Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons^™

The Bank Street Thinkers: Foundational Knowledge To Support Our Roots And Wings, Bank Street College Of Education

Bank Street Thinkers

A series of papers and lectures that explore Bank Street history, the concepts of teaching and teacher preparation, our long history of social studies teaching and curriculum development, the role of language and play in young children's growth, and a look at the meaning of competence in schools.

Social Studies And Geography (1934), Lucy Sprague Mitchell

Bank Street Thinkers

Lucy Sprague Mitchell muses upon the meaning of each of the title words separately and then together providing insight into how children learn best -- by doing. Discusses Mitchell's concepts of human geography and how school trips promote students' understanding of their world.

Dissecting Dialogue: The Value Of Music Education In Esl/Ell Programs, Kyle R. Furlong

Student Publications

Among educators and philosophers alike, critical dialogue is widely regarded as one of the most effective ways to communicate and educate in the classroom. In his quintessential work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire reflects upon the importance of dialogue stating, “Only dialogue, which requires critical thinking, is also capable of generating critical thinking. Without dialogue, there is no communication, and without communication there can be no true education.” This point is reinforced in other notable texts such as Teaching as a Subversive Activity, which describes the “new education” as not only student and question centered, but “language-centered” as well. …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of A Sixth Grade Academy: Implications For The Transition To Middle School, Rebecca Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to examine and evaluate teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of a sixth grade academy program, at a rural middle school in North Georgia, in helping students transition into sixth grade. The transition from fifth grade to sixth grade is a critical year in a student’s educational career. Over the past two decades, transitioning programs have grown as an effort to meet students’ distinct needs. There is very little research documenting teachers’ voices on this matter. The research conducted in this study sought to add the teacher’s perception in identifying the significant features …

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Self-Efficacy For Teaching Writing: A Phenomenological Study, Kallen Dace

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the self-efficacy of teaching writing for elementary preservice teachers at a small private university in southern Missouri. Preservice elementary teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching writing was defined as the level of confidence preservice teachers possess in their ability to effectively teach writing to elementary students. This study explored how the preservice teacher participants viewed their self-efficacy as writers and their experiences as writers in both kindergarten through twelfth grade education and higher education. Additionally, the study explored how the writing experiences of these preservice elementary teachers shaped how they might teach writing …

A Proactive, Experiential And Student-Centered Learning Approach: A Case Study Of The Effects Of A Social Media Video Editing “App” In A Traditional Classroom Setting, Bruce Kirk

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The use of social media App’s has exploded in recent years. The purpose of this case study was to explore the use and implications of a social media App for shooting and editing video, when used in a higher education classroom where video projects are required. The study examined how the use of a student-centered App — in place of more traditional video and editing instruction — effected the student-learner model. The research questions included: RQ1 How does a social media video App impact student learning in a traditional higher education classroom? RQ2 What is the impact of a social …

Special Educators’ Perceptions Of Using Educational Rap Music To Build Phonemic Awareness Skills For Students Identified With Mild Intellectual Disabilities: A Phenomenological Study, Martha Plumlee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to understand special educators’ experiences and perceptions of using rap music to teach phonemic awareness skills to students with mild intellectual disabilities, in three Smith County (pseudonym) public school self-contained special education classrooms. A purposive sample utilized six participants in data collection comprised of semi-structured interviews, observations, documents, and one focus group. Data was analyzed using phenomenological reduction. Using Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory, Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligences theory, and Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning theory, the essence of the shared experiences and perceptions were reported. An analysis of the data from semi-structured …

A Correlation Analysis Of Faculty Interaction With Undergraduate Students In Online Courses And Student Course Completion Rates, Claudia Restiano

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The extent in which a teacher communicates with his or her students in an online setting may affect student course completion rates. The increased use of online courses and degree programs at the post-secondary level has fundamentally changed the way faculty members and students interact, and ultimately may impact student course completion rates. Course completion is an aspect of student retention. The purpose of this quantitative correlational research study was to analyze the correlation between faculty interaction with online undergraduate students in required introductory English composition courses and student completion rates in those courses. Blackboard is a learning management system …

Greening An Integrated Marketing Communication's Course: An Assessment Of Sustainability Literacy, Pia A. Albinsson, G. David Shows

