Education Commons^™

An Investigation Of Postsecondary Centers For Teaching Excellence Support For Universal Design For Learning, David Mcgeehan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research examined factors related to support for Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in faculty professional development training programs offered by Centers for Teaching Excellence (CTE) in postsecondary institutions. The factors examined were: administrative support, staffing for CTEs, CTE staff characteristics, CTE level of use of technology, CTE directors’ educational backgrounds, and the espoused support for students with disabilities in university mission statements.

Universal Design for Learning is a pedagogical framework that can be used to design and retrofit curricula to reduce access barriers to course content and activities for all students, particularly students with disabilities. Students with disabilities is …

In What Ways Can Play-Based Learning In Preschool And Kindergarten Classrooms Support Healthy Development?, Angela Bjelde

Graduate Teacher Education

Play-based learning was identified as a developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) within early childhood education (ECE) (NAEYC, 2009). This paper examined current research to determine the impact of play-based learning on the development of preschool and kindergarten children. According to research, play offers effective, innovative approaches to pedagogy that meets children’s diverse needs as a whole learner. Although research has underlined the importance of play for the future of ECE, a number of diverse challenges have created difficulty with implementing play-based learning in preschool and kindergarten classrooms. Most early childhood educators have faced increasing difficulty with advocating for play given the …

A Pedagogical Approach To Learning, Jonathan Davis

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio is a collection of four projects that represent a collective study in multiple modes and methods of pedagogical approaches relevant to the modern paradigm of the field of education. Though not originally written with the intention of being unified under a single theme, as the portfolio was being assembled a cohesion emerged among the four projects stemming from their shared emphasis on pedagogical applications. Each of the four projects is an effort to explore a unique perspective regarding a particular concept or aspect of the field of education, or to address an issue in a unique way organic …

You Belong Here: A Critical Look At Community Engagement In Museum Education Through K-16 Place Based Pedagogy, Janelle O'Malley

Student Projects

Historically museums exist as object centered spaces with little consideration of the community and artists that support them. Therefore museums as pedagogical sites must reorient themselves to become people centered spaces incorporating participatory pedagogical experiences for both community members and artists.

There is a lack of research in place-based pedagogies in museum education. It is important now more than ever to recognize the need to center community in museum education. This study will seek to investigate how museums can exact meaningful change through their educational practices and create a sense of belonging in museums for their immediate community. The outcomes …

Creating Statistical Testing Tools In Digital Testing Environments: Eliminating Confirmation Bias And Improving Pedagogy In The Humanities Testing Lab At Byu, Robert Hatch

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Humanities Testing Lab at BYU is a computer testing environment for humanities students and professors. Statistics are useful in a pedagogical sense because they present unbiased information about the progress of the class. The Humanities Testing Lab did not previously have a statistical tool, making it the perfect place to monitor the change in teacher perspective when a statistical tool was introduced. In an effort to better the BYU Humanities Testing Lab, an ideal statistical tool was researched, created, and delivered to participating professors. Their interactions with the tool were measured through a set of before and after surveys. …

The Impact Of Federal, State, And Local Policy On The Pedagogy Of Ell Assessment In New Mexico Public Schools, Cheryl Anne Ford Ed.D.

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

ABSTRACT

The impetus for this study came from the understanding that bilingualism and multilingualism are innate components of America’s immigrant and Native American cultural fabric. With issues ranging from writing ELL policy to developing English as a second language (ESL), pedagogical support, to identifying the non-static, cultural, and linguistic needs of ELLs, their intersection and impact on bilingual education in New Mexico’s public schools was the focus of this study. To ensure a nonbiased focus on that narrow intersection, a qualitative methodology with a grounded-theory genre and an emic approach was used to address the research question: How do cumulative …

Course Design For Quality Online Education: Effective Strategies From The Viewpoint Of Undergraduate Teaching Assistants, Cassady E. Healy, Jackson D. Stayner, Jafra Thomas

Kinesiology and Public Health

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced colleges and universities to suddenly transition to a mostly-to-fully online teaching format. Given the nature of the transition and general reservations about online instruction, many were concerned educational quality and achievement would be compromised by large margins. We sought to determine what course design features, if any, helped support undergraduate educational achievement during a sudden transition to 100% online instruction. We addressed our research aim using adapted principles for reflexive thematic analysis, the discernment of ways to interpret data using diverse perspectives and the critique of assumptions (RWJ Foundation, 2008). Following instructor request (JDT), …

