Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Teaching The Sun As Simile: Bringing Nature Into Language Arts Middle School Classrooms, Stormy Kage

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

Teaching the Sun as Simile is an essay that explores an interdisciplinary approach to teaching middle school English Language Arts (ELA) by infusing nature and environmental studies. This essay defines emerging concepts of new literacy studies and eco-criticism, literacy, and composition as it relates to ELA pedagogy. Also, it provides an explanation for the importance and relevance of using nature to develop an ecosystem of better readers, writers and communicators in middle school general ed and special ed classrooms.

Examining The Educational Experiences Of Community Day School Graduates: A Narrative Inquiry, Willie J. Jones Iii

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Community day school graduates enter society with decisions about college, career, and work. Community day schools operate as a non-traditional education system that provides a separate and often unique education to many disenfranchised students, with lessened accountability protocols to assess whether these systems prepare graduates for life after high school. The number of community day schools and enrollment is declining, due in part to excessive changes within the law and stricter guidelines required to be met.

The State Of State History: Teacher Perceptions Regarding The Place And Purpose Of State History In K–12 Social Studies, Shay Hopper

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social studies, history, and state history courses, in general, have long been broadly considered the least significant of the four core content courses in K – 12 education. State history is required and/or taught inconsistently throughout the 50 states, and in some cases, not at all. Teacher preparation and on-going support to teach state history in K – 12 education are also inconsistent and often disregarded. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative survey and interview study was to investigate teacher perceptions regarding place and purpose of state history in K – 12 social studies, and to identify teacher dispositions toward …

The Van Hiele Analysis Of Curricular Materials: A Comparative Study, Vinay Kumar Kalyankar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to investigate K-8 geometry curriculum standards and textbooks for their effectiveness in preparing students for high school geometry. The basis for the study is van Hiele theory pioneered by the Dutch educators and researchers of geometric understanding in adolescents, Dina van Hiele Geldof and Pierre van Hiele. Another driving force for this dissertation is research into mathematics textbooks and curriculum standards of school mathematics as seen in CCSSM and state specific standards documents, both of which influence the mathematics students have the opportunity to learn.

The K-8 geometry curriculum standards and textbook instructional segments …

Acadecomic: How Visual Rhetoric And Effective Teaching Combine To Create Multiple Literacies, Michaela Vanoeveren

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This article, intended for educators, encourages the use of comics in the classroom alongside traditional alphabetical texts. It uses modern comic theory, as well as various works on visual rhetoric, to prove the benefits of comics, as well as how they can be implemented. Teachers can use this as a guide for their own classrooms to inspire classroom libraries, curricular choices, and student recommendations.

The Pedagogical Impact Of Secondary Science Teacher Efficacy On Blended Learning Implementation: A Phenomenological Study, Allison Willemin

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

As new pedagogical approaches, such as blended learning, are implemented in classrooms, it is important to properly prepare the teachers to ensure fidelity of implementation. The descriptive phenomenological study examined the influence of secondary science teacher efficacy on overcoming obstacles and sustaining the Blended Learning pedagogical approach at a high school in the southern United States. Using purposeful sampling based on specific criteria nine teachers were selected to participate in the study. Through two interviews and a focus group, the researcher collected data based on the participants’ shared experience of implementing the flipped classroom instructional model. The data was themed …

Explicit Inclusion Of Fun In Instruction As A Catalyst For Academic Success, Kimberly Tyskiewicz

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Low graduation rates, rising drop-out rates, and increasing apathy and disengagement in learning has prompted the need for new strategies and interventions in education. This case study provides an analysis of the perceptions of high school teachers related to the impact of the explicit, intentional inclusion of fun in direct instruction. The participants included approximately 20% of the faculty in a semirural high school of approximately 1,325 students. The case study involved individual interviews with half of the participants and the other half participating in a focus group conversation. Six participants in each group were observed. All comments and concepts …

Implementing The Flex Model Of Blended Learning In A World History Classroom: How Blended Learning Affects Student Engagement And Mastery, Kristin N. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

