Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Teacher Perception Of A Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (Cspap) And Its Effects On Student On-Task Behavior, Jason L. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to examine how a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) affects student on-task behavior, disciplinary referrals, as well as teachers’ perception of the CSPAP’s effect on student on-task behavior. Specifically, the impacts that doubling recess time and daily physical education (PE) at the study school site had on student on-task behavior was examined. Three research questions were examined, and each question contained sub-questions: 1) What is the school’s CSPAP? 2) What are the perceived effects of the CSPAP based on teachers’ perspectives? and 3) What are the instructional design elements of the …

Teacher Decision-Making In Guided Reading, Brittany Worthen

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

Guided reading provides teachers the opportunity to support students in literacy learning. When planning for and implementing this instructional approach, teachers are required to make various in-advance and in-the-moment decisions that involve responding to students’ instructional needs through adaptive teaching. Grounded in sociocultural and social constructivist theories, this study was designed to understand teacher decision-making within the context of guided reading instruction. Several questions were considered for this study: How do teachers make decisions about guided reading instruction? How do teachers make in-advance decisions about grouping, planning, and assessing? How do teachers make in-the-moment decisions about (a) feedback and support …

Entertainment-Education Behind The Scenes: Case Studies For Theory And Practice, Lauren B. Frank, Paul Falzone

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

This Open Access book tracks the latest trends in the theory, research, and practice of entertainment-education, the field of communication that incorporates social change messaging into entertaining media. Sometimes called edutainment, social impact television, narrative persuasion, or cultural strategy, this approach to social and behavior change communication offers new opportunities including transmedia and digital formats. However, making media can be a chaotic process. The realities of working in the field and the rigid structures of scholarly evaluation often act as barriers to honest accounts of entertainment-education practice. In this collection of essays, experienced practitioners offer unique insight into how entertainment-education …

Self-Advocacy For Postsecondary Students Who Use Mobility Aids, Erin Moore

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Students who use mobility aids add to the diversity of postsecondary institutions. They provide a unique and important lens on postsecondary campuses. When students who use mobility aids arrive on campus, they need to ensure they have access to classes, services, and resources on campus. Because of their varied needs and varied access from campus-to-campus, students who use mobility aids must advocate for themselves so their needs are met. This phenomenological study examined the role of self-advocacy for postsecondary students who use mobility aids.

Five postsecondary students who use wheelchairs were interviewed using a semi-structured interview process that asked questions …

“You Pulled The Chair From Right Under Me!”: How A Black Young Man Disappears From A High School Reading Class, Loukia K. Sarroub

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

Relational identities in the classroom shape teachers and their students as well as the researchers who study them for the long term. Researchers whose fieldwork is located at “home” simultaneously embody with research participants the past, present, and future interactions on a shared continuum of experience. The collaborative enterprise of fieldwork is relived, retold, remade, and it is always present.

In this chapter, the shared, embodied experience that infused the ethnographic space in situ transformed one’s understanding of young people, their teacher, and the researcher. The study was focused on better understanding students’ experiences with literacy in high school. Within …

Students’ Perceptions Of Faculty Social Presence In Online Gateway Classes, Michelle Whitley Turner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of postsecondary students taking online classes increased in the last 2 decades and grew substantially in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic. Online learning offers opportunities for postsecondary students who cannot or do not want to attend face-to-face classes but presents a challenge with some students feeling disconnected. Positive faculty social presence is a way to address this issue. The purpose of this basic descriptive, qualitative study was to explore the underresearched area of postsecondary students’ perceptions of faculty social presence in online gateway classes at a 4-year, private, nonprofit university in the U.S. Midwest focused on adult learners. …

Teachers’ Motivations To Use Data In Making Instructional Decisions, Theodore Scott Murray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student achievement levels on state standardized tests consistently declined at a high school in the Midwestern United States even after the district established the expectation that teachers use data-driven decision making to guide instruction. The school administration wanted to understand why teachers use data-driven decision making to guide instruction. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the reasons and motivations behind teachers’ use of data driven decision making (DDDM) to inform instruction in accordance with district expectations. This study was guided by self-determination theory which focuses on the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of individuals and the internal and …

Pandemic Pedagogy: A Zoom Teaching Experiment Using Cognitive Theory Of Multimedia Learning Principles Of Multimedia Design, Kevin C. Knoster

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct an experimental study exploring the applicability of multimedia principles of effective instructional design to Zoom teaching. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, educators across higher education were forced to rapidly transition from traditional face-to-face instruction to online teaching. One of the most common ways in which colleges and universities navigated this transition in the United States was via mass adoption of the video conferencing platform Zoom. However, best practices have not yet been identified to assist instructors inexperienced with online teaching in adapting to remote instruction via Zoom. This dissertation argued …