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

This article showcases efforts of incorporating Sustainability Issues in an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) class during three semesters during the academic years of 2013/2014 and 2014/2015. The course was re-designed using Fink’s (2013) course recommendations of designing significant learning goals. In addition to the way the course was delivered (both face-to-face and online), the instructor worked with a Higher Ed publisher to customize a textbook to include sustainability issues related to the course content (i.e., reflecting IMC topics). The course re-design included sustainability assignments such as Virtual Field Trips (visiting corporate websites and other organizations to study their CSR statements …

The New Curricula: Propelling The Growth Of Media Literacy Education, Tessa Jolls

Journal of Media Literacy Education

As new online and cellular technologies advance, the implications for the traditional textbook model of curricular instruction are profound. The ability to construct, share, collaborate on and publish new instructional materials marks the beginning of a global revolution in curricula development. Research-based media literacy frameworks can be applied to all subjects, and they enable teachers to have confidence that, in employing the frameworks to address academic subjects, themes or projects, students will gain content knowledge. Teaching through media literacy education strategies provides the opportunity to make media literacy central to teaching and learning, since media literacy process skills enable students …

The Relationship Between Hexaco Personality Traits And Cyberbullying Perpetrators And Victims, David Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is an increasing problem in high schools across America with the threat of cyberbullying from both a perpetration and victimization standpoint. Cyberbullying is a problem for many youth because of the inability to escape the use of technology and the incapability of escaping the online community. This non-experimental predictive correlational study examined personality traits, using the HEXACO personality structure model, to predict the susceptibility of freshman high school students either being perpetrators or victims of cyberbullying. There were a total of 256 participants who took the Cyberbullying and Online Aggression survey along with the HEXACO personality model survey. This …

Edmodo: A Collective Case Study Of English As The Second Language (Esl) Of Latino/Latina Students, Michael Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The population of English as the Second Language (ESL) students continues to rise throughout the United States especially among those of Latino/Latina heritage. An important aspect to help these students succeed is to build a sense of community through a social constructivist framework. By using and developing 21st century skills through social networking, students can develop a sense of community which could lead to an increase in academic achievement. Utilizing a philosophical assumption of methodology allowed for flexibility and ongoing reflection for the current study, and it was applied in the conceptual framework of social constructivism and sense of community. …

Media Literacy In Teacher Education: A Good Fit Across The Curriculum, Jessica Meehan, Brandi Ray, Sunny Wells, Amanda Walker, Gretchen Schwarz

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Abstract

Current preoccupations in teacher education reform include data gathering, teaching technique, and preparing PK-12 students for standardized tests. The purpose of American education has been reduced to economic benefit. Concerns with ethical behavior, the good life, and democratic citizenship have fallen by the wayside except perhaps in a single social foundations course. Media literacy education infused in the teacher education curriculum offers one way to restore purpose to teacher education, encouraging both pre-service teachers and their students to think critically about their media-dominated society.

Media, Culture, And Education: One Teacher’S Journey Through The Mediated Intersections, Crystal L. Beach

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Today’s classrooms often have a plethora of new ways of reading and writing entering the room, but too often these new ways of “doing” are disregarded and checked at the door. For this reason, one educator shares her journey through the mediated intersections of media, culture, and education. In this piece, she explores how literacy transformations are impacting her classroom and her students’ lives, how she tries to make connections for her students, as well as noting what these mediated intersections might mean for the future of education.

A Family And Community Variable Prediction Model For Nj Ask Mathematics Sixth And Seventh Grade Assessments Results: The Impact On School Evaluation, Kevin R. Mccahill

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the predictive accuracy of family and community demographic variables found in the U.S. Census data on the percentage of students at the school level who scored Proficient or above on the NJ ASK 6 and 7 Mathematics section when controlling for teacher mobility and level of teacher education. Analysis included simultaneous multiple linear regression and hierarchical linear regression. This study looked at 100% of the New Jersey school districts with complete sets of 2010 NJ ASK 6 and 7 data and 2010 census data and tested at least 25 students in each grade level. Only schools servicing …

What Does It Mean For A Teacher To Bring The Whole Person To The Classroom? Reflections And Strategies To Access The Authentic Self And Connect With The Energy Of Joy In The Classroom Learning Experience, Arline M. H. Saturdayborn

