Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

A Case Study Of The Retention-Supporting Needs Of Beginning Teachers In A West Central Georgia School System, Vicki Thrailkill Pheil

Theses and Dissertations

Even though the State of Georgia has issued suggested guidance for new teacher induction programs, not all school systems follow that guidance and varying induction practices have been implemented. Because replacing exiting teachers in the first 5 years of their career has become costly to school systems—both financially and academically regarding student achievement—it is in all stakeholders’ best interest to support new teachers to increase retention rates. The purpose of this case study was to describe 1st-year teachers’ experiences in a West Central Georgia school system induction program and to identify the retention-supporting needs these new teachers reported as part …

Implementing Tactile Learning To Aid Students Understanding Of The Bohr Model, Christin B. Monroe, Andrew B. Stein, Cindy Tolman

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

It is essential for introductory level chemistry students to understand atomic models and how atoms interact to form chemical bonds. The tactile model in this article utilizes marbles to represent subatomic particles, a cup to represent the nucleus and wooden rings to simulate the electron orbitals. These inexpensive items can be combined to construct models in which students can build foundational knowledge of atomic structure and how subatomic particles interact. Students were asked to provide feedback comparing the use of this tactile model to atomic computer simulations, videos and their textbook regarding the method they felt was most useful to …

Prologue: Faculty Of Color Expressions And Perspectives, Kathryn Engdahl

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

This special issue of the Journal of Advancing Education Practice featuring Faculty of Color Expressions and Perspectives creates a critical forum for truth-telling, education, and empowerment. It offers an invitation to deepen understanding of each other’s experience, and to integrate that deeper understanding in practice to enhance ongoing equity and inclusion work.

A Phenomenological Study Of Contributing Factors And Common Trends Related To Teacher Attrition In Western North Carolina, Preston Clarke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A phenomenological approach was used to identify contributing factors and common trends related teacher attrition by conducting interviews with teachers who decided to exit a North Carolina School District located in Western North Carolina. A qualitative approach allowed the researcher to gain valuable insight into the decision-making process of the 15 research participants. Data collection involved conducting one on one telephone interviews with participants by asking a series of open-ended questions that allowed for probing and follow-up questions. Analysis of researcher notes, evaluation of textual data produced by interviews, and observations allowed the qualitative investigator to identify emerging themes and …

College Students’ Perceptions Of Sense Of Community, Satisfaction, And Cognitive Learning In Online Classes, Laura Lynn Higgs Kappel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental, comparative quantitative study was to determine if there were significant differences between the perceptions of undergraduate and graduate students about the importance and presence of sense of community in online classes at two southern public universities using survey data. The study also aimed to determine if there were significant relationships between students’ perceptions of the presence of sense of community and students’ satisfaction with the course and between students’ perception of the presence of sense of community and students’ perceptions of increases in cognitive learning. The study also addressed factors of undergraduate classification, gender, and …

It’S Just An Idea: How Rural Teachers Implement Personalized Learning Within The Education System, Kedralyn L. Folk

All Dissertations

This exploratory case study revealed how rural educators navigate the shift required to implement personalized learning. I collected qualitative data at HMK8, where a personalized learning framework was implemented. This study used improvement science theory to understand the experience of rural teachers’ implementing personalized learning by exploring the experiences of rural educators applying personalized learning practices in the classroom and reviewing how rural educators explain their support needs. About 40% of schools in South Carolina are rural, so this study focused on rural teachers’ needs. The data analysis is rooted in sensemaking theory, which I use to explain and understand …

Myside Bias Shifting In The Written Arguments Of First Year Composition Students, Lezlie Christensen-Branum

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation reports on research conducted to better understand how college student writers learned to work against their own biases as they researched and wrote arguments. I conducted a review of former studies to design a curriculum that would help students avoid bias and increase their ability to write arguments tailored to specific readers in ways that accomplish their goals. This review also informed the kinds of data to be collected and analyzed in order to accomplish the research goal, which was to understand whether and how each of seven students enrolled in a composition course reduced their biases. I …

A Program Evaluation Of The Multi-Tiered System Of Supports (Mtss) And Its Role In Supporting Students’ Reading And Math Performance During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sonia Nistler

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to employ a quantitative research study to measure the degree of impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on students’ academic performance and determine the extent to which the MTSS program served to counter the impact of the pandemic on students’ reading and math performance. This study analyzed pre-existing STAR Reading and STAR Math data collected from 7^th-grade students at one Midwest public middle utilizing the September (Fall) and December (Winter) scores. The data sets were compared to determine the students’ reading and math performance trends in the three years preceding the COVID-19 …

If You Build It, They Will Take It: Institutional Theft Of The Academic Work Of Black Faculty, Dejuanna Parker

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

This reflection piece described the perception of the lived experience of Black adjunct faculty and a program director of an inaugural Education Doctorate program. The essay recounts milestone moments of program development, administrative theft of the program, and the replacement of all Black inaugural faculty with lesser experienced White faculty who were unfamiliar with the philosophy and content of the program. A message of wisdom and a glimmer of hope is offered to Black faculty who find themselves in a similar context.

