Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons^™

Partnerships With Catholic Colleges Support Schools, Susan M. Ferguson

Center for Catholic Education Publications

Animating our faith and hope for our church and our future, Catholic higher education and P-12 Catholic school partnerships are growing in number and variety. New times call for new measures grounded in respect and recognition of our deep and lasting traditions. Recent events seem to show the way to new endeavors that will bring innovative means to cultivate formation in faith and heighten academic excellence for students in our nation's Catholic schools. Critically considering partnership formation, sustainability and impact creates excitement and spurs action.

Incarceration, Identity Formation, And Race In Young Adult Literature: The Case Of Monster Versus Hole In My Life, Tim Engles, Fern Kory

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Bodies Of Debt: Interrogating The Costs Of Technological Progress, Scientific Advancement, And Social Conquests Through Dystopian Literature, Melissa R. Ames

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This essay discusses the successes and challenges of teaching a particular cross-curricular course that focused on controversial issues appearing in scientific research and dystopian literature. The course studied narratives that wrestle with ethical concerns surrounding “progress” (societal achievements, technological advancement, scientific discoveries, and so forth). Contemporary debates and specific issues addressed throughout this course included cloning, stem cell research, black market organ transplants, human trafficking, surveillance technology, euthanasia, and capital punishment. In alignment with research concerning best practices in teaching social responsibility topics, this course was centered on a set of inquiry questions that stretched across all units, texts, and …

Culturally Responsive Methodologies At Work In Education Settings, Mere Berryman, Suzanne Soohoo, Ann Nevin, Te Arani Barrett, Therese Ford, Debora Joy Nodelman, Norma Valenzuela, Anna Wilson

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe culturally responsive methodology as a way to develop researchers. The aim is to illuminate the dimensions of culturally responsive methodology such as cultural and epistemological pluralism, deconstruction of Western colonial traditions of research, and primacy of relationships within culturally responsive dialogic encounters. An overarching question is: “How can we maintain the original integrity of both participants and researchers and their respective cultures and co-construct at the same time something new?”

Design/methodology/approach – Five case study narratives are described in order for readers to understand the range and types of studies …

Public Acts Of Self-Deliberation: Preparation For Discursive Democracy In Education, Vonzell Agosto

Educational and Psychological Studies Faculty Publications

This conceptual essay forwards self-deliberation as an act to be included in the preparation of educators and administrators. Self-deliberation is defined as a public act of deliberation that can be instigated pedagogically to prepare students for difficult dialogues on enduring issues in education. Self-deliberation provides another pedagogical method for preparing aspiring educators to participate in deliberative or discursive democracy. Narrative vignettes are used to illustrate the acts of self-deliberation performed by aspiring teachers of color as they consider controversial issues such as affirmative action, racial segregation, and culturally relevant education.

Organizing Against The Neo-Liberal Privatization Of Education In South Los Angeles: Reflections On The Transformative Potential Of Grassroots Research, Miguel Zavala

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This auto/ethnographic study narrates how members of the Association of Raza Educators (ARE), a grassroots teacher-led organization, came together in undertaking action-research within what eventually became a stalled campaign to defend South Los Angeles Elementary from corporate takeover. Most of the work within the campaign involved action-research, including what I term organic popular education. In this paper I analyze the ways in which action-research functions as public pedagogy, further arguing for studies conducted from the vantage point of people immersed in grassroots organizations.

Casting Minority Gifted Students: The Pedagogical Impact Of Cinema On The Culture Of Schooling, Deborah F. Burnette

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

African American students are significantly underrepresented in gifted education programs. This dissertation creates a space where gifted education, African American students, media literacy, and teacher perceptions intersect in the field of curriculum studies. Media literacy will be utilized to critique popular films by gifted endorsement teacher-students and myself. Due to the low number of states that require pre-service teachers to study gifted characteristics of children it is left up to gifted teacher endorsement programs to train teachers. By using media literacy to examine films in gifted teacher endorsement programs, I assert that the under-representation of African American students in the …

Using Careless Speech For Careful, Well-Crafted Writing— Whatever Its Style, Peter Elbow

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Bringing the resources of speech to writing enables writers to understand and attain written eloquence.

The Power Of The Poetic Lens: Why Teachers Need To Read Poems Together, Amy L. Eva, Carrie A. Bemis, Marie F. Quist, Bill Hollands

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Poetry reading circles can become the means for new (and experienced) teachers to reflect on their professional growth.