Reflections On The Eating Of Bologna Sandwiches: A Memoir, Benjamin M. Raphael

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Reflections on the Eating of Bologna Sandwiches is a memoir project intended to give light to my experiences teaching in a small public school located in the South Bronx. These experiences are directed to a general “second” person who takes the form of “you” and is intended to act as a general stand-in for the student population of this school, similar to the “you” used by James Baldwin in his seminal work “My Dungeon Shook”. This “you” is meant to breakdown the wall between the reader and the student population, allowing one to occupy another and in the process develop …

Formative Space: Literacy Practices In 21st Century Curriculum Making, Mary C. Ott

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Partnerships for 21st Century learning support curricular reforms for global, cross-disciplinary competencies that will leverage and benefit education technologies. However, this research partnership with a literacy program developer occasioned an opportunity to study curriculum making in the 21st century that did not make assumptions about technologies and competencies. The integrated thesis based on this project pushes boundaries on how assessment and curriculum making are conceptualized by exploring broader questions of inquiry and participation through literacy and assessment practices in six junior elementary classrooms in Ontario, Canada, over a two-year period. Chapter 1 provides the background and purpose of the study …

Information Behaviors And Pedagogies Of Teaching Faculty, L. Katherine Glaeser

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

Rapid development in the information landscape (IL) has placed increased pressure on educational institutions to ensure that students are equipped with the skills needed to succeed. In order to overcome these challenges and transfer the necessary IL skills to students, faculty instructors must model the required skills in their own information dissemination practices, and adopt instructional methods that reinforce those skills and increase students’ opportunities to practice them. To achieve this goal, we must first understand the perspectives of the faculty, and the contexts in which information seeking and teaching occurs.

This study aims to learn what approaches teaching faculty …

Examining Instructional Shifts Within Dialogic Interaction In Japanese University Efl Education, Roehl Sybing

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents a study aimed at exploring the influences on language learners' contributions to dialogic classroom interaction in a Japanese university EFL (English as a foreign language) classroom context. Dialogic approaches to teacher discourse rely on the contributions of students to classroom interaction as well as the interpretive skills of teachers to facilitate understanding and co-construction of knowledge. However, the contemporary literature has reported on challenges involved in fostering mutual classroom dialogue with language learners, owing to challenges with linguistic and academic resources and differences in culturally informed perceptions regarding academic roles and expectations. This paper explores the need …

Web Annotation In English Language Arts: Online Dialogue As A Platform To Support Student Comprehension Of Texts, Jonathan B. Allred

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores how web annotation—through a process of online reading, writing in the margins, and replying to others’ comments—influences student dialogue in ways that research suggests are associated with improved comprehension. Viewing data through a dialogic lens, and using a qualitative, multiple case study design to observe two high school English Language Arts teachers and their students, this inquiry was guided by the following research questions: (a) How do English Language Arts teachers use web annotation to support student comprehension of texts? (b) To what extent, if any, does web annotation appear to support student comprehension of texts? and …

The Purpose Of Education: A Case Study On Accountability And Latina Teachers In A Midwest Charter Network, Alexandra Irma Cruz

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The struggle to provide all children with an equitable education remains one of the most concerning and significant social, political, and moral problems in our nation. Although neoliberal accountability reform efforts have been set in place to alleviate such gaps, inequalities persist and disproportionately affect historically marginalized groups. This dissertation in curriculum studies aims to understand the perspectives of Latina teachers, an underrepresented group both in teaching and in educational research, on the effects of neoliberal accountability measures. This qualitative, multisite instrumental case study was guided by the following research questions: 1) When thinking about education under the effects of …

Rethinking Gaming & Representation Within Digital Pedagogy: An Instructor’S Guide, Anthony Wheeler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This work fully analyzes the creation process and implementation of a deeply-structured social commentary in the form of a digital interactive-fiction, created in the open software known as Twine. My co-developer, Raven Gomez, and I created a game that explores the challenges of navigating spaces within higher education as someone who identifies as something considered to be “other” by the standards of the common Western curriculum. Once the infrastructure of the product itself is outlined, this work follows students in an English Composition I course throughout their experiences creating digital interactive-fiction games based on pivotal moments in their lives that …

"And Gladly Wolde He Lerne": Facilitating Discussion Based Learning About Medieval And Regency Literature Through Interactive Technologies, Emma Vallandingham

Honors Projects

A series of reading guides for Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and Frankenstein, that utilize interactive technologies to facilitate student engagement with and discussion of the texts. Each reading guide consists of an overview of the text, relevant historical context, and reading and discussion questions for students to answer. Some reading guides also have corresponding answer guides that provides sample answers as well as hints and tips for answering the questions.

