Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Creativity Development In Art Education: A Proposed Framework, Enock Swanzy-Impraim

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Creativity and its development have been regarded as integral to 21st-century education. Although researchers have made several contributions to the development of creativity in schools, there remains a paucity of educational inventories on conceptual frameworks that tackle creativity development in its entirety, highlighting the essential constructs and elements required for the creativity-fostering process in the educational ecosystem. Therefore, this study proposes a framework that holistically provides a view of 11 elements necessary for successful facilitation of creativity in educational environments and the transition of creativity from policy to the local school system. These elements are: teachers’ training concerning creativity, teachers’ …

Addressing The Absence Of Formal Curriculum In Dual Language Immersion Program, Janet Roque

FDLA Journal

This strategic research project (SRP) was designed to provide a comprehensive, actionable solution to the critical challenge of inconsistent instruction resulting from the absence of a formal, aligned curriculum within the district’s Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program. This gap had previously led to instructional variability, disparate student outcomes, and increased teacher frustration due to a lack of shared resources and pedagogical direction. The project’s central objective was to develop, implement, and evaluate a vertically and horizontally aligned DLI curriculum framework designed to ensure instructional fidelity, promote sustained academic achievement, and guarantee equitable opportunities for biliteracy development across all participating grade …

Book Review: Transformational Teaching By Kenneth S. Coley, Deborah L. Maccullough, & Martha E. Maccullough: A Comprehensive Resource For Christian Educators, Michele S. Worley

Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This review of Transformational Teaching by Kenneth S. Coley, Deborah L. MacCullough, & Martha E. MacCullough examines the book as a Christian resource for educators. The book covers four main areas of education: foundational philosophy and learning theory, instructional design, learning community and semantics in discipline content structure in teaching. Each area is biblically founded and combines theory with real-world application and examples from Scripture. This invaluable resource equips current and prospective educators to blend faith with pedagogy and cultivate an individualized Christian worldview while pursuing instructional excellence.

Bringing The Focus Of Curriculum Back To The Students And What Does This Look Like For Teachers, Gabriella Anaya

University Honors Theses

As a future ELA teacher, I was curious about how the books students read influence their learning. Specifically, I wondered: How does letting students choose their own books impact reading comprehension outcomes? Studies suggest that the reading materials were not necessarily what we should be focusing on, rather the teaching methodology and how it implements reading materials. The key methodology that contributed to reading comprehension improvement was instilling motivation in students by fostering student autonomy over their own learning in the classroom. This is the main idea in which my research concentrates on connecting research on reading comprehension with practical …

Incorporating Play-Based Learning While Meeting State Standards, Alicia Muer

Graduate Teacher Education

This paper reviews the benefits of incorporating developmentally appropriate practices into the classroom through a play-based approach. This is a controversial topic, as most teachers are more concerned with teaching to the standards than with the needs of students as a whole. Fifteen studies, including qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, and action research, were used to examine what developmentally appropriate practices are. Three themes emerged from the studies: play-based learning, professional development, and teacher-student collaboration. In the play-based theme, a sub-theme emerged which focused on games and gaming. The findings showed that students thrive more in an environment where play-based learning is …

Using Picturebooks In Elementary School To Support Discussion, Connection, And Community Action, Polly Parkinson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Children are in school to acquire knowledge, so the books they read are a significant influence on how they see themselves and others. School curricula often lack diverse voices, which may limit students’ views of themselves and how they relate to their communities. The research objective of this study was to examine the potential for fostering empathy in students, to encourage societal benefits of positive community behaviors, deepen understanding of history, and future contributions to an engaged democratic society.

The problem identified was that although much research exists discussing children’s literature and empathy, little explores whether that empathy leads to …

Competitive Dance And The Adolescent’S Body: Considering Pedagogical Approaches To Teaching Competitive Dancers, Catri E. G. Barba

Dance (MFA) Theses

Diving into the past and researching for the future, this thesis explores the development and perpetuation of hyper-sexualized adolescent bodies through the competitive dance scene. Drawing on dance theorists, educational theorists, and embodied research (i.e., the author’s body archive), this thesis explores how the competition gaze is performed for and by a capitalist patriarchy. Specifically, this thesis critically reflects on the author’s career as a young competitive dancer in the greater Los Angeles, California, area during the 1990s and 2000s, as well as a competition dance instructor and K-12 educator for two decades, and how those personal experiences have shaped …

First Portfolio – Mngt 475: Business Strategies, Lisa Tschauner

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

MNGT 475: Business Strategies serves as the undergraduate strategic management capstone course in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business. The course integrates knowledge from accounting, finance, economics, marketing, management, supply chain management, analytics, and entrepreneurship while providing students with opportunities to apply strategic frameworks to authentic business challenges. This portfolio documents the design, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement of the course, with particular attention given to experiential learning and the comparison of two instructional models: a traditional case-study project and a real-world industry-partner consulting project. Drawing upon Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory, self-reflection, self-efficacy, and teamwork constructs, the portfolio examines …