Front Matter

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Editor's message.

Sheep In Wolves’ Clothing: How Composition’S Social Construction Reinstates Expressivist Solipsism (And Even Current-Traditional Conservatism), Keith Rhodes, Monica M. Robinson

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Reframing the theory of social construction from Romantic/ Classic perspectives yields surprising insights about writing studies.

A Teacher’S Terminal Illness In The Secondary Classroom: The Effects Of Disclosure, Sarah Hochstetler

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

How does it affect learning when cancer becomes the prevailing metaphor through which students see their teacher?

Learning And Teaching In Other Ways, Ilene Dawn Alexander

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

A teaching and learning consultant suggests that “oscillating narratives” are the means for helping unconventional students become critically aware.

Back Matter

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

No abstract provided.

Get Rich U Or Get Transformed U: Reflections On Catholic Liberal Arts Education In The 21st Century, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Catholic liberal arts educators can proclaim boldly that we are in the business of formation and transformation of students at multiple levels and in multiple ways. We want our students to be competent, ethical, and compassionate global citizens who are thoughtful, savvy, deep thinkers who love learning and who love helping others. Research and best practices support the claim that the virtues cultivated by the liberal arts contribute to the flourishing of individuals and society as a whole. Catholic colleges and universities have a long history of promoting the liberal arts, and data from various sources suggest that we are …

Liberal Education And Moral Education, Daniel R. Denicola

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Mark Van Doren, the noted literary scholar, once remarked, "The college is meaningless without a curriculum, but it is more so when it has one that is meaningless." Many current critics of undergraduate curricula in America assent to the crucial need for programmatic renewal in our colleges and universities. They bemoan the cookie-cutter sameness in far too many of them. The oddity is that U.S. colleges have long touted their "diversity" while largely holding fast to rather traditional pathways. This illuminating volume goes beyond formulaic nuts-and-bolts recipes for constructing curriculum: it seeks to interpret and analyze the contemporary landscape of …

Thoughts On Teaching As A Practice Of Love, Sharon Marshall

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Approaching classroom diversity from a Nichiren Buddhist perspective guides students toward a “value-creating education.”

Stillness In The Composition Classroom: Insight, Incubation, Improvisation, Flow, And Meditation, Ryan Crawford, Andreas Willhoff

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Studies of brain images provide scientific justification for encouraging meditation among young writers.

The Journey Metaphor’S Entailments For Framing Learning, Bradley Smith

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Analysis of differing frames for learning to write shows that the journey metaphor best serves our efforts to convey how writing and learning are linked.

Jaepl, Vol. 19, Winter 2013-2014, Joona Smitherman Trapp, Brad Peters

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Essays

Peter Elbow - Using Careless Speech for Careful, Well-Crafted Writing - Whatever Its Style

Keith Rhodes & Monica M. Robinson - Sheep in Wolves' Clothing: How Composition's Social Construction Reinstates Expressivist Solipsism (And Even Current-Traditional Conservatism)

Bradley Smith - The Journey Metaphor's Entailments for Framing Learning

Sarah Hochstetler - A Teacher's Terminal Illness in the Secondary Classroom: The Effects of Disclosure

Anna O. Soter - It's (Not) Just a Figure of Speech: Rescuing a Metaphor

Amy L. Eva, Carrie A. Bemis, Marie F. Quist, & Bill Hollands - The Power of the Poetic Lens: Why Teachers Need to Read …

It’S (Not) Just A Figure Of Speech: Rescuing Metaphor, Anna O. Soter

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Look for ways that students can study metaphor in everyday language, rather than confine its study to poetry.

Connecting, Helen Walker, Bob Randolph, Leigh Ann Chow, Andrea Saylor, Jill Moyer Sunday, Kattie Hogan, Matt Ittig, John Patrick Cleary

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Connecting

Helen Walker - Gratitude

Bob Randolph - Poetry Teacher's Prayer

Leigh Ann Chow - What Teachers Carry

Andrea Saylor - A Brief History of Holy Writing

Jill Moyer Sunday - For My Students

Kattie Hogan & Matt Ittig - Lines on the Body: Confronting Personal Experiences through Poetry

John Patrick Cleary - New Teacher

Fear Not The Trunchbull: How Teaching From A Humorous Outlook Supports Transformative Learning, Kathleen J. Cassity

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Empirical and historical evidence suggest that humor is a key tool for discovering ways in which learning can become transformative.

