Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons^™

How Social Interaction Opportunities And Emotional Skills Instruction Affect Kindergarteners’ Self-Efficacy And Mental Health Within The Distance Learning Model Of School, Sarah Taraba

Education Masters Papers

This study was designed to investigate how implementing social interaction opportunities and emotional skill instruction could improve the overall mental health and self-efficacy levels of students in a kindergarten distance learning classroom. Due to the worldwide pandemic, COVID- 19, students were forced to participate in a distance learning format. This meant that students utilized a technological device to participate in schooling through online meetings with teachers and classmates. The research that was conducted focused on kindergarten students as the participants to see what could be done to improve their overall mental health; increasing levels of positive emotions such as happiness, …

Impact Of Brain Breaks On Student Engagement, Motivation, And Achievement In A Third-Grade Classroom, Adrianna Gernes

Education Masters Papers

In a third-grade classroom in a highly populated city, a researcher was concerned about her students’ focus level in the afternoon. Students have a long day at school, their brains get exposed to so much information on a typical day, and it is hard to retain the knowledge as well as being able to stay focused and motivated throughout each and every day. This study investigated how brain breaks affect student engagement, achievement, and motivation. For the entirety of a math unit, math instruction was taught incorporating planned brain breaks throughout each lesson. Data was collected from pre-and post- assessment …

The Impacts Of Ability Grouping And Project Based Learning In Stem, Andrea Johnson

Education Masters Papers

Because of a decrease in state standardized test scores in science and an increase in the use of ability grouping in reading, this research investigated the impacts of ability grouping and project based learning in STEM unit. The participants in this study are made up of 24 fourth grades. They were split into groups based on their Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) results and completed a unit on matter. In the end, the students created a product explaining everything they learned about matter throughout the unit through choices of a presentation, video, or model. This research aimed to answer the following …

Considering The State And Status Of Internationalization In Western Higher Education, Brian Culp

Faculty Articles

While internationalization is among the top strategic priorities of universities and colleges globally, research into the expanse of internationalization in the kinesiology discipline is not well researched. Given this gap, critical consideration of the state and status of the phenomenon is needed. Knowing more about what is being done in the name of internationalization within kinesiology and reflecting on how those actions and outcomes are aligned, or not, with key theoretical guidance is necessary in order to plan for improvement accordingly. For these reasons, this paper first provides a primer on internationalization in higher education, including how the phenomenon has …

An Evaluation Of One School's Reading Program To Support Struggling Readers Through The Use Of Data, Gabrielle Jones

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of one school’s reading intervention program, and its impact on struggling readers reading performance. Participants in this study included administrators, Grades 3 through 5instructional staff that directly impact student learning in reading through reading instruction. I collected survey data and analyzed it to determine teachers’ ability to instruct struggling readers with high expectations for student learning. As a result, this evaluation exhibit teachers require more quality planning time to prepare effective reading intervention lessons that includes strategies attained from strategically designed professional development structured to increase students’ reading ability. …

Turning Collective Digital Stories Of The First-Year Transition To College Into A Web Of Belonging, Mery Diaz, Sandra Cheng, Karen Goodlad, Jennifer Sears, Phil Kreniske, Ashwin Satyanarayana

Publications and Research

In this article, we present lessons learned from "Our Stories," a digital writing project designed to assist students in the transition from high school to college. From the collective digital narratives of first-year and first-generation students at an urban public college, who are primarily Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), low-income, and immigrant, and who participated in a First-year Learning Communities course, we examine the challenges of becoming a college student at a public college. Further, we explore how digital writing supports community-building and influences students' transition experience, in particular, making sense of shared challenges. For these BIPOC students, …

The Latino Achievement Gap: The Role Of Teachers In The Success Or Failure Of Latino Students, Sandra Gonzalez-Adamski

Dissertations

Understanding that the academic achievement of Latino students continues to lag behind their White peers, this study explored the role of the teacher in the success or failure of Latino school-age children. The methodology utilized for this research was qualitative. I used a narrative approach to discuss the thoughts, opinions, and insights of the six teachers interviewed for this study. The in-depth conversations with the participants suggested differences in how Latino and White teachers view their Latino students. Most of the White teachers suggested that academic achievement can be reached through explicit vocabulary instruction, reading a wide variety of books, …

Refugee Higher Education And Participatory Action Research Methods: Lessons Learned From The Field, Hadas Yanay

