Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

What Exactly Does Identity Have To Do With Teaching? Exploring The Connection Between A Teacher's Racialized Identity And Their Teacher Identity, Lizette Aguilar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study explores the relationship between race and teacher identity, specifically understanding how the two concepts intersect and (re)present themselves within the classroom environment. This study analyzes six teachers’ narratives of identity, race, and teaching to explore themes of race and identity as they traverse from their earliest experiences with race into their experiences as teachers. Findings conclude that, first, teachers’ narrative identities are a composite of key narratives—important moments of deep impact in the process of identity building—that accumulate over time to form what Dan McAdams (1993) calls personal myths. Since key narratives are continually shaping one’s personal myth, …

Black Genius: An Achievement Distortion, Brenda Burgo

Dissertations

Is the achievement gap real? Using a mixed-methods approach, this study reframed standardized testing through a Quantitative Critical and Black Critical lens. It interrogated the deficit framing of Black student achievement by asking the following questions: (1) To what extent do the aggregated standardized test scores for Black students in California correlate with other measures of achievement? Included in this analysis are: (a) To what degree does the ratio of Black students relate to the achievement variables? and (b) To what extent did COVID impact this correlation? (2) What beliefs do Black educators have regarding the standardized test scores of …

Promoting Civic Engagement And Knowledge Amongst Middle School Adolescents Through Simulation Based Teaching Models, Karrie Palmer

Dissertations

Public schools, and education in general, were founded on the principles of preparing young people to participate in civic life as active and informed citizens. Yet, civic competency scores are consistently low and demonstrate that students are not prepared for the civic engagement required of them when they leave school. The purpose of this quasi-experimental mixed methods study is to determine if participation in simulations and utilizing experiential learning theory while teaching the government standards will lead to a greater understanding of civics, and a positive improvement in students’ beliefs and values regarding civic engagement beyond the classroom. While the …

A Bright Point In A Dull Day: A Qualitative Exploration Of Middle School Students’ Perceptions Of Music Ensemble Participation, Kailee Amburgey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music participation, specifically in an ensemble setting, is known to promote learning and social skills and to contribute to a well-rounded overall education. With this in mind, this qualitative, constructivist grounded theory study explored the impacts that participating in chorus, band, or orchestra has on students’ overall experience in middle school, with a focus on joy and identity development. The researcher interviewed fifteen students about their personal experiences and feelings about their lives as middle schoolers and musicians. The findings, shared in six theoretical concepts tied to the research question, reveal important facets of these students’ experiences that shed light …

Assessing Teachers’ Dispositions Towards Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In Northwest Arkansas High Schools, Rylie Ford

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

Culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) entails the use of cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and learning styles of ethnically and culturally diverse students to make instruction more relevant and effective for them. Furthermore, practices within this pedagogy are validating, inclusive, emancipatory, and ethical, and help diverse students succeed academically while maintaining their cultural identity. Numerous studies have indicated that using culturally responsive pedagogy increases student academic achievement, sense of self, and emotional well-being (Ladson, 1995; Gay, 2018). Considering the varying degrees of cultural and linguistic diversity in Northwest Arkansas (NWA) schools and the lack of reported professional development relating to CRP, this …

Sexual Health Education Scope And Sequence, Sara Wadsworth

Honors Projects

Based on a significant amount of prior research, comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) has been identified to be the most effective method of teaching sexual health education (SHAPE America, 2021; World Health Organization, 2023). Comprehensive sexual health education improves healthy behaviors and outcomes, provides useful information, and is positively perceived by students (Gardner, 2015; Kirby, 2002; Robinson et al., 2022). However, the United States’ current sexual health education has not implemented this ideal method, which is shown through state laws, students’ experiences, underdeveloped skills and flawed understanding of concepts, and – most importantly – a lack of resources for teachers (Foley, …

Intensive English Program Design For Minnesota Public School District, Ellen Bialka

Capstone Collection

The recent rise in undocumented immigrants in Minnesota has brought to light significant demographic shifts within the state. Many individuals in this population have limited or no proficiency in English, which highlights the challenges immigrant communities face in adapting to their new linguistic surroundings. As a result, educators have been presented with the challenge of serving a growing number of immigrant children in their schools. To tackle this issue, an intensive English program was developed for a suburban public school district in Minnesota to offer a more targeted approach to improving English proficiency among students before beginning courses required for …

A Critical Inquiry Exploring The Relationship Between Critical Consciousness And Community Engagement Educators, Carol Difalco

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

Community engagement programs are shaped by the educators who facilitate them. Due to a curtailed critical consciousness, such programs are not always sensitive to the negative implications for the communities they are attempting to support. Guided by critical ethnographic and interpretive phenomenological analysis, this study examines how educators perceive their relationship with critical consciousness, its impact on their community engagement initiatives, and what we can learn from educators using community engagement to work towards social justice issues. As expected, results from the participants revealed varying awareness and understanding of how structural power and institutional oppression impact community engagement initiatives. Some …

