Secondary Education Commons^™

Pathways To Resilience: Lessons Learned From Covid-19, Mary Ann Hollingsworth

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Out of the mouths of youth themselves while in the Covid-19 pandemic - pathways to build and sustain resilience in the life challenges that come our way at all stages of life.

Cobb Horizon: The New Face Of Alternative Education, Chris Jakson, Tammy Maclean, Almeada Walker

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

In education today, “alternative programs” are many times looked at as the ugly stepchild and simply an after-thought as a “second chance” for students and educators when the traditional high school experience is not successful. In this session, we will present how the Cobb County School District took the leap of faith to create an academic alternative school, Cobb Horizon High School.

Cobb Horizon High School is a non-traditional, academic alternative high school that was established to meet the needs of a growing population of non-traditional, at-risk, and credit deficient students. In this session, we will highlight the process of …

Bars To Bridges: Culturally Responsive Education Advocacy, Micaella Flores, Christine Otto

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

We'll explore tangible ways to advocate for BIPOC students who've experienced educational disruptions. We’ll discuss the methods and model The Bars to Bridges Program uses to successfully transition justice involved youth into their academic settings and maintain engagement in education.

Going With The Flow: Shifting Face-To-Face Pd To Fully Online In The Era Of Covid-19, Heather C. Scott, Lacey D. Huffling

Middle Grades & Secondary Education: Faculty Publications

Immersive professional development is often used to provide teachers first-hand experience in developing placebased curricula. Knowing this, we had carefully crafted such a professional development for our participants to learn how to engage their students in local watershed research and ecology. However, following year one of a two-year grant-funded weeklong summer professional development opportunity for teachers in the Okefenokee Swamp, a shift to online instruction occurred due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions. Although the first summer in the swamp and the successive year of follow-up with teacher participants proved successful, the shift to online asynchronous instruction proved surprisingly successful as …

Counterstories Of High School Black Males And Their Experiences Of The Mainstream Curricula, Kayla Turner

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This is an inquiry into the experiences Black males have with the current high school curricula. Theoretically drawing on critical race theory (Bell, 1992; Delgado, 1995; Dixson & Rousseau, 2006; Ladson-Billings, 2009; Solórzano & Yosso, 2001, 2004), I explore how high school Black males’ suggestions and ideas can be used to shift the current curricula to a curricula that is more culturally sustaining. I challenge deficit research on Black male learners by focusing on the educational successes of Black males. Methodologically, I utilize counterstorytelling (Delgado, 2017; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002) to illustrate the experiences of three academically successful high school …

Defining Intercultural Competence: How Four Pre-Service Teachers Developed A More Complex Understanding Of Icc, Elizabeth C. Barrow

Middle Grades & Secondary Education: Faculty Publications

This manuscript is one part of a larger exploratory collective case study of pre-service teachers who participated in a student teaching abroad program for one-month in Germany. The objective was to ascertain if and how pre-service teachers with no prior training in intercultural competence (ICC) developed both their understanding and conceptualization of ICC. Data was collected before, during, and after the experience via focus groups, individual interviews, journal entries, and program evaluations. Data was analyzed using a priori codes compiled from Bennett’s (2008) characteristics of affective, cognitive, and behavioral competencies of ICC. Findings from this study indicated that a short-term …

Reloading Gen Z, Mary Margaret Cornwell

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

With students becoming increasingly tech-savvy, how can librarians teach online resources to a generation of digital natives and keep their attention? By leaning into their love of how-to videos and quick information! This presentation will discuss how to make information literacy instructions a little more enjoyable using popular online streaming and information sites, like YouTube and Wikipedia. For example, we will examine Wired “AutoComplete Interviews” and Vanity Fair “… Teaches Slang” videos to show keyword versus natural language searching and discuss how they use each one to different effect. Attendees will leave with the tools to engage in discussions of …

Can You Dig It? Excavating Sel Through The Arts, Gina H. Moore

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Join us to uncover the power of the arts as tools for tweens and teens to excavate their social-emotional skills. Be prepared to interact and connect in this hands-on session where you’ll experience creative activities designed to build a sense of community in groups discovering new skills together. You’ll leave with your own unique artwork and written instructions to facilitate the activities in your programs.

Preparing To Be A Professional, Alexandria Griner, Abbie Salmon

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation will cover a series of lessons created by University of Georgia faculty to teach youth basic professionalism skills. These lessons provide simple guidelines and practical activities for all youth to learn to present themselves to others as a professional.

Teaching So They Get It To “Got It!” - The Instructional Cha-Chas, Leann M. Nickelsen Mrs.

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Merging neuroscience, formative assessment process and differentiation, Instructional Cha-Chas are 4 steps (chunk/chew/check/change) for planning and implementing lessons that prevent and close gaps in all subject areas and grades. You will get templates, tools, and strategies for teaching content so it’s meaningful, for engaging students with high-impact thinking, and for examining and responding to daily student evidence so ALL students get it to “Got It!”

