Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Science And Science Fiction In An Interdisciplinary First-Year Experience Honors Course, John D. Carrell, Robert G. Weiner

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Engineering and pop-culturist instructors team-teach a first-year experience course exploring science through the lenses of history, literature, film, television, and sequential art. Authors present science fiction discourses as unique for synthesizing fields in the humanities and STEM, and they present curricular and co-curricular design strategies for harnessing its potential in the honors classroom. Course objectives and outcomes are presented, with authors noting specific challenges in implementation and emendation. Adaptability and compatibility figure prominently in the successful delivery of the course. A review of literature relating to interdisciplinary education and team-teaching in honors is included.

Simple Is Revealing: Experiencing Public Transportation Illuminates A City, Lucy Morrison

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Author describes how a simple experiential learning assignment can provide an eye-opening, community-building, and integrative learning experience for honors students.

A Restorative Justice Book Club For Secondary Classrooms, Mary M. Mcconnaha

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Schools face several challenges in creating meaningful community relationships, and the breakdown of these relationships causes harm to students, teachers, and administrators. Many schools have turned to restorative justice practices as a way to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline, reduce discipline referrals, increase graduation rate, and strengthen the school community (Evans & Lester, 2013; Winn et al., 2019; Weaver and Swank, 2020). However, Winn (2013, 2018) and others have proposed that the principles of restorative justice can be embedded into the English Language Arts curriculum. In this paper, I describe a restorative justice book club unit for early adolescents that is …

Tblt: Authentic Tasks Designed For Second-Language Learners, Salma Ahmad Khan

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Thesis proposal structure: My thesis, which will be an alternative style thesis, will be organized as follows: I will define what TBLT is in my own words and how scholars define this term 2.) I will review research other scholars have done on TBLT 3.) .) I will describe the class I intend to teach, including the texts assigned, writing projects, and supporting TBLT tasks.

Tools, Tips, And Tricks For Beginning Teachers, Kimberly Lilley, Regina Lineback, Brad Rhew, Elia Spencer

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

Tools, Tips, and Tricks for Beginning Teachers is a professional learning module (PLM) that supports the growth and development of beginning teachers. The topics reviewed in this PLM include classroom management, collaboration, instructional strategies, and student engagement. The strategies included in this PLM are research-based and support the Beginning Teacher Standards, Professional Teaching Standards, and Beginning Teacher Standards for Science Education. As you proceed through the PLM, you will have opportunities to consider your current or planned practices in each of the focus areas and select new tools, tips, or tricks that can be applied to your classroom practices.

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Cultural Responsibility: Whose Job Is It Anyway?, Shannon Coleman, Siobhan Cooke, Yu'vonne James, Elizabeth Younger

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

This professional learning module (PLM) on cultural responsibility in the school setting is rooted in the recognition of the importance of creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment for all students and staff. This PLM module was designed to help teachers, and those working within the school setting, understand, appreciate, and effectively address cultural diversity and its impact on students’ learning experiences.

View professional learning module.

Battling Burnout Zombies In High School English, Jennifer Gribben, Michelle Nelson

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

This PLM was created to support secondary education English teachers who are struggling to prevent student disengagement in ELA classrooms. This PLM was based on John Hattie's 10 habits. The creators of this PLM also used Explicit DIRECT Instruction and Rigorous curriculum design to ground their ideas in proven RESEARCH. This PLM will give teachers a place to find ideas and strategies to help make their classrooms a successful learning environment.

View professional learning module.

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Social Emotional Learning Instruction And High Residential Mobility Students’ Reading Literacy, Janel Dorene Morris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Based on recommendations from research, leaders in a north Texas public school district implemented social emotional learning (SEL) to address academic gaps among high residential mobility (HRM) students. Incorporating SEL instruction improves academic achievement 11 percentile points on average; however, in Adoniram School District (ASD), 2021 passing rates fell 8% from 2019 despite adopting SEL curriculum. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how ASD elementary teachers instructed SEL, and their perceptions of how SEL techniques influenced HRM elementary students’ reading literacy development. The study on social and emotional skills (SSES) conceptual framework guided this study because …

Employer Perceptions Of The Skills Gap In College Graduates’ Written Communication, Julie Minnaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. employers have reported that many college graduates are underprepared in written communication when hired and that lack of preparedness hinders these graduates’ employment success. Higher education institution (HEI) administrators need information regarding which writing skills should be taught across the curriculum to improve student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate employers’ perspectives on the written communication skills gap that hinders college graduates from being successful in their professional practice. Swales’s six characteristics of a discourse community provided a conceptual lens for the study, as graduates commencing employment represent newcomers to a discourse community. A basic qualitative …