Effects Of Nonexamples On Concept Formation, Catherine Louise Williams

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Concept formation is affected by the examples and nonexamples provided during training, but the degree to which examples and nonexamples should differ is unknown. Two experiments compared concept formation when different kinds of nonexamples were used during training. Both experiments included a within-subject comparison of concept formation following three training conditions: a) nonexamples that were more similar to the examples, b) nonexamples that are less similar to the examples, and c) no nonexamples. Arbitrary concepts were trained in Experiment 1 and concepts akin to those that could be taught in a classroom were trained in Experiment 2. Before and after …

The Impacts Of An Entrepreneurial Course On Secondary Students' Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy And Entrepreneurial Intentions, Toi E. Hershman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There is considerable agreement that promoting entrepreneurship stimulates economic development and job creation, which helps maintain a country’s economic competitiveness. Entrepreneurship education is a key to increasing the likelihood of potential entrepreneurs. While substantial research has documented strategies for enhancing students' entrepreneurial mindset and building entrepreneurial skills in higher education, entrepreneurship is rarely incorporated into or studied in secondary education. This mixed-method study examined the impact of an online ten-lesson entrepreneurship course on secondary students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intentions. Students took a pre-survey that measured their entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intentions before the course and a post-survey upon completing the …

Fostering Music Performers In The 21st Century: A Contemporary Professional Perspective Toward A New Curricular Agenda For Graduate Study In Music, Andre Januario

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

What if the core curriculum for graduate students in music performance were designed to prepare students to succeed in the world of the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

This dissertation offers a hypothetical answer: a structured and systematic academic curricular framework for music graduate students of performance of concert music (especially those in terminal degrees, such as doctoral students), along with music instructors, professional music performers, school administrators, and college professors, seeking to prepare such students for achieving and maintaining a music career more in keeping with the current work environment, especially those skills demanded by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the …

After The Protests: A Campus Racial Climate Case Study Of The Perception And Curricular Responses For Institutional Reforms, Following The Black Students’ Demands For Interventions At The University Of Missouri-Columbia, Bruce E. Mitchell Ii

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This qualitative method single case study explores the phenomenon of a racially tense campus climate at the University of Missouri Columbia, a Predominantly White Midwestern Institution. At the forefront of the media regarding student and athlete protests, leading to the resignation of senior level administrators, African American students put forth eight demands to their administrators. Included, was the creation and implementation of a required racial awareness and inclusion curriculum. The study explores the perceptions of the institutional response to an exceptional campus racial climate issue and the process of formulating and participating in a diversity training course and a semester …

Examining Changes In Learning And Engagement Of Higher Education Students In A Fully Online Flipped Learning Distance Education Classroom, James David Riel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The challenge of implementing effective online distance education courses for academics and institutions is a centuries-old task. We can look across early developments in the 18^th century with the creation and delivery of correspondence courses; into the 20^th century with teaching and learning across analog methods such as audio and video; and now in the current era of digitized mechanisms that enable the online classroom. This includes advances in internet technologies and computing abilities that are the empowering the backbone processes, bridging connectivity between the student and the instructor. As society has trended toward massive increases in online …

More Than One Story: A Bioecological Model Of Elementary Educators’ Perceptions And Representations Of Diversity, Angela Curfman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Classroom teachers have long employed children’s literature in the classroom. Exposure to children’s literature offers a plethora of gains and benefits. Through the usage of children’s literature, critical thinking skills are fostered and factual information is obtained (Hancock, 2000). Varied cultures, linguistic backgrounds, families with diverse socio-economical, and academic backgrounds constitute our public school classrooms. Children’s literature provides readers an opportunity for self-affirmation; therefore, they often seek a mirror in books, (Bishop, 1990). The thoughtful selection of children’s literature in the classroom is essential. Through the lens of Bishop’s (1993) metaphorical notion of books as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass …

Investigating Preservice Teachers’ Science Teaching Self-Efficacy: An Analysis Of Reflective Practices, Deepika Menon, Saiqa Azam

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

The purpose of this mixed methods research was to investigate the development of 55 preservice elementary teachers’ science teaching self-efficacy beliefs through analysis of their reflective practices in a science method course. This year-long study was conducted at two public universities located in the USA and Canada. Within the theoretical frameworks of science teaching self-efficacy and reflective practice, we examined how and in what ways preservice teachers’ reflections on their past science experiences and current science teaching practices contributed to their self-efficacy beliefs. Data were collected from pre- and post-course administrations of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B (STEBI-B), written …

Integrating Mathematics, Science, And Literacy Into A Culturally Responsive Stem After-School Program, Shelli L. Casler-Failing, Alma D. Stevenson, Beverly A. King Miller

