Education Commons^™

Appointment Notes/On Unwanted Help And The Misuse Of Empathy, G. H. Greer

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

The pandemic has shed light on a number of injustices. In this context, I revisit a comic I wrote to sort through an experience of ableism in academia. I encourage readers to think deeply about what teachers mean when we offer help as members of a caring profession, and consider some ways that the misuse of empathy can impede impactful help. I end with a call for systemic organization and resources to support workers in caring professions.

Understanding Aspiration And Education Towards Desistance From Offending: The Role Of Higher Education In Wales, Mark Jones, Debbie Jones

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

There has been a growing recognition of the value of education in facilitating desistance from offending. Yet, despite a determined push to “widen access” universities continue to be an unwelcoming place for those with a criminal record. To better understand the role of higher education in raising aspiration towards desistance, this paper draws on findings from a study in Swansea, Wales. Adopting a Pictorial Narrative approach the findings suggest that, whilst the participants identified potential benefits of attaining a higher education, those aspirations were outweighed by a distrust of the “institution” and a fear that the stigmatisation experienced through the …

What Can Be Taught In College In Prison? Reconciling Institutional Priorities In Clashes Over Incarcerated Students’ Access To Instructional Materials, Magic M. Wade

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This research was inspired by allegations of censorship of college curricula in an Illinois state penitentiary. This example highlights the confusion and controversy that may ensue when disagreements arise over what students in prison-based college programs are permitted to read and learn. Following this, my research considers these relevant questions: First, do many programs and prisons encounter disagreements over certain instructional materials? Next, to what extent are these rooted in clashing institutional values and priorities? And finally, what can be done to quell controversy, reduce confusion, and strengthen relationships between colleges and prisons? To shed light on these questions, I …

Volume 6 #3 Full Issue

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

Full Issue

Service Point Staff Become Content Creators: Now, That’S A Pivot!, M. Teresa Doherty

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

When the COVID pandemic closed our busy academic, front line service staff were challenged to find work to replace the in-person support and assistance that they provide onsite. How did we respond? In addition to expanding our chat service, we gathered "back burner" projects from across the libraries and supported staff to take on new opportunities, such as creating content for web projects, reviewing and editing close captions of oral histories and instructional tutorials, checking ejournal links, and more.

Full Issue

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

Connected At A Distance: Experiences And Efforts Within A Synchronous, Online Mathematics Specialist Program, Laura E. Bitto, Pamela E. Johnson, Beth Terry

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Online learning offers flexibility and convenience to students regardless of their proximity to a traditional campus. However, online programs can also feel isolating. Beth, a mathematics specialist candidate, completed a graduate program while living 7000 miles and seven time zones away from her instructor and peers. Through intentional planning by instructors, Beth found community by making personal connections, celebrating life experiences, and sharing a passion for mathematics education with her peers. Furthermore, Beth felt empowered to take academic risks and expose professional vulnerabilities in the learning community. The instructors within the program valued learning as a social construct and therefore …

Instructor Perspectives: Transitioning From Face-To-Face To An Online Or Hybrid Graduate Level Mathematics Education Course, Heather Nunnally, Toni P. Sorrell, Kristina C. Anthony

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

In this paper, the authors reflect on their transitions from teaching a face-to-face mathematics education course for teachers to teaching using an online or hybrid model. As three veteran educators at two different universities, we share lessons learned in constructing and implementing an online or hybrid learning environment. For us, learning to be flexible in how students completed assignments was important. Although we faced many challenges, we looked at the experience through a novice learner’s lens, and recognized that each of us grew from teaching these classes. We found that the instructors’ experiences in working with mathematics specialist candidates in …

Mathematical Representations In A Synchronous Online Mathematics Specialist Preparation Program, Theresa Wills, Deborah Crawford, Kate Roscioli, Shruti Sanghavi

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Universities are implementing more online courses (Yamagata-Lynch, 2014). However, instructors may feel a sense of trepidation in transitioning a mathematics class to a synchronous online platform because they do not want to compromise quality pedagogy (Herrington et al., 2001) for the convenience of an online environment (Wills, 2021). Some courses have successfully transitioned to a synchronous online environment while maintaining rich discussion and student collaboration (Baker & Hjalmarson, 2019); however, mathematics content courses include the additional challenge of incorporating problem solving with multiple representations. This paper focuses on how mathematical representations emerge in a synchronous online course for mathematics specialists.

