Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Mentors’ Experiences Supporting Beginning Teachers Of Students In High-Needs, Urban Schools, Guy Lamont Ollison

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Research has consistently demonstrated the positive impact of mentoring on beginning teachers. However, it has also been revealed that teachers serving students in highly-diverse, high-needs, urban, low-income schools often receive inadequate, inconsistent, and low-quality support. In fact, studies indicate that the overall quality of support provided to beginning teachers is closely linked to the income level of the student population they serve (Alkins et al., 2006; Mizrav & Lachlan-Hache, 2019). A lack of meaningful mentor support can negatively affect the learning outcomes of marginalized students of color.

The purpose of this basic qualitative study, guided by a phenomenological approach, was …

Bringing A Missing Minority Into Focus: Foster Parents’ Voices And Their Impact On Foster Children’S Academic Experiences, Clair Rutherford

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Foster children face persistent educational inequities shaped by trauma, frequent placement changes, and systemic barrierswithin schools. This dissertation investigates how foster parents perceive and influence the educational experiences of the children in their care, emphasizing the intersection of advocacy, trauma-informed teaching, and institutional response. Grounded in trauma-informed pedagogy, critical ecology and curriculum studies, the study interrogates how schools both support and constrain foster children’s educational opportunities. An arts-based methodology was employed, combining fictionalized portraiture and digital ethnography. Data sources included foster parent social media posts, reflexive journalling, and researcher positionality as both teacher and foster parent. Composite narratives were constructed …

Wondrous Uncertainty: Transforming Student Educational Experiences Using Restorative Practices, Zachary C. Schafer

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

One of the primary purposes of education is to help students make sense of their lived experiences. In the process of becoming, students navigate multiple relationships (school, peers, adults, and with self). These relationships often cause conditions of uncertainty which can be managed and transformed using restorative practices in tandem with the academic disciplines taught in school. Over the last decade this has been my inquiry puzzle, “As educators, how can we embrace uncertainty with students as a way of helping to empower them through their dignity, with the academic disciplines as a lens through which relational learning occurs in …

Using The Foundational Numeracy Transformation Cycle To Gain Insights And Perspectives On Teaching And Learning, Brooke Custis

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The Foundational Numeracy Transformation Cycle (FNTC) was created in part to increase the percentage of students with disabilities performing at or above grade level in middle school mathematics. Through professional development and support, the FNTC worked within regional co-ops to increase math proficiency at all grade levels by building instructional capacity in primary educators. In addition to increasing student proficiency, the FNTC also aimed to enhance educator confidence in implementing Mathematical Teaching Practice (MTP) #2. This study used quantitative analysis to determine that participation in the FNTC had no statistically significant effect on student achievement. This study also explored the …

Language Ideologies In Coloniality Contexts: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of Efl Teachers’ Experiences And Perceptions On The Use Of Learners’ Language Repertoire As Assets For Teaching And Learning, Kountiala J. Some

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examined how dominant language ideologies in language politics and policy shape the professional identity development and pedagogical practices of five English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Burkina Faso. The study sought to understand how these ideologies influence teachers’ beliefs and perceptions of multilingual pedagogical approaches, as well as possible pathways for deconstructing them to promote student-centered practices. The participants’ accounts revealed that their academic and professional identities were largely shaped by the belief that home languages hinder proficiency in French and English. They recalled with remorse their elementary school experiences, where speaking native languages …

Fostering Critically Conscious Lesson Planning In A Generative Artificial Intelligence Era, Derek Riddle, Paula Cristina Azevedo, Catharyn Shelton, Jaime Colwell, Jori Beck

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Teacher candidates (TCs) use digital resources and social media to plan and develop learning material, and with publically accessible generative artificial intelligence (GAI), TCs are able to generate lesson plans within seconds rather than hours or days. While there is research on how to support TCs' evaluation of reliable digital media, there is little known on how to prepare TCs for GAI content. Using the complementary frameworks of Freire’s (1970) critical consciousness and Jonnasen’s (1991) theory of constructivism, this in-progress design based research seeks to develop an adaptable framework that addresses the evolving nature of technology, specifically GAI, and the …

Relaciones De Las Competencias Docentes Con El Bienestar En Docentes De Ciencias Empresariales Bajo La Modalidad A Distancia En Una Universidad Privada En Colombia, Camilo Ernesto Aguirre Martínez

Theses and Dissertations

El propósito de esta investigación consistió en determinar las relaciones de las competencias docentes con el bienestar en docentes de Ciencias Empresariales bajo la modalidad a distancia en una Universidad privada de Colombia. El estudio buscó identificar las relaciones entre las competencias docentes y el bienestar psicológico, el bienestar subjetivo y el bienestar social, cuáles de esas relaciones predominan, así como la identificación de cuáles elementos de estos tipos de bienestar contribuyen con el desarrollo de las competencias docentes.