Queering Secondary Education: An Inquiry To The Necessity Of Queer Studies For All Students, Ashlign D. Shoemaker

Honors Theses

In the current state of secondary education, queer studies are appallingly underexposed. The subject matter is often completely disregarded due to a perceived discomfort around themes and content regarding LGBTQ+ sexualities. This process of elimination is a disservice to all students as they continue their education and move on to the adult world. Queer studies must be included for all students to ensure a society of empathy and understanding. Including the queer identity in the secondary education, classroom gives LGBTQ+ students the usable past that is essential to their wellbeing and mental health, and it provides exposure and understanding for …

An Investigation Of Technology Implementation Through The Lens Of Student Centered Learning And The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Paradigm, Adam Wasilko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

National statistics show that there are increases in access and availability of computers, and technology, in both the classroom and students’ personal lives (Culp et al. 2005, Hoffman & Ramirez, 2018). However, Tas (2017) and Wachira and Kenngwee (2010) posit that there is stagnation, even declines in certain cases, of the integration of instructional technologies in delivering student center learning in the classroom. This decline is even more prevalent in the science classroom (Vickrey, Golick, & Stains, 2018). Teachers face many challenges in the classroom; especially when technology integration is considered (Blackburn, 2016). This study seeks to determine which conditions …

Case Study Of Special Educator's Pegagogical Practices Beyond Year One Of Teacher Residency., Ryan Derek Derousselle

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation

The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 in conjunction with Teacher Quality Partnerships requires university-based teacher education programs to develop and sustain highquality teachers (United States Department of Education, 2017). Teaching is a science grounded in a body of literature supported by effective research-based techniques. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine co-teaching influences on the first-year teaching practices of special educators trained in a university-based teacher residency program. Specifically, this study investigated which co-teaching strategies, if any, did special education residents implement as the teacher of record. Through the lens of social development theory, this research …

The Impact Of Faculty Growth Mindset On Student Mindset And Learning Engagement, Emma G. Cartisano

HIED Student Scholarship

Growth mindset is the belief that general intellectual ability is malleable and can be developed. This thesis describes the presence and cultivation of growth mindset in the academic experiences of six undergraduate students in the social sciences at a medium-sized, liberal arts and sciences college. Individual interviews were analyzed using narrative inquiry to explore the impact of instructor philosophy and pedagogy on student mindset and learning engagement. Research findings highlight that instructor embodiment of growth mindset, including relationality, modeling, and constructive delivery of feedback, as well as assignment design, were instrumental. Participants did not share a common definition of growth …

Science Teachers’ Perceptions Of Implementing Literacy Practices In The (Grades 9–12) Science Classroom, Wesley Russ

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Teachers in the (Grades 9–12) science classroom are adjusting to using literacy practices in their pedagogy. This is in response to school systems adopting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The purpose of this hermeneutic, phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of teachers experiencing this change. The research questions of this study were focused on how teachers in the (Grades 9–12) science classroom perceive the implementation of literacy practices and professional development needs. The study site was a large Northeastern public school system that adopted the educational reform measures, at a single …

Elementary Physical Education Teacher Perceptions Of Motor Skill Assessment, Jenna Fisher

Theses and Dissertations

Though a critical aspect of the teaching-learning process in physical education, the assessment of student learning in physical education has received little investigative attention. In line with the primary focus on motor competence in the United States National K-12 Physical Education Standards, the purpose of this dissertation is to explore elementary physical education teachers’ assessment behaviors with respect to assessing students’ motor skills. This dissertation consists of three studies. In the first study, a survey was developed using the major themes from existing physical education assessment literature and then tested for content validity via the modified Delphi method. The second …

Making The Journey Personal: A Self-Study Of The Intersections Of Curriculum, Practice, And Identity, Patricia J. Tinsman-Schaffer

Education Doctorate Dissertations

The Obama's unveiled their official portraits for the National Portrait Gallery in 2018, forever changing the presidential tone by being the first portraits of Black Americans in these roles but also because they selected two Black artists to depict them, Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald. As a White woman, secondary school art educator of diverse students, I witnessed this event as a significant moment in time. Discussing what was immediately visible: portraiture, compositional formats, and use of pattern, but I was unsure how to connect the layered meanings of each portrait. As a veteran teacher, I had implemented different curricula …

Music Education In A Liquid Social World: The Nuances Of Teaching With Students Of Immigrant And Refugee Backgrounds, Gabriela Ocádiz Velázquez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This integrated-article dissertation explores the multiple ways in which music teachers, community facilitators, and students engage in music teaching and learning in social contexts prone to change due to human mobility. Drawing upon Bauman’s sociological understanding of modern societies as liquid and the larger implications of processes of human mobility in schools and communities, this research focuses on exploring music education as it happens within an increasingly diversifying Canadian society.