In the following action research plan, an explanatory sequential mixed methods research study of the implementation of the Flex model of blended learning in a World History classroom is presented. The study and its findings are used to measure mastery of, engagement with, and understanding of historical concepts presented in a six-week unit on the Enlightenment and the various revolutions this period in history caused. Data collection and analysis, including data from pre- and post-tests, Likert scale surveys, exit tickets, and student artifacts, are discussed. The pre- and post-tests were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics (minimum and maximum score, average …

High School Social Studies Teachers' Perceptions And Practices Using Workshop Model: A Qualitative Action Research Case Study, Joseph Marangell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research case study was to examine how a job-embedded professional development approach influenced high school social studies teachers' perceptions and practices related to a workshop model of instruction. Three research questions guided this work: (1) How do teachers' perceptions related to the workshop model used within social studies classrooms change over time? (2) How do teachers' practices related to the workshop model used within social studies classrooms change over time? (3) How do teachers' perceptions of disciplinary literacy and the workshop model influence their classroom practices?

Participants included two high school Modern World History teachers …

The Teaching Of Writing: Methods, Resources, Plans, And Analysis, Katelyn Knochenmus

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

As a culminating project for an MA in English on the individualized track, this portfolio is woven together with the theme of composition instruction. Beginning with a wide scope, the first selection is a reflective overview of writing instruction methods. The second piece in the portfolio, an annotated bibliography, offers many resources for teachers and tutors to better reach reluctant writers in particular. A unit plan for creating dynamic sentence variety through the use of grammar as a tool is the third selection. Lastly, the portfolio concludes with a narrower analysis related to one particular aspect of teaching writing: the …

Nailing Jell-O To A Tree, Jayson Lozier

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio contains papers addressing writing instruction, women's studies, queer theory, and literary analysis. “Mr. L 2.0 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love English Composition” details the implementation of more effective techniques to teach writing in the secondary English classroom. “Educating Women in Afghanistan: Power, Revolution, and Rebellion” examines the feminist struggles around education and the efforts of the Afghan Institute of Learning to bring about change. “Out of the Closet and into the Classroom: Introducing Queer Reading Strategies to the Secondary English Classroom” examines the importance of queer theory and queer reading techniques in high school …

Philosophy And Actions For Authentic, Meaningful, And Lifelong Learning, Anthony Klever

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio explores several major areas of education related to English teaching. A major research essay, “Incomplete Instructions: Building the Future of Technical Writing in Ohio Education”, explores the current situation and prospective future of technical writing in the state of Ohio’s education system. Also, a reflective essay, “Reflective Narrative: My Journey as a Student and My Map for Teaching”, explores the many elements of teaching philosophy with particular attention to English teaching. Another research essay, “Meaningful Revision: Revise for a Day, Teach Revision for a Lifetime”, explores the function of revision and offers suggestions for increasing the meaningfulness …

Innovation In Education: Renewed Perspectives Through Writer’S Conferences, Literary Theory, Supplements To The Western Literary Canon, And Representations Of Fiction Through Film, Elizabeth Dubois

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

Education requires constant reevaluation and reflection, and this portfolio is Elizabeth DuBois’s final portfolio for a Master’s of Arts in English that demonstrates reflection and reevaluation of secondary English education. It includes a framing narrative that establishes the significance of the writing projects included within the portfolio. The four revised pieces demonstrate renewed perspectives regarding education. Education requires constant reevaluation and reflection. This portfolio demonstrates that process of reflecting on pedagogy and reevaluating it in order to best serve students. Writer’s conferences, literary theory, multicultural literature, and film representations of fiction are all aspects of high school pedagogy that I …

Career Pathway Orientation Courses And Their Influences On Student Career Decision Making, Daniel Weidner

Dissertations

High schools must create skill- and decision-making experiences to support student college and career readiness and effective transitions to careers. However, traditional career education models have lacked effectiveness. This study examines a career pathway model that includes career orientation courses focused on developing career awareness and advising, confirming and challenging student’s career decision-making. Surveys and interviews were used to identify impacts these courses had on student career choice and the influence different aspects of the orientation course had on their decision-making. From this, best practices were identified, changes to the model were proposed and modifications to policy were developed to …