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Refugee access to higher education is devastatingly low. Recognizing the complex barriers facing refugee learners, global educational initiatives are innovating flexible learning models which promote blended online and in-person learning modalities. This article describes the implementation of a five month, online-based internship pilot offered to 21 refugee participants in qualitative and quantitative research methods, through a participatory action research (PAR) framework in five different countries -- Malawi, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, and Lebanon. The internship is part of the Global Education Movement (GEM), which brings refugees accredited online college degree and career development opportunities. Through direct engagement, observation of the …

Spirits In The Dark: Black Community Education And The Light It Bears, Sydoni A. Ellwood

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

“Spirits in the Dark” is a digital space dedicated to the efforts of Black community education. It memorializes the commitment and strategies of spirits, light bearers like Mary McLeod Bethune and Huey Newton – people who devoted their lives to the fortification of their communities via education. This project also presents a variety of answers to one specific question: What lessons can school leaders and educators incorporate from community-controlled education programs to make learning spaces affirming and engaging for Black students? In totality, the digital space contributes to conversations in urban education and sociology, specifically the ones being held around …

School Leaders And Exclusionary Practices: A Study Of Discretionary Daep Placements For Minority Special Education Students, Tiffany Laine Weiss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addressed the perceptions of assistant principals, counselors, and school district-level administrators about the overrepresentation of minority special education students in district alternative education placements. The purpose of this study was to examine the discipline practices at three middle school campuses in one 6A urban school district to understand minority special education students’ overrepresentation in discretionary district alternative education placements. The researcher conducted one-on-one interviews with assistant principals, counselors, one dean of students, one assistant superintendent, and one special education director. A document analysis and a data review were conducted to triangulate the results. The findings indicated that years …

Critical Thinking As A Pedagogical Approach: Using Critical/Cultural Studies To Analyze Music Videos, Lukas John Pelliccio, Timothy Brown

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

Teaching undergraduate students how to critically analyze a text is an important experience. However, it is not easy to do this because readings are often dense, and the process of writing and presenting a critique can be challenging for some students. In light of this, we have developed an assignment where students critically analyze music videos for their ideologies. In the assignment, students select three specific overt or latent content pieces from a music video and explain how those manifestations influence a particular ideology in a paper. Then they are asked to show the music video to their peers and …

Being Triggered As Faculty Of Color: Reflections On Teaching Diversity During The Trump Era, Lakia M. Scott

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Much has been written about the Black academic’s experiences of teaching in predominately White spaces. However, less has been shared about being triggered, especially when teaching during the time of the Trump administration. This essay discusses an email encounter with a White female student who was enrolled in a graduate diversity issues course. As articulated in her email response, after declining an informal conferencing opportunity with the instructor, the student critiqued the tenets of the course because of her own conceptions of Whiteness. Many of the comments made were similar to the onslaught of hate-speech and racial bias and intimidation …

On Calling In And Becoming: Our Microaggression Story, Ashley N. Gibson, Brooke Blevins

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This paper is a joint account of an experience with a microaggression between a doctoral candidate, Ashley, and her doctoral advisor Dr. Blevins in Baylor’s EdD Learning and Organizational Change program ( EdD LOC). The microaggression took place in a virtual learning setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. This story recounts the moment of the offense, how the harm was repaired, and what each felt and learned from the exchange. Ashley and Dr. Blevins partnered to share their perspectives, and both authors hope this paper will shed light on the topic of microaggressions, by raising awareness, cultivating dialogue on the topics …

Spring 2021

Action in Education

Dean's Corner: A Year of Reflection; New Mentoring Microcredential; Global Partnerships Launches; Virtual Student Teaching;Kenneth Sarubbi Retires; Advancing Anti-Racism Initiatives; Past Is Prologue: The DePaul University and Facing History and Ourselves Collaboration continues in its mission; Nurturing the Special Education Workforce: DePaul partners with the Chicago Teacher Residency program to alleviate the shortage of special education teachers; Flexing His Teaching Muscles: As he alternates between teaching in person and virtually, Josh Cook credits his DePaul education for his flexibility; Breaking Barriers: A new book aims to help teachers educate language learners

Using Film As A Multimodal Text In The Language Classroom, Kate Marie Steckmest

MA TESOL Collection

Film is a powerful medium for language acquisition; Not only does viewing films allow learners to experience language used in various real-life contexts, but the medium of film itself is a form of communication. Through the active viewing of films, students can explore how people with diverse backgrounds, accents, and cultures communicate using multiple modes such as gestures, images, and sounds. When learners are familiar with the techniques used by filmmakers to convey meaning, they can use the medium of film themselves to tell their stories and share their perspectives through filmmaking projects. Such projects can be collaborative and engaging …

