Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Translanguaging In World Language Higher Education, Alessia Barbici Wagner

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Increased global migration and a myriad of other social and political factors has made today’s universities more diverse than ever. As a result, teachers in higher education regularly find multilingual learners from a variety of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds in their classrooms and must consider this diversity in their teaching. One of the ways that teaching can better serve today’s multilingual and multicultural student population is through translanguaging. The objective of this dissertation is to investigate the intentional and unintentional use of translanguaging by multilingual language learners and world language instructors in higher education. Additionally, this qualitative case study …

"Off From Lost": Generation 1 Learners' Transition From Adult Esl To Developmental Education, Emily Kyungjin Suh

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Immigrant students access community colleges with increasing frequency (Teranishi, Suarez-Orozco, & Suarez-Orozco, 2011); however, the majority of research focuses on Generation 1.5 students who completed K-12 education in the U.S. Generation 1 learners are defined in this study as adult immigrants (Rumbaut, 2004) and adult learners (Knowles, 1970) who began American education in adult ESL. Learners’ unique experiences and social roles motivate their transition to higher education and produce distinct linguistic and cultural needs. Many immigrant students begin in developmental education (Teranishi, Suarez-Orozco, & Suarez-Orozco), which is strongly influenced by the adult learning theory of andragogy (Knowles, 1968). This multiple …

The Impact Of Implementing A Culturally Responsive Latino Poetry Unit To Examine Language, Identity, And Culture In A Middle School Language Arts Classroom, Kari Loecker

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this practitioner research study was to examine the implementation of a culturally responsive poetry unit in a majority Latino middle school in Nebraska. The experiences of Latino and non-Latino eighth-grade language arts students were documented in an effort to understand the level of engagement and conclusions drawn from the poetry. This study also explores the effectiveness of using a multicultural poetry unit to address state standards. Data sources include student written work, whole-class and individual discussions, pre and post surveys, and daily entries in a teacher research journal. Latino students found the poetry to be representative of …

Perceptions Of Eighth Grade State Writing Assessment At A Nationally Recognized Middle School, Jillian M. Quandt

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study seeks to understand how one at-risk middle school in Nebraska is consistently beating eighth grade Nebraska State Writing Assessment (NESA-W) averages. The school has significant populations of Hispanic, special education, and low-income students. The study answers the following two research questions. What strategies does the at-risk school utilize to enable its students to exceed the Nebraska average on the NESA-W? What attitudes do the school’s writing teachers, administrators, students, and their parents hold about the NESA-W? Students and their parents answered a multiple-choice survey; teachers and administrators answered a longer, open-ended survey. The researcher used a combination of …

The Effect Of A Self-Regulated Vocabulary Intervention On Word Knowledge, Reading Comprehension, And Self-Regulated Learning For Elementary English Language Learners, Qizhen Deng

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

English language learners (ELLs) represent an increasing population in U.S. public schools. Research reports from the past two decades suggest a persistent reading underachievement for ELLs. Academic vocabulary knowledge, due to its frequent use in academic texts, contributes significantly to ELL children’s English language development, reading comprehension, and general academic achievement. However, a gap of vocabulary knowledge exists between ELLs and their mainstream peers. One potential approach to address this issue is to help ELLs become mastery independent and proactive word learners. This study examined the effect of a researcher-led self-regulated vocabulary intervention on word knowledge, reading comprehension, and self-regulated …

Teacher Perspectives On Professional Development Needs For Better Serving Nebraska's Spanish Heritage Language Learners, Janet Marie Eckerson

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A growing number of heritage language speakers of Spanish are enrolling in Spanish language courses during secondary school. Current scholarship has suggested that these heritage language learners (HLLs) have very different instructional needs than learners of second or foreign languages. Because Spanish language instruction in Nebraska secondary schools has been traditionally conceptualized only as foreign language instruction, classroom teachers may not be adequately prepared to meet the needs of HLLs. This dissertation examined the experiences of Nebraska secondary Spanish teachers who worked with HLLs in order to inform the creation of relevant professional learning experiences for pre- and in-service teachers. …

Classrooms As Creative Learning Communities: A Lived Curricular Expression, Soon Ye Hwang

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Creativity—the fundamental basis of human experience, expression, and learning in the communal world of the classroom—is the primary concern of this dissertation. While creativity is one of the buzzwords of 21^st century education the world over, its lived understanding as fundamental to being human is understudied. This gap calls attention to the significances for all involved of entering into meaning making as creators. To explore the significances, I draw upon and give expression to my experiences of building such creative learning communities (CLC) in my own Multicultural Education (ME) classrooms as a teacher educator and curriculum theorist. Ways to …

Honoring Diversity In An Online Classroom: Approaches Used By Instructors Engaging Through An Lms, Jacob Petersen

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This is an inquiry into how online instructors embrace the diversity of their student body while facing the inherent differences between a traditional face-to-face class and one that is taught online. Current research suggests that diversity in a traditional classroom is an asset if the instructor is sensitive to students’ backgrounds. This paper examines if such philosophies in traditional classrooms translate well into a distance education environment, where the student body may be even more diverse than a face-to-face class, but possibly unrecognizable because of the lack of physical cues. Research on the topic of multiculturalism in an online classroom …

Laptops And Language Learning: A Mixed Methods Study Of Technology Integration And Student Engagement, Ginger R. Starks-Yoble Ph.D.

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Student engagement and motivation have been a common focus among educational researchers over the last forty years. Self-determination theory and the inclusive definition of self-regulated learning have identified that both cognitive and motivational engagement are paramount for successful language learning. Within this canon of research, few have looked at student engagement as a result of effective technology integration during the language learning process. This mixed methods study explored students’ perceptions of engagement while learning with technology integration in a first-year language class. Qualitative data was collected from a sub-sample of ten students, in the form of semi-structured interviews, journal reflections, …

The Need To Create Culturally Responsive Teachers: Implications For Teacher Education Programs, Cass Griffin

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Using nine reflections as a centerpiece, this thesis aims is to inform readers about the power that an international travel experience and/or practica in dual-language environments can have in becoming a more effective teacher, a culturally responsive teacher. From personal experience in a both settings, I think I am now better able to relate to students with culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds because I have been in a similar situation. Students with diverse backgrounds (that are different from their teacher) may have extra difficulty communicating or expressing their thoughts and ideas. Teachers need to recognize these difficulties and respond appropriately …

The Evaluation Of The Use Of Technology/Electronic Media In Teaching Or Delivering Instructions/Lectures At A Florida University: History, Philosophy And Practices, Iwasan D. Kejawa

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

According to the previous survey conducted by Florida Atlantic University Student Academic Affairs department in 2001, it was indicated that faculty uses of teaching and learning technologies/electronic instruction media to teach and deliver their lectures at the college were lacking.

With the current research study, investigations were thoroughly made and suggestions are provided on the improvement of faculty performance in the use of technologies at the institution to teach and convey knowledge to their students. In this report, the institutional personnel and its administration are made aware whether all existing technologies are being optimally used by faculty. This study also …

Comparison Of Grade Point Average Of Honor Senior Students And College Of Liberal Arts Senior Students At A Florida University, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Attrition rates in theHonor College program division of Florida Atlantic University have risen in recent years. It has been determined that even though a higher high school grade point average is required for admission into the honor program of the university, many applicants to the program were under-prepared to asumme the workload demanded of the students by the Honor College. The requirements for admission into the honor program of the Florida Atlantic University is an overall high school grade point average of 3.5 and a score of 1000 points on the SAT examination while the requirement into the College of …