A Figurational Analysis Of Health And/Or Physical Education Teacher Educators’ Conceptualisations Of Policy, And Their Sociogenesis, Laura Alfrey, Dylan Scanlon, David Aldous, Jenna Lorusso, Kellie Baker, Christopher Clark, Mo Jafar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Policy engagement is key to promoting quality physical education yet it has been identified as a ‘grand challenge’ for Health and/or Physical Education (H/PE) internationally. All H/PE professionals, including teacher educators, have a collective responsibility to engage with policy but existing research tells us little about how H/PE teacher educators (H/PETEs) understand and engage with policy. It is important to examine H/PETEs conceptualisations of policy for a few reasons, not least because teacher educators play a crucial role in supporting future generations of teachers who themselves will need to engage with policy as a core feature of their professional lives. …

Ai In Pk-12 Education: Implications For Teaching And Learning, David Naff, Meleah Ellison, Casey Bailey, Tzu-Wei Wang, Kiana Bradford

MERC Publications

This research and policy review from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) explores the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for teaching and learning in public PK-12 education. It is part of a two part series with a companion report focused on AI implications for PK-12 policy. The report explores two questions:

1. How is AI shaping teaching and instructional practice?
2. How is AI shaping student learning and development?

It concludes with a series of key takeaways and recommendations for PK-12 policy and practice.

Growth Mindset In The Mathematics Classroom: Studying The Effects Of A Growth Mindset Intervention On High School Students In A Geometry Classroom, Katelyn Strauss

Mathematics Graduate Theses

Having a growth mindset is crucial to being successful in a mathematics classroom. However, many students believe themselves to be either “mathematics people” or “not mathematics people”. When students believe they are not a mathematics person, they are far less likely to engage in material where they face struggles, and thus they miss out on valuable learning. A review of the literature has show that students have been able to shift their mindset from fixed to growth through a series of interventions. I used a unit in Geometry to see how a growth mindset intervention would affect the mindset of …

Teacher Autonomy And Decision Making On Curricular Book Choices, Melanie D. Koss, Kathleen A. Paciga

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This article reports findings from an email survey of 748 U.S. PreK–8 teachers. The survey invited teachers’ reflections on their autonomy in selecting children’s literature for classroom instruction and classroom libraries. In this descriptive study, researchers used frequency counts, cross-tabulations, and examination of text-based responses. Data were analyzed across three constructs of teacher autonomy: capacity, self-direction, and freedom. Findings show teachers feel well equipped to select quality literature, have more self-direction in literature used for read-alouds and inclusion in classroom libraries than for instruction, and report recent sociopolitical events in the United States have stifled their feelings of freedom. Internal …

Role-Ing While Bipoc: Understanding The Experiences Of Table Top Role Playing Game Players Of Color, Jordan K. Posey

Dissertations

In 2015, controversy surrounded the interactive computer game Mission US: Flight to Freedom. The game was unveiled as an accessible way to teach about American chattel slavery by mixing elements normally associated with roleplaying games (RPGs), Tabletop Roleplaying Games (TTRPGs), and social studies curriculum. The conversations surrounding the game exemplify the complicated history of RPGS/TTRPGs and the limitations of gamification in educational settings. This qualitative study aimed to analyze aspects of gaming culture through a critical race lens by documenting the experiences of Tabletop Roleplaying Game (TTRPG) players identifying as Black, Indigenous, and a Person of Color (BIPOC). Using a …

Theatre Education At The University Of Montana: Providing Innovative Solutions To A Complex Problem, Natalie Renk

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This paper is part of a larger project that aims to provide solutions to assimilate the University of Montana’s theatre education program with those across the United States by providing budget conscious innovations. The focus of this paper will be the creation of two methods courses: THTR 438: Content for Secondary Theatre Education and THTR 439: Skills for Theatre Education, this paper discussing the former. The latter was designed by my research partner, Ren Shepherd. This course would offer comprehensive coverage of theatre practitioners, both historical and modern theatrical texts, hands on design and budgeting experience, as well as teaching …

Wondrous Uncertainty: Transforming Student Educational Experiences Using Restorative Practices, Zachary C. Schafer

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

One of the primary purposes of education is to help students make sense of their lived experiences. In the process of becoming, students navigate multiple relationships (school, peers, adults, and with self). These relationships often cause conditions of uncertainty which can be managed and transformed using restorative practices in tandem with the academic disciplines taught in school. Over the last decade this has been my inquiry puzzle, “As educators, how can we embrace uncertainty with students as a way of helping to empower them through their dignity, with the academic disciplines as a lens through which relational learning occurs in …

Exploring In-Service Science Teachers' Self-Perceptions Of Competence And Pedagogical Approaches To Socioscientific Issues In Education, Arberore Bicaj, Fatlume Berisha, Rachel Gisewhite

Faculty Publications

Global education experts are increasingly prioritizing scientific literacy development. Science education is key to enhancing scientific literacy, fostering social responsibility, and supporting economic growth by equipping individuals with essential scientific knowledge and skills. In the past two decades, socioscientific issues (SSI) have greatly influenced science education research, improving students’ ability to apply scientific knowledge in real-world contexts and advancing functional scientific literacy. Given the strong evidence that socioscientific issues (SSI) enhance scientific literacy and social responsibility skills, understanding SSI role in science education is crucial for developing countries aiming to boost economic and social growth. This research aimed to understand …

Revealing The Stories Of A Place: Designing Curricula On An Island, Ariel Cornett, Delandrea Hall, Kathryn L. Haughney, Cynthia C. Massey, Amanda Wall, