Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

The Drive To Advise: A Study Of Law Students At A Pro Bono Brief Advice Project, Linda F. Smith

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming.

Instructional Coaching And Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices, Hillary J. Gingerich

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This classroom action research project compares the impact of instructional coaching with the focus on effective mathematics teaching strategies as outlined by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in the text Principles to Action. Two 3rd grade classrooms were studied with one being a control classroom and the other whose teacher enrolled in a 6-week coaching cycle focusing on student centered goals around two effective mathematics teaching practices. Those effective mathematics teaching practices are posing purposeful questions and facilitating meaningful mathematics discourse. A pretest and posttest from FastBridge’s MCAP was used to determine the growth over the 6-week study …

Structured And Unstructured Movement In Elementary School Classrooms: Effects On Student Performance, Savannah E. Watson

Honors Theses

Research has shown the benefits of movement for adults and children alike. Not only are there physical benefits to movement, including physical fitness and health, there are also mental benefits. In this study, the researchers sought to discover how movement impacts student performance on exit slips and assessments given during a unit of instruction.

2020 Ijbe Front Matter

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. Letter from International President
3. SIEC-ISBE International

Fostering Creative Thinking Skills In Young Children Using Design Thinking Challenges, Tom R. Gannon

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

For this master’s project I developed a set of resources (guidebook, videos, and presentation deck) which provide child development professionals with a framework and set of skills to facilitate design thinking challenges (open-ended problem-solving activities based on design thinking’s phases of: creating empathy, problem identification, ideation, prototyping, and idea testing) with preschool age children. The centerpiece of the project is the guide book titled Save the Gingerbread Man: Understanding & Supporting Creative Thinking Skills in Preschoolers. The videos are interviews with preschool age children in a series called From the Experts. The presentation deck incorporates can include the …

Service Learning And The Experiential Learning Cycle In Elementary School, Brittney D. Rose

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

There has been an increase in interest in service learning in the past decade (Kuh et al., 2017). However, there has been less attention given to service learning in elementary school, particularly to service learning that does not focus on academic outcomes for the students (Scott & Graham, 2015). This qualitative instrumental case study utilized focus groups with fifth grade students, interviews with educators, education specialists and a nonprofit representative, and observational notes to explore students’ and educators’ experiences as they participated in a service learning project in conjunction with a nonprofit organization. Findings indicate that specific collaborative practices, such …

The Cultural Relevance Of Music Education As It Relates To African American Students In South Carolina, Felicia Denise Denise Myers Bulgozdy

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, Critical Race Theory is used to examine the current curriculum that preservice music teachers are taught, and are consequently teaching K-12 students, in an effort to illustrate the need for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. Documents such as the S.C. All-State Choral rubric, as well as a list of required courses for future music educators at a local university, are studied to show the overwhelming European influence on the curriculum that is being taught in music classes daily across the state, and demonstrate the lack of cultural relevance to the African American students in those classes. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy …

Swept Away Before Learning To Swim: Social Studies Subject Area Literacy For High School Students, Aaron K. Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

History education provides a valuable asset in the education of youth from the integration of disciplines to the opportunity to stimulate higher order thinking in high school students. However, little research before the 1990’s had been done to improve the century old pedagogy of presentation and memorization. This study looked at the historical thinking skills of sourcing, contextualization and corroboration, presented in Sam Wineburg’s (1991b) research comparing high school students with professional historians. This mixed methods study explored the impact of focused instruction in high school social studies classrooms using the three historical thinking skills to determine the effectiveness …

“How Did You Get Here?”: Using Counter-Narratives And Critical Race Theory To Explore The Placement Experiences Of Black Males In Self-Contained Special Education Settings, Xandria Renata Sutton

Theses and Dissertations

The special education system in the United States is disproportionately overrepresented by Black males. This is increasingly true for high-incidence disability types, such as emotional/behavioral disorders and specific learning disabilities. It also rings true that those same disability types are those that are most often placed in restrictive special education settings such as the self-contained classroom. Based on research, students placed in restrictive settings often have limited educational opportunities and poorer lifelong outcomes (Rueter, 2011). It is for those reasons that it is important that we examine the reasons for the decades long continuation of the overrepresentation of Black males …

The Impact Of Professional Development On Technology Integration: A Mixed-Methods Action Research Study Of Teachers New To Ocean County School District, Mary C. Rizzi

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods action research study was to evaluate the impact of a technology integration professional development program on teachers who were new to the Ocean County School District. This study was conducted at one middle school with teacher-participants (n = 4) from different grade levels and subject areas. All teacher-participants were new to the district but not new to teaching. Each participant had access to a laptop computer and an interactive white board. The school district was a one-to-one device district, so students, too, had their own laptops to use in the classroom.