In the first article, a philosophical research study, I conceptualize the notion of coping with discomfort as a form of response possibly experienced by music teachers. Here, I draw from …

Through The Scholastic Looking Glass: The Pedagogical Potential Of Textual Deformation For Poetic Studies, Taylor Dietrich

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the pedagogical usefulness of the antithetical reading model of textual deformation for the study of poetic works. No formal pedagogical plan exists for the education of students in poetic studies through textual deformance. This thesis does not go as far as structuring one in its entirety. Rather, it surveys the digital humanities landscape, showing a collective affinity within a number of textual studies approaches that advocate for textual deformance as useful for interrogating texts, and aligns the overlapping symmetries within those working methodologies with pedagogical imperatives like those embedded in Ryan Cordell’s Kaleidoscopic Pedagogy Laboratory—the intent being …

The ‘ Dialogic’ Of Pedagogical Design: Elementary Teachers Who Consistently Integrate Digital Technologies, Aaron R. Gierhart

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the pervasiveness of digital technologies in society and educational settings, gaps in digital participation for elementary learners and means-end views of the benefits and effectiveness of digital innovations for teaching and learning persist. The focus on digital technologies at the elementary level must shift to critical pedagogy in order to promote effective teaching and learning and equitable student participation in an increasingly digital society. A teacher’s pedagogy continually evolves across their entire life journey and is never fully mastered; therefore, in order to better understand the development of pedagogical design with digital technologies by elementary teachers, it was vital …

Humanity In The Classroom: An Exploration Of Race In Teacher Behavior And Interaction With Students, Briellen Elizabeth Griffin

Dissertations

The hyper-surveillance of Black students has been well documented by educators and researchers across disciplines and reflects an increase in calls for research that examines the reproduction of racial inequality in educational spaces. To contend with the presence of antiblackness in the classroom is fundamentally about recognizing the humanity of Black students and interrogating the ways that they are dehumanized by racialized structures and social interactions. To examine antiblackness and humanity in the classroom, I conducted a critical collaborative case study with six teachers from an elementary school in a diverse Midwestern school district. I engaged BlackCrit Theory to examine …

Dis/Ableist Consumption: A Critical Thematic Analysis Of Avowed And Ascribed Neuro-Identities In The Classroom, Shaundi C. Newbolt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, faculty and students are publicly claiming neurodivergent identities and support for the neurodiversity movement. This study uses Collier and Hecht’s cultural identity theories with Lang and Chen’s two-step process, critical thematic analysis (CTA), to examine avowals and ascriptions with four diagnostic terms, ASD, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and dyslexia, of students and professors from Rate My Professors (RMP) with Ritter’s frame of RMP as a phenomenon.

A total of 1,022 posts are analyzed to understand how students resist or re-inscribe popular medical model/deficit discourse in the classroom: student avowals (N = 232), professor avowals (N = 51), …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Teaching Of Climate Change, Daniel Diego

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which educators address climate change and the impacts of human activity on the environment in conjunction with the Next Generation Science Standards. This study utilized qualitative methods, a phenomenological methodology informed by Moustakas, and a Systems Theory and Ecojustice Education conceptual framework. The central research questions was: in what ways do educators who are implementing the Next Generation Science Standards address climate change and the impacts of human activity on the environment? The supporting research questions were: in what ways do educators who are implementing the Next Generation Science …

Pedagogical, Attitudinal, And Environmental Influences On Student-Centered Technology Practices Of Elementary Teachers, Shanna Renae Opfer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While much is known about individual influences on teacher technology use, there is a lack of research explaining the overlapping factors of pedagogy, attitude, and environment that intersect to influence teachers’ decisions to use student-centered technology. The purpose of this qualitative interpretive descriptive study was to examine how the intersection of these factors influenced the student-centered technology practices of 14 third through fifth grade teachers in faith-based schools across the United States. The study’s conceptual framework was built on both social cognitive theory and first- and second-order barriers to technology use. Data were collected through virtual interviews with participants who …

High School Teachers’ Perceptions Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Jeffrey Allen Hinton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem at the local site was a gap in practice in that teachers were not using culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) in their delivery of lessons, which may have contributed to an achievement gap between European American and Asian American students and African American and Latinx students. This problem was important because local ACT results indicated that a significant achievement gap existed between these student populations. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers’ use of CRP, which may serve to mitigate the achievement gap. The conceptual framework for this study was self-determination theory. The research questions focused on …