Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Educational Histories Of Newcomer Immigrant Youth: From Countries Of Origin To The United States, Joanna Yip

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation details the educational histories and linguistic portraits of newcomer immigrant youth in their countries of origin, and provided accounts of their academic trajectories after arrival in the United States. The data provide evidence of poor quality instruction, particularly in literacy, and educational environments in low-income sending countries. The study shows that prior schooling experiences in the country of origin have an impact on school readiness, the degree to which immigrant youth are prepared for education in secondary classrooms in the U.S. The dissertation also provides an analysis of how pre-migration education interacts with educational performance after immigration, leading …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Character Building Initiatives At An Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound High School, Adeola A. Alexander

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation uses as its conceptual foundation the research on teacher beliefs to examine how teachers at an Expeditionary Learning School in Brooklyn, New York perceive the character building initiatives at their school. Using thematic case study methodology, the study found that teachers believed that character education is important and should be taught. Not only should character education be taught in schools, but the teachers believed that schools should be intentional about the teaching and development of student character. Teachers also believed that teachers are capable and should be allowed to spearhead the school initiatives intended to develop character. According …

Perceptions Of Fidelity And Adaptation In Evidence-Informed Interventions By Women Of Color Sexuality Health Educators, Sara C. Flowers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sexuality health educators (SHEs) adapt interventions to the participants’ needs in the dissemination and implementation of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programming. However, there is a lack of understanding of how, why and when SHEs make such adaptations. Success or failure of the transfer of prevention technology to practitioners occurs by determining community capacities and preparedness to adopt/adapt high-impact interventions to effectively manage implementation. Experts argue for evidence-informed interventions (EII), as opposed to evidence-based interventions (EBI), as the best way to incorporate research in applied settings. EBIs are solely guided by recommendations from current evidence, whereas EIIs recognize and incorporate the …

Thiscollegestory.Com: How Interactive Writing Media Influenced The Way First-Year Students Made Sense Of Their College Transition, Philip Kreniske

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Drawing on insights from Bakhtin (1986) that demonstrated the significance of writing as an interaction, and building on recent developments in narrative analysis that offer insights into narrator’s sense making processes (Daiute, 2014; Lucic, 2013); this research explores how freshmen in an educational opportunity program used interactive writing media to make sense of their transition to college. The exploration involved three main questions and each question concerns students’ development over time:

• First, did college students’ writing in two different media (blogs and word-processed text) differ and did these differences change over time?
• Second, how did the narrators and audience interact …

Effective Integration Of Nasa Stem Curricula Is Allowing Students To Appreciate Earth Science Concepts, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Krishna Mahabir, Newrence Wills, Matthew Khargie

Publications and Research

NASA Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Aerospace Academy - MAA is a national, innovative activity designed to increase participation and retention of historically underserved and underrepresented K-12 youth in the STEM disciplines, particularly earth science and human exploration (HEO). HEO is dedicated to informing and educating the public about NASA's plans for a new era in space exploration. Utilization of NASA satellite images, online climate education, space mathematics and other earth science-related resources is allowing students to conduct basic research and prepare themselves for a New York City-wide science competition. In addition to offering school children a solid …

Principles And Practices Fostering Inclusive Excellence: Lessons From The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’S Capstone Institutions, Patricia Marten Dibartolo, Leslie Gregg-Jolly, Deborah Gross, Cathryn A. Manduca, Ellen Iverson, David B. Cooke Iii, Gregory K. Davis, Cameron Davidson, Paul E. Hertz, Lisa Hibbard, Shubha K. Ireland, Catherine Mader, Aditi Pai, Shirley Raps, Kathleen Siwicki, Jim E. Swartz

Publications and Research

Best-practices pedagogy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) aims for inclusive excellence that fosters student persistence. This paper describes principles of inclusivity across 11 primarily undergraduate institutions designated as Capstone Awardees in Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) 2012 competition. The Capstones represent a range of institutional missions, student profiles, and geographical locations. Each successfully directed activities toward persistence of STEM students, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups, through a set of common elements: mentoring programs to build community; research experiences to strengthen scientific skill/ identity; attention to quantitative skills; and outreach/bridge programs to broaden the student pool. This paper …

Sharing Your Student’S Research With Voicethread, Curtis Izen

Publications and Research

One of the ways of sharing your student's individual research with the entire class is using VoiceThread. This provides all students the ability to learn about everyone's work. This eliminates the barrier between the student and instructor.