Myth, Power, And Justice: The Danger Of A Single Story, Christen H. Clougherty

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

If we hear only a single story about a group, we risk a critical misunderstanding. In this session, learn to critically analyze assumptions of single stories and dominant narratives about community partners. Engage in hands-on activities to explore this issue as it relates to race, poverty, and social justice. Leave with classroom activities to take back to your classroom.

Teaching Candidates To Assess Student Learning: A Covid Collaboration With Arts And Sciences Faculty, Nancy B. Ruppert, Jessica Pisano

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

In the fall of 2020, due to COVID, our candidates did not have access to student work samples early in the semester. In order to learn how to assess student learning I reached out to an Arts and Sciences faculty who teaches a freshman course. The Arts and Science faculty was a former middle school teacher who was scheduled to talk about the teaching of writing in our methods class. We decided to add using work samples from her current students to provide an assessment experience. This exercise allowed candidates to create a one-point rubric, analyze student work, give feedback, …

Uncharted Waters: Sustaining A Meaningful Student Teaching Experience Amidst A Global Pandemic Via An Online Stem Curriculum, Nanette I. Marcum-Dietrich, Cindy Stunkard, Zachary Krauss, Steve Kerlin

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

Field experience is the culminating experience for pre-service teacher training. As COVID-19 closed schools across the country, pre-service teachers’ field experiences were disrupted. This case study examines how a student teacher, a team of mentor teachers, and a university supervisor at a regional public university adapted to remote learning. The findings suggest that there were gains and losses in terms of the pre-service teachers’ ability to develop essential skills; classroom management skills suffered while formative assessment practices, innovative lesson delivery, and reflection on instruction were enhanced. The transition to remote learning also caused the way student teachers’ skills were valued, …

Using Critical Environmental Agency To Engage Teachers In Local Watersheds Through Water Quality Citizen Science, Lacey D. Huffling, Heather Scott

Middle Grades & Secondary Education: Faculty Publications

This qualitative study explores teachers’ critical environmental agency (CEA) through deepening content knowledge, engaging in identity development, developing a critical consciousness of place, and moving toward civic action. We explored the meanings secondary science teachers made of an on-going professional development (PD) situated in the Okefenokee Swamp (unique ecosystem that drains to Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean) and focused on local watershed citizen science monitoring and the global implications of all water being connected. Data analyses focused on how the nineteen teachers’ experiences and meanings were leveraged to develop CEA and the constraints that restricted their CEA development. Our …

The Devaluation Of Career Technical Education (Cte) By The Graduates Of Wonderwood High School, Jason J. Weiss

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In Georgia, high school graduates are expected to be college and career ready, however due to recent educational legislative changes the focus has been placed on being college ready. These modifications have led to a low number of graduates completing a Career Technical Education (CTE) pathway as well as a low number of graduates passing their CTE End-of-Pathway assessments and earning industry credentials. To assist in determining the factors that have led to the devaluation of CTE by Georgia graduates, a critical qualitative inquiry study was conducted on a sample of 13 graduates from Wonderwood High School, in South Heights, …

Covid Notes From The Field: Transitioning To Digital Learning, Alyssa Martin

Georgia Educational Researcher

This teacher reflection includes tips on family communication during a crisis. The reflection includes notes from the field on the transition to digital learning due to COVID and how to increase family communication when students are not able to be physically present in school.

Covid Notes From The Field: Differentiation In The Digital Classroom, Tori Nagle

Georgia Educational Researcher

This piece summarizes one teacher's experiences during the abrupt move to digital learning due to COVID 19. This is not a full research study.

Get Teens Talking: A Hands-On Approach To Sel Through The Arts, Gina H. Moore, Gina H. Moore

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Explore the power of art to give tweens and teens a vehicle for healthy self-expression and life skills that can take them from risk to resilience. Interact and connect in this hands-on session that demonstrates engaging activities to create a sense of community within groups. Exercise your creativity and leave with unique artwork and a written guide to facilitate the activities in your programs.

Read, Write, Rhyme: Increasing Reading Performance With Hip-Hop Texts, Crystal Monique Lavoulle

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation describes the Harlem Renaissance to Hip Hop Movement, a literacy program that uses best practices in literacy instruction to improve reading comprehension, critical thinking, and writing. Moving beyond educational hip-hop songs and videos, this presentation offers insight into effective ways to increase Georgia Milestone Assessment scores in both English language arts and social studies using a variety of hip-hop texts.

The Devil Is In Your Closet: 48 Square Feet Can Change Everything, Tracey G. Keim

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Using a "real" grocery list, cash money, and an unexpected situation, attendees put themselves in the shoes (or socks) of the children-at-risk and families who need support in a hands on, solution centered workshop. Workshop participants walk away with culturally relevant materials that will allow them to find funding for a 6'x8' corner of hope--at little or no cash cost. But that makes all the difference in the world.