School Improvement Tool, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

School and system improvement

Research shows the powerful impact that school leadership teams can have in improving the quality of teaching and learning. Effective leaders create cultures of high expectations, provide clarity about what teachers are to teach and students are to learn, establish strong professional learning communities, and lead ongoing school-wide efforts to improve teaching practices. The School Improvement Tool describes the practices of highly effective schools and school leaders. The SIT assists schools to review and reflect on their strategies to improve the quality of classroom teaching and learning. It supports school-wide conversations – including with families, school governing bodies, local communities, …

Migrants, Covid-19, And Italy: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Construction Of And Resistance To Nationalist Discourses, Alessia Barbici Wagner, Theresa Catalano, Bryan Meadows

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

Migration has historically been a controversial issue around the world and one that has often been harnessed by people in power (or people hoping to gain power) for their own political agendas. In times of a global pandemic, the scapegoating of migrants has only increased, often rooted in nationalist ideologies which lead to policies and practices that harm migrants and the larger society. The present paper employs multimodal critical discourse analysis to explore how nationalist ideologies supported by right-wing populism are constructed visually and verbally during COVID-19 on Italian social media in regard to migration. We analyze Giorgia Meloni’s (leader …

From Bilingual To Biliteracy: Learning From Families, Stephanie Wessels, Guy Trainin

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

This study examined the home literacy practices of bilingual families. We were specifically interested in the literacy practices families developed to answer the challenge of biliteracy. Through the home visits and supplying high quality bilingual books, we listened, observed, and gained a deeper understanding of the children and their families which allowed us and educators reading this piece to make connections between children’s home literacy practices and literacy practices in the classroom. After discussing the use of bilingual books, the following four themes emerged from the data: families negotiating biliteracy using bilingual books, the role of Spanish, siblings and literacy …

“Just Attaching A Face”: Engaging Local Refugee Communities In Preservice Teacher Education Focused On Students With Immigrant/Refugee Backgrounds, Stephanie Wessels, Theresa Catalano, Jenelle Reeves, Alison E. Leonard, Uma Ganesan, Alessia Barbici-Wagner, Consuelo Gallardo

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

This arts-practice research study explores what happens when preservice high school teachers (aka teacher-learners) and local refugee communities engage in the co-creation of art together via an arts-and community-based project. Grounded in social justice teacher education, the researchers conducted a 2-week workshop in which participants included preservice high school teachers and local Yazidi community members who explored art in a museum together, spent time getting to know each other and their backgrounds, and re-created some of their stories in the form of dance. Findings reveal a variety of ways in which the workshops helped teacher-learners develop interculturality, increase understanding of …

Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts: Centering Science Within Elementary Stem Education, Deepika Menon, Amy S. Bauer, Katie L. Johnson, Elizabeth Hasseler, Amanda Thomas, Ricardo Martinez, Guy Trainin

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

Conceptualizing STEM Integration

For our reform efforts, the fundamental question to consider was, “What is STEM learning, or what should count as STEM learning?” The different models and definitions for Integrated STEM education range from STEM disciplines traditionally taught as separate and distinct content areas to integration among the four STEM disciplines (NAE and NRC, 2014; Stohlmann et al., 2012). Teacher educators are often challenged to design STEM learning experiences within teacher preparation courses that prepare for the reality of classrooms while presenting pedagogical alternatives (Corp et al., 2020). Many researchers, for instance, Roehrig et al. (2012) distinguish between content …

Teaching Assistant Responses To Covid-19: Investigating Relationships Between Stress, Self-Efficacy, And Approaches To Teaching, Cody R. Smith, Deepika Menon, Annette Wierzbicki, Jenny Dauer

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

This study investigates the self-efficacy of undergraduate and graduate TAs associated with changes in instruction after the COVID-19 disruption to the spring 2020 semester.

Guiding research questions include: (i) What are the relationships among TA teacher efficacy and stress resulting from the COVID-19 disruption? (ii) What experiences do TAs describe that contribute to their stress and teacher efficacy?

Implications of the results for supporting TAs during similarly stressful events and circumstances are discussed.

