Gifted Education Commons^™

Cultural Advocacy And Teachers Of Color, Torine Champion, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

Teachers of color face marginalization and microaggressions that their White counterparts do not have to face. African American teachers experience microaggressions pathologizing their cultural values and communication styles, cultural/ethnic insensitivity, an ascription of their intelligence, and being treated as second-class citizens) that are hurtful, undermining, and disparaging (Brown, 2019). Asian American teachers face gendered, racial, and sexualized expectations on their campuses (Endo, 2015). A study of Latina bilingual teachers revealed that they felt alienated from their colleagues, had larger workloads, and did not have access to support (Amos, 2016). Teachers of color experience inequalities, microaggressions, and marginalization that impact their …

Mindfulness: The Missing Link In Education, Ashley L. Baer

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Were you asked to pay attention or behave in school? As educators, we must stop expecting focus and self-regulation, and instead we must teach it. Learn how in this experiential session to connect and regulate students using the breathing ball, games, breath, and movement. Let’s practice!

Your Story, Your Life, Your Learning: Autobiography Reveals Basis For Supporting Personalized, Holistic Pedagogy, Michael Maser

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Each person ongoingly experiences the world uniquely through vital processes shaping their subjectivity, personhood and sense of self. Learning, an innate characteristic or modality of each human life, of living, likewise arises subjectively or idiosyncratically. In this paper, a phenomenological lens is applied to auto/biographical excerpts concerned with various learning experiences to help reveal essential, subjective characteristics of emergent learning. The insights help establish a basis for challenging the primacy of objectivist learning evaluations. The insights also confirm the importance of personalizing learning as a pedagogical gesture nurturing and enfranchising student learning in significant ways beyond conventional educational approaches …

Exploring Etymology Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

The English language is a borrowed language, a blend of words from many languages from around the world. We see this in the various ways sounds are represented by letters and letter combinations. In transparent or shallow orthographies, there is high predictability and consistent letter-sound correspondence whereas in opaque or deep orthographies, there are many ways to spell the same sound as well as there are many sounds for the same spellings (Burkins & Yates, 2021; Moats, 2020). This assignment description is a guided inquiry for preservice teachers to explore the concept of etymology by watching and reflecting on six …

Home Of The Brave Book Study Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

Individuals lead storied lives, and everyone has a story to tell. Our stories can be shared orally and documented in print. Often, learners are exposed to stories through novels and other trade books. Teacher educators may benefit from using the stories in novels and trade books as case studies in preservice teacher preparation course. This assignment description outlines how to use the novel, Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate, as a case study to contextualize and understand the lived story of an individual learning a second language and living in a new country. Through the novel, preservice teachers experience …

Fish In A Tree Book Study Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

Individuals lead storied lives, and everyone has a story to tell. Our stories can be shared orally and documented in print. Often, learners are exposed to stories through novels and other trade books. Teacher educators may benefit from using the stories in novels and trade books as case studies in preservice teacher preparation course. This assignment description outlines how to use the novel, Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, as a case study to contextualize and understand the lived story of an individual living and learning with dyslexia. Through the novel, preservice teachers experience the dilemmas faced and …

Honors Online: Teaching, Learning, And Building Community Virtually In Honors Education, Victoria M. Bryan, Cat Stanfield

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs

Contents

Introduction, Victoria M. Bryan and Cat Stanfield

Part I: Harnessing Virtual Connection in Program and Course Design

1. Through the Looking Glass: Honors in Virtual Reality, Betsy Greenleaf Yarrison

2. Exploring Incoming Honors Students’ Beliefs About Online Courses, Kristy Spear and Pavlo D. Antonenko

3. Reimagining Honors Curriculum—Delivered Through Technology Utilizing Our Alumni Community, Mollie Hartup, Amy Cossentino, and Lexi Rager

4. Online Faculty Professional Development and Community as Nexus, John Zubizarreta, Beata M. Jones, and Marca V. C. Wolfensberger

5. Building a Pipeline for Transfer and Scholarship Through (Virtual) Honors Research Partnerships, …

Language Learning Simulation Using Duolingo Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

It is likely that preservice teachers will work with students learning English as their second (third, fourth, etc.) language. For preservice teachers to better understand the language learning process, Duolingo was used to simulate the learning experience. The assignment description outlines how preservice teachers can reflection pre-simulation and post-simulation about what they learned about language learning.

