Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Fractions, Decimals, And Percents : A Fifth Grade Curriculum Unit, Jeffrey Li

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This independent study outlines a fifth grade curriculum unit for fractions, decimals, and percents. The unit utilizes a problem-solving approach to lead to deep understanding of fractions and their relations to decimals and percents. The study is influenced by writings by Hiebert, Dewey, Piaget, \/ygotsky, and Fosnot, and uses a lesson planning format created by Hal Melnick. Four explorations drive the unit:

Exploration 1: What is a fraction?

Exploration 2: Going Deeper with Fractions

Exploration 3: Connecting Fractions to Decimals and Percents

Exploration 4: Comparing Fractional Amounts

Bridges To Change: From The Classroom Community To Weeksville An Integrated And Thematic Curriculum, Pamela Jones

Graduate Student Independent Studies

"Bridges to Change" is a curriculum designed for use in a third grade inclusive classroom. This curriculum serves a dual purpose: (1) to provide teachers and students with activities that are designed to build and forge a sense of classroom community and (2) to provide teachers with built-in modifications and adaptations-thereby making the curriculum accessible to students at all levels. A wide array of sources was used in the creation of this curriculum. Understanding by Design and Universal Design for Learning were instrumental in laying the foundation for this work. Understanding by Design's "backwards design" approach was instrumental in the …

Development Of An Implementation Guide For Literature Circles From Teacher Led To Student Led In An Upper Elementary Classroom, Brandon C. Debritz

All Graduate Projects

The focus of this project was to review the available literature on the topic of literature circles from the framework of a balanced literacy program and to create materials to be used by intem1ediate elementary teachers for implementing student led literature circles into their reading curriculum. The results of the research show that through specific teacher guidance, children are empowered with choices and are provided with opportunities to dialog with classmates in a context of creating connections. The project includes an instrnctional framework to establish literature circles, a progression of teacher led to student led applications, and intermediate literature book …

A Child Welfare Course For Aboriginal And Non- Aboriginal Students: Pedagogical And Technical Challenges, Jacquie Rice-Green, Gary C. Dumbrill

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

This chapter describes the development of a Web-based undergraduate child welfare course for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal learners. Rather than simply incorporate an Aboriginal perspective into Eurocentric pedagogies and course structures, the authors disrupt the dominance of Western ways of knowing in education by designing the course to situate Western knowledge as a way of knowing rather than the way of knowing and the frame from which all other perspectives are understood. In this research the authors describe the differences between Aboriginal and European thought and reveal how Web-based courses can be designed in ways that do not perpetuate Eurocentrism.

Becoming A Teacher Of Literacy: The Struggle Between Authoritative Discourses, Mindy Legard Larson, Donna Kalmbach Phillips

Faculty Publications

This study describes and analyzes the influence of an ideological conflict between a teacher education program and a school district upon one pre-service teacher’s emerging identity as a teacher of literacy. Using poststructural feminism as the theoretical framework and a single case study analysis, the study illustrates how the discourse of the school district’s scripted reading program and the discourse of the university’s comprehensive literacy positions Claire, the pre-service teacher. The data analysis demonstrates how being positioned between these two competing and authoritative discourses conflicts with her understanding of reading and reading instruction. Reflecting upon the data, the research becomes …

Service Learning Manual For Coupeville High School, Kenneth J. Stange

Graduate Student Projects

This project examined the need for increased service learning in schools as well as current practices being used by educators who employ service learning as a regular part of curriculum. The review of literature found that service learning, when conducted properly, has shown benefits to students, educators, and communities. In addition, there were five main components of an effective service learning program: preparation, action, reflection, presentation, and recognition. Included is a service learning manual, specifically designed for Coupeville High School, focused on the five pa1is of a service learning program. The overall purpose of the manual was to ensure that …

Balanced Literacy Through The Use Of A Progressive Daily Message In A Kindergarten Classroom, N. Elizabeth Debritz

All Graduate Projects

The focus of this project was to review available literature on using a daily message within the framework of a balanced literacy program, and create specific lessons and activities to use in a kindergarten classroom that help students become successful readers and writers. Throughout this project the students will be experiencing powerful communication between teacher and students, and student to student, practicing various literacy skills, responding to print daily, and interacting with text and other students. These activities will help foster their attitude and ability to read independently.

Implementation Of Cooperative Groups And Single Gender Classrooms, Kara Haugen

Graduate Research Papers

The Dr. Walter Cunningham School for Excellence has three single-sex classrooms in place today. It has one all girls classroom at the second grade level, one all boys classroom at the second grade level, and one very unique all boys classroom at the first grade level. This classroom is unique because the teacher and the students will follow with each other all the way through fifth grade.