Art As Experience: A Case For Art Museum Field Trips In New Mexico’S Public School Art Education, Zoila A. Caamaño-Pumarol

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Since 2011, multiple studies have found that school field trips to art museums and other cultural institutions produce measurable improvements in standardized test scores, academic engagement, and substantial improvements across a range of factors including empathy, critical thinking skills, and creativity. These findings are especially prominent with children in rural areas, from low-income families, and non-Native English speakers. Nevertheless, the priorities in U.S. public education have shifted away from field trips and art education since the 1980s.

In this case study licensed art teachers in the New Mexico K to 12 public schools shared their experiences, discussed the obstacles they …

Overview Of The Proceedings Of The 2021 Inclusion In Science, Learning A New Direction, Conference On Disability (Island), Cary Supalo, Jasodhara Bhattacharya, Daniel Steinberg

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Black Male School Administrators Unbridled: Strategies To Say What Needs To Be Said, Jamel Gibson

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

Black males in educational leadership positions need strategies to remain authentic, make cultural connections to staff and students, and to be free to speak to stakeholders without fear of reprimand, retaliation, demotion, and other negative perceptions associated with American stereotypes. This opinion paper will share insight on the challenges coupled with being a Black male administrator in the American public school system and provide strategies for success.

The Relationships Among Locus Of Control, The Impostor Phenomenon, And Math Anxiety In Business Majors, Tiffany L. S. Tovey, Stephanie Kelly, Wiley Brown

International Journal for Business Education

The importance of quantitative literacy in business education cannot be overstated. A barrier to enhancing quantitative skills for many business majors is their math anxiety, an angst some individuals experience when working with numbers. This study explored the relationship between math anxiety, locus of control, and impostor phenomenon in business students. 220 business students (undergraduate and graduate) from a two moderately sized southeastern universities in the United States participated in an online survey that assessed these three phenomena. A linear regression was run to understand the relationships among the variables. The results indicated that more than one fifth of math …

Intentional Mentoring: A Shared Journey Of Discovering And Supporting Diverse Talent In Academia, Barbara Holmes, Kent Willis

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

Thriving in academe for faculty of color is difficult and challenging (Gasman, 2022). Faculty of Color face enormous odds of overcoming barriers such as an unwelcoming culture, isolation, lack of professional support, imposter syndrome and disengagement from the community of scholars. In recognition of these factors, intentional mentoring provides a strategy of support in facilitating successful persistence in the academy.

This autoethnographic paper explores the mentor-mentee relationship of a tenured faculty member whose contributions in mentorship and coaching produced notable professional growth for countless doctoral students and new faculty members. Sharing the experiences of one mentee and mentor may inform …

Informe Institucional De Resultados De La Medición De Valor Agregado 2020, Víctor Hugo Londoño Aguirre, Karel Dimitri Contreras Triana, Michael Andrés Vargas Peñaloza

Medición de Valor Agregado

Diversos estudios han evidenciado la importancia de explorar y cuantificar la contribución que efectivamente hacen las instituciones de educación superior al aprendizaje de sus estudiantes. Así mismo, se destacan los avances en investigaciones educativas por encontrar la aproximación más precisa y justa al esfuerzo institucional, que se relaciona con la mejora en el desempeño académico de los estudiantes.

A partir de lo anterior, los modelos de valor agregado han dado respuesta a la estimación de la efectividad educativa, haciendo énfasis en el progreso de los estudiantes en el tiempo. Así pues, según Martínez, Gaviria y Castro (2009) el valor agregado …

Remote Learning - The Future Of Education: Effective Instructional Strategies Used By Parent Educators And Recommendations For Building Capacity, Raelene Ferguson Haugen

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods Delphi study was to identify the remote learning instructional strategies used by expert Southern California parent educators for implementing the anticipatory set, modeling, checking for understanding, and guided practice elements of Madeline Cheek Hunter’s Instructional Theory Into Practice (ITIP) framework. The study sought to identify how expert Southern California parent educators rated the effectiveness of the remote learning instructional strategies in the aforementioned elements of Hunter’s ITIP framework. Additionally, the purpose was to generate recommendations from expert Southern California parent educators to build capacity in the identified effective instructional strategies.