Professional development was …

Task Focused In The Age Of Distraction: High School Avid Students Use Of Digital Learning Logs To Support Self-Regulated Learning In A One-To-One Chromebook Setting, Era Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to evaluate the impact of digital learning logs to support self-regulated learning (SRL) for high school students of average achievement who have individual access to digital connectivity within the classroom. Increased student access to and use of digital connectivity within school settings has resulted in access to high-interest material and off-task behavior. A small, rural, Southern high school provided each student a Chromebook. Additionally, this school implemented the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program to provide instruction for academic strategies to increase achievement. This setting was selected to provide SRL strategy support in …

I’Ll Never Have To Do This After High School: Exploring Students' Perceptions Of College And Career Readiness And The Effects Of Eportfolios With Reflection On Transferable Skills, Julie Beatrice Kristin

Theses and Dissertations

The ambition of this action research was to evaluate the impact of ePortfolios with a reflection on transferable skills on high school students' perceptions of college and career readiness concerning their high school ELA coursework. Nationwide, studies have revealed that high school students do not consider themselves college and career ready after high school. About 55% of high school students feel that high school is not preparing them for their futures. At the research site, an urban high school in northeastern Georgia, students often complained about their perceived disconnection between classwork and the value of these assignments beyond high school; …

Helping Future Teachers Do History: The Effectiveness Of The National Archives Docsteach Program On The Historical Thinking And Perception Of History Of Preservice Teachers, Jeremy Alan Rinder

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to evaluate the implementation of the National Archives DocsTeach program as a means of increasing the historical thinking of preservice teachers enrolled in a social studies methods course. In this study, six students enrolled in a social studies methods course at a regional southeastern university participated in a four-class long unit centered on the use of the National Archives DocsTeach program. The National Archives DocsTeach program is an immersive program that provides teachers with access to a national level repository of digitized primary sources and corresponding instructional resources (Chen, 2015; Ward, 2012). Prior …

Exploring The Experiences And Needs Of Faculty When Implementing Active Learning At A Public Southeastern Regional University: A Mixed-Methods Approach, Michael Lampe

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to identify participant experiences and needs of faculty when teaching in the active learning classrooms at a public regional southeastern university. This study aimed to determine what were the experiences of faculty members who have taught in the active learning classrooms, what were the experiences of students who have taken a course in the active learning classrooms, and what are the faculty development, classroom technology, and technical support needs of faculty members who have taught in such classrooms. With the five-year Federal grant cycle ending in 2019, the university needs to create a …

The Impact Of A District Supported Mentoring Initiative On Reading Achievement Of African American Male Students, Brooke Wray-Fisher Rowe

Theses and Dissertations

This action research seeks to examine the impact of a district supported mentoring program and its effect on the reading achievement of a group of African American male students. The participants received routine, sustained mentoring during a three-year period of time. All of the schools involved are Title I and within the same county.

The action research involved the collection of various forms of achievement data such as the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP®) assessment, Fountas and Pinnell benchmark assessment, and the South Carolina College- and Career- Ready assessment, specifically in the area of reading. These assessments allowed the researcher …

Strategies And Methods Used To Improve Engagement: Mixed Methods Action Research In An Online Computer Applications Course, Yvette Newton Sands

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research is to evaluate and examine the strategies and methods that were used to improve interactions and engagement of students enrolled in a computer applications course at a large university in the southeast part of the United States. A mixed methods research model that included both quantitative and qualitative measures was used. Quantitative data were collected from 162 students who participated in the course discussion boards and forums and from 124 students who took part in the Online Student Engagement survey (OSE). Qualitative data were derived from interviews with five student focus groups and from …