Team Teaching For Discourse: Perspectives Of Instructors And A Student In An Online Probability And Statistics Course For Preparing Mathematics Specialists, V. Rani Satyam, Kristina C. Anthony, Madhumita Basu, Monica Swoyer

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Team teaching is a form of collaborative work where teachers plan lessons and/or teach together. We discuss the strengths of discourse in the planning stage for an intensive, team-taught, three-week probability and statistics course for mathematics specialists as a way to create and sustain a sense of community and show multiple perspectives in an online course. We delve into two cases of lessons––one about stem-and-leaf plots and another on averages––to describe the interactions of and reflections from three online instructors and a preparing mathematics specialist across the phases of planning, enactment, and the resulting student learning. The conversations about our …

Equity And Access: Empowering Change Agents, Kateri Thunder, Nely Ara-Is, Ashley Carter, Francisca Fowler, April Hawkins, Holly Tate

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

All learners must have access and opportunity to engage meaningfully in the highest levels of mathematics. Mathematics specialists are uniquely situated to contribute to the creation of access and equity for all learners by addressing three target areas with their mathematics teachers and administrators. In order to catalyze change, mathematics specialists need to be prepared to target three obstacles to access and equity: beliefs and expectations, curriculum and instruction, and intervention. This preparation can take place through leadership courses intentionally created to explore the role of change agent and provide practice in negotiating the role.

The Role Of A Mathematics Content-Focused Coaching Project In Preparing Mathematics Specialist Candidates To Coach, Toni P. Sorrell, Jamey Lovin

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the mathematics content-focused coaching (MCFC) process from the perspective of coaches in their work with teachers, specifically, the effective strategies and techniques used by the mathematics coaches as they work with teachers and focus on mathematics and student learning. We discuss the MCFC project, assigned in many mathematics specialist preparation program leadership classes, in detail. Then we discuss the reflection the participants submitted in a course in which this project was assigned at two different universities and the ways in which these submissions can be used as a reflective activity and …

Online Education: Transferring Personal Experiences To Professional Development, Tracy J. Proffitt, Erica R. Miller, Elicia M. Fleshman

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

In this paper, we discuss how one candidate’s experience as she participated an online mathematics specialist program bolstered her confidence and ability to provide online professional development for her teachers. We include personal accounts by the mathematics specialist program instructors, the mathematics specialist candidate, and an elementary school teacher to illustrate how the experience of completing online graduate courses led to the candidate providing online learning opportunities for teachers. In particular, we highlight the importance of building relationships and using high-quality mathematical tasks in both the online preparation program and the online professional development. This case study provides evidence that …

Virtual Mentorship Of Teacher Leaders: The Ripple Effect, Joan Kernan, Joy Denoon, Eric Roberts, Tammy Sanford

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Abstract

In this paper, the authors reflect on the first completely online mathematics specialist preparation and mentoring program. Candidates across Virginia successfully completed this program and are now serving as teacher leaders, interventionists, department leaders, instructional coaches, mentors, and program specialists. They are impacting mathematics instruction across the state at all levels. As two mathematics specialists serving as mentors and two candidates, we share our thoughts and ideas as we continue to learn from our mentorship process. The goal is to provide continuous professional development as candidates share problems, successes, research, and best practices to improve mathematics teaching and learning. …

Providing Job Embedded Professional Learning For Mathematics Specialists, Ian T. Shenk, Vickie L. Inge, Candace J. Standley, Allison C. Depiro

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

We know that if professional learning opportunities are to be meaningful and create long-lasting and systemic change, they must be ongoing and job-embedded. One of the most beneficial aspects of having mathematics specialists in schools is that they can provide job-embedded professional learning directly to teachers. Perhaps due to the strong impact mathematics specialists have on teaching and learning, we may overlook the need to provide professional learning to support the growth of mathematics specialists themselves. Just as we provide coaching to teachers to affect their professional growth, we must identify similar opportunities to affect the growth of mathematics specialists. …

A Relationship Built To Impact Instruction: Developing And Sustaining Productive Partnerships Between Mathematics Specialists And Principals, Nathan D. Potter, Hannah Adera Rooney, Melody Locher, Debra Kinsey

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

How does the mathematics specialist provide a profound and lasting impact on instruction? We believe that a productive partnership between the principal and specialist, which we will call the principal-specialist relationship, is at the crux of the matter. When the principal-specialist relationship is built upon a foundation of a shared vision, clear roles, communication, and trust, both the teachers and students in the school benefit. We will explore the impact of the principal-specialist relationship on teacher success during the era of distance learning as necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to explore how these ideas come alive in the …

An Examination Of Middle School Students’ Attitudes Toward Science, Michelle L. Schpakow, Jillian L. Wendt, Kelly Paynter

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

For more than 40 years, researchers have been studying the persistent underrepresentation of women in science. Today, the gender gap has narrowed in some, but not all, disciplines of science. To better understand the impetus of this continuing problem, the attitudes of middle school students toward science were examined using a causal-comparative design based on biological sex across four attitude constructs: attitudes toward school science, desire to become a scientist, value of science to society, and perceptions of scientists. A sample of 450 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade science students located in suburban, central New Jersey responded to Likert-type items on …