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.

Unlocking Understanding About Giftedness, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

The goal of undergraduate teacher preparation programs is to prepare future teachers to work with all learners. Gifted and talented learners are likely found in every classroom regardless of where they reside, however, according to Rinn et al. (2022), Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Nebraska do not require undergraduate teacher candidates to take university coursework on gifted education. The goal of this presentation is to provide a general overview of gifted education specific to Kansas. This presentation aims to address myths and misconceptions about gifted education and gifted learners, characteristics of gifted learners, a basic overview of a general identification …

From Fixed To Growth: How A Mindset Transforms Student Learning, Andrew Fabo

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Placing labels onto young learners, such as “smart” and “gifted,” impacts their brain growth and mental health tremendously; rarely in a positive manner. This way of thinking, formed by separating students into “accelerated” and “normal” categories, can instill what is known as a fixed mindset of learning. Believing that there is no room to grow, or being afraid to make mistakes, largely due to the impact of these labels, learners quickly become less likely to attempt more challenging tasks; as well as persevere through difficult obstacles. Through extensive research within the Akron-Summit County Public Library, The University of Akron’s Bierce …

Phenomenological Study Of Talented Young People In Ballet In South Korea, Kyung Hyun Park

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Talent development occurs throughout an individual’s everyday life in a complex, evolving, and dynamic way. Focusing on the developmental perspective of human talent, this study aimed to comprehensively explore the long-term learning paths of students majoring in ballet in Korea. Six research questions were investigated regarding individual talent profiles in ballet, psychological and social stressors, the role of family and home, peer relationships, educational environments, and socio-cultural context. This qualitative study conducted in-depth interviews with 20 undergraduates and 14 parents about the students’ experiences in ballet. Through reflexive thematic analysis based on a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, six themes emerged as …

The Impact Of Teacher Preparedness And Professional Development On Fourth-Grade Students' Science Achievement, Craig L. Mayo, Faye Bradley

Journal of Research Initiatives

Science scores among US fourth-grade students have declined compared to their international counterparts in recent years. Recent results show that teachers are the most impactful influence on student success and accountability. Teacher preparedness and professional development are two key areas that serve as indicators of providing relevant and essential information for students' success. A correlational quantitative study was conducted to assess the relationship between teacher preparedness and professional development on fourth-grade students’ science achievement. The TIMSS 2019 data were secured from the Boston College, TIMSS, and PIRLS International websites. The data was evaluated using the SPSS 27 Hierarchical Linear Regression. …

Best Practices For English Learners With Disabilities In Us Schools – A Systematic Review, Samiratu Bashiru, Jennifer E. Smith

Journal of English Learner Education

This systematic review investigated best practices for enhancing academic achievement among English Learners with Disabilities (ELDs) in US schools. By examining 17 peer-reviewed articles and comparing them to the CEC 2014 Quality Indicators, the study identifies significant practices, including culturally responsive methods, technology integration, evidence-based strategies, addressing service delivery challenges, and improving assessment tools. This review has limitations related to inconsistent terminology and highlights the need for standardized language and continued research. It recommends integrating culturally responsive practices, leveraging technology, and refining inclusive assessment tools. This review provides educators, policymakers, and researchers insights, emphasizing ongoing teacher development and policy alignment …

Ways To Make Cybersecurity Education/Opportunities More Accessible In The Philippine Public School System, Joshua Oania

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

This paper will examine how the Philippines can make cybersecurity education more accessible in their public school system. The solutions it proposes include making cybersecurity a part of the school curriculum, creating summer/internship programs for Junior and Senior High School students in multiple different areas within cybersecurity, and providing basic infrastructure and resources for students to meet their educational needs and aspirations.