MA TESOL Collection

Since I began teaching 10 years ago, I have been summoned by an energy, a vitality that is guiding me. Most days when I walk into the classroom, no matter what is going on in my life, I connect with an energy that makes my heart feel full, brings my whole body alive and fills me with joy. This thesis is an investigation of what I experience when I enter the classroom. I love the energy I have in the classroom. I don’t think it is special to me. I think this energy is available to anyone, if they are …

Quantitative Reasoning In Environmental Science: Rasch Measurement To Support Qr Assessment, Robert L. Mayes Dr., Kent Allan Rittschof, Jennifer H. Forrester, Jennifer D. Schuttlefield Christus, Lisa C. Watson, Franziska Peterson

Curriculum, Foundations & Reading: Faculty Publications

Original work is hosted at USF Libraries Scholar Commons publisher of Numeracy, the electronic journal of the National Numeracy Network (NNN).

Abstract : The ability of middle and high school students to reason quantitatively within the context of environmental science was investigated. A quantitative reasoning (QR) learning progression, with associated QR assessments in the content areas of biodiversity, water, and carbon, was developed based on three QR progress variables: quantification act, quantitative interpretation, and quantitative modeling. Diagnostic instruments were developed specifically for the progress variable quantitative interpretation (QI), each consisting of 96 Likert-scale items. Each content version of …

Imagination: Active In Teaching And Learning, Christopher Cunningham

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

This autoethnography tells the story of the author’s endeavor to examine my teaching during a sculpture lesson in three 2^nd grade art classes in a mid-western suburban Title I elementary school. I analyze my planning, teaching, reflecting through the lens of Stuart Richmond’s Characteristics of Imaginative Teaching as well as noted educational theorists’ conceptions of imagination and imaginative teaching and learning. These theorists include but are not limited to Maxine Greene, Kieran Egan, John Dewey, and The Lincoln Center Institute’s Capacities for Imaginative Learning. I conclude that imaginative teaching is an intentional act and that there is no …

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 37, Summer 2015), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Confronting Pedagogy In “Confronting Globalization”: The Use Of Role-Play Simulations To Foster Interdisciplinary/Global Learning, Lesley A. Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

With the increasing emphasis on global learning as part of the redesigned institutional mission of American higher education, there will arguably be a need for a variety of global learning experiences across the undergraduate curriculum. Efforts to incorporate global learning in course content at home by globalizing or internationalizing the curricula are already underway at many institutions of higher education. This article offers a set of recommendations for educators wishing to globalize their courses by adopting an interdisciplinary approach to global learning specifically through the use of role-play simulations. As a problem-based pedagogy, role-play simulations are uniquely equipped to deliver …

Instructional Technology And Self-Directed Learning For Students' Academic Success, Vincent Demetrious Wiggins

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Student achievement in the public education system of the United States is ranked substantially lower compared to other countries. One of the initiated goals proposed by the United States government is to increase the number of college graduates by partnering with community colleges (Office of the Press Secretary, 2015). Community colleges are open enrollment institutions, which often assist students described as at-risk. To serve the community college population of students, special curricular strategies have been implemented.

One tool identified for meeting the goal of increasing college graduation for the population of students at-risk is utilization of instructional technology. Instructional technology, …

Structured Work Placement Within The School Of Culinary Arts And Food Technology: A Focus On Mobility Matters And Measured Outcomes, Franklyn Jacoby, Frank Cullen, Stephen Shanley

Conference papers

According to a comparative structured work placement (SWP) study conducted in the Dublin Institute of Technology's (DITs) School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology (SCAFT), the international or global SWP experience of third-level learners is primarily and actively supported through a process of interpersonal, social and cultural development (Cullen, 2012).

The adoption or development of applicable work based learning (WBL) models supporting or scaffolding such notions of student/learner development often reflect the educational aims of learner/worker mobility and Life Long Learning strategies in the main. However, and perhaps most importantly, such models need to reflect the value which third-level students' …

Cultural Learning Processes Through Local Wisdom: A Case Study On Adult And Lifelong Learning In Thailand, John A. Henschke Edd

Adult Education Faculty Works

This article provides the background and concept of Thailand Lifelong Learning [LLL], even attempting a definition. The Thai LLL vision encompasses strategies for developing human qualities such as integrity, self-reliance, adaptability, resilience, and spirituality, to name a few. In some regards LLL seeks to recapture a more fully-developed perspective, on what in earlier times and places [1238 AD in Thailand], was called 'indigenous education', as it now pursues the benefits of a vibrant Learning Society. Progress of LLL in Thailand at times seems to be very slow and methodological rather than dynamic. It stems from developing a policy of learning …