Middle Grades & Secondary Education: Faculty Publications

This manuscript shares the implementation of an after-school literacy in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) program designed for middle grades students to increase their interest in science and mathematics learning. This program was conducted at our local Boys and Girls Club facilities where students learned about four science topics (renewable energy, water cycle, Newton’s laws, and natural disasters). Students participated in culturally responsive reading and writing activities incorporating culturally relevant books, journal writing, hands-on projects, and a culminating science fair presentation on the topic of their choice. The authors determined that using literature, particularly culturally responsive picture books and …

Using A Smart Phone To Learn Spanish: Does It Work And Will Students Use It?, Andrew J. Demil, Alysha Assaf, Ryan Cragun

The Coastal Review

Over time, mobile devices have penetrated the classroom, requiring new and beneficial ways to implement classroom instruction. Research suggests that Short Message Service (SMS) based instruction is an effective tool for acquiring second language (L2) vocabulary and idiom knowledge (Hayati, Jalilifar, & Mashhadi; Lu,). Additionally, studies have found that students believe that mobile learning (m-learning) is beneficial to acquiring a second language (Cavus & Ibrahim; Hayati, Jalilifar, & Mashhadi; Lu, 2008). This study examined whether m-learning can lead to Spanish vocabulary familiarity and if sentence comprehension outperforms reading definitions. Participants were 29 native English speakers studying Spanish as a second …

Think Beyond The Literary Canon: The Potential For Young Adult Literature Within A High School Classroom, Megan Mayle

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research project will evaluate and build upon existing research on the use of young adult (YA) literature in high school curriculum. The project will include researching what is currently read in high school classrooms, examining studies on the use of YA literature, and presenting examples and models of implementing three major YA novels into high school curriculum. The three novels that will be looked at in-depth are The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, and Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The goal for this research …

Social Studies In The Primary Classroom: Why They Are Important, Katie Simkanin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this study is to focus on the importance of social studies topics taught in the primary classroom. I will examine the main social studies and historical topics teachers focus on under the framework of the Ohio Common Core State Standards (OCCSS). I will also examine a local school district’s primary social studies curriculum and interview a primary and high school teacher for their thoughts on the benefits of teaching social studies in the classroom, and what topics they think are the most important to cover for their students’ education and success in the higher grades and in …

An Analysis Of A High School American History Textbook, Harris Ong

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

For my honors project I will be examining and analyzing a high school American history textbook. The specific textbook that I will be looking at is _America: Pathways to the Present_ written by Andrew Clayton, Elisabeth Israels Perry, Linda Reed, and Allan M. Winkler. This textbook was published by Prentice Hall in the year 2003. I will be analyzing the textbook for it’s historical accuracy, checking that the events covered in the textbook tell the actual story of what really happened during that event. I will determine the textbook completely covers incidents that happened during big events. I will also …

Connection Between Camps And Social Emotional Learning In Middle School, Annie Lochridge

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project examines how outdoor educational experiences can improve social emotional learning in middle school students (grades 4-9). Questions to be addressed include: How can outdoor education field trips meet middle grade social emotional standards in Ohio?; What are the gains and pains for teachers involved in such opportunities?; What are the gains and pains for middle school students (grades 6-8) involved in outdoor educational opportunities?; What recommendations can be made for outdoor educational field trips to increase student social emotional learning? Initial research will be conducted using a literature review of place-based education, environmental education, field trips. and social …

A Teacher’S Perspective On The Effectiveness Of Homework At Various Grade Levels, Harlee Garlock

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project centers around research on and discussion about current teachers’ perspective on homework. Data was gathered using an online survey that was sent to a high school and an elementary school. The intent was to draw attention to how each school responded; more specifically how the answers between schools differed. Can we conclude that homework is more beneficial to students in a particular age group? The people who are most qualified to answer that question are those who track student progress daily. An essential part of teaching is assessing student understanding and using the results to direct the instruction …

Drop Everything And Read And Write By Hand: Reimagining In-Person Instruction In The Wake Of Covid-19, Noah E. Borrero, Eleanor Scott

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

As ELA teachers and teacher educators, we present a classroom project—On the Daily Cards—in an attempt to showcase possibilities for reimagining in-person instruction in the wake of the COVID-19 school shutdowns and forced distance learning. We present a theoretical framework to connect contemporary learning theory with current calls for substantive changes in the ways we envision classroom learning. We focus on youths’ lived experiences and stories as classroom texts and attempt to honor the cultural assets that young people bring with them to school.