The Use Of The South Carolina School Improvement Model - Quick Cycles In Sixth-Grade Science Classrooms, Jennifer Gnann

All Dissertations

Using data to make informed decisions about instruction strengthens a teacher’s delivery of content within the classroom. However, many teachers have not been taught how to properly use a model of rapid improvement cycles to analyze data and apply it to their classroom instruction. I modified the South Carolina School Improvement Model so that it could be used in short cycles to see how teachers used it to plan for, monitor, and adjust instruction in their classrooms.

I conducted a single case study over a six-week period in which I instructed two sixth-grade science teachers on how to use the …

The Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Students In The School Setting: The Adaptations Needed For Tiered Supports, Eleni M. Gajewski

Dissertations

This study aims to evaluate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on students in the school setting and identify necessary adaptations needed, particularly through a tiered system of support. The research aims for two primary objectives by employing a constructivist framework utilizing mixed methods for data collection. Firstly, it aims to provide districts with a foundation for understanding the social-emotional and academic consequences of the pandemic on students. Secondly, its purpose is to empower districts to leverage this comprehensive evaluation as a proactive approach to cater to the diverse needs of all students. This includes responding to the challenges posed …

Healing Racial Trauma From Public School Systems, Lisa Y. Collins

Journal of Research Initiatives

Oregon needs Black educators in the K-12 public school system. In 35 school districts throughout the state, the number of students of color has risen by over 40% in recent years (Oregon Chief Education Office, 2019). The number of educators of color in the state is under 10%. The number of Black educators is even lower. Research has shown that Black educators improve all students' academic, cultural, and social aspects, especially Black students. Nationally, Black educators were impacted by the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. At that time in history, Black communities fought for civil rights as they experienced …

Mathematical Identities And Tracking: An Exploration Of Efficacy In Children And Women, Emma Hagan

Education | Master's Theses

This study seeks to understand the impact of elementary school mathematical identities and mathematics tracking on the identities of women and girls. “Tracking” is an institutionalized education method developed in the 1960s and 1970s in which schools sort their students into smaller class-sized groups based on their observed achievement (Domina et al., 2016). Too often, when students test onto the lower track, they are confronted with a sense of futility and a lack of self-efficacy (Domina, Hanselman, Hwang & McEachin, 2016; Houtte & Stevens, 2015). Further, in STEM disciplines, students who identify as female report lower self-efficacy rates than those …

Shifting Educational Paradigms To Match Learners: Sustaining Cultures, Languages, And Paradigms Through Educational Sovereignty, Lona R. Running Wolf

The Montana English Journal

The U.S. system of education was developed by visionary forefathers that knew American democracy would be stable only through educated citizens. The system was developed to produce citizens that would carry on the new world's vision and values. The educational system was built within that paradigm. Simultaneously, Indigenous tribes in America were being stripped of their traditional educational systems whose purpose was also to develop productive citizens of their communities and carry on their values. Traditional educational systems among tribes developed children with positive self-identity carrying the pride of their culture, language, and paradigm. That is not the case for …

Perceptions Of Introverted Students And Their Teacher In A Middle-School Elar Classroom, Kimberly Rempel

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this study was to determine introverted students’ perceptions about their honor’s ELAR class and to determine if they succeed better with choice board assignments versus non-choice assignments. This study was conducted at a West Texas middle school in an honor’s eighth-grade ELAR classroom. Students completed the Myers-Briggs personality test to determine their status as introverted or extroverted (Myers & Myers, 2014). Data was collected through a survey, student and teacher interviews, and student assignment grades. Data was analyzed through the constant comparative method, and students’ grades were compared using descriptive statistics. The study found that teacher and …

Noteworthy Notes: Student Perceptions Of Online And Paper Notes, Hannah Hamaker

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Notetaking is an often overlooked but important factor of student learning. Studies that have focused on notetaking in the past have highlighted performance over perceptions. This study investigated the importance of fifth-grade students’ perceptions of online and paper notetaking. The researcher collected data through pre- and post-surveys, interviews, observation field notes, student artifacts, and a data tracker. The researcher analyzed the data collected using the constant comparative method and a primary and secondary coding scheme. The resulting secondary codes were the copying process, features of online notes, features of paper notes, and use of notes. Findings suggest that students vary …

Project Cps: Curriculum Content + Creative Problem Solving = Successful Integration, Kathleen C. Frazier

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The goal of my master’s project is to empower teachers to unlock the Creative Problem Solving potential in their students and open the door to a world of possibilities by providing strategies, resources, and support to integrate CPS into their teaching practice.