Effects Of Two Prereading Activities On Comprehending Science Text: Reading Abridged Text And Learning Vocabulary Words, Audrey J. Fowler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study examined the effects of two prereading activities designed to improve fifth-grade students’ vocabulary learning and comprehension of science textbook content containing those words. Ninety-three fifth grade students participated in this study. The prereading activities consisted of students reading an abridged version of the text or receiving instruction on vocabulary words drawn from the text before reading the full text once. Students receiving these treatments were compared to a control condition in which students reread the full text passage twice but did not receive any prereading treatment. Students were grouped by reading ability levels into above average, average, …

Excavating Eportfolios: What Student-Driven Data Reveals About Multimodal Composition And Instruction, Amanda M. Licastro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The pedagogical practice of asking students to compose in open, online spaces has grown rapidly in recent years along with an increase in institutional and financial support. In fact, in July 2013, the Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL) announced the “coming of age” of ePortfolios as the percentage of higher education students using ePortfolios rose above the 50% mark in the U.S. (“About”). There are a host of constituent assertions that support the use of open online writing platforms in college-level courses. These claims include that writing publically cultivates digital literacy through broader audience awareness, facilitates interactivity …

What Factors Influence Urban School Leaders Arts Programming Decisions, Jennifer Katona

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

For some urban school leaders Arts Education is the most essential part of the students’ experience and to others it is something that can be easily taught in one afternoon a week. It is either a means of self-­‐expression or merely something fun for the kids. Where do these perspectives take shape and what role and impact does the school leaders’ belief have on the decisions surrounding offering an arts education in their school building? This study explores current research on the importance of an arts education as it pertains to its intrinsic and extrinsic value of the arts to …

The Remedy That's Killing: Cuny, Laguardia, And The Fight For Better Math Policy, Rachel A. Oppenheimer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Nationwide, there is a crisis in math learning and math achievement at all levels of education. Upwards of 80% of students who enter the City University of New York’s community colleges from New York City’s Department of Education high schools fail to meet college level math proficiencies and as a result, are funneled into the system’s remedial math system. Once placed into pre-college remedial arithmetic, pre-algebra, and elementary algebra courses, students fail at alarming rates and research indicates that students’ failure in remedial math has negative ripple effects on their persistence and degree completion. CUNY is not alone in facing …

Hostos Online Learning Assessment: A Survey Of Student Perceptions, Kate Wolfe, Sarah Hoiland, Kate Lyons, Carlos Guevara, Kristopher B. Burrell, Jacki Disanto, Sandy Figueroa, Aaron Davis, Iber Poma, Wilfredo Rodriguez, Linda L. Ridley

Publications and Research

The Office of Education Technology (EdTech) at Hostos Community College and faculty members from various departments created the Hostos Online Learning Assessment (HOLA) Task Force to design a survey for gathering and assessing data about students’ perceptions of their online learning experiences. The task force wanted to utilize the survey results to identify strengths and weaknesses in online instruction and student preparedness for the online learning environment. Student perceptions of online learning are integral to building upon current best practices and also gauging the preparedness of the students for the online learning environment, particularly in an urban, Hispanic-serving community college. …

Transformation From Text To Voicethreads And Not Looking Back, Curtis Izen

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Testing Create At Community Colleges: An Examination Of Faculty Perspectives And Diverse Student Gains, Kristy L. Kenyon, Morgan E. Onorato, Alan J. Gottesman, Jamila Hoque, Sally G. Hoskins

Publications and Research

CREATE (Consider, Read, Elucidate the hypotheses, Analyze and interpret the data, and Think of the next Experiment) is an innovative pedagogy for teaching science through the intensive analysis of scientific literature. Initiated at the City College of New York, a minority-serving institution, and regionally expanded in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area, this methodology has had multiple positive impacts on faculty and students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses. To determine whether the CREATE strategy is effective at the community college (2-yr) level, we prepared 2-yr faculty to use CREATE methodologies and investigated CREATE implementation at community colleges in seven …

Cogenerative Dialogue: Developing Biology Learning Accommodations For Students With Disabilities, Edward Lehner