El enfoque de la investigación fue el empírico analítico o cuantitativo, el diseño fue no experimental y su alcance fue de …

Taiwanese Elementary School Teachers’ Mindset Of Content And Language Integrated Learning (Clil) Instruction, Chin-Wen Chien

Journal of English Learner Education

Teachers need to undergo a mindset shift in language learning and teaching. This study used both qualitative and quantitative data to explore seven Taiwanese Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) teachers’ mindsets and led to the following major findings. First, the CLIL teachers had a stronger mindset regarding their instructional strategies, lesson preparations, and efficacy, compared to their more moderate mindset regarding their CLIL training and preparation. Secondly, the CLIL teachers had a different mindset regarding language use in their CLIL instruction due to their learners’ English proficiency levels. Finally, their lesson designs were lacking a 4Cs culture. Based on …

Digital Stories Of Resilience: A Case Study Of Urban Community College English Learners, Patricia George Hunter

Journal of English Learner Education

This study utilizes a qualitative case study approach to learn how project-based, digital storytelling (DST) voices the resilience of post-secondary English language learners (ELLs) attending a minority-serving, open-access, community college in New York City. Along with many studies that have examined the usefulness of DST in oral production, this research investigates whether project-based digital storytelling enhances students’ understanding of academic content related to resilience and conventional composition. Narrative inquiry (NI) research technique is the basis of the digital story project in an English as a Second Language (ESL) course. In this case, the study relies on observations and artifacts to …

Now I See: Video Supports For English Language Learners, Joanna C. Zimmerle, Hanrui He, Tara Hill

Journal of English Learner Education

General education teachers are often unprepared by teacher preparation programs and limited professional development opportunities to support English Language Learners (ELLs), despite the increasing number of ELLs entering US schools and the trend towards placing them in mainstream classrooms. Video resources offer one viable approach to supporting the language learning of ELLs, drawing upon theoretical frameworks such as dual-coding, constructivist theory, and sociocultural perspectives. This paper describes the use of video resources to assist general education teachers in effectively leveraging videos to support the language learning of ELLs in mainstream classrooms.

The Shifting The Balance Duology: A Book Critique From A Teacher Education Perspective, David Wolff

Essays in Education

Reading instruction has become a critical focus in many states in the country. Both in-service and pre-service teachers are adopting innovative approaches in reading instruction embedded in the Science of Reading. However, the transition to these new methods require a shift in practice that should be differentiated for both groups. In-service teachers have a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw upon, while pre-service teachers because of the lack of prior knowledge of past practices in literacy that include the Balanced Literacy approach. This book critique examines the Shifted the Balance duology, offering insights to its implications to Teacher Education.

Designing A Curriculum And Learning Program For The Creative Industry’S Challenge And Workforce Development, Mochamad Nasrul Chotib, Herditya Wahyu Widodo, Kukuh Prayitno Subagyo, Ahmad Heki Sujiatmoko, Nurenzia Yannuar, Adham Adyatma, Gizka Namira Q. Z., Indira Rizqita Waradani, Juanita Maharani P.

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

This article discusses the importance of developing a learning track to respond to the demands of the creative market industry in the community, particularly with regard to journalism and related content creation. The study is based on a collaborative workshop conducted with practitioners from the Indonesian platform Kapanlagi Youniverse. The results of this preliminary study indicate that designing a curriculum and learning program that aligns with current industry practices is essential for preparing the journalism and creative content workforce. Collaborating with industry practitioners is crucial to competing in the rapidly evolving creative industry. The findings also suggest that incorporating subjects …

Tweeting Over Time: Twitter/X For Communication, Assessment, And Growth In Middle Level Teacher Education, Toni M. Williams

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

This article shares how preservice Middle Level teacher candidates used social media, specifically Twitter/X as both a resource and a tool and how that tool became important in assessing student growth and knowledge building which, in turn, informed instructional planning for the teacher education classroom. This is paramount for teacher educators and the future educators they teach, as they are preparing to create a variety of engagements for learning in teacher education programs and in middle level classrooms. Creating an online community is a means in which all preservice teachers can use their voices while at the same time having …

“That’S Plagiarism!”: The ‘Filmed Vs. Found Footage’ Continuum In A Pedagogical Video Composition Teacher Professional Development Program, Nathan Smith Jones