Through The Looking Glass: A Case Study Of Photovoice And Digital Storytelling With Fourth Grade English Learners, Judy A. Wright

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

The recent evolution of ICTs has sparked a catalyst of action that has led the way to the creation of innovative user experiences and created a climate for on demand learning anytime and anywhere. These experiences, at both the individual and collective level, have expanded student access and interaction to information in a way that would have been unconceivable years ago. Students who are learning English for the first time, better known as English learners (ELs), make up a greater proportion of the K-12 population than ever before. Georgia specifically has experienced a 291% growth of ELLs from 1995 to …

The Nurtured Heart Approach: An Odyssey Of Discovery And Implementation, Mary Sanford, Alexandria Pacheco

Publications and Research

The Nurtured Heart Approach (Glasser) is a methodology for behavior management, which emphasizes Positive Behavior Support. The candidate, Alexandria Pacheco, of her own initiative, began using this approach in her self-contained class of students with severe behavior disorders a year ago. Impressed with its effectiveness, her school principal asked her to conduct a Professional Development workshop for the school staff and faculty on the Nurtured Heart Approach.

Queering Social Justice Curricula Within Higher Education, Kate P. Cabot

Master's Projects and Capstones

Within higher education, social justice education has gained significant ground. While issues of gender, race, and class are increasingly addressed and incorporated into classes there remains a lack in inclusive curricula and pedagogies within colleges and universities when it comes to issues of gender and sexual identity. The social construction of gender and sexualities remains overlooked on the majority of college and university campuses, as well as the discrimination faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA) students unaddressed within curricula. The representation of the LGBTQIA community can be attended to within classrooms, campuses, and curriculums in …

Honoring Diversity In An Online Classroom: Approaches Used By Instructors Engaging Through An Lms, Jacob Petersen

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

This is an inquiry into how online instructors embrace the diversity of their student body while facing the inherent differences between a traditional face-to-face class and one that is taught online. Current research suggests that diversity in a traditional classroom is an asset if the instructor is sensitive to students’ backgrounds. This paper examines if such philosophies in traditional classrooms translate well into a distance education environment, where the student body may be even more diverse than a face-to-face class, but possibly unrecognizable because of the lack of physical cues. Research on the topic of multiculturalism in an online classroom …

Effective Practices For Developing Academic Language And Writing Skills In English Language Learners In The Elementary School Setting, Jenna N. Emadzadeh

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

With an increased population of English Language Learners (ELLs), educators are in need of programs and strategies that help their students learn academic content while learning to understand, speak, read, and write English (Duessen, Autio, Roccegrandi & Hanita, 2014). ELLs face several obstacles while learning in an elementary school classroom.

Studies have shown the positive effects of word analysis and vocabulary learning strategies on student achievement (Carlo, August, McLaughlin, Snow, Dressler, Lippman, Lively & White, 2004). Project GLAD is a model of professional development in the area of language acquisition and literacy that focuses on such instruction. According to Echevarria …

Relationships Of Parental Homeschooling Approaches Including Technology Integration, Letitia Annette Walters

Dissertations

This study examined the factors influencing parental selection of homeschooling approaches for their children and the utilization of technology integrated. Factors explored were parental motivators for selecting homeschooling approaches, parental reasons for choosing to homeschooling, technology device usage, and instructional technology integration. The population consisted of parents with at least one year or more of experience in teaching homeschooling and the primary educator being involved in answering the survey. Participants in this study responded to items from a researcher-adapted questionnaire using. The majority of the participants were from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Kentucky. A Bachelor's degree was reported as the highest …

Career And Technical Education (Cte) And High School Student Success In Tennessee, Jerry Alan Sayers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between participation in CTE programs and students’ graduation rates and rates of CTE students’ entrance into postsecondary education or employment after graduation. Possible differences between students’ enrollment in urban and rural school districts and their graduation, participation, and secondary placement rates were also considered. Publicly available data on high school students in the state of Tennessee were analyzed to compare the graduation rates of CTE participants with the graduation rates of non-CTE participants in the state as a whole and in nine selected urban school districts and nine selected …