Publications and Research

A prominent challenge, at times under-addressed in the science education literature, is considering what types of learning accommodations science teachers should employ for students with disabilities. Outside of science education, researchers have consistently outlined how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is one efficient means by which to engage students with disabilities in the curriculum. This paper presents the results of a research study in which teachers employed cogenerative dialogue as a learning space where UDL was used to differentiate and individualize instruction in an inclusive biology class. The data originated from a larger, ongoing, longitudinal ethnography of science learning in …

Spectators Or Patriots? Citizens In The Information Age, Amrita Dhawan

Publications and Research

In theory, a strong democracy rests on robust citizen participation. The practice in most democracies is quite different. This gap presents a challenge, which can be narrowed by augmenting civic education to bring it up to date with the current information environment and thus give citizens the opportunity to participate. Robert Dahl’s work on democracy provides a model that looks at this problem structurally. He writes about the ideals and the actual institutions necessary for a democracy and if we situate his model in the modern information environment we get a better idea of how to improve civic education. Successful …

Imagining A "Poethical" Classroom, Erica Kaufman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation begins at the crossroads of three fields—creative writing, contemporary poetics, and composition studies—and attempts to unite what is normally kept separate: the teaching of freshman composition and contemporary poetry. It is rooted, then, in the following anomalies: few students (unless they are English majors) encounter contemporary poetry; and few living poets (who often earn their livings as adjuncts, teaching composition) ever engage in a conversation about composition pedagogy. Fewer still teach the kind of poetry they write. Through a qualitative study of student writing in composition courses, this project investigates how encouraging students to engage with this form …

Studies In The Creation And Implementation Of School Cultures: Two New York City Stand-Alone Charter Schools, Olivia-Beate A. Franzini

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the last thirty years the United States has seen a rise in charter school education and with that an influx of discussion over the best way to successfully educate college and career ready students. Many of these charter schools have their own unique philosophy on education and disciplinary codes to aid in the attainment of their success. The following case studies were conducted through participant observation in two start-up charter schools. At the time of study both institutions were in their second year of creation. These schools have opposing philosophies on education; the first School “A” is an independent …

Towards Collaboration Between Lawyers And Social Workers: A Content Analysis Of Joint Degree Programs, Ifem E. Orji

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Collaboration is a central issue in the interdisciplinary education of social work and law students. Joint JD/MSW degrees have the potential to promote collaboration between practitioners of law and social work in areas where their practices converge. The 1969 recommendations by the National Conference of Lawyers and Social Workers (NCLSW) to establish these joint degree programs assumed that collaborative learning would occur within them. However, prior research has not investigated whether or not this occurs. The purpose of this dissertation was to determine whether evidence of the intent to promote collaboration was present in written materials associated with joint degree …

Filología Reflexiva: Hacia Una Pedagogía “Evaluadora”. Reflexión Y Evaluación Del Campo Filológico Español (1936-1968), Jose Antonio Losada Montero

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This doctoral thesis offers an original and valuable contribution to the study of the genealogy of the literary canon between 1939 and 1968. During Francisco Franco´s dictatorship, Spanish Universities underwent a series of important changes in its academic and management configuration and in the way Spanish elites envisioned Higher Education inside the regime. This research focuses in the role that Spanish scholars, inside Hispanic and Modern Language Departments, played in this renegotiation of a new and crucial sociopolitical mission for College Education. By focusing on the period between 1939 and 1968, a moment of sociopolitical instability and conservative literary and …

Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Instruction In An Rti Framework: Supporting Emergent Bilinguals In The Secondary Classroom, Lisa Auslander

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation investigates the impact of teacher team collaboration and planning around culturally and linguistically responsive instruction for emergent bilingual students in a secondary school setting supported by a targeted intervention system. To provide a context for the importance of this study, the dissertation begins by 1) including observations of both academic teacher team and guidance collaboration to understand the strategies used to plan instruction and guidance interventions for students drawing on existing research around professional learning communities and guidance structures; and 2) use of an existing observation protocol and frameworks to identify key practices and characteristics of culturally and …

Multiple Problem-Solving Strategies Provide Insight Into Students’ Understanding Of Open-Ended Linear Programming Problems, Marla A. Sole

Publications and Research

Open-ended questions that can be solved using different strategies help students learn and integrate content, and provide teachers with greater insights into students’ unique capabilities and levels of understanding. This article provides a problem that was modified to allow for multiple approaches. Students tended to employ high-powered, complex, familiar solution strategies rather than simpler, more intuitive strategies, which suggests that students might need more experience working with informal solution methods. During the semester, by incorporating open-ended questions, I gained valuable feedback, was able to better model real-world problems, challenge students with different abilities, and strengthen students’ problem solving skills.

