Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Pieces Solving A Puzzle: Emerging Roles And Cross-Field Analogies During A Distributed Epistemic Game, Jenna Matthews

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In an effort to describe why some problems can’t be solved, a character compared them to a cubic meter of platinum - a block so dense that all the people who could squeeze around it still couldn’t lift it off the ground. In the same way, these problems simply can’t have enough people gathered around and communicating about them - and so they remain unsolved.

This research looks at the first Polymath Project (2009) as an example of a distributed epistemic game to examine how groups engage with complex problems. and without a locally omniscient individual. In this setting of …

Updated Library Publishing Curriculum Policy Module: Policy Narrative, Alexandra Marcaccio, Talea Anderson, Corinne Guimont, Esther Jackson, Michelle Wilson, Perry Collins

Library Publishing Curriculum

The Policy Module covers how library publishers develop policies that guide specific areas of their work. Policy is an area where publishing programs interface with the legal and political environment, which has seen dramatic changes since the original Policy Module was written, and these units provide the up-to-date guidance that library publishers need. The units in the updated Policy Module are:

• Accessibility by Alexandra Marcaccio
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion by Talea Anderson
• Preservation by Corinne Guimont
• Publishing Ethics by Esther Jackson & Michelle Wilson
• Rights & Rights Management by Perry Collins

Literacy Activities To Prepare Mll Students For An Art Museum Visit, Marion J. Tate

Michigan Reading Journal

This article describes how I prepared newcomer Yemeni students to visit, understand, and learn from museums while also strengthening their English language development and cultural identity. Many students had limited English proficiency; however, they brought rich personal, family, and cultural knowledge into the classroom. To build on those strengths, I used literacy-based activities before, during, and after museum visits. These activities included shared and independent reading with e-books, pre-assessment charts, vocabulary development, guided discussions, reflective writing, collage-making, and student-led decision-making. Each strategy helped students practice English in meaningful ways while connecting museum content to memory, immigration, history, culture, and identity. …

Arts-Based Experiential Learning And Human Flourishing: A Perma-Informed Case Study Of Community Mural Making, Lindsay A. Beddes, Karen Yescavage, Krista Bridgmon

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

The worsening mental health epidemic among college students is marked by significant risk for loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Given that the demand for mental health care is outpacing institutional capacity, creative solutions are needed to augment traditional reactive interventions. In this qualitative research, we used narrative case study to explore the transformative power of community mural-making as experiential learning. Drawing on Seligman’s PERMA model (positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment) we investigated how creative expression can cultivate positive psychological states to help students flourish (1991; 2011; 2018). Mural making promotes the crucial skills of teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. Outdoor public …

Principles, Frameworks And Challenges Underpinning Holistic Education In The 21st Century, Kumar Laxman

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Holistic education is an educational paradigm that is gaining increasing attention in educational circles due to it being eclectic and inclusive in nature. It attempts to embed a wholesome approach to life including spiritual and philosophical ideals in its pedagogical elements to foster a more fulsome development of the individual. In this paper, research literature is parsed through and content analysed to gain a deeper understanding of the historical and curricular underpinnings of the holistic education movement through a theoretical interpretive lens. The beginnings and evolution of the holistic education movement are examined in conjunction with the broad definitions of …

Frequency And Nature Of Pedagogical Support For Grade 12 Teachers In Limpopo Province, South Africa, Dingane Peter Mkhabela Mr, Loyiso Mennon Luvalo Prof

Jurnal Pendidikan Humaniora

This article explored the frequency and nature of pedagogical support provided by curriculum advisors to Grade 12 teachers in two districts of Limpopo Province, South Africa, and examined teachers’ perceptions of that support. Research has been conducted on the role played by curriculum advisors in the development and implementation of the curriculum, but little has been mentioned about the intensity of their interventions in ensuring that implementation is carried out to the latter. Motivated by the province’s improving National Senior Certificate performance alongside concerns about the consistency and classroom relevance of teacher support, the study employed a qualitative case study …

Untold Mourning: The Epistemology Of Naming And Grieving The Loss Of Identities, Bao Diep, Verna Wong

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

This paper explores the epistemology of mourning through the lens of two Asian American scholars pursuing doctoral degrees at a Midwestern university. We examine how racialization in Midwestern educational institutions reflects a broader historical and cultural distancing from Vietnamese immigrants and refugees, despite a shared geopolitical past. Employing critical collaborative autoethnography as both method and remedy, we engage in a dialogic process of uncovering and understanding our collective memories and lived experiences. This approach empowers us to confront hegemonic narratives and reclaim our identities as immigrant scholars navigating predominantly white academic spaces.