Integrating Social, Emotional, And Academic Learning (S.E.A.L.) Into School Culture: It Starts With All Of The Adults, Joelle Hood

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

In this engaging session, Dr. Joelle Hood will demonstrate how SEL needs to be modeled from all adults and integrated into all areas of the school site and district. She will share how she has brought this deep dive learning into Executive Cabinets and District Management Retreats, into multi-day sessions with teachers and counselors, and into an innovative and interactive online course to empower educators with the opportunity to strengthen their own social-emotional intelligence, well-being and resilience, and deepen their understanding of WHY these skills are so important to students and staff. Participants will engage in discussions and activities that …

Implementation Of Culturally Responsive Practices In Alternative Educational Settings, Phillip Glen Haberman, Matthew Willis, Rebecca Ryan

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

The objective of this session is to ground participants in best practices of Culturally Responsive Teaching and present lessons learned during the implementation of the practices into an alternative educational setting. The target audience of this session is students, teachers, and administrators who are interested in Culturally Responsive Educational practices.

Differentiated Instruction That Works For “At Risk” Students: Reaching And Meeting The Need, Henry Tellis

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Are you looking for differentiated instructional strategies that reach every student? Come hear how I have learned to meet the learning styles of students in my classroom. This session will provide research-based strategies on how to effectively implement center-based instruction and practical strategies to use in a risk school classroom. Learn how to reach and meet the needs of learners.

From Crime And Punishment To Harm And Healing, Louis L. Fletcher Phd, David Watson

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Expulsion hearings do not have to be contentious events. Using restorative practices in an accountable environment changes the expulsion hearing into an alternative placement discussion where parents, students, and school officials figure out the next step together.

Arguing About Science: Empowering Students And Developing Issue-Based Pedagogies Through Debate, Cynthia Deaton, Jacquelynn A. Malloy

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation will guide 4th-12th grade educators to engage students in using content area knowledge to solve real-world problems. Using an adaptation of policy debate, learners use facts and evidence gathered through their participation in Science and Engineering Practices to create resolutions to place-based issues that are occurring in their own communities.

Curriculum Integration: Walking The Walk, Taylor Norman, Amanda Wall

Middle Grades & Secondary Education: Faculty Publications

Curriculum integration is a hallmark of middle level education. This approach to education involves blending topics across content areas as a way of studying topics and problems of interest to young adolescents. Approaches to curriculum integration and interdisciplinary curriculum overlap with concepts like democratic education, place-based learning, student agency, and student-designed curriculum. Here, two teacher educators report on a recent initiative in which we co-designed integrated curriculum along with middle level teacher candidates. We drew on place-based instruction and models of collaboration to develop this project. Candidates then developed integrated units appropriate for middle school classrooms.

The Relationship Between Servant Leadership And Teacher Retention And Student Achievement, David Earl Murphy

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This non-experimental quantitative study aimed to determine if servant leadership influenced teacher retention or student achievement and if teacher retention influenced student achievement. This study’s respondents were 145 middle and high school teachers within a contiguous rural region of the Southeastern United States. Survey responses were received and analyzed during the late summer of 2020. Three research questions guided this study: Does servant leadership [high, low] influence teacher retention intention; What is the effect of servant leadership [high, low] on student achievement by categorical population groups as identified by the GaDOE; and lastly, What is the effect of teacher retention …

The Relationship Between Co-Teaching Partnerships And Student Achievement, Tikki N. Middleton

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Due to legislative mandates schools are required to educate SWDs in the least restrictive environment alongside SWODs, which lead to the rise of co-teaching. However, enhancing the quality of co-teaching partnerships to impact student achievement poses a challenge for many school leaders due to the absence of quantitative data involving the impact of co-teaching on student achievement. The purpose of this study was to identify correlations among the qualities of co-teaching partnerships in grades six through eight as measured by The Colorado Assessment of Co-teaching (CO-ACT), and student growth percentiles from Spring 2019 Georgia Milestones Assessment (GMAS) data in middle …

Between And Behind The Lines: The Life Of High School Coaches, Mary Davis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In this study, I write about the emotional journey of high school athletic coaches’ experiences as they move through their day as teachers, coaches, and spouses/parents. The examination of the emotions and transitions high school coaches experience has been largely unresearched. There have been examinations of teachers, the impact coaches have on athletes, and a coach as a parent, but there is not extensive research on all three roles experienced by one person. High school athletics is a tremendous part of high school, and coaches have a tremendous impact not only on their players, but on the students they teach …

Willowcreek Middle School Alternative Program: Successfully Working Through Trauma, Debra B. Ekdahl, Taria Nicole Taylor, Michelle Stewart

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Not your typical Alternative School, Willowcreek Middle School offers trauma informed practices in place of student expulsions. A safe structured environment, reduced class time, academic strategies, mindfulness, yoga, and community service, all help to provide the educational and social/emotional supports necessary to help students at risk reach their potential and eventually transition back to the traditional classroom.