Educational Methods Commons^™

Development Of A Website To Improve Communication And Learning, Rebecca Sue Bonheim

Theses Digitization Project

This project was developed to address the complex issue of disseminating information to high school students via the World Wide Web. Topics include: the need for greater communication among instructors, students and parents, the need to utilize instructional design techniques, the backwards design process in the development of web based projects; and the need to integrate internet technology for promoting instruction and learning.

Implementing The Teaching Strategy: "Identifying Similarities And Differences", Karilyn Dangleis

Theses Digitization Project

In order to enhance academic achievement it is necessary to implement a teaching strategy which provides students with tools needed to improve classroom performance. This study will produce data showing whether the implementation of "Indentifying Similarities and Differences" is an effective teaching strategy.

Visual Literacy In Kindergarten: How Can Visual Literacy Be Used As A Tool To Promote Student Learning In The Kindergarten Classroom?, Arcelia Anguiano

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to create a guide for planning effective use of visuals. Recent studies demonstrate the effectiveness of using visuals in classroom instruction, including the fact that English language learners benefit from using this tool.

Eureka: A Gold Rush Play Integrating The Performing Arts Into Elementary Social Studies Curriculum, Jean Collins Merrill

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is two-fold. The first purpose is to explore the benefits of incorporating the arts in the education of all students. Incorporating the arts into other curricular areas enhances learning and makes it more meaningful to the student. The second purpose is to develop a performance program that brings the California Gold Rush era and the cultural diversity of that period of history alive.

Taiwanese Cultural Content In English-As-A-Foreign-Language Elementary Education, Yi-Ting Wang

Theses Digitization Project

Teaching culture is an essential part of teaching language. This project focuses on cross-cultural teaching, comparing Taiwanese and Western cultural content such as folktales. This comparison is based on presenting Taiwanese cultural content.

Practicing Teacher Perceptions Of Technology And Technology Integration In K-12 Education, Stephanie Lyn De Jong

Theses Digitization Project

This cross-sectional study assessed participants' perceptions of classroom technology integration and compared them to variables such as years of teaching experience, age, gender, computer access, technology training and level of technology adoption in the classroom.

The Art Of Self-Discovery: Integrative Opportunities For Alternative Settings, Mary Elizabeth Harrigan

Theses Digitization Project

This study examines the literature on identifying alternative methods of coming to a deeper understanding of one's physical, mental, and spiritual self. It provides information on one particular alternative program, and presents lesson ideas and options that demonstrate how an art-based emphasis in elective coursework can allow for the next step in each student's journey of personal growth and development.

Teacher Attitude Towards Technology: Usage In K-2 Classrooms, Lilia Reyes Granillo

Theses Digitization Project

This thesis is designed for teachers in early elementary education. It focuses on how and if, these teachers are integrating technology while meeting the many State Standards required by the State of California.

A Solution For Non-Proctored Online Tests Using Webct, Gary Aguiar

Bush Project Anthology

In developing an Internet-delivered version of my introductory political science course, I found it a challenge to devise online tests that prevented cheating. To the maximum extent possible, I wanted to create an Internet course that mirrored my on-campus course and minimized opportunities to cheat on non-proctored tests using WebCT. Over the last four semesters, I used my on-campus courses to develop online tests in preparation for my first Internet-delivered course. With the advice and support of other faculty and staff, I developed online quizzes and exams using WebCT that support two Lead Forward goals. First, students learn to embrace …

Using Digital Movie Making To Teach Theories In Range Science, Alexander Smart

Bush Project Anthology

Learning complex theories in Range Science can be aided by having students use digital movie making technology. The objectives of this paper were to 1) describe the digital movie making process and 2) provide a qualitative assessment of its use in learning conceptual subject matter. Students were instructed in the use of digital movie making software and the process to create a digital movie describing the state-and-transition plant succession model. Ninety percent of the students thought that the movie making project helped them better understand the state-and-transition plant succession model. Students enjoyed learning the new technology and 40% said they …

Learning By Doing, And Doing What Others Have Done: Study Replication In The Classroom, Meredith Redlin, Mario Hesse