Motivating Critical Thinkers In Fourth Grade Science: Action Research Promoting 21st Century Skills Through Technology Integrated Project-Based Learning., Diane Lawson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to evaluate the integration of technology with project-based learning to determine its effect on critical thinking, science content knowledge, and motivation for science learning for fourth grade students. There is increased motivation for student-centered learning environments that engage students in critical thinking, motivating students to learn in active ways that relate to the real-world applications. Project-based learning is based in constructivist learning theory, where students construct knowledge through active learning strategies. This research explored three questions related to increasing science content knowledge, critical thinking skills and motivation to learn science content through the …

Increasing Relevance And Impact: Using Action Research With Middle Level Teachers’ Insights And Perceptions Of Technology Professional Development, Janet Dedmon

Theses and Dissertations

To move beyond technology use and realize the full benefits of technology integration, school districts need to provide effective technology professional development experiences. The purpose of this action research was to describe middle level teacher attitudes and perceptions regarding technology training and professional development in Woodcreek School District in order to recommend more effective technology professional development offerings. The research questions of this study focused on (1) the attitudes middle level teachers have toward technology professional development and (2) factors that may influence those attitudes. Going deeper into the influences on attitudes toward technology professional development, this study also explored …

Digital Distractions: Using Action Research To Explore Students’ Behaviors, Motivations, And Perceptions Of Cyberslacking In A Suburban High School, Kristy Self Rykard

Theses and Dissertations

Digital technology saturates the personal and educational lives of high school students who are accustomed to continuous connectivity; consequently, students are often distracted by technology in the classroom. When students use technology for non-class related activities during class time, this behavior is commonly known as cyberslacking. The purpose of this action research was to describe students’ understanding of cyberslacking and its academic and social effects in my English 3 Honors and Film Studies classes at Carraway High School. The research took place in the spring semester of 2019 with 59 students in Grades 10 through 12 who were enrolled in …

Digital Learning Environment Development: Action Research Using A Situated Coaching Model With Elementary Classroom Teachers Integrating Technology, Robert Burggraaf

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to evaluate the impact of a situated coaching model for participating teachers at an elementary school. This study focused on three research questions: (1) how do participants experience a situated coaching model for technology professional development? (2) how does a situated coaching model affect participants’ digital learning environment scores? and (3) how does a situated coaching model impact participants’ perception of barriers to implementing a digital learning environment?

This study situated a coach in an elementary school to work with four teachers over a six-week period in modeling, co-planning, co-teaching, and observing classroom …

I Want My Middle School Students To Read: Does Using Culturally Relevant Texts Increase Student-Participants’ Engagement Levels Toward Reading Particular Texts?, Elliott O. Chisholm

Theses and Dissertations

This Dissertation in Practice (DiP) employs an action research methodology to examine the use of the Lived Experience Text (LET) model in an English Language Arts (ELA) classroom in order to increase student-participants‘ overall engagement levels toward reading particular texts. The LET model that the teacher-researcher created is twofold, which consists of student-participants taking part in the selection of their text and the teacher-researcher‘s assessing student-participants to determine if using culturally relevant texts do in fact increase student-participants‘ overall engagement levels toward reading particular texts.

Teachers’ Needs And Preferences Vs. Administrators’ Perceptions: Recommendations For Educational Technology-Focused Professional Development Using Action Research In A Suburban High School, Lori Latham

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to identify and describe teachers’ needs and preferences and administrator perceptions of teachers’ needs and preferences for educational technology-focused professional development at a public southeastern high school in a suburban school district in order to make recommendations for future professional development. In our fast-paced, ever-changing digital landscape, professional development should emphasize the effective use of educational technology while also catering to goals and ability levels of educators. Teachers are tasked with instilling digital literacy skills with their students but need quality professional development to do so. This study focused on two research questions. …

The Equity And Engagement Challenges Of Teaching Reading In Middle School, Edmund T. Hamann, Stephanie Malone

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The point is to look at midlevel and high school students—those often encapsulated by the term ‘adolescent literacy’—and to ask what it is that makes those students less likely to engage in productive reading practice. That may at first look like a psychological question about motivation, which makes the challenge seem like it is something inside the student that needs attention or ‘fixing’. But the orientation here is instead more sociological. If we talk about instruction, in this case reading instruction, it is intrinsically interactive, between teacher and student most obviously, but also interactive between students and their peers (e.g. …

Ready Coder One: Action Research Exploring The Effects Of Collaborative Game Design-Based Learning On Gifted Fourth Graders' 21st Century Skills And Science Content Knowledge, Mary Kathleen O'Grady-Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to describe the impact of digital game building on fourth grade gifted and talented (GT) students’ growth in problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, and science content knowledge. Traditionally, gifted education has focused on acceleration of content, disconnected enrichment activities, and thinking skills practiced in isolation of real-world problems. Increasingly, there is a call to involve students in real world experiences through projects that explore real issues using technology in ways that could transform the field. The ability to create rather than consume technology has gained attention linking creativity and collaboration to using coding languages.