Multicultural Teacher Knowledge: Examining Curriculum Informed By Teacher And Student Experiences Of Diversity, Vicki Dea Ross, Elaine Chan

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

Herein, we consider how we might support teacher candidates to meet the learning needs of an increasingly diverse student population, in part by encouraging candidates to draw from their own experiences to inform their developing teacher knowledge about multicultural education. We conducted a school-based, long-term narrative inquiry to explore complexities of multicultural teacher knowledge. We document ways in which two practicing teachers, William and Janine, drew from their experiences of diversity in their teaching, and schooling, to build their body of multicultural teacher knowledge that, in turn, informed their work with their students. We recognize the importance of acknowledging teacher …

Impact Of Two Courses On Intercultural Competence Of Undergraduate Students, Lauren Lindmeier, Ryuto Hashimoto, Elizabeth J. Sandell

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

Increasing migrations across the world mean leaders at all levels need to become more competent in working across cultures. During the past 30 years, program designers, researchers, and others have investigated intercultural competence (ICC), often described as the capability to accurately understand and adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities. Tertiary education programs (TEP) are accepting these challenges by offering experiences (such as coursework, study away, study abroad, cultural events, etc.) that are intended to produce culturally competent graduates. The teaching and learning experiences described in this study at a midwestern American university may inform others. This study examined archived …

Knowledge Surveys Benefit Students And Instructors, Lauren Scharff, Julie Tetley, Lynne Chandler-Garcia, Joel Sloan, Martiqua Post

SoTL Commons Conference

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The Impact Of Competency Based Education On Educational Equity, Ndifor Manjong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

For centuries, minority groups, students from low socio-economic background, and girls in public schools especially K-12 educational institutions in the United States have experienced prejudice, injustice, and bigotry. Unfortunately, the conventional approach of education, based on a one-size-fits-all approach, has failed to deal with these obstacles. In the past decades, however, there has been an increasing demand for the adoption of the Competency-Based system of education, a personalized learning approach that focuses on the acquisition of concrete skills rather than abstract knowledge. In a Competency-Based model, students advance based on the demonstration of mastery of knowledge and skills other than …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Implementation Of Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports (Swpbis) In A Rural Southwest Georgia School District, Angela E. Bell

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined teacher perspectives of SWPBIS and how those perceptions impacted school discipline in a rural, Title I middle school located in southwest Georgia. This paper reviewed the history of school discipline policies and discipline practices. The focus was on teacher perceptions of SWPBIS and how those perceptions impacted school discipline in a rural, Title I middle school in a southwest Georgia county. Results were obtained using a quantitative survey and focus groups. Overall, the findings discovered that all respondents believed that SWPBIS had helpful benefits.

A Longitudinal Analysis: Interpreting Pbis Sas Results And Disciplinary Patterns In A Middle Georgia School District, Johnathan Andrew Gross

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between staff perceptions of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Office Discipline Referrals (ODR) across elementary, middle, and high schools in a middle Georgia school district over a three-year period (2019-2022). PBIS is a research-based framework that aims to improve school-discipline procedures, effectively reduce ODR, and enhance school climate. The study focused on the Self-Assessment Survey (SAS) data and ODRs to determine whether staff perceptions of PBIS impacted student behavior management across all levels of the district. Using causal-comparative and correlational research designs, the study analyzed staff perceptions obtained through the SAS survey instrument …

Removing The Masc: Dismantling Gendered Occupations Through Social Work Education, Austin M. Raines

DSW Capstone Projects

The “Masculine mystique” refers to a psychological mask that men wear, enabling them to maintain power and distance themselves from traits associated with femininity” (Kahn, 2009, p. 283). This capstone project seeks to solve the Social Work Grand Challenge of improving the lives that hegemonic masculinity harms and limits. It emphasizes the relationship between the two areas of life (work-home), once thought to exist in different realms but are today more interwoven than ever (Lin & Burgard, 2018; Sok et al., 2014). Men have higher rates of traumatic injuries and exposure to significant physical risks, violence hazards, and stricter normative …

The Tactical Versus Technical Paradigm: Scholarship On Teaching Games With A ‘Catch-22’, Adrian P. Turner

School of Human Movement, Sport, and Leisure Studies Faculty Publications

This chapter examines specific game-based and technique approaches that constituted the foci for experimental research attempting to test hypotheses concerning cause-and-effect relationships. Games teaching approaches, e.g., Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) and technique instruction, were manipulated and measured on criteria that included skill assessments, declarative and procedural knowledge, and game performance components. Research also contrasted off-the-ball offensive and defensive player movements. This method of experimental inquiry necessitated a meticulous approach; it required investigators to restrict threats to the internal validity of the research while simultaneously trying to protect the ecological validity. This scenario represented a “Catch-22” for sport pedagogy scholars …

