Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons^™

Building And Fostering Honors Communities: Lessons From Social Distancing, Anne Dotter, Kathleen King

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

While scholars of online education have been developing ways to foster a sense of belonging in online spaces for years, many of us in honors were thrown into the deep end for the first time in March 2020. As a result, we are now able to see the potential of online practices in a way we could not previously. This chapter tells the story of how we came to see the value of virtual community made possible by digital technology as an invaluable complement to the in-person work of a twenty-first-century honors program. Before the Work from Home (WFH) era, …

Curriculum, Knowledge, And Power: A Critical Race Approach To Content Analysis Of Social Studies Textbooks, Eliza G. Ray

Honors Theses

This study uses Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a theoretical framework to examine the portrayal of the U.S. Revolutionary War in three 5th grade social studies textbooks approved by the state of Florida’s curriculum standards. Textbooks have been a focal point for political debate, most recently influenced more by politicians than by educators. A qualitative rubric was developed to evaluate the textbooks, examining the extent to which they include a CRT telling of the Revolutionary War. This rubric was informed by the tenets of CRT in educational research as described by Solorzano and Yosso (2002). Consistent themes arose from the …

Virtual Learning Walks Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

Learning Walks are structured walkthroughs with the purpose of professional development and growth. Learning Walks include multiple people so that immediate reflections may occur through collaboration. In higher education, model classrooms are not readily available for preservice teachers to practice and apply coursework knowledge. Virtual Learning Walks are a creative approach to resolve this challenge. This assignment asks preservice teachers to watch a recorded lesson with the mindset that they are visiting a colleague’s classroom to observe them for professional growth. Students take notes during the observation then analyze the observation for their own growth.

Catching Up To Yesterday: An Argument For A Practical Application Of Creativity For Inspiring Change From A Content-Based Course Delivery To A 21st-Century Skills-Based Delivery, Darren Chapman

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project is a creative vision for how college-level courses could be changed to deliver the most important skills students need in the 21st century—moving toward an essential employability skills-based delivery process while training vocational (content) skills. Technology is outpacing humans' ability to adapt and adopt to it, making it increasingly difficult to keep pace with technological change. This has wide-ranging effects on each of us – productively, emotionally, and perhaps physically. Colleges are at the forefront of educating citizens about the working world to improve their productivity, incomes and their sense of intrinsic motivation. However, these same colleges are …

The Unequal Distribution Of Social Risk For Black Men Across The Life-Span. A Novel Framework., Waleed Y. Sami

Adultspan Journal

This conceptual overview offers a comprehensive overview of systemic pathways that negatively impact the mental health of Black Men throughout their lives. Our argument highlights the importance for counselors and mental health professionals to utilize a thorough social risk assessment that considers these pathways in order to effectively address the mental health needs of Black Men while fostering positive working relationships. This overview strongly advocates for the use of context and structural determinants when evaluating mental health symptoms. Without an appropriate understanding of social risk and determinants, counselors may inadvertently perpetuate disparities by decontextualizing symptomology, and reproducing racist discourse.

The Battle Over Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion And Critical Race Theory In Florida: A Case Study On The Stop W.O.K.E. Act, Grace Anne Castelin

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Accelerating from 2022 and continuing through 2024, the state of Florida has experienced significant policy changes, particularly within the realm of higher education and affairs of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Many progressive officials, experts, and activists assert arguments that the state is on the verge of evolving into an authoritarian regime while many illiberal policies are being produced through the Florida legislature and current executive leadership—social and economic sectors are consequently threatened in order to maintain political oppression. The Stop W.O.K.E. Act has served as a catalyst for shifting the state's political stance on DEI, culminating in a chain …

Incorporating Sex-Diverse And Gender-Inclusive Perspectives In Higher Education Biology Courses, Breanne N. Harris, A Kelsey Lewis, Sam L. Sharpe, Teri J. Orr, Christopher T. Martine, Chloe C. Josefson

Faculty Journal Articles

Inclusive teaching is teaching in a way that reaches all students in the classroom; this is beneficial for everyone, particularly for those with minoritized identities. Instructors play a critical role in scaffolding how students are exposed to and learn science content in the classroom. In this manuscript, we discuss how biology instructors can make their classrooms more inclusive with regard to sex and gender diversity content. Many topics in biology are based on androcentric, heteronormative, and oppressive framing, even though those lenses are more reflective of our own history and culture than they are of the diversity we see in …