Teaching Evolution: Blog As A Liminal Space, Shylaja Akkaraju, Alexander Wolf

Publications and Research

A threshold concept is a challenging concept that acts as a doorway leading to deeper understanding and a dramatic shift in perception. A learner that is in- volved in grasping a threshold concept is said to be undergoing a threshold expe- rience within a liminal space or learning environment. We used the blog as a lim- inal space for our students to engage with the theory of evolution, which is a threshold concept. In order to teach evolution effectively it is necessary to address both understanding and acceptance of evolutionary theory. To explore the latter in an introductory biology course, …

Using Voicethread As An Ice Breaker Assignment, Curtis Izen

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Moving Students To The Center Through Collaborative Documents In The Classroom, Maura A. Smale, Stephen Francoeur

Publications and Research

Collaborative document creation allows groups of people to create and edit text in a shared space, and educators across all subject areas have embraced these tools in their classes. Library instructors are no exception—the authors have used collaborative documents with students in multiple instructional settings. We believe that collaborative documents can embody critical pedagogy in the library classroom. Creating and editing collaborative documents can acknowledge students’ prior experiences with research and the library and de-center the library instructor as the sole research expert in the room.

In Search Of A Grand Narrative: The Turbulent History Of Teaching, Judith R. Kafka

Publications and Research

For this review of research on the history of teaching, I use the instructional triangle as an organizing tool and frame of analysis to explore what we know about who taught, who was taught, and what was taught across space and time.

In the first section of this chapter I review historical research on who taught in American classrooms. One overwhelming theme throughout this literature is that policy makers, school leaders, and the general public have historically cared a great deal about who a teacher was, often basing their preferences on the belief that a teacher’s social characteristics would shape …

Supporting Teachers’ Learning About Mathematical Modeling, June L. Gastón, Barbara A. Lawrence

Publications and Research

In the United States, one of the Standards for Mathematical Practice of the Common Core Curriculum (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010) is Model with mathematics. This standard requires that students be taught in a manner that will enable them to ―apply the mathematics they know to solve problems arising in everyday life, society, and the workplace‖ (p. 7). However many prospective and practicing teachers acquire a pedagogical style that does not support this standard. To promote higher levels of student thinking associated with mathematical modeling, teachers must thus be taught not only what mathematical modeling is, but how it …

School Leadership Along The Trajectory From Monolingual To Multilingual, Laura Ascenzi-Moreno, Sarah Hesson, Kate Menken

Publications and Research

This article explores the critical role of school leaders in language policy change, and specifically in shifting their language education policies and practices from monolingual to multilingual. We examine the process of language policy change in three schools that were involved in a project aimed at increasing the knowledge base of school leaders about bilingualism and language learning, and which required that participating schools use bilingualism as a resource in instruction and cultivate a school-wide ecology of multilingualism. The project encouraged translanguaging pedagogical strategies that engage the entire linguistic repertoire of emergent bilinguals flexibly. Our findings demonstrate that the school …

Beating The Odds: Teaching Italian Online In The Community College Environment, Giulia Guarnieri

Publications and Research

This study analyzes data collected from Italian language online classes during the course of four consecutive semesters at Bronx Community College in order to measure the impact that distance learning has on students’ retention and success rates in elementary courses. The results reveal that reconfiguring the online meetings to a lower percentage and implementing social pedagogies reduce course abandonment and favor the creation of strong learning communities. Furthermore, the data relative to the grade distribution shows no substantial difference between online courses and face-to-face instruction.

The Role Mentorship In Supporting African-American Students’ Entry Into Stem Careers, Charles Edwards, Kaemanje Thomas

Publications and Research

African-American students are under-represented in STEM careers. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported in 2009 that African-American students received 7% of STEM bachelor’s degrees, 4% of master’s degrees and 2% of Ph.Ds. Mentorship programs are identified as one strategy of improving African-American students’ outcomes in STEM careers. The researchers reviewed articles which examine strategies to improve STEM academic and career success. This review focused on exploring the role of mentorship programs in addressing the underrepresentation of African-American students in STEM careers. Despite references to the role of mentorship, the literature reviewed lacked a structured approach for the design …