Book Reviews, Judy Halden-Sullivan, Karen Walker, Timothy Shea, Julie Nichols, Edward Sullivan

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Book Reviews

Judy Halden-Sullivan - Making the Familiar Unfamiliar

Karen Walker - Ritchhart, Ron, Mark Church, and Karin Morrison. Making Thinking Visible. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2011.

Timothy Shea - Jobrack, Beverlee. Tyranny of the Textbook. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2012.

Julie Nichols - FitzGerald, William. Spiritual Modalities: Prayer as Rhetoric and Performance. University Park, PA: Penn State Press, 2012.

Edward Sullivan - Quesada, Donna. The Buddha in the Classroom: Zen Wisdom to Inspire Teachers. NY: Skyhorse Publishing, 2011.

Through Smoke And Mirrors: Constructing Identity Between The Myths Of Black Inferiority And A Post-Racial America, Gwyneira Yvette Dixon Ledford

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is an inquiry into my life. It is an exploration of my lived experience as an African American female negotiating through traditions in Southern culture and societal pressures to create a positive identity. Using autobiographical narrative (Connelly, He, & Phillion, 2008, Pinar, 2008) as a methodology and Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2000), double consciousness (DuBois, 1903), and the Nigrescence Theory of black identity development (Cross, 1991) as the theoretical framework, I examine my experiences from childhood to adulthood. Through these narrations, I note paradigm shifts in my thinking that identify the psychological struggles between feeling racially inferior and …

Exploring German And American Modes Of Pedagogical And Institutional Sustainability: Forging A Way Into The Future, Lindon N. Pronto

Pitzer Senior Theses

Rooted deep in Germany's past is its modern socio-political grounding for environmental respect and sustainability. This translates into individual and collective action and extends equally to the economic and policy realm as it does to educational institutions. This thesis evaluates research conducted in Germany with a view to what best approaches are transferable to the United States liberal arts setting. Furthermore, exemplary American models of institutional sustainability and environmental education are explored and combined with those from abroad to produce a blueprint and action plan fitting for the American college and university.

"A Single Finger Can't Eat Okra": The Importance Of Remembering The Haitian Revolution In United States History, Ashleigh P. Shoecraft

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis discusses the impact of the Haitian Revolution on the United States as a lens through which to view the transnational nature of American exceptionalism. It concludes with an articulation of the necessity of incorporating this relational nature of United States identity development into high school coursework, and advocates for teaching about the Haitian Revolution as an effective means through which to do this.

Defining Industry Expectations And Misconceptions Of Art And Technology Co-Creativity, Vanessa C. Brasfield

Department of Computer Graphics Technology Degree Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to establish whether or not students and industry professionals share the same views about what students should be learning in animation education, what skills are necessary, and whether or not students graduating with a bachelor’s degree would be adequately prepared for an entry level position. To establish where misconceptions lie, surveys were issued to three groups: undergraduate students, post-graduate students, and industry professionals. These surveys were then analyzed using paired t-test for validation and question relevance, and ANOVA models to establish whether or not groups shared viewpoints. These data established significance within the …

“Diversity Is Our Daily Bread”: An Exploratory Study Of The Dutch ‘Sexual Diversity In Education’ Policy, Alex Sirotzki

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This independent study project focuses on the discourse surrounding the recently-approved ‘sexual diversity within education’ policy, which requires all schools in The Netherlands to incorporate discussion of sexual diversity into their curricula. My findings are based on six interviews of individuals who, either directly or indirectly, are connected to or affected by this policy, either in their professional work or simply in their interests. My findings include themes found surrounding the policy: what is being said, how sexual diversity should be implemented in schools, autonomy of schools, normalcy, potential racism within policy implementation, and what should be done. Ideas for …

An Examination Of Newbery Medal Books From The 1920s Through The 2000s: Biblical Perspective, Kimberly Fleming

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Content analysis was conducted to determine the frequency of the presence of positive Biblical virtues and paired opposite traits across 18 Newbery Medal books from the 1920s through the 2000s because the Newbery Award is a prestigious honor bestowed upon children's literature, and the criteria for selection among books specifically precludes the necessity of good character. The fruit of the spirit listed in Galatians 5:22 served as the rubric by which the characters' thoughts, dialogue, and actions were measured. Consensus data was recorded, and chi-square tests of independence were conducted after three readers examined the presence and frequency of each …