From Elementary School To Doctoral Education: An Autoethnographic Journey, Gwendolyn D. Dailey

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Every child has a right to education, and their skin color should not determine their education quality. However, since the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), it has been proven that race continues to matter in the success and failure of education (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001). The persistent achievement gaps between students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as the disparities in access to high-quality educational opportunities, demonstrate how race and ethnicity shape the educational experiences of students of color (Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis, 2012). Unfortunately, stories such as Ruby Bridges of New …

Understanding Latina/O/X Puente Alumni Student Experiences With Sense Of Belonging And Validation, Stephanie Teresa Razo

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The primary focus of this study was on how the Puente Project helps Latina/o/x community college students feel supported and validated. Additionally, it focused on how community and familial efforts can influence students’ experiences, and how the Puente Project leverages those forms of capital. Examining the lived experiences of Latina/o/x Puente community college alumni contributed to the study of retention and graduation initiatives for Latina/o/x students in the California Community College system. For this study, the participants chosen already completed the Puente program at a California Central Valley community college, transferred to a four-year institution, and either graduated with—or are …

Exploring Perceptions Of Advanced Coursework Enrollment Practices: A Multiple Case Study, Tomika Ferguson, David B. Naff, Jenna Lenhardt, Amy E. Jefferson, Isaiah Moore, Andrea Herndon, Richard Ashburn, Jessica Harris, Jenna Conlee, Courtney Forstmann

MERC Publications

This report from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium highlights findings from a multiple case study exploring enrollment practices related to advanced coursework matriculation in a suburban middle school and rural high school. In connection with the MERC Equitable Access and Support for Advanced Coursework study, this multiple case study included perspectives from students, parents, and educators as they reflected on the factors that support and inhibit access for advanced courses in their schools.

Designing A Transdisciplinary, Critical Place-Based Ethnic Studies Curriculum Around A Historic Black Neighborhood In St. Louis, Sarah Mcvoy Miller

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Black neighborhoods have played a critical role in creating safe spaces and fostering resistance for Black individuals (Fullilove, 2016; Haymes, 1995). However, systemic racism has contributed to negative outside perceptions of Black spaces (Faber, 2021; Imbroscio, 2021). Further, stigmatizing language has helped to justify the displacement or erasure of these spaces (Faber, 2021; Porter & Yiftachel, 2019; Safransky, 2014; Slater, 2009; Yiftachel, 1998). Despite the contributions that Black communities have made and continue to make, common curricula often exclude positive stories about Black communities (Epstein, 2009; Ross, 2017c; Zinn & Macedo, 2005). In this dissertation, I propose a curriculum based …

The Pulse Of Connection: Professors' Experience Of Positive Relationships With Students–An Interpretative Phenomenology And Photovoice Study, Ileya N. Grosman

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In higher education, the focus on student success often takes center stage in research and the professor-as-teacher practice. While numerous empirical studies concentrate on the growth and development of undergraduate students, this dissertation delves into professors’ relational and felt experiences in positive teaching-learning relationships. Four terminal-degreed professors from four different schools and three different disciplines–education, humanities, and leadership–engaged in photography and were then interviewed. Participants reflected on their photographs and their experiences in a teaching-learning relationship with their students. The present study aimed to illuminate the unspoken language of connection by utilizing interpretive phenomenology and photovoice to uncover professors’ relational …

Exploring The Perspectives Of Teenage Tutors Who Tutor Elementary Students In A One-To-One Reading Tutoring Program, Talya M. Taylor

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There have been minimal studies on tutoring programs that pair elementary students with teenage tutors (Jacob et al., 2016). Innovative tutoring programs are important as student reading achievement has declined since the onset of COVID-19 and school systems face instructional staff shortages. Through the lens of Self Determination Theory, this study explored how tutor autonomy (Ryan & Deci, 2000) to choose instructional strategies and delivery methods influences student reading progress through one-to-one tutoring.

Centered in a constructivist world view, qualitative research methodology was used to explore the relationship between teenage tutors exercising autonomy when delivering a scripted reading curriculum and …

Disrupting Pedagogy: High School Students Making Sense Of The Flipped Learning Instructional Videos, Celeca A. Sukra

Journal of Research Initiatives

Technology has impacted every aspect of modern culture, including education. The influx of educational technology in schools presents opportunities to explore ways to engage students in the learning process fully. Although students may enjoy using technology in their daily lives, it is necessary to carefully consider how these students make sense of technology in the learning environment. Using the theoretical framework of constructivism, this Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) aimed to understand and describe the lived experiences of three students using technology to learn in a flipped classroom at a New York City public charter high school. The significant findings reveal …

Media Literacy Policy In Morocco: A Strategic Milestone Missing, Abderrahim Chalfaouat, Karim Essoufi

Journal of Media Literacy Education

In the digital age, diverse walks of human life have reconfigured profoundly. In the Moroccan society, digitalisation plans and the skyrocketing numbers of internet users necessitate coping literacy policies. While several community initiatives have been taken to improve the quality of media literacy, they, as bottom-up efforts, cannot suffice to meet the needs of the whole Moroccan population. Rather, the absence of a central, nationwide, cross-sectoral media literacy policy significantly challenges the effective coordination of official strategies and community initiatives in media education. This article investigates current practices in media literacy in Morocco. Using document analysis, it delves into data …

Beyond The Bell: Rebuilding Care, Civic Learning And Creativity Within Youth Spaces, Michelle R. Haapala

Masters Projects

The purpose of this research is to investigate high school age students’ opportunities within formal classroom settings to engage in care, civic learning, and creativity within a suburban, publicly-funded charter school. This study used thematic analysis and coding methods to organize and find patterns in the qualitative data from surveys distributed to education professionals at Canton Preparatory High School in Canton, Michigan. The goal is to establish a foundation of the perception of care, civic learning, and creativity within school environments and classroom settings. Overall, education professionals rated these categories positively, but with a closer investigation, a disconnect is found. …

The Effect Of Reading Habits On Academic Success, Taylor Hicks

Masters Projects

The goal of most students is to achieve academic success. In order to be successful, students must form healthy reading habits because there is a positive correlation between academic success and reading habits. The more students read, the greater their chances of performing well academically. By participating in frequent reading, students will, not only perform well in school, they will also expand their vocabulary, improve their writing skills, and sharpen their critical thinking skills. We are in the midst of a literacy crisis, though. Students are choosing other avenues for entertainment instead of reading. This could potentially have detrimental consequences. …

Experiencing Transformative Learning During Participatory Needs Assessment Of A Public School: Journeys And Arrivals To Relational Ontology(Ies), Shree Krishna Wagle Dr., Parbati Dhungana Dr., Bal Chandra Luitel Prof., Erling Krogh Prof., Niroj Dahal

The Qualitative Report

This paper discusses experiences from school-based needs assessment within a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project aimed at facilitating quality education in public schools of rural Nepal. Being often a first stage in the process of research-action, Participatory Needs Assessment (PNA) offers space for community members’ perceptions and attitudes toward their collective needs. In this light, this paper takes evidence from the first and the second authors’ Ph.D. experiences, under the supervision of the third and the fourth authors to initiate PNA of a school. Also, incorporating the reflections from the fifth author as a critical friend, it observes the political, …

Table Of Contents - Jaepl - Volume 28, Wendy Ryden

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Table of Contents

Rethinking Science Communication: The Need For Dialogic, Transdisciplinary Collaboration, Julia Kiernan

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Rethinking Science Communication: The Need for Dialogic, Transdisciplinary Collaboration

Front Matter - Jaepl - Volume 28, Wendy Ryden

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Front Matter

Science Storytelling Beyond The Dramatic Arc: Narrativity And Little Red Schoolhouse Principles In Science Communication, Daniel A. Newman

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Narrative is widely recommended for improving science communication, yet the main approach to science storytelling is limited and limiting, advocating fixed dramatic arcs and the ideal of narrativehood, the absolute quality of being a coherent narrative. Neglected by this approach, I argue, are the finer grained linguistic patterns that give texts local narrativity, the quality of being narrative in a scalar, adjectival sense. I harmonize narrativity with the well-established principles of clear technical writing developed by Joseph Williams, then demonstrate how these principles might be used and taught through a comparative reading of several texts discussing a single topic in …