To achieve this, I have designed a book that presents an original and engaging

imaginative characters to foster an immersive and interactive learning experience that will capture the imagination of both students and teachers.

Meet the Spirit of Creativity, represented as E. Paul Torrance, along with four Creative Problem Solving Characters who will guide teachers and students through …

Bringing Women's Literature Into The Secondary Classroom: A Comprehensive Unit Plan, Mairead Stotz

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Included in this applied knowledge project are details regarding how I developed a six-week unit on women’s literature using backward design, rationale behind my process and text selections, learning targets and Illinois Learning Standards for English Language Arts that are met through the instruction, and a complete set of 30 lesson plans, including assessments, handouts, and additional instructional materials. My goal is to demonstrate what I have learned during my time as an education student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and to emphasize the importance of women’s literature in the secondary classroom.

Key Words: English education, women’s literature, literature circles, …

The Use Of Film To Motivate Interest In Students With Learning Differences Through Imagination And Diverse Thinking In Higher Education, Edward Cromarty, Mary Alice Young, Simone Elias

Journal of Research Initiatives

This article examined the use of film in higher education to inspire imagination and motivate learning in students with learning differences. It highlighted the benefits of film in enhancing education and fostering imagination and diverse, critical thinking. The findings demonstrated that film is a pedagogical instrument that may assist students with learning differences to access the curriculum better, provide alternative forms of creative and meaningful expression, and develop self-awareness, empathy, and social justice.

A Middle-Class Mother's Journey On Navigating The Educational System: The Impact Of Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, And Class In Schools, Amy A. Hunter

Dissertations

This is a qualitative autoethnographic study of a Black mother in the Midwest region as she navigates the educational system for her children. This is a research document that informs the reader of the impact of racism and the intersectional identity of race, gender, and motherhood. The importance of intersectionality is highlighted in this research, and so it is that the mother is middle-class to articulate that poverty, access to resources, or the educational attainment of the mother are not necessarily mitigating factors for the treatment she receives within the educational setting. Moreover, is serves as a guide for other …

知源育利用のガイド, Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

知源育を応用するための様々な角度からのヒントを学ぶことができるガイドです。実勢んをしながら、時々このガイドを参照することで、より高いレベルでの実践が可能になるでしょう。

Introduction To A Universal Performance Improvement Method (Chigen-Iku), Yoshihiko Ariizumi

Learning, Teaching, & Researching Optimization

This brief article introduces a universal performance improvement method called Chigen-iku, which has been developed carefully and extensively over more than 25 years through more than 100 individual and group projects based on the principles that were selected through my doctorial study in the field of Instructional Psychology and Technology.

A Conceptual Exploration Of Anti-Fragility In The Context Of Confucian Heritage Culture Education, Alwyn Lau

Journal of Research Initiatives

It is a common but not unrealistic stereotype of Asian students that educational success is a matter of personal identity and status. As such, achieving distinctions in as many subjects as possible (the popular target of becoming a ‘straight A’ student) is usually a non-negotiable objective nurtured by both parents and educators. Such an obsessive pursuit of academic excellence produces both laudable outcomes (e.g. the tendency of Asian students to outperform their counterparts) as well as dangerous ones (e.g. worrying rates of mental health problems). This theoretical paper hopes to apply the concept of anti-fragility developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, …

The Journey Box: Promoting Language Development While Exploring One’S Identity, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

A Journey Box allows students to explore and share their family’s historical narrative using primary sources like interviews and artifacts. Students explore different facets of their own family’s history and journey to America while engaging in a larger shared experience among classmates to understand different perspectives. The Journey Box develops oral and written language skills while supporting individual’s exploration of their culture and identity.