Fourth Grade Teacher Perspectives Of Instructional Practices To Support Students With Reading Deficits, Juanita Carter Robbins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was the focus of this study was that only 30% of fourth grade students in the United States read at or above grade-level proficiency. Lack of reading proficiency affects fourth-grade students’ ability to master content presented in subjects across the curriculum and may limit their educational attainment. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore fourth-grade teachers’ perspectives of instructional practices to support students with reading deficits, the challenges teachers encounter, and the resources teachers need to meet those challenges. The conceptual framework comprised Tomlinson’s model of differentiated instruction. Three research questions explored the instructional …

Transplanted Appalachians’ Perspectives Of Culturally Relevant Topics/Texts And How These Topics/Texts Aid In Their Reading Comprehension, Kathryn E. H. Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

The purpose of this research study was to understand Transplanted Appalachians’ perspectives of culturally relevant topics/texts and how these topics/texts aid in their reading comprehension. This culturally relevant study was framed using Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory, Barton and Hamilton’s (1998) literacy as a social practice, and Rosenblatt’s (1994) transactional theory. Research participants included five transplanted Appalachian adults from the Central Appalachian Region. The research methods included one introductory interview, four think-alouds, four post think-aloud interviews, and four Cultural Relevance Rubrics. Results from the data sources revealed the participants strongly related to six cultural themes including: community, authentic Appalachian experiences (e.g., …

The Centrality Of Claim-Making In The Social Studies Classroom: Teaching For Claim-Making With The Persuasive Claim Framework, Ryan Anders Lewis

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This dissertation includes three articles that focus on the importance of claim-making and argumentative writing in social studies classrooms. Each article highlights various aspects of the claim-making process by introducing ways for teachers to help students write better claims, highlighting the importance of claim-making within the extant social studies literature, and analyzing the results of centering the claim-making process in a preservice teaching methods program.

Article One, “What’s in a Claim: A Framework for Helping Students Write Persuasive Claims?” (2021), is an article written for practicing teachers. As part of a larger discussion on the challenges of implementing the dimensions …

Moral Foundations And Student Perceptions Of Academic Dishonesty: A Mixed Methods Study, Carla Spires Hargus

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This mixed methods study explored students’ hypothetical choices of behavior in a series of ten academic vignettes. In addition, it examined student judgments of academic behaviors as acceptable or dishonest. Finally, it compared scores on the Moral Foundations Questionnaire-2 to the importance of factors that might influence student behavioral choices in real world scenarios and explored the differences in perceptions among demographic groups.

Twenty-five undergraduate students participated in the study. In a semi-structured interview, each student discussed ten academic vignettes: predicting their own hypothetical behavioral choice, judging target behaviors as honest or dishonest, and identifying factors that would most influence …

Supporting The Covid Freshmen: An Exploratory Study Of The Teaching Aspects That Supported The Executive Functioning Of Undergraduate Freshmen During Covid-19, Jennifer Lynn Pusateri

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Transitioning from high school to higher education is one of the most stressful times in a person’s life. But, for the undergraduate students who were freshmen during the fall of 2020 (in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic), this predictable stress was compounded by additional stressors related to the pandemic. While there were undoubtedly many teaching factors that made learning more difficult during the pandemic, there were also many aspects of teaching that these freshmen found helpful. This exploratory study of secondary data sought to discover which aspects of teaching were most helpful to the COVID Freshmen (the students who …

Doing The Work: Using Questions, Tasks, And Sources To Navigate Teaching Contentious Social Studies In Secondary Classrooms, Bonnie Patrice Lewis

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This explanatory case study examines how two secondary social studies teachers use inquiry-based learning to mitigate the risks of teaching contentious social studies in a charged classroom. Research questions included: 1. How do two in-service secondary teachers use inquiry-based instruction to navigate teaching contentious social studies during charged times? 2. What curricular and pedagogical choices were made by the in-service teachers to navigate risk when designing inquiry-based instruction that features contentious social studies during charged times? 3. What curricular and pedagogical choices were made by the in-service teachers to navigate risk when delivering inquiry-based instruction that features contentious social studies …

Teachers’ Sustained Culturally Responsive Practices Three Years After Participation In Professional Development, Brittany Manion

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Teacher professional development (PD) on culturally responsive practices (CRP) provides teachers the opportunity to increase their knowledge and change their practices to better support students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This study sampled from a year-long intensive PD on effective instructional practices for English learners (ELs). Grounded in transformative and situated learning theories, this study was designed to understand teachers’ sustained CRP and their experiences four years after participating in a CRP PD. Several questions were investigated in this study: What CRP do teachers sustain? What are factors and supports related to teachers’ sustained implementation? What challenges do teachers …