Education Commons^™

Me And The Devil Was Walkin' Side-By-Side: Demythologizing (And Reviewing) The Cambridge Handbook Of Service Learning And Community Engagement, Dan W. Sarofian-Butin

Education Faculty Publications

Review essay of The Cambridge Handbook of Service Learning and Community Engagement, Corey W. Dolgon, Tania D. Mitchell, & Timothy K. Eatman (Eds.)
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Fulbright Magic: The Alchemy Of An Intentional Experience Abroad, Chloe Ruff, Christopher R. Fee

Education Faculty Publications

The Fulbright program is designed to facilitate cultural exchange and understanding, and Fulbright’s Group Projects Abroad allow small, focused cohorts of American teachers and scholars to travel and to learn together. In June 2017, a number of Gettysburg College faculty and K-12 teachers from South Central PA traveled to China to study points of similarity and disparity between the American and Chinese educational systems. Our program was crafted in a way to help us to understand Chinese culture and the realities of Chinese life; we were given the opportunity to view our experiences from the perspectives of our hosts and …

American Education Through A Chinese Lens, Chloe Ruff, Christopher R. Fee

Education Faculty Publications

This June, a group of faculty members from Gettysburg College and K-12 teachers from York and Adams Counties travelled to China for four weeks of intensive cultural and educational exchange. This Gettysburg Fulbright Group Project Abroad in China studied the cultural and historical foundations of the Chinese educational system, as well as how this system is changing. Participants studied the larger policy context of the Chinese system and how those policies play out in the classroom. (excerpt)

Teach Your Students Well: This Land Is Their Land, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

Most people know Woody Guthrie as the author of the song that's often called our second national anthem, "This Land Is Your Land." Not everyone knows that it's a protest song. In the winter of 1940, Guthrie was hitchhiking his way east to New York City at the invitation of Will Geer, an actor best known later in his life for playing Grandpa Zebulon Tyler Walton on the show "The Waltons." At the time, Geer was a stage actor and political activist who saw something in Woody Guthrie that he wanted to share with the rest of the world. Guthrie, …

Creating A Culture Of Literacy: Strengthening The Core Of Secondary Reading Instruction, Karen C. Waters, Charles Britton

Education Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to articulate a plan to provide high quality literacy instruction in secondary content area classes that will yield the highest impact on student learning while addressing the needs of the lowest-performing students whose literacy needs cannot be ignored. This will necessitate a restructuring of the three-tiered format within which a systems approach for school improvement embeds a well-defined professional learning plan, and strong collaboration among content area teachers, reading professionals, and special educators to collaborate on the delivery of differentiated, cross-curricular instructional supports.

Creating A Positive Atmosphere In Online Courses: Student Ratings Of Affective Variables In Teacher Education Courses, Sarah Hamsher, Cynthia A. Dieterich

Education Faculty Publications

Instructors in higher education have to work to create a positive atmosphere. Yet, the behaviors instructors must exhibit to create such an atmosphere are different for online courses than face-toface (F2F) courses. The current study surveyed graduate and undergraduate students in a teacher education program to identify which affective variables identified in academic literature for creating a positive online atmosphere are most and least important. The results of this study suggest undergraduate and graduate students rank logistical behaviors (e.g., clearly described directions and expectations, constructive feedback) as most important and emotional-relational behaviors (e.g., interpersonal relationships, humor related to content) as …

Brother, Can You Paradigm? Toward A Theory Of Pedagogical Content Knowledge In Social Studies, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

Although research on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has accelerated in recent years, social studies educators have not generally been part of the conversation. This article explores why a theory of PCK for social studies has been so difficult to elaborate, focusing on the field’s inability to come to consensus on its aims and purposes and on a pervasive distrust of traditional academic disciplines and scholarship they produce. These factors have helped make the effective preparation of social studies teachers, something researchers studying PCK hope to improve, exceptionally difficult. This article proposes that if the field can resolve its relationship to …

No, Education Isn't The Civil Rights Issue Of Our Time, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

George W. Bush said it as he warned us about "the soft bigotry of low expectations." Barack Obama said it. So did Mitt Romney, Arne Duncan, and John McCain.