Data …

Exploring The Effects Of An Asynchronous Professional Development With The Samr Integration Model On High School Teachers’ Technology Integration In The Classroom: An Action Research Study, Taylor J. Bradley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to evaluate the effects of an asynchronous PD on teacher technology integration in the classroom as measured by the SAMR integration model. Teacher professional development is one of the most significant factors in student technology use in the classroom (Hall & Martin, 2008; Murthy, Iyer, & Warriem, 2015). Within a school day there are a number of requirements on teachers in addition to teaching their classes, such as attending parent conferences, department meetings, state mandated training, and many other initiatives that supersede teacher technology training (Garthwait & Weller, 2005). When provided with an …

Motivated Reasoning And Persuading Faculty Change In Teaching, Gary A. Smith

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Many faculty members demonstrate unwavering resistance to adopting research-based instructional strategies. This phenomenon commonly fits with motivated reasoning, whereby a person feels threatened by persuasion to change, leading to overtly defensive and sometimes disruptive behaviors and refusal. Changing away from established practices may challenge one’s self-identity and values as an effective teacher and triggers arguments intended to invalidate research-based alternatives. Faculty who are motivated to reject consensus best practices may impede the implementation of these practices across entire departments or institutions. Motivated reasoning and its underlying cognitive processes are explained by self-determination theory, which leads to predictions of faculty behaviors …

Motivations And Obstacles Influencing Faculty Engagement In Adopting Teaching Innovations, Wayne Jacobson, Renee Cole

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Significant progress has been made in understanding science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and ways it can be improved, but propagation of change remains a challenge. This study presents an analysis of STEM faculty responses to open-text survey questions that asked them to identify motivations and obstacles to making changes in their teaching. Responses reveal wide variability among faculty perceptions, conceptualizations of change, and understandings of evidence. These findings suggest reasons faculty are not uniformly receptive to calls for change and challenge educational developers and advocates of STEM education reform to be explicit about their own understandings of meaningful …

Investigating A Multiple Mentor Model In Research Training For Undergraduates Traditionally Underrepresented In Biomedical Sciences, Thomas E. Keller, Jennifer Lindwall

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Models of persistence and success in undergraduate research training emphasize the importance of engagement and integration across social, educational, research, and career settings. Students are likely to benefit from multiple sources of mentoring to meet their multidimensional needs for support across these domains. As part of a comprehensive training initiative for traditionally underrepresented students aspiring to careers in biomedical research, BUILD EXITO implemented a multiple mentoring model matching each undergraduate scholar with a research mentor, a faculty mentor, and a peer mentor. By design, each mentor has a different functional role. This study investigates whether the nature of support scholars …

Students At A Crossroads: Ta Development Across Pedagogical And Curricular Contexts, Cassandra Ann Book

English Theses & Dissertations

A longstanding question in rhetoric and composition has been how to best educate composition graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs). Although many assume that writing centers are useful spaces for TAs to practice pedagogy and learn about writing processes in preparation for classroom teaching, recent scholarship complicates the claim that transfer from writing centers and/or practicums into composition classrooms is straightforward. Moreover, no study fully considers how the role of the writing center and teaching writing in English MA programs intersects with students’ development as teachers, writers, and scholars. This project brings together several strands of scholarship—the transferability of writing center experience …

فاعلية الألعاب اللغوية في تنمية المفردات لدى طلبة الصف الرابع, Wafa Yousuf Al Momani

Theses

The Effectiveness of Linguistic Games in Vocabulary Development among Fourth Grade Students

The study aimed to identify the vocabulary included in the Arabic language course for the fourth-grade students in the UAE, and to measure the effectiveness of language games in the development of vocabulary in the fourth-grade students. The study was based on the quasi-experimental method, and the sample of the study consisted of (31) students of fourth grade in Al Ain city in the United Arab Emirates. This sample was divided into two groups: an experimental group (n=16 students), 9 males and 7 females, which were taught a …