Male Educators Implementing Instructional Practices That Academically Engage Students, Kenneth B. Beneby

Theses and Dissertations

Male Educators Implementing Instructional Practices That Academically Engage Students. Kenneth Bernard Beneby, 2019. Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. Keywords: teacher, African American male teachers, academic engagement, secondary teaching profession, pedagogies, African American male students

This phenomenological research explored how a selected group of African American male educators understood their own experiences while implementing strategies to academically engage African American male students. The research explored the public secondary education experiences of African American male educators to better understand their occupational understandings; how having more African American educators were helpful in …

When Healing And High-Stakes Meet: Restorative Justice In An Era Of Racial Neoliberalism, Dani O'Brien

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on a 3-year ethnography, this dissertation documents the story of Presente, an explicitly critical youth-led restorative justice group attempting to dismantle the school-prison nexus and create a more youth-centered culture at their high-reform high school. This dissertation addresses the questions: How does serving as a restorative justice peer leader impact students? What challenges and opportunities arise as the school tries to transition to more restorative practices? And how do the values central to restorative justice come up against, challenge, and get challenged by neoliberal education reform?

Improving Literacy Outcomes For Adolescent English Language Learners, Grace Diaz-Peterson

Graduate Teacher Education

As the population of English Language Learners in United States public schools has risen significantly in recent years, the unique academic challenges these students faced, particularly in middle and high school, became more apparent. A widening reading and vocabulary gap between English Language Learners and their native English-speaking peers posed particular barriers in secondary content area classes, where many teachers reported feeling ill-prepared to meet the specialized linguistic needs of their English Language Learner students. This paper analyzed a mix of recent, available qualitative and quantitative research on best practices to improve literacy outcomes for adolescent English Language Learners. As …

A Student Research Manual: Helping Students Help Themselves Identifying And Addressing Challenges Facing Prospective Undergraduate Researchers, Landon Rohrer, Karen L. Sirum

Honors Projects

Undergraduate research does not only help equip STEM majors to be better researchers and employees but increases retention of students to graduate school in needed scientific fields. However, while resources are being produced for undergraduates like Undergraduate Research Experiences (UREs), Centers for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (CURS), and Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), undergraduate involvement and awareness about these resources, and the value of undergraduate research in general, does not seem to be improving. Therefore, it would be valuable to figure out why undergraduates aren't autonomously seeking out undergraduate research during their studies. To investigate why, a two-part survey was …

Graduate Internship Report Aged 539-Livingston High School, Anthony B. Drumonde

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship and project report includes documentation required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at Livingston High School conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The supporting material includes information to receive state and local funding, outline the goals and objectives of the program, along with an overview of Livingston High School, the agriculture program and the community.

Teachers Respond To Impact Of Intelligent Mathematics Tutorial On Students’ Motivation And Engagement, Francis Xavier Tweedie

All Theses And Dissertations

Secondary school mathematics proficiency continues to be a point of concern, as the current National Report Cards continue to show insufficient change. For middle school students, grades six through eight are formative years, as they begin to shape emotional connections and make a decision about their ability and motivation to do mathematics. These early decisions are paramount to how they approach mathematics learning in later grades. Student motivation is a critical function of students’ affective domain, engagement in the classroom, and their self-belief for learning. Teachers play a significant role in this process by providing supportive and effective learning environments …

A Meta-Analysis Of The Effects Of Reflective Self-Assessment On Academic Achievement In Primary And Secondary Populations, Jeffrey James Youde

Education Dissertations

Recent empirical research studies indicate that reflective self-assessment as a classroom approach can have a positive impact on student achievement. Reflective self-assessment, a form of metacognition, allows a student to think about past, current, and future learning performance. Although several discrete empirical studies have supported such hypotheses, a quantified exploration and summary of the relationship between classroom techniques of reflective self-assessment and student academic achievement is needed. The results of the current study, a meta-analysis of surveyed empirical studies from the past 26 years, indicate that reflective self-assessment has an overall effect size of .46 on academic achievement across grade …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Studying Spanish And Construction In Tandem, Daniel Joseph Eide