Methodology: The classical …

Executive Summary Resiliency Pilot Program – Liberty High School With Community Partners: Youthbuild Dayton And University Of Dayton, Brian Laduca, Jerry Farley

IACT Reports, Publications and Resources

Research led by Boston University Professor V. Scott Solberg has shown that among matched groups of students, resiliency is the key factor in determining why one group succeeds academically while others do not. There are six interrelated resiliency skills that can be measured and taught: Valuing Education. Academic Confidence, Connectedness, Stress Management, Health and Well-Being, and Intrinsic Motivation. And when students’ resiliency increases, their academic performance improves, along with attendance, behavior, and graduation rates, as well as significant improvements in engagement, confidence, perseverance, and postsecondary readiness. Because of research on the powerful impact of improved resiliency, a commitment was …

School Related Criminal Acts, Interpersonal Problems, And Classroom Behaviors As A Function Of The Proportion Of Black Students And Black Teachers, Leanne Zaire

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

This study’s purpose was to investigate school-level behavioral outcomes in relation to the proportion of Black teachers and students in U.S. schools. Negative school outcome and academic achievement gaps are well-documented. However, many of these studies utilized small, localized populations; my research used national data and focused on the problem behaviors in school. Drawing from Critical Race Theory, I hypothesized that a greater proportion of Black teachers would reduce school student problems and negative behaviors (e.g., student verbal abuse of teachers, widespread disorder in classrooms). After receiving a restricted-use license, I utilized data from 25,818 schools from the National Teacher …

Finding Correlations Among Academic Performance, Demographic Influences And Clinical Competency Utilizing Predictive Variables In An Associate Degree Nursing Program, Rebecca Montz, Brett Welch, Neil Faulk, Clementine Msengi

Journal of Research Initiatives

A nonexperimental, quantitative, correlation study was utilized as the research design to explore the relationship between multiple academic and demographic variables on the final clinical assessment score and Health Education Systems, Inc., (HESI) Exit Exam (E²) score from a South Texas ADN program. The research was conducted to address the nursing workforce shortage and effective ways to predict academic and clinical achievements for associate degree nursing (ADN) programs. The academic variables for the research consisted of preadmission grade point average (GPA) and Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) I prerequisite GPA. Age and gender were used as the demographic variables …

Black Minds Matter: A Book Review, Johnnie L. Campbell Jr., M.Ed

Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs

The experiences of Black boys and men in education have sustained increased attention from various communities and throughout education. This increased attention is birthed from systemic issues that have remained pervasive throughout society. As a direct call to action of these issues, Black Minds Matter introduces us to pivotal and thought-provoking ways in which educators can best support and care for this population. This review expounds upon ways in which education might reimagine how we advocate and care for Black boys and men in the classroom. This review highlights the ways in which education has employed deficit-informed practices, harming Black …

Model Classrooms: One Approach To Teacher Shortages, Ashlee Boothe

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

Due to a nationwide teacher shortage, instructional leaders are utilizing more alternatively certified teachers than in the past, creating a problem for principals (Darling-Hammond & Berry, 2006; Birinci and Amburgey, 2022). Teachers in alternatively certified programs often lack pedagogy due to an absence of educational training, and as a result, principals hire teachers who are inadequately trained for the classroom. Therefore, there is a need to improve the way instructional leaders prepare alternatively certified teachers. The solution to this dilemma is creating professional learning through model classrooms, a term coined by the author. Model classrooms serve as exemplars to other …

Prologue, Leo Mcauley Brown

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

This edition focuses on the need to cultivate scholarly learning communities. Education leaders can benefit from relevant research that may aid in keeping students and educators engaged. The editorial staff of JAEP is committed to creating spaces for topics that support scholarly inquiry.

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions And Knowledge Of Response To Intervention/Multitiered Systems Of Support, Alexandra J. Taylor, Tommy Wells, Amy E. Lein

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

There has been considerable research that establishes the need to improve teachers’ knowledge of and ability to effectively implement response to intervention (RtI)/multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and there is a scarcity of research examining interventions addressing these concerns. In a mixed methods study, we examined the perceptions and knowledge of the RtI/MTSS frameworks of undergraduate preservice teaching candidates enrolled in a dual certification program at a small, private Catholic university in Kentucky, before and after participating in a semester-long, experiential learning project. The project involved monitoring both the reading and mathematics progress of struggling elementary or middle school-aged students …

Developing Culturally Proficient Leaders Through Graduate Coursework: Examining Student Perspectives, Jean F. Ruffin, Marsha E. Simon