Since this is the first year of implementing single-sex classrooms there are many educators who need more clarification on this approach to education. In the following pages the researcher focuses on how the …

Jaepl, Vol. 11, Winter 2005-2006, Kristie S. Fleckenstein, Linda T. Calendrillo

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Essays

Kami Day. We Learn More Than Just Writing.

In a composition class, students learn a great deal more, for good or ill, than just strategies for writing. This article shows that, as students and teachers learn to recognize and value their own inner teachers, they can also develop relationships with each other that nourish their spirits as well as their intellects.

Gina DeBlase. 'I Have a New Understanding': Critical Narrative Inquiry as Transformation in the English-History Classroom.

This case study highlights what roles classroom discussion and activity around literature, history, and society play in developing one student’s …

Headstands, Writing, And The Rhetoric Of Radical Self-Acceptance, Geraldine Deluca

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

By emphasizing the importance of patient practice as an end in itself, yoga offers a model teaching and learning writing that can help students move forward in a context of self-acceptance and find the sources of their own talents and values.

Front Matter

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Editors' Message

Inner Work: Teaching and Learning (from) Within

”There lives the dearest freshness deep down things,” Gerald Manley Hopkins writes in God’s Grandeur, capturing in this line, as he sought to reveal through the marvelously unique sounds and rhythms of his poetry, the “inscape” or the unique inner essence of all natural things. “The dearest freshness deep down things” is also Parker Palmer’s focus in The Courage to Teach, where he argues for a teacher’s and a learner’s inner work: exploring “the inner landscape of the teaching self” because “[t]he more familiar we are with our inner …

What Happens When We Read: Picturing A Reader’S Responsibilities, Laurence Musgrove

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

A graphic representation of reading as a process enables students to respond more fully and responsibly to literature by attending to what they contribute to the act of reading, what the world to the text can offer, what kinds of responses are available to them, and what they can do to make sure they have responded as thoughtfully as possible.

Poetry And The Art Of Meditation: Going Behind The Symbols, Stan Scott

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Combining reader-response theory with spiritual teachings, this article explores how reading poetry may serve as an introduction to the art of meditation.

“I Have A New Understanding”: Critical Narrative Inquiry As Transformation In The English-History Classroom, Gina Deblase

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

This case study highlights what roles classroom discussion and activity around literature, history, and society play in developing one student’s understanding of complex social issues, and what ways of talking and thinking develop over time.

Reviews, Edward J. Sullivan, Gabriele Rico, Megan Brown, Kim Mccollum-Clark

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Reviews

Edward J. Sullivan. Ken Wilber: Thought as Passion. (Frank Visser, 2003).

Gabriele Rico. A Way to Move: Rhetorics of Emotion and Composition Studies. (Ed. Dale Jacobs and Laura R. Micciche, 2003).

Megan Brown. Living the Narrative Life: Stories as a Tool for Meaning Making. (Gian S. Pagnucci, 2004).

Kim McCollum-Clark. Personally Speaking: Experience as Evidence in Academic Discourse. (Candace Spigelman, 2004).

We Learn More Than Just Writing, Kami Day

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

In a composition class, students learn a great deal more, for good or ill, than just strategies for writing. This article shows that, as students and teachers learn to recognize and value their own inner teachers, they can also develop relationships with each other that nourish their spirits as well as their intellects.

Back Matter

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

No abstract provided.

Idioms As Cultural Commonplaces: Corporeal Lessons From Hokkien Idioms, Sue Hum

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

This essay uses idioms, especially Hokkien idioms, to counter the western predisposition of separating mind and body, arguing that they underscore the mind-body shift that occurs with the acquisition of academic discourses.

Mindfulness, Buddhism, And Rogerian Argument, Alexandria Peary

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Use of Buddhist mindfulness practices with Rogerian argument highlights Roger’s ideas of empathy and conscious listening which help develop a rhetorical imagination in the student.

Connecting, Helen Walker, Louise Morgan, Amy Wink, Marcia Nell, Gergana Vitanova, Judy Huddleston

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Louise Morgan—Street Science: An English Teacher’s Introduction to Street Life.

Amy Wink—'In the Middle of Difficulty Lies Opportunity'— Albert Einstein

Marcia Nell—The New Partnership

Gergana Vitanova—Negotiating an Identity in Graduate School as a Second Language Speaker.

Judy Huddleston—A Cat in the Sun: Reflections on Teaching.

