Education Commons^™

Campus Climate For Lgbtq Students, Rick Brown

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

As institutions of higher education have become increasingly cognizant of the need to ensure a welcoming campus climate for all members of their student populations, they have begun to undertake campus climate studies to assess student experiences and perceptions. While the majority of studies have been quantitative in nature, in-depth qualitative studies have been conducted in recent years. These studies have started to provide institutions with opportunities to really hear and understand the experiences of their students. The purpose of this study was to hear and understand the reported experiences of LGBTQ college students with campus climate at a mid-sized …

How Do Manipulatives Help Students Communicate Their Understanding Of Double-Digit Subtraction?, Rabab Abi-Hanna

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Multi-digit subtraction is difficult for students to learn. The purpose of this study is to explore how second-grade students communicate their understanding of double-digit subtraction through the use of manipulatives/tools. This qualitative study reports on six case studies of second-grade students where clinical interviews were the main source of data. Findings suggest that manipulatives/tools helped reveal cognitive constructs and difficulties that the handwritten algorithms were not conveying. For example, students who exhibited an understanding of the subtraction process had not yet developed an understanding of ten and 10 ones interchangeability. These results highlight the potential role of manipulatives/tools as communication …

Negotiating A Mentor Practice In An Age Of Reform, Linda Whalen Abrams

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This dissertation builds on a theory of situated social practice, which holds that social practices, such as mentoring, can be transformed in and through relationships among people who are engaged in activities in the socially and politically structured world (Arnseth, 2008; Kemmis & Smith, 2008; Freire, 1970). A participatory action research study grounds this work and adds to a nascent line of empirical research on mentoring in urban teaching residency programs (UTRs) by asking how inquiry supported mentors and teacher educators in recognizing, negotiating, and naming a mentor practice for their hybrid, practice-based, district- and university-sponsored, teacher preparation program.

I …

Encouraging Teachers To Design Their Own Professional Learning Through Inquiry : An Elementary Principal Conducts Practitioner Action Research, Michael G. Ryan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Imagine school-based meetings that encourage faculty to design and direct their own professional learning during the course of a school year. This is the type of structure I implemented at Lakeside Elementary School during the 2013-2014 school year. With this practitioner action research study, I seek to add to the research related to the ways inquiry is presented and used as a professional learning structure within schools. I examine the way I, an elementary school principal, established a series of faculty meetings called “Design Your Own Learning” in which teachers were responsible for planning and carrying out professional learning based …

The Professional Identities Of Mainstream Teachers Of English Learners : A Discourse Analysis, Adrian D. Martin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative study investigated the professional identities of four mainstream teachers of English learners (ELs). Four teachers in two school contexts (urban and suburban) were interviewed five times and observed during formal instruction four times. Adopting a sociocultural perspective on identity, the study employed discourse analysis to answer the research questions: (a) what are the professional identities of four mainstream teachers of English learners in Northern New Jersey schools; (b) in what ways are these identities constructed by the participants; and (c) what seem to be the influences on these teachers' professional identities? The interview data were analyzed using three …

Helping Students Achieve Their Goals : The Experience Of Working With Students With Mental Health Concerns In A Residence Hall, Kevin P. Schafer

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Individuals living with a mental health issue and attending college may experience significant opportunities for growth and also personal challenges in their development into young adulthood. Residence hall directors may be instrumental in assisting this population during their college years. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experience of residence hall directors working specifically with students with mental health concerns. Grounded in Relational-Cultural-Theory and Chickering’s Student Developmental Theory this study was a two phase study conducted at universities and colleges in the northeast United States. Utilizing a basic qualitative approach deductive coding was used to examine the …

Modeling Reading Teacher Expertise : Using The Model Of Domain Learning To Examine Reading Recovery Teacher Expertise, Tammy Mills

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and explain the manifestation of expertise among Reading Recovery teachers using the Model of Domain Learning. The focus of the inquiry was to description the components of the Model of Domain Learning, interest, knowledge, and strategic processing, as each existed among this group of Reading Recovery teachers. Highlighted is the interaction among the three components as well as how that interaction manifested as multiple stages of expertise, acclimation, early competence, mid- competence, late competence, and proficiency. The following research questions guided my inquiry:

1. When examined qualitatively and multidimensionally, how is …

Roots & Shoots Remembered : A Qualitative Study Of The Influence Of Childhood Place-Based Experiences On The Lives Of Young Adults, Katrina G. Macht

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This dissertation is a qualitative interview study that explored the memories of 10 former students, now young adults, long removed from their intermediate school (grades 4 – 6) experiences. The purpose of the study was to learn what impact involvement in the school’s Roots & Shoots program had on later attitudes and behaviors. Specifically, the study focused on the relationship between distant childhood experiences and current dispositions towards the environment and civic responsibility. The results from the study were based on data collected from interviews, written reflections, and email correspondence, with 10 young adults who attended the intermediate school between …