Bush Project Anthology

The study of sociology comprise both theory and method, a combination which has resulted in persistent challenges to pedagogical practice in the lower level undergraduate classroom (Cutler 1987; Takata and Leiting 1987). While teaching of general theory is well-suited to the classroom in the instruction of framework , teaching the application of theory require the introduction of data for those frameworks. Similarly, while specific methods can be outlined in the lecture classroom format common to lower-level coursework, teaching the application of methods remain key to building a solid understanding of the discipline and it practices (Cutler 1987; Van Valey 1977, …

Developing And Implementing A Peer Tutoring Program At The Middle School Level, Mark Derryl Witvliet

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to design a peer tutoring program in the middle school setting that help students who are not reaching their full potential.

Enhancing Foreign Language Learning Through The Integration Of Computer Technology, Suzanne Florence Marsolais-Johnson

Theses Digitization Project

This thesis demonstrates the effectiveness of using computer technology and the Internet to enhance classroom teaching. A variety of computer and internet based projects that complement lessons initiated by the classroom teacher provide real life situations for additional practice, reinforcement, motivation and greater student achievement.

Zoophonics Keyboards: A Venue For Technology Integration In Kindergarten, Marie Bess Forst

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of the project was to create a program of instruction that seamlessly meshed with my current emergent literacy curriculum, a popularly used phonics program entitled Zoo-phonics, which can easily be applied by other kindergarten teachers using the same phonics instruction program.

Different Thinking Hats: The Continuously-Evolving Role Of The Instructor In E-Problem Based Learning (E-Pbl), Roisin Donnelly

Papers, presentations and other resources

A hugely important area in any form of PBL delivery is the role of the instructor; in an e-learning environment, it is even more crucial. Hughes and Daykin (2002) have suggested that a move to online delivery needs a greater attention to design and development of facilitator skills than has been previously recognised. An e-learning module for lecturers, delivered using a problem-based learning approach, is the setting for continuing research into the many hats that an instructor has to don during the learning process. Coppola, Hiltz and Rotter (2001) identify a number of roles played by instructors in e-learning, but …

Environmental Awareness And Sustainable Development Curriculum In English As A Second Language Adult Education, Ian Griffith

Theses Digitization Project

This project provides the tools and framework for an ESL (English as a second language) classroom experience that informs citizens about sustainable development and that emphasizes the connections between distinct subject areas. The project focuses on global concerns about the environment, pollution and sustainability to develop case studies and simulations that involve students and teach vocabulary, critical thinking, and techniques of negotiation.

Flexible Reading Groups For Literacy In A First Grade Classroom, Sharon Ann Parker

All Graduate Projects

The professional literature on the configuration of flexible reading groups for reading instrnction in a regular first grade classroom was examined to determine if flexible grouping yields any benefit to students who have been assessed to be below grade level in reading. The research showed support for the idea that flexible, fluid grouping is an accelerant to producing higher levels of reading improvement. As a result, an instructional handbook was created to aid educators in the implementation of flexible reading group instruction.

An Interconnected Foundational Art Curriculum, Jessica Ann Knapp

All Graduate Projects

This project shows the development of an interconnected foundational art curriculum which combines the concepts of organization, studentinvolved classroom assessment, Discipline-Based Art Education, and the elements and principles of design. This project was developed to provide art teachers with a curriculum that would give beginning art students foundational knowledge in art. This project focuses on teaching students a basic foundation for creating and understanding art while incorporating the four disciplines of DBAE. Through an interconnected art curriculum, students will gain a greater understanding of art due to the careful organization of the lessons and student-involved classroom assessment.