Preserving Threatened Wisdom In Indigenous Houses As Living Archives: An Ethnographic Study Of Spatial, Gendered Knowledge, And Community-Based Preservation Strategies In The Philippines, Lalin Abbacan Tuguic

The Qualitative Report

This qualitative study explores how Indigenous houses function as living archives of identity, ecological wisdom, and gendered knowledge in Kalinga communities in the Cordillera region of the Philippines. Using an ethnographic design grounded in prolonged engagement and reflexive practice, the research documents how historical experience, social and cultural meanings, environmental adaptation, and community‑based preservation strategies are materially and symbolically embedded in Indigenous house construction and use. Data were generated through participant observation of everyday life and rituals in and around traditional square and octagonal houses; semi‑structured interviews with elders, women, builders, youth, and community leaders; focus group discussions in local …

Illinois Model Programs Of Study Guide: Education, Education Systems Center

Reports, Analyses, and other Publications

This guide is designed to support the design and implementation of high-quality programs of study in education that lead to in-demand, living-wage careers, in alignment with Illinois statute. The recommended programs of study should be customized by local K-12 and community college partners.

Illinois Model Programs Of Study Guide: Physical Health, Education Systems Center

Reports, Analyses, and other Publications

This guide is designed to support the design and implementation of high-quality programs of study in physical health that lead to in-demand, living-wage careers, in alignment with Illinois statute. The recommended programs of study should be customized by local K-12 and community college partners.

Illinois Model Programs Of Study Guide: Digital Technology, Education Systems Center

Reports, Analyses, and other Publications

This guide is designed to support the design and implementation of high-quality programs of study in digital technology that lead to in-demand, living-wage careers, in alignment with Illinois statute. The recommended programs of study should be customized by local K-12 and community college partners.

State Of Illinois Model Programs Of Study Overview Guide, Education Systems Center

Reports, Analyses, and other Publications

This guide provides foundational information that underpins all of the State of Illinois Model Programs of Study Guides, including their purpose, intended audiences, key terminology, the development process for identifying high-priority occupations and credentials, cross-sector competencies, the work-based learning continuum, and how to implement the guides.

Recovering And Reclaiming Black Histories: Integrating Historical Perspectives In Teaching And Research

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

(Re)Membering As Resistance: Learning From My Grandma’S Story In A Time Of Historical Erasure, Akilah K. Lyons-Moore

Occasional Paper Series

In the current moment of historical erasure—marked by book bans, curricular restrictions, and political efforts to sanitize discussions of race—(re)membering becomes a pedagogical imperative. Drawing on Morrison’s (1987) articulation of (re)membering and Black feminist theories of memory (Collins, 2000; Hartman, 2008; hooks, 1994), this paper uses narrative inquiry to trace the intergenerational educational journeys of a Black rural Southern woman born in 1914 and her granddaughter, a contemporary teacher educator. Through autobiography and lived experience, this paper examines how personal and communal histories counter disremembering (Trouillot, 1995) and the politics of being forgotten. By weaving together these two lives—rooted in …

Beyond The Chalkboard: Black Oral Traditions And The Kitchen Table As Pedagogy, Gerald D. Smith Jr

Occasional Paper Series

This article positions the kitchen table as a vital pedagogical archive within Black educational history. Drawing on the work of various Black scholars, it argues that domestic spaces—kitchen tables, living rooms, basements, and barbershops have long functioned as fugitive classrooms where Black communities cultivated knowledge, identity, and political consciousness beyond the constraints of formal schooling. Using Carrie Mae Weems’ Kitchen Table Series as a central metaphor, the article traces how oral traditions, storytelling, and community dialogue preserved Black intellectual traditions during eras of segregation, educator displacement, and systemic erasure throughout history. Highlighting Black feminist educators such as Anna Julia Cooper, …

