Education Commons^™

Critical Inquiry In Developmental Mathematics, Roxanne Tisch

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Critical mathematics literacy is a necessary but often overlooked portion of developmental mathematics. This exploratory study focuses on the experiences of students in a developmental algebra course at a community college in New England. The theoretical framework combined critical pedagogy, teacher research, and critical discourse analysis resulting in a qualitative analysis. The analysis found that students who completed a social-justice oriented developmental algebra course increased their perception of their ability to understand math. The analysis also indicated that developing a sense of solidarity within the classroom was beneficial to students. Other issues for future study that surfaced during the analysis …

Exploring A "Mor-In-Touch" Approach To Art Teaching, Micaela E. Morin

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

How can students be more in touch with their artistic process through materials, decisions, social interactions, and environment when creating a work of art about identity for a collaborative mosaic relief installation?

This thesis explored an opportunity for my students to work together to create a collaborative art installation in our high school. This was important to do because the school had just been recently renovated and the new environment felt devoid of any art or personality that once reflected its former students. The important factors behind the installation design were to bring the visual dialogue of community into the …

Blogging About Summer Reading, Janice Becker Place

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The purpose of this study was to investigate what happened when grade 11 high school honors students blogged about their summer reading under the monitoring of a teacher during vacation. I proposed that an educational blog might serve as an effective tool during summer vacation to help students retain skills or learning while at a physical distance from their school and teacher. In addition to the blog’s transcripts, a pre-project survey, post-project survey,and post-project interviews provided complementary data to inform my analysis. Qualitative analysis was applied to the blog discussion entries for evidence of peer learning, scaffolding, critical thinking, and …

The Dialectics Of Teacher Change Within A Community Of Practice, Armand R. Pires

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Teacher change is at the heart of school reform. The research on teacher change has been primarily focused on teacher change from an individualistic perspective and has identified three possible paths of teacher change: beliefs precede change, change precedes beliefs, or change is nonlinear and recursive. This study looked at teacher change within a middle school during a time the school was undergoing a district-driven change in student grouping practices.

The study was conducted during the 2009-2010 school year and included ten teachers of science, social studies, and English in a grade 6-8 middle school. A qualitative study approach was …

Time For Learning, Kris A. Monahan

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Learning takes time, but providing time does not in itself ensure that learning will take place (Carroll, 1963; Stallings & Kaskowitz, 1974; Anderson, 1981; Aronson, Zimmer & Carlos, 1999; Berliner, 1990; Kidder et. al., 1975). We need to examine more closely how students are using time and which conditions maximize student engagement. As schools continue to struggle with meeting state and national standards using traditional educational pedagogies and structures, whole school reforms are often implemented to improve student learning and success. While several studies have attempted to begin this exploration, few, if any, actually ask students about their experiences, perspectives, …

Describing Comprehension, Susan Vander Does

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Teachers' observations of student performance in reading are abundant and insightful but often remain internal and unarticulated. As a result, such observations are an underutilized and undervalued source of data. Given the gaps in knowledge about students’ reading comprehension that exist in formal assessments, the frequent calls for teachers’ observational data to fill these gaps, and the paucity of research on teachers as assessment instruments, this study sought to learn more about the knowledge teachers gain about students’ comprehension through embedded observation.

This research was framed by a transactional conception of reading and informed by cognitive and sociocultural studies of …

Doing Science Their Way, Carol M. Giuriceo

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

From the perspective of social cultural anthropology employing the field research techniques of ethnography this study focuses on the experiences and perspectives of sixth grade girls in a moderately-sized East Coast city as they construct meaning through active engagement i a science classroom. The study analyzes the ways in which girls change roles and incorporate social interaction during science activities to create their own unique engagement in science.

A Tale Of Two City Schools, Jill A. Proulx

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The study examined how leaders in both schools define successful reform, perceive high-stakes testing, perceive a need to raise student achievement, and implement reforms in response to high-stakes testing. The study combined qualitative interview data and survey methodology to examine differing perceptions and to identify the factors most strongly associated with different levels of reform success.

Theoretical Frames And Teaching Styles Of Physical Therapy Faculty Who Lead International Service-Learning Experiences, Jennifer G. Audette

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The study used survey data to examine the teaching styles and theoretical frames of physical therapy faculty from across the US. The teaching styles and theoretical frames of faculty who take students internationally and those who don't were compared.

Literacy Coaching, Patricia Jane May

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Examines the experience of four elementary level classroom teachers and one coach as they engaged in a year-long literacy coaching program. Analysis of coach/teacher interactions highlights the role of reflective thought in teacher learning and positions reflective thought as a foundational premise of teacher learning. In addition, as a result of the discovery process inherent in the grounded theory design, finds that teachers' goal setting influenced movement along a gradual release of responsibility (GRR) continuum of adult learning.

An Empathetic Approach To Physical Education Teacher Education, Tony Monahan

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Based on the theory that a more student-centered approach in physical education classes might encourage more students to engage in lifelong physical activity and, thereby, lead a healthier life, this study was undertaken to determine the effect of a semester-long empathy-focused educational intervention on empathy levels in 59 college-level students studying in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) Programs at three East-coast universities. ANCOVA results revealed statistically significant findings in "Higher Order" empathy levels in the experimental groups, and analysis of essays written for the study also suggested a change in experimental group subjects' personal view of PE toward an empathetic …

The Relationship Between Tactical Knowledge And Tactical Performance For Varying Levels Of Expertise, Robin Kirkwood Auld

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Investigates the relationship between off-the-ball tactical knowledge and off-the-ball tactical performance of college-age female participants with varying levels of expertise in territorial games. Emphasizes how the participants' level of expertise impacts tactical knowledge and tactical performance.