Decolonization Of The Writing Classroom: Creating Space For Decolonial Theory, Tools, Anti-Racist Pedagogy, And Methods To Improve The Emerging Bilingual Student Experience, Desiree L. Brown

Masters Theses

In this thesis, the author addresses the colonial roots of the secondary writing classroom and the origin of standard academic English which enables strict standardized testing and writing assessment requirements that in-turn incite linguistic violence towards emerging bilingual students. The author frames her study within the framework of April Baker-Bell and Asao B. Inoue through a reflective/reflexive study of her teaching in a ninth grade writing classroom in a primarily Hispanic school district in South Texas, which is assessed by the state of Texas through STAAR. This study seeks to identify instances of linguistic violence being perpetuated in the writing …

The Effect Of Reading Habits On Academic Success, Taylor Hicks

Culminating Experience Projects

The goal of most students is to achieve academic success. In order to be successful, students must form healthy reading habits because there is a positive correlation between academic success and reading habits. The more students read, the greater their chances of performing well academically. By participating in frequent reading, students will, not only perform well in school, they will also expand their vocabulary, improve their writing skills, and sharpen their critical thinking skills. We are in the midst of a literacy crisis, though. Students are choosing other avenues for entertainment instead of reading. This could potentially have detrimental consequences. …

Spatial Visualization Of High School Geometry Students, Jennifer Crissey

Dissertations

Spatial ability has been defined as “the innate ability to visualize that a person has before any formal training has occurred, i.e., a person is born with ability” (Sorby, 1999, p. 21) and is comprised of spatial orientation and spatial skills.Each of these facets are used in everyday life. High school students can enhance their spatial visualization skills through experiences and instruction. The purpose of this study was to test an intervention with the aim of increasing high school geometry students’ spatial visualization skills. The participants in this study were high school geometry students who were randomly placed in either …

Increasing Student Engagement And Learning Of The Age Of Exploration Through Differentiated Instruction And Assessment, Hannah M. Smith

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone project examines the impact of incorporating two instructional and two assessment strategies within a tenth-grade World Civilization unit centered on enhancing students' comprehension of the Age of Exploration. The Age of Exploration unit had 16 instructional days between the pre- and post-assessment. Drawing insights from student data, it was that learners demonstrated enhanced and increased comprehension and improved performance throughout this unit, attributable to various differentiated instructional strategies and assessment methods. This paper will report what the instructional strategies and assessment methods consisted of and the effect they had on student learning. I collected and analyzed the pre- …

Teaching Without A Roadmap: A Mixed Methods Study Of New Teachers' Experience With A Missing Curriculum, Christopher Reid Williams

Dissertations

As new teachers enter the field of education, they face many challenges as they work to quickly adapt to the many demands of the job. One of the most pressing factors for new teachers is deciding what to actually teach each day. For educators, the curriculum represents the master plan that both guides their educational efforts and supplies the tools to get the job done. However, new teachers experience varying levels of curriculum support when they begin their careers, and some receive absolutely no support at all. This study describes those cases of beginning a teaching career with little to …

Investigating Epistemic Violence In Schools Using Machine Learning (Ai) To Explore The Effects Of Culturally Inclusive Curricula On High School Students’ Racial-Ethnic And Civic Identities, Leylah M. Bighach

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study investigated the impact of culturally sustaining/inclusive curricula (CSP/CIC) and experiences of racism in school on racial-ethnic identity, racial self-worth, civic efficacy, and activism for African American/Black, Latino(a)(x), Asian, and Indigenous youth. The effect of CIC/CSP on developmental psychological self-concepts and the impact of the public health crises occurring in 2020 on curricula and activism was explored. The effect of CIC/CSP on non-White youth from New York City was captured using an interactive web-based survey (n=155) and quantified using a branch of artificial intelligence called machine learning. Consensus narratives and focus groups (n=20) were used to follow up on …

Vamos A Pláticar: The Sense-Making Process Of Career Services Practitioners At California Community Colleges In A Guided Pathways Epoch, Claudia Estrada-Howell

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The California Community College system and its vision for success, which includes a focus on increasing students' degree and certificate completion, as well as increasing the percentage of existing Career and Technical Education students who report being employed in their field of study is highlighted. To help support these goals, the California Community College System has adopted the Guided Pathways framework. This framework requires all campuses to fundamentally redesign their programs and support services to ensure they are clear, more educationally coherent pathways to credentials that in turn prepare students for success in the workforce and further education. To do …