Voices From The Atrato: Reclaiming Afrocolombian Education From The Riverbank, Siris Sulay Mena-Rivera, Karen Chaverra-Mosquera, Maure Aguirre Ortega

Occasional Paper Series

This article reconceptualizes the Atrato River as a living pedagogical archive that participates in the formation of Black education in Chocó, Colombia. Drawing on Black feminist oral methods, it centers a dialogue among Black educators to examine how educational knowledge emerges through relationships with the river, territory, memory, and community life. The analysis argues that river-based pedagogies distinct Afro-Colombian epistemologies that challenge White/Mestizo-centered and standardized models of schooling. Storytelling, river travel, intergenerational memory, and everyday territorial practices are examined as pedagogical processes through which Black communities sustain identity, historical consciousness, and collective sovereignty. The article further contends that the Atrato's …

Recovering A Gem: Melva L. Price, A New York City Teacher, Emmanuelle St. Jean

Occasional Paper Series

The paucity of research on the experiences of Black women teachers in integrated New York City schools underscores the need for further investigation. Studying Black women teachers in integrated school settings opens the door for reshaping the traditional framings of Black women teachers as revolutionary individuals who largely taught and transformed the learning experiences of Black children. This article focuses on Melva Price, a Latin language teacher at a New York City high school. Price became a teacher during a period of intense marginalization and oppression. Her journey to becoming a teacher, her pedagogical practices, and her experiences as a …

Black Pedagogical Excellence From Fugitive Classrooms To Freedom Dreams: An Endarkened Perspective, Romonda Middlebrooks-Jefferson

Occasional Paper Series

This article traces the long tradition of Black Pedagogical Excellence (BPE), a lineage spanning fugitive literacy practices, Reconstruction and Jim Crow classrooms, Black literary societies, Afrocentric schools, and contemporary Hip Hop and Afrofuturist learning spaces. Using Endarkened Feminist Epistemology as a guiding framework, I conceptualize Black educators’ stories as theory and their classrooms as sacred, intellectual, and political sites. Through historical-literary analysis and synthesis of current research, the manuscript highlights four enduring constructs of BPE—care as resistance, ideological clarity, cultural attentiveness, and humanism—while demonstrating how Hip Hop pedagogy, storywork, and speculative literacy practices extend these commitments today. In a climate …

Black Women Educators: An Exploration Of Liberatory Pedagogical Practices At The Oakland Community School, Renée Wilmot

Occasional Paper Series

The aim of this paper is to analyze the autobiographical development and pedagogical practices of educators at the Oakland Community School (OCS). The OCS, in alignment with the Black Power Movement, developed revolutionary pedagogical practices that resisted Eurocentric curriculum which sought to normalize and reinforce white middle class values. Specifically, this paper will consider previous interviews and autobiographies with founding members of the school such as David Hillard and Huey P. Newton. As well as interviews with veteran school director, Ericka Huggins, and alumna, Kellita Smith. This information can reveal the ways K-12 experiences of the OCS school leaders became …

Introduction: Recovering And Reclaiming Black Histories: Integrating Historical Perspectives In Teaching And Research, Mariah Deans Harmon, Taryrn T.C. Brown

Occasional Paper Series

During one of our many virtual writing sessions–spaces that for us had become as much about thinking and collective sensemaking as they were about writing–Taryrn shared plans for an upcoming research visit to Zimbabwe. Supported by an International Center Global Fellows grant at her institution, the research visit was intended to extend her existing research agenda into a more explicitly global and transnational context. Yet, as our conversation unfolded, what began as a discussion of an upcoming research experience deepened into reflection on place, memory, family, and the histories that accompany us into our scholarly work.

Sanctuaries Of Resistance: The Prophetic Black Church As Fugitive Education, Charles E. Becknell Jr.