Law School News: Dean's Distinguished Service Award 2021: Ralph Tavares 05/28/2021, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Whiteness 101: Racial Identity Work For White Educators To Advance Antiracist Pedagogy, Meghan W. Slan

Master's Projects and Capstones

Whiteness, White privilege, and racial inequality are pervasive in K-12 schools and universities. Recognizing that race is a human invented classification construct that has had and continues to have a direct causal effect on the historical and present inequality of the United States, White educators must reckon with their own racial identities as White people in a White supremacist society. White educators are complicit in reproducing White supremacist societal structures through K-12 schooling and in universities, thus bearing responsibility to disrupt, dismantle and rebuild a more just and equitable education system. This field project incorporates my experiences as facilitator of …

A Decolonial Middle School Social Studies Curriculum: 19th Century U.S. Westward Colonization, Leah Chatterji

Master's Projects and Capstones

Social Studies education throughout the United States sustains settler futurity, white supremacy, and coloniality, as it rarely engages with Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) hxstories and structural violence. For middle schoolers, this is especially troublesome as social justice pedagogies are minimal for this demographic. To shift this, this field project offers an 8^th grade decolonial Social Studies curriculum on 19^th century U.S. Westward colonization; this topic was intentionally chosen as it is an opportunity to disrupt settler epistemologies. It centers: Land; relationality; and collective liberation. It complements the California unit 8.8 standards, yet different grades, subjects, …

Testimonios Of Cultural Wealth: Racial And Ethnic Identity Development For Latinx Youth In Historically White High Schools, Amanda Montez

Master's Theses

My goal for this study was to study the experiences of Latina/o/x youth as they transition from a middle school that serves Communities of Color to Historically White High Schools. I wanted to know how the change of community impacted participants’ understanding of their racial and ethnic identity. Through testimonios, the five participants question the nuances of race and ethnicity, convey the need for educators to challenge existing structures of oppression, and recognize their moral obligation to be part of the movement for racial justice. Utilizing the frameworks of Community Cultural Wealth and Critical Race Theory, I center the lived …

Seeking Universal Education: From Singapore’S Educational Success, Gulnar Rzayeva

Master's Projects and Capstones

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, education is considered a fundamental human right. However, this right is not accessible for every child. Not all education systems are capable of providing quality education. There are various reasons behind this issue. Based on the OECD and PISA records, Singapore has a successful education system with multiple ethnicities and religions. This study intends to discover some characteristics of Singapore's education system and the feasibility of achieving similar success in other practices. In the methodology part, based on a literature review on the education policy and the education system of Singapore, content …

Mapping Out Our Space In Stories: A High School Curriculum For A Social Justice Tour Of San Francisco, Elena Ramírez Robles

Master's Projects and Capstones

How do youth engage with the spaces around them? In what ways might students connect their personal, lived knowledge to the politics and intricacies of space? The manners in which schools approach outside-of-school learning includes non-critical Place-Based Learning and field trips as optional material; however, doing so breaks the powerful relationship waiting to be explored between Critical Geography and Critical Education. This field project uses Henri Lefebvre’s concepts of The Production of Space and Rhythmanalysis as foundations to argue for the implementation of Critical Geography into high school curricula, and offers a 9-week high school curriculum to create a student-led …

The Counterculture Generation: Idolized, Appropriated, And Misunderstood, Rina R. Bousalis

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Students today possess the impression that all members of the 1960s-70s counterculture generation, or hippies, were long-haired radicals who engaged in deviant behavior. This is attributable to the way media has portrayed youth from this era. Contemporary youth have appropriated the counterculture style without understanding the movement. Businesses transformed the hippies into symbolic commodities, thus reducing their historical significance. This paper describes the implications of this shift and how educators should go beyond the emblematic symbols to teach the counterculture movement in a meaningful way.

Legislated Love And Loyalty: An Analysis Of State Patriotism Statutes, Benjamin R. Wellenreiter

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

State statutes require students to engage in patriotic exercises and to learn the concept of patriotism. Through emphasis on ceremonial exercises, requirement of specific document study, framing of patriotism as a character trait, and language regarding civic engagement, state statutes promote various conceptualizations of patriotism. Rarely fitting into a dichotomic framework of either authoritarian or democratic patriotism (Westheimer, 2006, 2009), statutes emphasize varying levels of maintenance of status quos or acknowledgement of societal flaws. Identified were four patriotism statute categories related to the degree to which they maintain status quos or acknowledge societal flaws: active maintenance of status quos; ceremonial …