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This paper describes a qualitative case study conducted in the Intermountain Western United States during the Fall of 2020. Though a few years old, the study remains relevant due to its esoteric subject within research on media production professional development education. Study’s purpose was to explore the processes and participants of an independent, pedagogical video composition (PVC––a.k.a. educational filmmaking) teacher professional development (PD) program. The primary sources of data were interviews of staff of the PD program and teacher graduates of the PD program. This paper focuses on a conclusion from the study: an alarming discrepancy between the attitudes of …

Full Issue - Excelsior, V17-1

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

Playful Learning In Higher Education To Inspire Playful Learning In P-12 Classrooms, Norline Wild

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

Playful learning has immense potential and relevance across all educational levels, from early childhood to university settings. However, play is often dismissed as an activity reserved only for young children and is ignored in higher education The purpose of this practitioner article is to share instructional strategies and insights in order to demonstrate the immense potential of play at the university level. The goal is not only to inspire teacher educators to be critical thinkers and to creatively interweave playful learning into their pedagogy but to provide concrete examples through modeling of how this can be done. Initially, a dedicated …

Invent A Kid Project: Fostering Creative Reflective Practice In Teacher Candidates, Karen Poland, Mary Ellen Bardsley, Paul Vermette

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

A primary goal of teacher education programs is to equip teacher candidates with the necessary skills to navigate the social and cultural realities and complexities of the classroom while seamlessly integrating theory and practice. As our classrooms become more socially, economically, and culturally diverse it is important for teachers to evolve into developmentally and culturally responsive individuals who can incorporate a variety of teaching strategies to meet the unique needs of each student. However, novice teachers often face challenges in meeting the individual needs of students due to their lack of experience, classroom management challenges, time constraints, the complexity of …

Front Matter And Letters From President And Editors

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

There Is Real Life Here: Centering The Body In Teaching And Learning, Ryan Ambuter

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

Bodies have everything to do with teaching and learning, yet are often overlooked or diminished as sites of meaning-making in educational contexts. The goal of this article is to foreground the body in teaching and learning, and identify the transformative potential that embodied pedagogy opens up. Rooted in intersectional critical theory and frameworks, this article explores the importance of centering bodies in education, contextualizes the invisibility and silencing of bodies in education historically and today, and identifies the possibilities that a focus on bodies in education can offer. Action steps that teachers and teacher educators can apply to their practice …

Translanguaging In Middle Level Education, Helen Brandon, Ellis Hurd

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

This case study explores the experiences of two teacher candidates (TCs) in professional development school (PDS) settings with multilingual learners. While valuing multilingual learner’s diverse linguistic backgrounds and language repertoires by drawing from a toolkit of responsive practices, the TCs embraced but struggled with layering translanguaging into their classroom practices. It also examines the middle grades program that these TCs attended while centering asset-based thinking and culturally responsive practices. Overall, this study shows that teacher education programs must include another critical layer to TCs’ experiences: building the toolkit of middle school cooperating teachers (CTs). This study also serves as a …

Teaching Sociology Through Reality Tv: Understanding Society Through The Small Screen, Monica Bixby Radu

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this introduction here.

This article explores reality TV’s value in teaching sociological concepts and theories for a better understanding contemporary society. Reality TV serves as a rich canvas for illustrating key tenets of major sociological theories such as structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. By analyzing reality TV through a sociological lens, insights into societal dynamics emerge, revealing how individuals navigate social norms. Additionally, reality TV serves as a cultural mirror, reflecting and shaping societal values. Globally, it influences cultural attitudes and social dynamics, transcending geographical boundaries through adaptations and social media engagement. …

Enhanced Instructional And Professional Growth Through A Pragmatic Instructional Approach, Joanna C. Weaver, Gabriel T. Matney, Chloe Beeker, Alex Zalar

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this introduction here.

Finding a pragmatic process across university programs and disciplines that has the potential to strengthen programs and instruction has promise for adoption because of the possible impact and benefits. Jigsaw Lesson Study (JLS) has that potential and could be expanded into not only a teacher-education classroom but also into any discipline across a university campus. JLS offers opportunities for student engagement and professional development. Here, we used the JLS process, modified from Lesson Study (LS), to strengthen instructional decision-making, lesson planning, and student learning in a teacher-education course. We sought to …

Fall 2024 Introduction, Nichelle Frank

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version of this introduction here.

An introduction to the Fall 2024 issue of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence.