Occasional Paper Series

This paper examines the Prophetic Black Church as a living site of education within the ongoing struggle against historical erasure. It shows how sermons, testimonies, and rituals function as teaching practices that preserve cultural memory and build critical awareness. Using pastoral autoethnography, the study interprets everyday acts of worship and community life as forms of learning that join faith with freedom. Through a narrative case study and theological reflection, the paper highlights how grandmothers, elders, and youth act as “freedom teachers,” sustaining Black learning amid surveillance and exclusion. Drawing on endarkened feminist praxis and fugitive pedagogy, the analysis reimagines the …

Information Cascades In The Classroom: The Relationship Between In-Class Feedback And Course Performance, Amanda C. Cook, James Bland, Andrew Meisner

The Journal of Economics and Politics

Technology is used in undergraduate courses to engage students and provide feedback about understanding. TopHat is an application which displays multiple choice questions mid-class. In this field experiment, we determine if displaying or hiding the distribution of peer responses has an impact on exam scores. When students see peer responses, we observe information cascades on both correct and incorrect answers. Getting an individual TopHat question correct predicts a 1.3 percentage point increase on final exam scores, however we find no difference in predictive power between treatments. Participating in one negative cascade predicts that a student will score approximately five percentage …

Chicago Engagement: Imsa Joins The Legacy Of The Bud Billiken, Simone Moore, Admissions

Professional Learning Day

Explore Chicago's iconic annual Bud Billiken Parade, learn how to get involved, and connect with the local community!

Srelo: Imsa’S Efforts To Expand Student Access To Research, Dr. Evan Glazer, Imsa President, Dr. Anita White, Outreach

Professional Learning Day

This session will provide an overview of Summer Residential Experiential Learning Opportunities (SRELO), including its history, recent expansion, and engagement of IMSA Scholars through a statewide network of partners. IMSA colleagues can also propose programs. With grant support, SRELO is free for participants at more than 10 locations statewide. Also during this session, we will share goals for the year and invite input on potential partners to support our growing impact.

Modeling With Clay-Anatomy, Lassandra Walker, Academics

Professional Learning Day

The human body is a complex intricate network of systems that work together. How the body is molded consists of not only networks but intricate levels of organizations that shape how we think about the human body and its structures and functions. Modeling with clay requires art skills and creativity to move away from textbooks. Students will learn about sculpting tools and anatomical structures. Also, students will learn how to create a 2D or 3D human body from clay, and practice interpreting human form from sculpture.

Imsa Engage360, Dr. Kristi Kelly,Student Affairs

Professional Learning Day

This session will introduce IMSA Engage360, an emerging whole-student framework that reimagines the campus experience through Care, Connection, and Curiosity. Grounded in student engagement theory, Engage360 connects academic, residential, and co-curricular experiences to student learning, relationships, growth, and contribution. Participants will explore how the framework supports intentional design and assessment of experiences that foster meaningful connection, curiosity, care, and students’ capacity to contribute to the human condition.

Update On New Course: Advanced Topics In Data Analysis, Paul Rummelhoff, Academics

Professional Learning Day

No abstract provided.

Titans On The Move: Navigating Intersession Trips With Confidence, Sam Rivera Miller, Human Resources, Dr. Luke Berryman, Academics

Professional Learning Day

See student travel posters and wish you were going, but anxious about leading a trip? Want to get to know more students, but don't work in a student-facing role? Come and get inspiration from our real-life success story! Group travel at IMSA is simpler, safer, and more fully-supported than ever before. Join Dr. Luke Berryman (Director of Experiential Learning) and Samantha Rivera Miller (HR Associate & lead chaperone for the 2025-26 trip to the UK) to explore travel vendor options and trip proposals. Step up with confidence and turn student travel into a rewarding, exciting reality!

Everyone Play Nice: A Brief Intro To Game Theory, Dr. Zack Conley, Outreach

Professional Learning Day

What happens when your best choice depends on what everyone else does? Join us for an interactive session, where we will explore game theory through different activities and simulations. When is it better to be selfish and when is it better to work together?

Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (Cerp), Angie Shoener, Student Affairs

Professional Learning Day

Learn about your role in the event of a cardiac emergency on campus and how to respond. The Cardiac Emergency Response plan will be explained to faculty and staff. Then you will participate in a practice drill. The session will finish with an evaluation and feedback from the practice drill.