Storying Science: Preparing Stem Students To Engage With Discipline-Specific And Public Audiences Through The Ted(X) Genre, Erica M. Stone, Sarah E. Austin

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Communicating about science with public audiences is becoming increasingly important for STEM students, both during their studies and once they enter a specific scientific workplace. Using two different general education writing courses as case examples, one at Middle Tennessee State University and one at the United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School, this article offers a model for how the rhetorical structure of the TED(x) presentation genre can be used to prepare STEM-focused students to better engage with non-expert audiences. Through narrative reflection and assignment examples, we build on Joshua Schimel’s framework for communicating science and provide a replicable model …

Embedding The Scientists: Civic Issues As Context For Teaching And Learning, Heather Lettner-Rust, Alix Dowling Kink, Edward Kinman, Joellen Pederson, Phillip Poplin

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

We teach science as a path to meaningful civic engagement in a participatory democracy and as a path that should be open to all; our concern lies in how the next generation of young citizens1 address challenging civic issues both by applying science to other contexts—public and civic—as well as communicating science to others—peers and the public. To that end, our article seeks to explain an interdisciplinary capstone course for our general education program that we developed to promote and support science learning and science communication by teaching in the context of important civic issues.

Why Moffet Matters Now, Stephen Lafer, Jonathan M. Marine

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

James Porter Moffett (1929–1996) was a ground-breaking teacher, author, and theorist of language learning who had a profound impact on the fields of English Education, Language Arts, Composition, and Educational Psychology in the mid to late 20th century and was the first member of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning (AEPL). In the inaugural Moffett’s Corner, Steve Lafer and Jonathan Marine discuss how they came together, why they wanted to start this column, and what they hope to accomplish.

Public Narratives, Storytelling, And Trust: A Case Study In A Stem-Based Writing Program, Jeff Gagnon

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

In recent years, a growing body of scholars have argued that narrative storytelling is an effective and necessary science communication tool for the education of undergraduate STEM students. This research comes at a time when many in the public are becoming distrustful about science, scientists, and scientific communication. However, questions remain about which genre and style of narratives are most effective at building trust among STEM communicators and public audiences? My essay answers this question through a case study of narrative communication in my first-year writing classes. I analyze my attempts to teach STEM students that “public narratives,” a genre …

Addressing Gaps In Science Competencies: Incorporating Science Communication Into Existing Classes, Amy J. Hawkins, Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith, Nicole C. Woitowich

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Regardless of which career path a scientist decides to take, they must be able to communicate effectively with broad audiences. As such, science communication training has become an essential component of STEM professional development. While multiple national scientific societies have articulated the need to address these skills as in fundamental training, few undergraduate scientific training programs have formally addressed this in their degree programs. Here we present an innovative approach to teach this skill set by blending an online science communication course with existing curricula in the biomedical sciences. Online content from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology …

Part 1: Creating Scientist-Citizens Through A Writing Minor, Melissa Carrion, Ed Nagelhout

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Part 1: Creating Scientist-Citizens through a Writing Minor

Weaving Science Communication Training Through An Undergraduate Science Program With A Focus On Accessibility And Inclusion, Adina Silver, Zoya Adeel, Tim Li, Abeer Siddiqui, Alexander Hall, Sarah L. Symons, Katie Moisse

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Science communication training can help scientists engage diverse audiences with the promise and process of science, helping to strengthen science literacy and preserve public trust in science. But not all scientists have access to such training. To address this shortfall, we have embedded a suite of science communication courses in the Life Sciences Program, the largest undergraduate science program at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. A foundational course focuses on making science accessible through inclusive language and media, while more advanced courses emphasize the importance of understanding and centering the values, beliefs, questions, and critiques of audiences, and using narratives …

Coastal Communications: Teaching Civic Scientific Literacy In English And Environmental Science And Resource Management Classes, Stacey Anderson, Kiki Patsch

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Named after the national park that lies just off of our Ventura County shores, California State University Channel Islands draws faculty who are committed to integrating the coast into their teaching and research. This context has inspired our interdisciplinary collaboration as teacher-scholars who hail from separate departments (English and Environmental Science and Resource Management). Our work together is designed to amplify civic scientific literacy in our classrooms as a means of elevating discourse on the growing challenges that threaten our coastal communities.