School Leadership Review

The racial and ethnic demographic shifts occurring in the United States had increased the need for educational leaders capable of obtaining the cultural proficiency needed to effectively lead diverse schools. Graduate coursework focused on developing cultural competence provides a unique opportunity for school leaders to explore issues related to identity, bias, and diversity in a scholarly setting. Course design, materials, and assignments should work together seamlessly to provide students a rich opportunity to explore diversity issues. The present study examines the perspectives of students enrolled in a doctoral diversity course in Spring 2021 and how the course contributed to the …

A Qualitative Study On Nurse Facilitators Of Mind-Body Skills Groups, Paula D. Blake-Beckford

Mindfulness Studies Theses

The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), founded by Dr. James Gordon, provides communities with evidence-based Mind-Body Skills Groups (MBSGs) that foster self-care, self-awareness, and self-expression. MBSGs range from 8 to 12-week series on various mind-body practices wherein group members meet, practice, and reflect on the impact of mind-body skills in their lives. Research has demonstrated that participants in MBSGs have positive outcomes. Healthcare professionals (HCPs), especially nurses, gain resiliency from MBSGs. As facilitators of MBSGs, nurses develop essential skills transferable to clinical and educational settings. MBSGs are therapeutic for adult participants with chronic stress. Prior to this thesis, only one …

Witnessing Engaged Voices: A Feminist Pedagogy Of Inclusion, Alana M. Nicastro, Patricia Geist-Martin

Feminist Pedagogy

When student perspectives, needs, and wants are left out of academic discourse, the discursive structures necessary to encourage, organize, and evaluate their voice are absent. Students then become ambivalent instead of exercising their voice and decisively assessing the value of their contributions. This original teaching activity targets the problematics that constrain voices in the classroom and invites readers and listeners to consider their positionality and action as a commitment to a Feminist Pedagogy of Inclusion (FPoI). In this way, students and professors can deliberately hold a space where the act of witnessing is more than simply observing voice. The intended …

Leading With Heart: How Exemplary K-5 Principals Demonstrate Transformational Leadership Through Heart-Based Practices, Teresa Hubbard

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe how exemplary K-5 principals in Southern California lead from the heart using Mark Crowley’s (2011) 4 principles (building a highly engaged team, connecting on a personal level, maximizing employee potential and valuing and honoring achievements) to accomplish extraordinary results in their schools.

Methodology: This study utilized a qualitative phenomenological methodology to study the behaviors of elementary principals. This study, due to current Covid restrictions, included virtual one-on-one interviews that were held via the Zoom online platform. The data collected included audio and video recordings, written transcripts, and artifacts from school …

Strength, Beauty, And Resilience: The Impact Of Self Reflection & Exploration Of Memory On Postmodern Feminist Educators, Inside And Outside The Classroom, Maryjo M. Rosania-Harvie

Education Doctorate Dissertations

This study utilizes an autoethnographic methodology, informed by narrative inquiry, to explore the impact of memories on feminist educators. The participants in the study included two of the researcher’s former colleagues and one former student. The study's goal was to examine how the relationships between researcher and participant and the memories they shared impacted them as educators; in the process, the concept of authenticity in educators was examined in relation to the research and the participants’ feminist and postmodern approach. The researcher collected qualitative data through interviews, personal journals, timelining, and an epistolary writing exercise to define authenticity and explore …

Developing The Beginning Prototype For A Children’S Book Series For Creative Curriculum, Valerie Palmer

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Developing the Beginning Prototype for a Children’s Book Series for Creative Curriculum

Creativity is increasing in popularity and demand in our 21st Century world. It is among the top five most desirable traits that employers are seeking in employees. Some educational institutions abroad have adapted a creative curriculum and have seen much success in student achievement and performance. Yet in America’s educational institutions are not with this new era of creativity. When in actual fact the majority of American schools reject and counter this concept of creativity in the classroom. There are exceptions to this statement for example Charter Schools …

Examining Diversity And The Role And Influence Of Post-Secondary Faculty At A Predominantly White Institution In Tennessee: A Critical Race Case Analysis, Lanell Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, critical race analysis study is to explore how White faculty conceptualize and apply critical race theory (CRT) and culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) to curricula within a college of education and how the perceptions of their students’ identities influence specific pedagogical decisions. The researcher sought to extend the research on CRT in education by analyzing specific, detailed cases and incorporating purposeful sampling by selecting participants who match specific study criteria, i.e. graduate-level White faculty located in Tennessee who teach in programs of education.

This study was limited to six faculty in a college of education (in …