Covid-19 And Racial Justice In Urban Education: Nyc Parents Speak Out, Kelly Brady, Mieasia Edwards, Whitney Hollins, José Luis Jiménez, Wendy Luttrell, William Orellana, David Rosas, Nga Than

Publications and Research

The COVID-19 pandemic and global calls for racial justice surfaced tremendous inequities and revitalized the debate about schooling and its purpose. NYC Parents Speak Out is a public engagement project, based on an interactive survey and interviews that records and reflects NYC family educational experiences during the unprecedented school year of 2020-2021. Our research collective, comprised of researchers, parents, advocates, teachers, and school leaders from the Urban Education Ph.D. Program at The Graduate Center (CUNY) identified three key recommendations based on research findings: to improve communication through family and community engagement; give greater attention to social-emotional and mental health; and …

Integrating Adult Mentorship Module Within Youth Oriented Programs, Shady Elfaham

Capstone Collection

ABSTRACT

World Learning (WL) is a non-governmental entity focused on the advancement of leaders around the world through educational exchange programs and sustainable development initiatives. Its Youth Exchange Unit comprises an experienced and inventive team designing and implementing cultural exchange programs centered on capacity and skills building in civic engagement, teambuilding, leadership, youth workforce development, and entrepreneurship. Through such experiential learning initiatives, WL staff have recognized the correlation between mentorship and positive youth development.

Recognizing the short- and long-term benefits that quality mentorship can generate for youth, this capstone project integrates a tailored adult mentorship module within upcoming WL youth-oriented …

Meditation And The Inner Life Of Today’S Educator, Summer Nicklasson

Education | Master's Theses

This project stemmed from the researcher’s feeling stress as a new teacher and the need for self-care. The study is contextualized and the theoretical frameworks include meditation and mindfulness. (Venditti et al., 2020). Teaching is a stressful profession and many teachers experience daily stresses that can often lead to teacher burnout. When teachers are stressed, their ability to effectively teach and connect with students is diminished. This is further exacerbated by the fact that educators are teaching through the unprecedented times of COVID-19. Meditation and mindfulness are universal and free tools that educators can use to decrease stress and increase …

Biomedical Ethics In The Medical School Curriculum: Lessons Learned From The Holocaust, Emma Flanagan

College Honors Program

The Holocaust, the murder of 6 million Jews, is the only medically-santioned genocide. This thesis explores the roles of Nazi doctors in the planning, organizing, and implementation of the organized mass murder of European Jewry. Given the German medical community’s complicity, it is imperative that physicians today are well informed about their profession’s history of involvement in the Holocaust. In addition, and by way of contrast, a study of the moral challenges faced by doctors imprisoned in concentration camps or in the ghettos of Nazi-occupied Europe might serve to better prepare physicians for future ethical dilemmas. In a survey of …

“Fixed Mindsets” And The Deprecation Of Youth Voice, Brenham Cozine

Education | Master's Theses

This research explored reflective writing as a tool for understanding critical consciousness, with 10th and 11th-grade history students as a form of engaged research toward understanding self-efficacy and civic agency. It was situated in a framework of Critical Race Theory (Bryant et. al., 2015) critical consciousness (Furman, 2012; Shih, 2018), and Participatory Action Research (Maguire, 1987). Through in-depth interviews, focus groups and reflective writing prompts with 9 students and a faculty member, the findings showed that the deprecation of youth’s voice by adults affects youth’s sense of self-efficacy and perceived abilities to create meaningful change. It was further found that …

The Name Curriculum: Exploring Names, Naming, And Identity, Isabel Taswell

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The act of naming, or using and respecting one’s name, is a humanizing act: it is foundational to one’s sense of identity and belonging. Conversely, the act of ‘de-naming,’ or changing, forgetting, or erasing one’s name, is an act of dehumanization: it denies one’s sense of identity and belonging. The Name Curriculum provides an opportunity for third grade students to explore the role of names and naming as they relate to one’s sense of self and community. It draws on the role of developmental psychology, the urgency of historical context, and the power of children’s literature. Specifically, it explores how …

Approaches To Narrative Instruction For Second Language Learners, Mathew Peters

MA TESOL Collection

Narratives have reemerged as a dominant form of rhetoric over the last fifty years. This dominant use of narrative discourse has only increased with the rise of social media. Walther Fisher (1987) proposed the narrative paradigm as a unifying theory of human communication. His major claim is that people are inherently storytellers and that people use a narrative rationality and a logic of good reasons to inform their beliefs, values, and actions. This paper utilizes his theories, along with recent findings in neuroscience, to establish an argument for greater inclusion of narratives into second language teaching. Narratives can have a …