Implementation Of An Early College Design In A Rural High School: Empowering Place-Conscious Leadership To Affect Change And Overcome Barriers To Innovation, Michael Timko

All Dissertations

This qualitative, improvement science, autoethnograpic case study aims to examine a unique perspective on rural research through the lens of place-conscious leadership. With an identified problem of inequity in advanced-level course offerings, which resulted in lost student opportunities and student attrition to neighboring schools, the leadership at Forest Lakes High School (FLHS) in rural South Carolina began the ambitious journey of reframing their narrative. As a scholarly researcher and administrator at FLHS, I had the unique opportunity to immerse myself fully in all aspects of this study. My dual positionality allowed me to study this process while sharing the lived …

An Exploratory Case Study Of Leadership Practices That Enable International Schools To Become Highly Effective And Learning Progressive Environments, Santha Kumar Sankara Narayanan

Dissertations

Highly effective learning progressive (HELP) environments can prepare students to be future-ready with the needed knowledge and skills to thrive in an ever-changing world. This case study captured the characteristics and measured the effectiveness of an international school working to become a HELP environment using the high-reliability schools (HRS) framework and the leadership practices that enabled them.

This mixed-method study used an explanatory sequential design, beginning with a survey of 122 teachers based on the HRS model (Marzano et al., 2014), where teachers were asked to respond to a series of statements designed to measure the case-study school’s effectiveness and …

Beyond Words: Exploring History Through The Lens Of Literary Theory And Research, Andrea Weaver

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

The narrative of this Master's portfolio reflects on the academic journey of Andrea Weaver. The three projects showcased in this portfolio reflect her experience during the Master of Arts in English with a Specialization in English Teaching program. It includes a rhetorical Ohio Suffragist unit plan created for high school sophomores, a seminar paper critically analyzing the film Interview with the Vampire (1994), and a digital presentation of artifacts and research about literary theorist Wolfgang Iser and his work in Reader Response Theory presented on the platform Microsoft Sway. The framework of New Historicism is threaded throughout each project, linking …

Teacher Use Of Computer Generated Feedback Through Online Programs, Sheena Wehr

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of computer-based supplemental programs has grown in popularity (Li & Zhao, 2022). These programs provide both teachers and students with varying amounts of feedback and data for each standard addressed (Shin et al., 2021). However, since many schools implemented these programs during the pandemic there was a lack of training or professional development, therefore teachers relied on learn-as-you-go methods. The goal of this research was to determine how teachers in Florida were currently using computer-generated feedback to drive their instruction and improve overall student achievement. The study concentrated on secondary mathematics teachers who utilize …

Meet Me In The Middle: A Scoping Review On Understanding Adolescent Needs In Climate Communication, Gwendolyn Monica Hoff Anderson

Master's Projects and Capstones

The greatest effects of climate change are likely to be felt by youth. Young people are disproportionately affected by climate change due to their critical developmental stage and lack of power, and they experience both higher severity and prevalence of mental health issues related to climate change. Strong emotions have long been recognized as potential catalysts for action, or they may lead to paralyzing feelings of being overwhelmed. Climate communication is a critical tool to spark climate concern and encourage action. Activism, in turn, may help youth manage their anxiety about climate change. This scoping review examines emerging evidence on …

We Are Stronger Together: Faculty Reflections On Competency-Based High School Completion For Adults In Washington State, Elizabeth J. Flanagan

Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice

Situated in Washington State during the height of the global Covid-19 pandemic, this qualitative, insider-practitioner study examined the instructional context of four instructors engaged in a competency-based, high school completion for adults faculty praxis on community and technical college campuses through a state-supported program called High School+ (HS+). Guided by three areas of inquiry, this research sought to (1) explore how HS+ faculty describe their instructional praxis in the context of personal identity; (2) probe the cultural, structural, and administrative challenges HS+ faculty face when enacting competency-based instruction on community and technical college campuses oriented toward seat-time models of instruction; …

Teaching Beyond ‘Kings Leopold’S Ghost’: New Sources And Voices In A Global History Curriculum On The Democratic Republic, Jen Chapin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The complicated history of the Democratic Republic of Congo is not typically part of high school curricula, yet events and historical trends concerning this nation connect with many key topics and themes, including feudalism, Haitian Revolution, New Imperialism, genocide, World War I & 2, Decolonization movements, Cold War politics, neo-colonialism/globalization, modern China’s economic power, authoritarianism, cult of personality, grassroots democracy movements, responses to climate change, etc. Designing and delivering a rigorous yet accessible curriculum on Congo poses a challenge for teaching beyond “King Leopold’s Ghost”, meaning, working past the prevalence of materials focusing on Belgian king’s genocidal two-decade rule over …

Special Education: Inclusion And Exclusion In The K-12 U.S. Educational System, Erik Brault

Dissertations

The U.S. Department of Education defines students with disabilities as those having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities. Previous research has found that students with disabilities placed in inclusive environments perform better academically and socially compared to students with disabilities who are placed in segregated environments. Yet, we know that inclusion in K-12 general education classrooms across the country is not consistently implemented.