Oliver Ranch Science School Complex & Wild Horse And Burro Facility: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending March 31, 2005, Margaret N. Rees

Oliver Ranch Project

Assist in project coordination between numerous stakeholders such as the Clark County School System, Desert Research Institute, Community College of Southern Nevada, UNR Cooperative Extension, Nevada State College, local museums, state parks, non-profit organizations, federal agencies, and the public to ensure appropriate educational curricular activities and venues are provided for in the conceptual design of the School and the Wild Horse and Burro facility where appropriate as well as assist in the NEPA process as needed. The activities will be conducted at least in part by university faculty, staff and students as part of the university’s research, teaching, and service …

Using Music As A Classroom Tool, Gail Foreman

All Graduate Projects

The main focus of the project was to develop resources that will use music as a tool to improve literacy and support learning in third grade self contained classrooms. Research provides strong data connecting the relationship of music to academic achievement, language arts and improved test scores. This project provides prototype lesson plans that support grade level expectations and uses t4e Washington State Essential Academic Learning Requirements as a basis for the concepts being taught. A unit of lesson plans was developed that integrates music into the language arts. Worksheets, graphic organizers and a music book list were developed as …

Animals And Biographies: Integrated Units For Third/Fourth Looped Classes, Kimberly Lynn Bonsen

All Graduate Projects

This handbook was designed for teachers in a third-to-fourth grade looping classroom. The lessons integrate reading and writing, and the second year (fourth grade) builds upon skills and strategies introduced in the first year (third grade). The third grade set of lessons focuses study on animals while the fourth grade set of lessons focuses on biographies. The handbook contains a OLE/Lesson plan matrix, information for teachers before beginning both sets of lessons, twelve third grade lessons, thirteen fourth grade lessons, and extension activities for both animals and biographies. The final section in the handbook is an appendix that contains every …

Second Year Evaluation Of Tennessee Charter Schools, Steven M. Ross, Aaron J. Mcdonald, Linda Bol

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The purpose of the present evaluation study was to examine the progress made in program implementation, school climate, and student achievement by the seven charter schools. A "mixed-methods" design, encompassing both qualitative and quantitative data, was employed. The questions upon which the evaluation methods are based relate to the progress of individual schools and the overall group in implementing desired strategies for curriculum, instruction, and organization, and in attaining the goals of No Child Left Behind by bringing every child to proficiency in reading and mathematics on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program TCAP by 2014. It should be noted that …

Peer Tutoring And Technology Integration : You Too Can Make It Happen!, Brandy Smith

Graduate Research Papers

Technology is motivating to students and brings with it a sense of empowerment. This article looks at a successful model of technology integration. This model comes in the form of an after-school club called the "Tech Club" built upon a peer tutoring model. A lead teacher trained third grade student leaders, or the "Tech Kids" to facilitate technology "how-to" sessions in their classrooms. After learning technology basics, this core group of Tech Kids visited different third grade classrooms to teach their peers this magic. This article explains how this peer tutoring model greatly empowered these third grade students and allowed …

Methods For Marine Ecosystems Research Through The Use Of Pdas With Preservice Teachers, Antoinette P. Bruciati, Maria Lizano-Dimare

Education Faculty Publications

Science teachers are charged with the task of providing students in grades K-12 with opportunities that will enable them to make sense of science and develop habits of mind. One goal of science education is to prepare well-rounded citizens who are scientifically literate. Through inquiry-based learning, students formulate questions, perform investigations, and construct new understandings.

It is important for preservice science teachers to be introduced to current techniques, discoveries, and debates in the field of science. The use of personal digital assistants (PDAs) can provide K-12 students with increased opportunities for exploring and learning through scientific investigations. In order for …

Collaborative Examinations: A Way To Help Students Learn, Douglas R. Haddock

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Teaching Talking: Oral Communication Skills In A Law Course, Jane Korn

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Catalog, 2004-2005, Anderson University - South Carolina

Catalogs

The 2004-2005 academic catalog and introduction to the college.

Attitudes Towards Educational Innovations In Christian High Schools In Northwest Iowa And Southeast South Dakota, Kimberly A. Hengeveld

Master of Education Program Theses

This study examines the attitudes of Christian high school educators in Northwest Iowa and Southwest South Dakota toward educational innovation and change in secondary education. Faculty and administration rated ten innovations or practices for their value to Christian school secondary systems, their perceptions about which factors and individuals are influential in the decision-making process about affecting change in the secondary school system, and their personal response to change in the classroom. The results indicate that these educators believe that change is important, but they are less supportive of change that might disrupt the way that schools are currently organized. Respondents …