Course Redesign To New Paradigms: Exploring Humanizing Racial Literacies With Pre-Service Teachers, Becky Beucher, Tisha Ortega, Grant Souder, Kimberly Martin-Boyd, Katy Killian

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Spring 2021, undergraduate students across the country were entering their second year of obligatory online learning. This moment in time correlated with an increased attention to the Black Lives Matter movement by white youth and the mainstream public. This study, guided by a team of teacher educators committed to realizing racial justice in Secondary literacy education, designed and examined the impact of humanizing racial literacies curriculum taught through forced on learning on undergraduate pre-service teacher’s perspectives about anti-racist curriculum design. This study builds upon a growing body of research on realizing humanizing racial literacies in teacher education pedagogy. The curriculum …

“It Depends Where I Am In My Life, Whether I Love Reading Or Not”: Challenges To Fostering Strong Personal Reading Lives And Why It Matters, Matthew Sroka

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

This article stems from a larger participatory action research study involving a 4-month investigation into the reading lives of myself and four other secondary English teachers. This study illustrates that even for teachers who value reading, there exists a recurring struggle to maintain strong personal reading lives; however, this study also provides examples of transformational teachers and texts that assisted teachers in overcoming these challenges. These transformational experiences led to teachers reading more, which led to changes in their views of reading and their pedagogical decision-making around reading. Specifically, having positive experiences with books inside and outside the classroom opened …

Assessing Interpersonal Communication In Dental Hygiene Students Providing Geriatric Care, Lasandra Wilson

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Purpose: This study examined the implementation of an educational module regarding development of communication skills between dental hygiene students and the geriatric population. The educational module assessed students’ perceived abilities and confidence in communicating with the geriatric population. Subsequently, a standardized rubric determined if there is a difference between how faculty assess students, patients assess students, and students assess themselves.

Methods: Dental hygiene students from the University of South Dakota participated in the educational module and completed pre and post tests. Voice recordings from student-patient interactions in the clinic setting were evaluated by faculty, patients, and students using a rubric …

A Comprehensive Audit Of Professional Development For K-12 School Leaders In The Commonwealth Of Virginia, Melissa Davis Hill, Melisa J. Naumann, Timothy M. Tillman, Major R. Warner Jr.

Doctor of Education Capstones

The intent of this paper is to provide a mixed-methods audit of professional development provided to K-12 school leadership in Virginia's diverse landscape to include identification of providers, funding, effectiveness, and expectations.

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, geographical, political, and socio-economical differences across 132 school divisions cause variability in leaders' experiences with professional development. A mixed-methods approach was used, including a review of current literature, an online survey, virtual interviews, and virtual focus group discussions. This data collection results in a comprehensive audit of professional development provided to school leaders in Virginia's diverse landscape. The study defines effective professional development …

Teaching The 'Comprehensive Dental Care' In Formative Years Of Education And Training: A New Model For Dental Internship, Farhan Raza Khan, Syed Murtaza Raza Kazmi, Syed Sheeraz Hussain, Syed Mahmood Haider

Section of Dental-Oral Maxillofacial Surgery

There is a need of a new model of education and training to be implemented in the Bachelors of Dental Surgery curriculum in the relevant Pakistani institutions. The current review article was planned to suggest such a model in the light of literature aimed at building the capacity of dental graduates in a competency-driven approach with the objective of offering safe, efficient and comprehensive care to dental patients. The outcome of the reforms suggested shall prepare dental graduates suitably geared towards providing community-oriented family dental care right from their formative years. Moreover, the suggested internship model can also help to …

Athletics As A Life Curriculum: Lessons Learned Through Different Aspects Of Athletics, Thomas J. Davis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

For my dissertation, I decided to write a memoir to have the opportunity to go through the self-reflection process and learn more about my inner self. I wanted to learn how the life experiences I write about have affected me as a student-athlete, coach, teacher, parent, and how they have shaped me into who I am today. I took instances from my life in athletics that I believe are significant in the development of my overall being. Educational scholars such as William Pinar (1995, 2004), John Dewey (1916/2019, 1933), Frederic Gros (2011), Immanuel Kant (1908/2015), Nel Noddings (2005), and Paulo …

Languages, Cultures, And Identities: Cross-Cultural Experiences Of Hbcu Students In A Study Abroad Program In Costa Rica, Irina M. Tedrick

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation was to illuminate how an immersive study abroad program enabled my Black and African American Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) students to have meaningful language acquisition, cultural exploration, and identity expansion experiences. The methods used in this research reflect the qualitative narrative nature of the cross-cultural narrative inquiry (He, 2003, 2006, 2010; Phillion & He, 2008; Phillion et al., 2009; Sharma & Phillion, 2021). Thus, to accurately capture the participants’ stories, I employed a variety of methods, gathering data through semi-structured interviews and the collection of personal artifacts, such as journal writings, pictures, and …