The purpose of this study was to better understand the effects, if any, of general education high school teachers’ personal and professional experiences and knowledge on their attitudes toward educating …

Put Down That Book! Producing Poetry To Center Students As Organic Intellectuals, Jacqueline E. Boland

Master's Projects and Capstones

Schools are often sites of hegemony, where certain knowledge and voices are prioritized over others. This hierarchy frequently discounts students as producers of their own knowledge, ignoring the wisdom gleaned from their lived experiences, diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, and cultural communities. While the study of literature inside a high school English classroom can be fruitful for students to acquire empathy and perspective, it is only effective when it is equitable. Educators must implement diverse representation in narratives, characters, authors and texts to represent students whose identities exist at the margins. Positioning work by Women of Color in the classroom …

Impacting Student Self-Efficacy In English/Language Arts: Using Student-Generated Questions In Small Group Discussions, Heather Johnson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Student engagement in the classroom can be a struggle for many teachers. Research shows that student engagement can be impacted by student self-efficacy in the classroom, and student engagement increases when participating in small group discussions and inquiry-based activities. This qualitative study aimed to understand the impact using student-generated questions in small group discussions had on student self-efficacy in the high school English/language arts classroom. A survey was created and given to 21 twelfth-grade student participants prior to and after using student-generated questions in three separate small group discussions in an elective English/language arts class. Qualitative data were also collected …

How Doctoral Students In A Formal Leadership Program Conceptualize Followership: A Mixed-Methods Study, Katy J. Johnson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this exploratory mixed-methods study was to determine how doctoral students in a formal leadership program conceptualize followership. The methods used to conduct this analysis included distributing a Qualtrics (released in August 2022) survey and conducting one-on-one interviews with a sample of degree-seeking doctoral students within a formal leadership program. The researcher collected quantitative and qualitative data addressing students’ followership style, leadership attitudes and beliefs, and perceptions of followership. These data were analyzed concurrently using a triangulation design. A total of 67 students completed the survey, and seven students were interviewed. The findings revealed that the participants employ …

Perceptions Of Introverted Students And Their Teacher In A Middle-School Elar Classroom, Kimberly Rempel

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this study was to determine introverted students’ perceptions about their honor’s ELAR class and to determine if they succeed better with choice board assignments versus non-choice assignments. This study was conducted at a West Texas middle school in an honor’s eighth-grade ELAR classroom. Students completed the Myers-Briggs personality test to determine their status as introverted or extroverted (Myers & Myers, 2014). Data was collected through a survey, student and teacher interviews, and student assignment grades. Data was analyzed through the constant comparative method, and students’ grades were compared using descriptive statistics. The study found that teacher and …

Enhancing Stem Education For East Tennessee In A Post-Covid World, Jennifer L. Lauer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I have identified a need for an analysis of the middle and high school STEM education curricula in the East Tennessee Region which does not effectively integrate technology into their current instruction, which results in low student engagement, motivation, and achievement in the instruction and learning of algebra and geometry. I propose a program to identify specific applications and methods to be integrated into these programs which will improve the abilities of teachers to positively impact their students' understanding and mastery of algebra and geometry. Using emerging and novel STEM subject instruction, teaching, and engagement methods, and focusing on the …

Analyzing The Effectiveness Of Graphic Organizers In An English Classroom, Alexandra Espinoza

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The use of graphic organizers has risen in classrooms over the past few decades. However, it is essential to assess whether they lead to improved student learning, as some trending instructional strategies are not well-backed by quality research. The purpose of this study was to analyze if graphic organizers are indeed effective to use in a high school English class. This study took place in a secondary school setting for a weeklong unit. For this project, students completed three graphic organizers throughout the unit in order to better understand selected topics relating to the unit’s nonfiction text including inferences, characterization, …

Experiencing Positional Turbulence: High School Social Studies Teachers' Perceptions Of Instructional Leadership Support While Teaching During National Crises, Lynn M. Walters-Rauenhorst

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This research examined instructional leadership support of eight Louisiana high school social studies teachers as they experienced positional turbulence as a result of teaching to politically and socially aware students in a polarized political and social climate during the 2020-2021 school year. In recent years the American education system has been challenged in unprecedented ways. A global pandemic, renewed calls for social justice, and a highly polarized political climate created an extremely turbulent environment for all educators. Social studies teachers faced a unique set of challenges of integrating controversial current events into a high-stakes standards-based curriculum. Utilizing a conceptual framework …