And now Donald Trump is saying it, too. In his first joint-session address to Congress, President Trump promised that "our children will grow up in a nation of miracles" and added the familiar kicker: "Education is the civil rights issue of our time." He said it right before he announced his plan to ask Congress to pass new legislation supporting school choice. His idea of a school reform "miracle," apparently, is …

Student Teachers, Interns Are Vital For Teacher Recruitment, Student Achievement, David G. Title

Education Faculty Publications

As a former superintendent of schools for Fairfield, Conn., I have personal insight into how valuable it is to have nationally renowned universities as part of our community. Through this proximity, and based on long-established relationships, I saw students from area colleges teaching and interning in our public schools, and even had the opportunity to hire some of them into full-time assignments. The strategic and creative support they provided for the children and teachers in our classrooms and their contributions to the district was invaluable then, and remains so today.

Looking For A Cure For Educationl Exhaustion, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

Whoa, folks! An entire month got away from me there. Ever had that happen to you? If you're a teacher I'm guessing it probably has. I wish I could say that there was a good reason I hadn't written anything at all on this blog in the past few weeks, but the sad truth is that I haven't really been any busier than usual. Every semester becomes a slog at some point—that right there might be a topic for another post soon; maybe I could write two in a month!—but that hasn't stopped me before. I had some extra responsibilities …

Becoming Co-Witnesses To The Fukushima Disaster In An Elementary Literacy Classroom, Kaoru Miyazawa

Education Faculty Publications

This study explores what challenges fifth and sixth graders in Pennsylvania encountered as they exchanged letters with children in Fukushima and read a testimony of the Fukushima disaster written by a child there. Trauma theory and seikatsu tsuzurikata, a Japanese traditional critical literacy approach, were used in designing the project and in interpreting children’s engagement with the project. The children demonstrated signs of emerging empathy for children in Fukushima. However, the unspeakable nature of the trauma experience, students’ discomfort, and a pressure to read and write in a structured manner to prepare for the statewide exam posed obstacles for their …

Students At Kansas Newspaper Prove Democracy Isn't Dead Yet, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

In May of 1897, Mark Twain was in London finishing up an around-the-world speaking tour he had started two years earlier. He got there right after his cousin, James Ross Clemens, who had fallen ill while visiting London a couple of weeks earlier. In a letter he wrote on May 31, Twain addressed rumors saying that he had fallen deathly ill and had even died. "I can understand perfectly how the report of my illness got about," he said, adding: "I have even heard on good authority that I was dead." It was his cousin's illness that was ascribed …

These Testing Obsessions Are Getting A Little Weird, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

This morning, as she was getting ready for work, my wife noticed something unusual about our son, who is in third grade. He was quietly eating breakfast, like he always does, but something about him was different. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt.

He must have noticed that she was looking at him, because he looked up and said: "Do you think it's okay if I wear this shirt today?" His wardrobe normally consists of about five t-shirts that he cycles through, one after the other, and sometimes tries to wear twice in a row if we don't catch …

Hiding In Plain Sight: Identifying Computational Thinking In The Ontario Elementary School Curriculum, Eden J.V. Hennessey, Julie Mueller, Danielle Beckett, Peter A. Fisher

Education Faculty Publications

Given a growing digital economy with complex problems, demands are being made for education to address computational thinking (CT) – an approach to problem solving that draws on the tenets of computer science. We conducted a comprehensive content analysis of the Ontario elementary school curriculum documents for 44 CT-related terms to examine the extent to which CT may already be considered within the curriculum. The quantitative analysis strategy provided frequencies of terms, and a qualitative analysis provided information about how and where terms were being used. As predicted, results showed that while CT terms appeared mostly in Mathematics, and concepts …

Why Is Mulvaney Opposed To Feeding Poor Kids At School?, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

Folks, you've got to get a load of this guy Mick Mulvaney. Just looking at his name conjures images of a character from a gangster novel set during Prohibition, but he's actually the Trump White House's director of the Office of Management and Budget. That means he's the hatchet man—the guy responsible for making sure everything Trump wants to cut gets cut. And it means he's a real human, too. Allegedly.