A Case Of Misalignment Of Reasoning, Affect, And Performance In The Transition-To-Proof, V. Rani Satyam

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Learning how to prove is known to be difficult for undergraduate students. Understanding students’ growth in the multiple arenas that make up proving is crucial for supporting them. Across four interviews over a semester, I examine one student who showed growth in his reasoning but whose proofs were still incorrect, yet he showed high levels of positive affect including confidence throughout. Investigating this single-subject case serves as an example of the interplay between development and performance. The question of whether we can say this student is a better prover than before––fundamentally, how to weigh reasoning versus affect versus performance––motivates the …

Introduction, Ebony Walden, Meghan Z. Gough

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

Introduction to the book Richmond Racial Equity Essays by the editors Ebony Walden and Meghan Z. Gough. The book is a collection of essays on creating racial equity in Richmond, Virginia.

Black And Brown Centered Placemaking Rooted In Identity And Ownership, Ebony Walden

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The author outlines ideas for advancing racial equity in Richmond through creating neighborhoods and communities rooted in Black and Brown cultural identity, while supporting Black and Brown ownership and entrepreneurship.

The Bus Should Be Free, Wyatt Gordon, Faith Walker

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The authors advocate zero-fare transit for the Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) bus system.

Spaces To Breathe, Ryan Rinn

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The author's vision is of a racially equitable Richmond that looks like every resident having the mental and physical health benefits of green space easily walkable from where they live. He outlines ideas for achieving this vision, with Black and Brown-led onboarding of new parks in neighborhoods and communities where no greenspaces exist within walking distance. Community-led creation of public open space is the inverse of annexation; it is an anti-racist land use strategy that empowers residents to build and enjoy places for the people.

When Black [Girls’] Lives Really Matter, Angela Patton

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The author outlines ways Richmond can support Black women and girls. Her vision of an equitable Richmond is one where we see, hear, and celebrate Black girls. It’s one where we experience Black girl “magic,” and we give them every opportunity and resource to achieve and thrive.

Incarceration And Violence: Time For A Change, Ashley Diaz Mejias

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The author explores the racist underpinnings of the prison system and states that if we, as a nation and as a local community, are serious about addressing the lasting harms of mass incarceration and reducing our prison population, and if we are serious about accountability and public safety, we have to address the relationship between incarceration and violence.

“Si, Yo Hablo Español”: Empowering Spanish-Speakers With Culturally And Linguistically Accessible Services, Gabriela Telepman

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

Based on her experience with the agency Latinos in Virginia Empowerment Center, the author defines an equitable Richmond as a city that recognizes the needs of the Spanish speaking population and commits to meeting those needs by providing adequate Spanish language services, with service providers service providers must act with empathy and imbed a bilingual, bicultural, and trauma-informed approach within their organizations.

The Case For Meaningful Language Access, Tanya M. González

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

Through her experience working with the immigrant community in Richmond, the author makes the point that the Richmond metropolitan area needs a comprehensive immigration integration policy that centers language access services and that is implemented by localities, nonprofits, and other human service providers to begin to move towards racial equity for immigrant families.

The Dream And Reality Of An Afro-Latina: El Sueño Y La Realidad De Una Afrolatina, Shanteny A. Jackson

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The author explores the state of Latinos and Afro Latinos in Richmond in the context of her goal of creating culturally sensitive spaces for dialogue and celebration of Latino ancestry, history, and culture; promoting leadership that reflects the community being served; and establishing equitable distribution of power.

The Role Of The Business Community In Creating A More Equitable Richmond, Brian Anderson

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The author discusses the recommendations of the task force formed by ChamberRVA, the regional Chamber of Commerce for Greater Richmond, following the murder of George Floyd. The task force defined three primary strategic imperatives for the business community, which they believe will create a more equitable Richmond region. They believe the business community needs to: 1) Adopt more equitable policies and processes and make a commitment to embed diversity, equity and inclusion into their organizations. 2) Develop initiatives that elevate students of color to create more pathways to viable careers and economic mobility. 3) Remove barriers in the supplier ecosystem …

Toward A Vision Of Racial Equity In Richmond Schools, Taikein Cooper, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The authors present their vision for racial equity in Richmond schools, including real integration, enabled by stronger and more inclusive advocacy. It is based on their collective personal and professional experiences, research, and best practices from around the country. They believe these strategies will lead us toward greater racial equity in Richmond and the education all of our children deserve.

A Rich Education, Benjamin P. Campbell

Richmond Racial Equity Essays: Individual Essays

The author outlines the background of Richmond (and Virginia)'s educational inequity, stating that the most direct route to racial equity in metropolitan Richmond is what he calls a Rich Education for all, by way of Rich Schools. He demonstrates how poverty must be addressed to bring about racial equity, by first addressing educational equity, which must address educational wealth.