Construction Management

Does Spanish bilingualism have measurable fiscal value in the U.S. construction industry? Studying and becoming proficient in Spanish is feasible, affordable, and can be accomplished at Cal Poly in conjunction with a Construction Management major. In a dynamic industry that values versatile employees, where communication is key to success, the capability of speaking Spanish is a substantial value-add in the workforce. Using qualitative and quantitative data analysis, it is concluded that individuals who possess English and Spanish-speaking abilities in the U.S. construction industry can expect a 3 percent wage premium when compared to English-only speakers. This study weighs the costs …

Graduate Internship Report Aged 539 - Volunteer Mah & Answer Key, Rachel E. Drisdelle

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship and project report includes validation documents required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. This is a volunteer workbook intended for high school students looking to observe at a veterinary hospital. It is written for volunteers at Mission Animal Hospital in San Luis Obispo, CA, but can be adapted for other veterinary hospitals if needed.

Graduate Internship Report - Stone Ridge Christian High School, Victoria Lewis

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship and project report includes documentation required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at Stone Ridge Christian High School conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The supporting material includes information to receive state and local funding, outline the goals and objectives of the program, along with an overview of Stone Ridge Christian High School, the agriculture program and the community.

Graduate Internship Report - Hanford Agriculture Program, Dominica L. Clisso

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship and project report includes validation documents required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The supporting material includes information to receive state and local funding, outline the goals and objectives of the program, along with an overview of the Hanford Agriculture Program and the community.

Evaluating Creative Choice In K-12 Computer Science Curriculum, Kirsten L. Mork

Master's Theses

Computer Science is an increasingly important topic in K-12 education. Ever since the "computing crisis" of the early 2000s, where enrollment in CS dropped by over half in a five year span, increasing research has gone into improving and broadening enrollment in CS courses. Research shows the importance of introducing CS at a young age and the need for more exposure for younger children and young adults alike in order to work towards equity in the field. While there are many reasons for disinterest in CS courses, studies found one reason young adults do not want to study CS is …

Examining The Development Of Career Identity Within A College Preparatory School: A Case Study, Michele R. Margavio

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Recent college graduates are clearly facing significant labor market challenges and statistics show that college graduates will more likely find themselves unemployed or underemployed rather than gainfully employed in the current job market. The purpose of this study was to examine the career identity development of non-public high school seniors taking a career preparation program involving internships within all career pathways, not just those requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher. Individual interviews were conducted with ten students, the program director, and four site coordinators to gain the insight from their experiences with the career development course. Results from this study …

How Does The High School Redesigned Learning Space Influence Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, And Critical Thinking, P. Erik Gundersen

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the affect that redesigned learning spaces might have on student engagement levels, specifically the extent to which redesigned learning spaces facilitate the 21^st Century Learning and Innovation Skills known as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Using David Ross’s work with the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, the study observes the efforts of a suburban high school that has redesigned traditional classrooms into progressive and innovative learning spaces. This qualitative study utilized seventeen, face-to-face interviews with teachers who are teaching in redesigned classrooms to collect their impressions of how such learning spaces influenced engagement. The …

The Influence Of An Abstinence-Only Intervention On The Risk Behaviors Of Urban Middle School Students, Alison J. Wakefield

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

In this dissertation, findings on the factors that influence risk-avoidance behaviors among Hispanic and African American middle-school students are presented. The findings were based on a randomized study in which middle-school students were randomly assigned to receive either an abstinence-only curriculum or a comprehensive health curriculum.

Initial findings suggest that middle-school students and their attitudes toward sexual activity were closely associated with their relationships with both their parents and peers. The pivotal indicator for student engagement research indicated that the higher the level of engagement between teen and parent, the more likely the teen is to follow the interventions. Should …

There Is No "Right Answer:" Teaching As Exploration, Dawson Zimmerman

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

A Final Portfolio Submitted to the English Department of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the field of English with a specialization in English Teaching.