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 8, Issue 2, Fall 2024

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full-length Spring 2024 issue (Volume 8, Issue 1) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

Access the online Pressbooks version (with downloadable EPUB format) here.

The Fall 2024 issue presents practical ideas and prompts for those who teach at colleges and universities in a variety of disciplines. Articles ways to use popular culture (in this case, reality TV) to teach higher-level concepts; strategies for adapting Lesson Study techniques for preservice teachers; and a review of McNair et al.'s 2022 book on creating student ready colleges.

Embodied Cognition And Teaching Stem: Tenets To Explain And Enhance A Middle School Science Project, Jonathan E. Roberts, Joshua L. Williams, Robert A. Hodgdon, Caroline Payne, Gabriela Ruiz Emmanuelli

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

STEM pedagogy is a popular area for research and discussion. The empirical literature on this topic supports a variety of approaches (e.g., inquiry-based) to help instructors spark student interest create an effective learning environment, and foster long-term retention and transfer of information related to STEM topics. One potential approach is to use tenets of embodied cognition, in which behavior and cognition emerge out of real-time sensorimotor behavior of the individual situated within a particular context, to implement strategies to enhance STEM pedagogy. We applied the six lessons of embodied cognition to understand the beneficial aspects of a middle-school project on …

Implementing Evidence-Based Curricula And Professional Development To Improve Student Reading, Madeline Lukan

Graduate Teacher Education

This paper examined research on equitable reading curricula and reading professional development to improve students in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade reading scores and levels taken from NAEP. The research analyzed were qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods. These research studies shared school interventions, reading data points, curricula being analyzed, phonemic awareness importance, and The Science of Reading implementation. The curricula, professional development, and evidence-based instruction work together to increase student phonemic awareness and reading abilities for all students on an equitable level. The three themes within the paper are phonemic awareness, professional development, curriculum and standards. The research suggested the importance …

Keep It Real! Introducing A Four-Part Framework For Real-World Math Teaching In The Secondary Classroom, Patrick Mcguire

Colorado Mathematics Teacher

Drawing upon research-based best practices and previous literature, this article introduces a four-part “REAL” framework (Relevance, Equity, Application, and Leveraging Technology) to help secondary math teachers integrate real-world activities in their classrooms. The article provides an example of a REAL-world activity, “The 8^th Billion Baby” (Yummy Math; https://yummymath.com/post/the-8th-billion-baby/) further demonstrating how secondary mathematics teachers can move from theory to practice. The article concludes with a curated list of recommended resources designed to support real-world teaching and learning in secondary mathematics classrooms.

Using Geogebra To Foster Imagination And Creativity To Build Mathematics Confidence In A Stem World, Joseph M. Furner

Transformations

Math teachers can better prepare all student for a STEM world using computer software like GeoGebra to better prepare our youth for such high-tech careers like that of which Einstein was part of while also emphasizing and fostering creativity in the learning of mathematics. It is critical we have young learners who are confident in their ability to do math and be creative. Teachers today need to check dispositions toward mathematics and address math anxiety while building math confidence in their students. In an ever-advancing world of technology, math teachers need to incorporate such emerging technologies like GeoGebra into the …

Rachel’S Saga: Using Adolescent Literature In The Mathematics Classroom As A Form Of Bibliotherapy To Help Students Overcome Math Apprehension, Joseph M. Furner

Transformations

Math anxiety is prevalent and an understanding of mathematics is critical in an increasingly technological/STEM society, teachers must play a role in reducing the levels of math anxiety of learners. More recently, children's and adolescent literature has been recognized now as a means to teaching mathematics to students through the use of stories to make the math concepts relevant and meaningful. Literature may be used as a therapy to reach students who may be frustrated with math and/or who experience math anxiety. Story and picture books such as Math Curse (Scieszka & Smith, 1995) and A Gebra Named Al (Isdell, …

A Historical Review Of Course Requirements In Agricultural Mechanics For Agricultural Education, Teacher Education Undergraduates At Nine 1862 Land-Grant Universities, Kristopher R. L. Rankin Iii, M. Craig Edwards

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

Preparing pre-service students to teach agricultural mechanics is a difficult task due to the career pathway including a great variety of topics (Byrd et al., 2015). This study examined the trend in requirements in 1862 land-grant universities for number of courses, course credit hours, and course topics related to agricultural mechanics, as well as the total credit hours needed for degree completion in agricultural education, teacher education. Overall, the universities examined had lessened the total course credit hours related to agricultural mechanics courses from 8.33 to 11.83 credit hour requirements in 1980, to a range of 6.67 to 8.33 credit …