or hinder the implementation of science instruction. This study’s primary driver to improve science education in the early grades was a curriculum-based professional learning …

Investigating The Prevailing Worldviews Of American Public Education: A Brief Analysis And History, Chester Walker

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis investigates whether the philosophies and worldviews underlying U.S. public education contradict or purposefully undermine Biblical Christianity. It provides readers with an understanding of the Biblical Christian worldview to enable them to analyze and contrast prominent worldviews of public education. Pragmatism and Marxism run rampant in public education today. Both strongly oppose fundamental tenets of the Biblical Christian worldview. To determine any purposeful anti-Christian agenda, the author examines the men behind the worldviews. Christianity maintains that ideas and practices in education originate from deeply-held, personal beliefs, which are passed on to students. Education is a means of discipleship to …

An Exploration Of Western Graphic Design Art Movements Through The Korean Lens, Hyunjung (Anna) Lee

Honors Theses

Art history has historically centered around Western and European art. This creative thesis explores what Western graphic design movements could look like merged with Korean themes and subject matter. The movements in question include Art Nouveau, Plakatstil, Constructivism, Pop Art, and Memphis Design. What would Alphonse Mucha’s allegorical beauties look like if they were Asian? What would Korea look like represented through Ludwig Hohlwein’s reductive planes of color? Who would the celebrity-obsessed Andy Warhol make art about if it was a Korean actress? Each movement is combined with Korean events that occurred within the art movement’s lifespan. This amalgamation not …

A Phenomenological Study Of Performance Assessments In Detracked Secondary English Classes, Susan Renee Mahlburg

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how teachers described the experience of using performance assessments in detracked English classrooms. The theory guiding this study was constructivism, a psychological theory of learning based on the work of Vygotsky, which holds that learning, especially lasting, meaningful learning, results from the activity and self-organization resulting from learners’ attempts to create meaning. The central research question addressed how teachers described the experiences and purposes of teaching in detracked secondary English classrooms, with additional research questions focusing on the use of performance assessments, advantages and disadvantages of detracking, professional development, and other …

Discovering Pascal's Triangle, Cara Schmidtke

Research and Scholarship Symposium Posters

The Discovery of Pascal’s Triangle is a great lesson for students because it gives them a glimpse into the history of mathematics, patterns in upper level math topics, and connections between real life situations using combinations and more abstract math concepts, such as Pascal’s triangle. My research dives into how Bruner’s theory on discovery learning and the concept of constructivism can motivate my differentiated learners to understand Pascal’s Triangle and enhance their understanding of combinations. Educators can use this research to promote active learning in upper level mathematics classrooms. The discovery opportunities I provided to my students not only applied …

Building A Foundation: Lessons From Vygotsky Applied In Appalachia, Elise L. Kieffer Phd

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

Before I knew anything about learning theories, I was a constructivist. I am not completely sure why my methods so perfectly followed this learning theory, but one sure reason, comes directly from my discipline. In my own study of musical theatre, I experienced constructivist instruction. This article follows an autoethnographic reflection of constructivism at work in and through me as I taught in a small community in the Appalachian region of Kentucky.

Technology As Enabler Of Learner Autonomy And Authentic Learning In Chinese Language Acquisition: A Case Study In Higher Education, Mario Valdebenito, Yalin Chen

East Asian Languages & Cultures: Faculty Publications

Based on the Constructivist approach, meaningful learning only occurs when learners have agency to construct meaning through social interactions. The ability to self-direct, communicate, collaborate, and transfer learning to real-life situations are crucial skills for the 21st century. These skills allow new generations to adapt to this new information era in any field and/or disciplines they pursue; foreign language acquisition is not an exception. In this article, the authors argue that language learning can help learners cultivate such abilities with the aid of a holistic curriculum design and the effective use of technology. The authors also explore how using tools, …

Music Literacy: A Multicase Study Of Five Choral Directors' Use And Understanding Of Choral Music Literacy In The Choral Classroom, Alicia M. Romero Sardiñas

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this multi-case study was to give experienced choral music educators a voice. It sought to describe, examine, and understand five choral music educators’ perceptions and use of elements within choral music literacy. These elements were specifically sight-reading, text analysis, and composition. Research questions included 1) What are the choral music educators’ perceptions and understandings of choral music literacy? 2) How do these choral music educators design and implement their curriculum? and 3) How can choral music educators balance performance requirements and the elements of choral music literacy, which are invaluable in the creation of independent music making? …

A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of High School Students Engaged In An Established 1:1 Technology Program, Kevin Michael Mathes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to seek understanding as to the impact of an established 1:1 technology program on the educational experiences of high school students. The theories guiding this study were constructivism, based on the works of Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget, and connectivism, based on the work of George Siemens. Three high schools in a mid-Atlantic state with established 1:1 technology programs were identified as sites for this study. Participants included five high school students from each school site. The sequential data collection process began with one-on-one interviews with the participants, then a focus …

Learning Sciences For Computing Education, Lauren Margulieux, Brian Dorn, Kristin Searle

Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

his chapter discusses potential and current overlaps between the learning sciences and computing education research in their origins, theory, and methodology. After an introduction to learning sciences, the chapter describes how both learning sciences and computing education research developed as distinct fields from cognitive science. Despite common roots and common goals, the authors argue that the two fields are less integrated than they should be and recommend theories and methodologies from the learning sciences that could be used more widely in computing education research. The chapter selects for discussion one general learning theory from each of cognition (constructivism), instructional design …

Systems In Play: Simon Nicholson's Design 12 Course, University Of California, Berkeley, 1966, Tim Stott

Articles

In 1966, British artist, designer and educator Simon Nicholson (1934–1990) offered a lower division course, Design 12, at the College of Environmental Design, UC Berkeley. Controversially, Nicholson promoted play as the principal method of design and invited children to assess students’ projects on the Berkeley campus and in local schools, parks, playgrounds and hospitals. This article presents Design 12 as an important example of environmental design pedagogy in the USA, which uniquely attempted to synthesize British post-war constructivism with ‘design science’ and adventure play. The result was a course that placed play at the centre of design pedagogy, where it …

Asynchronous Electronic Feedback For Faculty Peer Review: Formative Feedback That Makes A Difference, Chad Rohrbacher

Publications

This case study at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach campus (ERAU-DB) describes the process of facilitating a faculty peer observation model that uses asynchronous electronic feedback through the Teaching Partners program offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE). This practical, hybrid model of peer observation builds on practices found in current models and uses digital recording and web-based software to encourage faculty feedback that will positively impact their pedagogical practice. The results of this study suggest to truly cultivate a dialogue between faculty and/or education developer in the process, the goals should be clearly stated, the …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Career Progression Among Culinary School Graduates, Anthony Joseph Padavan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this experiential phenomenological study was to describe the experience of a formal culinary education and its impact on job placement, job satisfaction, and career progression for culinary school graduates who are also members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF). The theory guiding this study was experientialism focusing on construction of knowledge as proposed by Kolb’s experiential learning theory. Kolb’s theory directly relates to the vocational nature of the culinary profession and helped to answer the research question: How do participants value a culinary education in relationship to job placement, job satisfaction, and overall career progression? The sample …

Flipping The Flipped: The Co-Creational Classroom, Vuk Uskoković

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The flip teaching model is being increasingly adopted by higher education institutions as an active learning alternative to traditional lecturing. However, the flip model shares a number of critical premises with the classical didactics. The further flips of the flip are thus advocated and the fear of returning the method to its initial state, prior to the flip, via such flips of the flipped dispelled. Proposed here is a seminal variation to the flip model based on the active involvement of students in searching, finding, selecting, and assembling knowledge from various literature sources into the learning material for the entire …

A Qualitative Phenomenology Of Christian Middle School Implementation Of Inquiry-Based Science Instruction, Patricia Ferrin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenology study will be to explore curriculum coordinators, teachers, and principals’ implementation of Inquiry-Based Instruction (IBI) in Christian middle school science classes in the central Virginia area. IBI will be referred to as “a teaching method that combines the curiosity of students and the scientific method to enhance the development of critical thinking skills while learning science” (Warner & Myers, 2008, p.3). A qualitative phenomenology study will be made to consider the requirements and implementation of IBI in the Christian middle schools as compared to the requirements and implementation of IBI in the National Science …

The Relationship Between Mobile Learning And Academic Achievement In A Community College System Online Environment, Daniel Grenier

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study poses the question: Is there a relationship between student use of mobile technology in an online environment and student achievement expressed by final grades? The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between mobile learning (m-learning) using mobile technology and academic achievement in terms of final grades in an online environment. The literature on m-learning indicates the freedom and flexibility of the m-learner constitutes a new paradigm in education. The untethered nature of m-learning means students can access course content anywhere, anytime. Studies have focused on the use of specific technologies in learning environments; this study …

Developmentally Appropriate Practice In The 21st Century, Kay Sanders, Flora Farago

Faculty Publications

Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) is a set of early childhood curricular recommendations published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). DAP was introduced in the United States in the late 1980s through Bredekamp’s (1987) seminal work, “Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8.” Since the initial publication, DAP has been widely accepted as the standard for early childhood educational practice in the United States and in Westernized countries around the world. Whereas proponents of DAP assert its positive influence on children, those more critical of DAP question whether it …

Spaces Of Rupture: Wondering, Wandering, Remixing, Cathy Benedict

Music Education Publications

This response is based on my presentation at Teachers College, Columbia University celebrating the launch of Allsup’s (2016) book, Remixing the Classroom: Toward an Open Philosophy of Music Education. I enter the text with openness, and with a willingness to ponder and consider. As such I offer the following considerations for further “thinking through.” These are considerations, given the context of the book, I feel are necessary to address: independent musician, child centered / learner centered, or constructivism writ large, learning outcomes, and finally the space in the elementary setting for the kinds of pedagogical engagements and purpose Allsup outlines …