Case in point: Mulvaney has been producing amazing sound bites lately to explain the contents of Trump's proposed federal budget. [excerpt]

Should We Give Betsy Devos A Chance? I Don't Think So, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

Jennifer Steele, who teaches at American University, has made a heroic attempt to convince us that Betsy DeVos actually deserves a lot more credit than she's been getting for her performance as secretary of education so far. While I appreciate the sentiment—everybody deserves a fair shake, and should be judged on what they actually do, not what we think they might do—I have to say I'm not convinced. [excerpt]

Some Things You Can Do To Support Public Education Now, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

Yesterday a group of students here at Gettysburg College, where I teach, organized a Solidarity Rally. It consisted largely of teach-ins designed to start conversations, and hopefully it will the first of many events that bring people together to think more carefully about how we should respond to things going on outside of our college and town. [excerpt]

Learning In Motion: Teachers‟ Perspectives On The Impact Of Stationary Bike Use In The Classroom, Julie Lynn Mueller, Amanda Wudarzewski, Yoad Avitzur

Education Faculty Publications

The potential of physical activity to support self-regulated learning in the classroom has encouraged the implementation of stationary bicycles across Canada and the United States. Positive testimonials suggest that their use by students has positive outcomes, but there is limited empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of this pedagogical practice. The current study analyzes teachers‟ perceptions of the use and impact of stationary exercise bicycles in classrooms as part of a community running program initiative through a nationwide survey of 107 participants. Key findings identify teacher perceptions of positive outcomes in students‟ social, emotional, and cognitive development, as well as to …

Funding The Arts And Humanities Is Worth Fighting For, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

There’s an old story about Winston Churchill that is not true but is worth repeating. When approached about cutting funding for the arts so the money could go to the war effort during World War II, Churchill supposedly replied: “Then what are we fighting for?”

As far as we can tell Churchill never actually said this, but you can be forgiven for being taken by the sentiment. This apocryphal quote still makes the rounds because it suggests that even in times of war art can help us realize what it is, exactly, that’s worth defending. [excerpt]

The Revolving Door Of Education: Teacher Turnover And Retention Amongst The Graduates Of A Liberal Arts Teacher Education Program, Gregory W. Dachille, Chloe Ruff

Education Faculty Publications

In the United States, elementary and secondary education teachers comprise 4% of the entire civilian workforce (Ingersoll, 2001). The composition of that 4% is changing because of teacher turnover. According to recent statistics, 46% of teachers leave the classroom within the first five years of teaching and 9.5% of teachers leave the classroom within their first year (Rinke, 2014; Riggs, 2013; Zheng & Zeller, 2016). This study is designed to examine the teaching experiences of graduates of one teacher education program and the potential differences between graduates who stay in teaching and those who leave. Throughout this study, the guiding …

Maybe It's Time To Put Betsy Devos In 'Receive Mode', Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

By now you have probably heard about Betsy DeVos' big day out recently. She tried to visit a middle school in Washington but found the front door blocked when she showed up. This led, of course, to the publication of an already-infamous cartoon suggesting that DeVos is actually a modern-day Civil Rights warrior, and to the suggestion that protesters blocking DeVos at the schoolhouse door was the functional (if not moral) equivalent of preventing black children from attending segregated schools in the 1950s and '60s. It's an argument that is morally wrong, historically stupid, and patently offensive. [excerpt]

Betsy Devos Is No Ruby Bridges, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

So maybe you saw this cartoon that was drawn by Glenn McCoy for the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat under the headline "Trying to Trash Betsy DeVos." If you didn't, take a look.