Cooperative Learning In The Middle School : Is It A Developmentally Appropriate Strategy?, Laura C. Guilford

Graduate Research Papers

"Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other's learning" (Holt, 1993, p. 5). The strategy sounds simple, and it has existed throughout history in some format, but there are many aspects.that come into play when cooperative learning is used. This review of literature examines what cooperative learning is, what the benefits of using cooperative learning strategies are, what problems can occur, and whether cooperative learning is an appropriate strategy for middle level students.· The author discusses recommendations for resolving some of the problems that teachers have with …

Using Drama As An Effective Method To Teach Elementary Students, Mandie M. Moore

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Making Science Teams Work, Roxanne Greitz Miller

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Science teachers, likely have more experience with students working together than teachers in any other subject area due to teaming students for hands-on activities. While the importance of teamwork is emphasized in the National Science Education Standards, getting teams to actually work-meaning getting students to share equally in the academic assignments and to interact in a positive and productive manner-often eludes even the best of teachers. It has been the author's experience as a middle level science teacher that effective teaming requires careful planning, clear communication with students and parents, relevant motivational strategies, and arranging the classroom and activities to …

We Change The World By Doing Nothing, Suzanne Soohoo

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"The focus of this essay is on what I refer to as 'bystander apathy.' Bystanderism is the response of people who observe something that demands intervention on their part, but they choose not to get involved. I write this piece to shed light on this issue for others as well as for my own self-reflection - to understand more deeply why some people act against abuses of power and others don't; why sometimes I act and sometimes I don't. What are the forces, both internal and external, that work to keep us all from speaking against and standing up to …

Critical Geography And The Real World In First-Year Writing Classrooms, Matthew I. Feinberg

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

By helping students confront the ideologies that shape their physical and cultural experiences, critical geography in first year writing classrooms may be one means of collapsing the perceived distance between the classroom and the "real world."

Analyzing Dominant Cultural Narratives Of Religious Pluralism: A Study Of Oprah.Com, Patricia Webb, Zach Waggoner

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

This essay analyzes Oprah.com, the website for multimedia mogul Oprah Winfrey, to examine the tensions between dominate religious ideologies and pluralism in America.

Connecting, Helen Walker, Joanne Katzmarek, Steven L. Vanderstaay, Irwin Ramirez Leopando, Christopher Sweet, Howard Wolf

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

JoAnne Katzmarek—Thoughts Like Flying Grouse

Steven L. VanderStaay—I'm With You, Huck

Irwin Ramirez Leopando—A Moment of Connections

Christopher Sweet—The Brightening Glance

Howard Wolf—Personal Teaching

Jaepl, Vol. 10, Winter 2004-2005, Kristie S. Fleckenstein, Linda T. Calendrillo

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Essays

Lynn Z. Bloom. The Seven Deadly Virtues.

The university stifles most creative writers except the most intrepid—even reckless, the good along with the bad—in the process of teaching them to write according to the conventions of the academy in general, and their specific disciplines in particular.

David L. Wallace. Shallow Literacy, Timid Teaching, and Cultural Impotence.

Any attempt to move to a deeper notion of literacy in our theory and pedagogy must—among other things—involve us facing our own self interest and expecting disruption in our own classrooms, departments, and universities.

Roben Torosyan. Listening: Beyond Telling to 'Being' …

The Seven Deadly Virtues, Lynn Z. Bloom

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

The university stifles most creative writers except the most intrepid—even reckless, the good along with the bad—in the process of teaching them to write according to the conventions of the academy in general, and their specific disciplines in particular.

Listening: Beyond Telling To “Being” What We Want To Teach, Roben Torosyan

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

In response to a culture of polarized argument, this paper shows a way to provide people with practice at deep listening and understanding. The author examines ways in which self-disclosure about problems of dialog may be an ideal means for teachers or leaders to show people alternate ways of being in the world of meaning making.

Image Into Word: Glimpses Of Mental Images In Writers Writing, Hildy Miller

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

This essay uses thought samples and interviews to show ways writers use mental imagery in non-creative writing task.

Front Matter

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Editors' Message

At Risk: Teaching and Writing Outside the Safety Zone

In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education released its damning indictment of American education. In the opening sentence of the report, the authors announce: "Our Nation is at risk." National prosperity, security, and civility are being "eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity" resulting from the failures of our schools and colleges.

Within this context "risk," defined by Webster's as "the possibility of suffering loss," is something to be avoided, or, if that is not possible, something to be managed. Thus, children struggling for success in school …