In the cartoon, of course, you see little Betsy DeVos walking to school, book in hand, surrounded by faceless men who are there to protect her. It seems to barely be working: there is profanity scrawled on the wall ("NEA"!; "Conservative"!; an anarchy symbol) and what appears to be a really juicy, nasty tomato thrown against the wall. For context, you might also be interested in looking at this …

And What If Devos Is Confirmed?, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

So today is the big day: the Senate is expected to finally vote on Betsy DeVos's nomination to become the next U.S. Secretary of Education, and Vice President Mike Pence is poised to break an expected tie in her favor. I doubt very much that aything other than the expected result is going to happen. After all, we live in an age when too many politicians pick their voters, not the other way around. My bet is that Collins and Murkowski were allowed to announce their votes against DeVos because the leadership had already conducted a tight whip count …

What If Betsy Devos Is Not Confirmed?, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

After her disastrous turn in front of the Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions last week, the odds of Betsy DeVos not being confirmed as secretary of education have to at least be a lot higher than they used to be. It seems like no stretch to say that she is no slam dunk, if she ever was. [excerpt]

Betsy Devos Fails The Test, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

Mitt Romney said: "Betsy DeVos is a smart choice for education secretary." The Wall Street Journal said DeVos "knows how to fight and how to make the moral case for reform." Andrew Rotherham called her "a pretty mainstream pick." Rick Hess, purveyor of "straight talk" on education issues, informs us that DeVos is a "solid pick" who is "smart, thoughtful, and committed to doing what she thinks is best." It's too bad none of that was on display yesterday when DeVos in the hearing yesterday to determine if she should become the next U.S. Secretary of Education. …

Obama's Legacy For Education Policy, Dave Powell

Education Faculty Publications

Last night Barack Obama delivered his farewell address to a raucous crowd in Chicago. This morning, Donald Trump delivered his first press conference as president-elect in front of a surprisingly raucous crowd at Trump Tower in New York. The difference between the two, in tone as well as substance, could not have been more stark. [excerpt]

School Principals And Students With Special Education Needs: Leading Inclusive Schools, Steve Sider, Kimberly Maich, Jhonel Morvan

Education Faculty Publications

Over the past 30 years, school boards, faculties of education, and teaching organizations have helped teachers develop skills to support students with special education needs in their classrooms. However, less attention has been given to school principals in building their leadership skills to support inclusive schools. The purpose of this study is to identify the types of special education training that school principals engage in, as well as to explore the day-to-day issues and critical incidents that principals might experience when supporting students with special education needs. An exploratory study involving interviews with 15 principals and five other educational stakeholders …

What’S Before The Ipad®? Teaching Basic Prerequisite Skills For Ipad® Use, Kimberly Maich, Steve Sider, Carmen Hall, Megan Henning

Education Faculty Publications

Assistive technology, such as that available in an iPad®, have increasingly been used to support learning for all students and particularly for those with special education needs. The purpose of this article is to consider the prerequisite skills required for effective iPad® use. The effective integration of assistive technologies, from technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge perspectives is an important theoretical framework. From a Universal Design for Learning perspective, we consider how new skills can be taught and how task analysis is a critical part of the process. A review of suggested apps for prerequisite skills, such as cause and effect, …

K–12 Online Learning And School Choice: Growth And Expansion In The Absence Of Evidence, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

The use of online learning at the K-12 level has seen exponential growth for much of the past two decades. Based on the limited research to date some students can experience success in the supplemental K-12 online learning environment, but other types of K-12 online learning are largely failing adequately to serve students. While proponents will argue that all types of K-12 online learning are forms of school choice, it is primarily cyber charter schools and course choice policies that are reflective of the policies and regulations proponents of online learning promote—as cyber charter schools and course choice policies are …

La Representacion De “Raza” En La Literatura Escolar Y Juvenil Norteamericana Del Siglo Xix, Karl M. Lorenz

Education Faculty Publications

Este documento relata cómo las razas angloamericana, amerindia y negra estuvieron representadas en libros de texto de la escuela primaria y na literatura juvenil en el siglo XIX. Una muestra de textos de geografía, historia y lectura, y revistas juveniles y infantiles publicadas entre 1790 y 1890 fueron examinadas para determinar cómo se representaron las tres razas. También se presenta información adicional de publicaciones para adultos y científicas para proporcionar un contexto para las opiniones expresadas en los libros de texto y la literatura relacionada. Con base en la información transmitida en las publicaciones, se identificaron y discutieron brevemente conceptos …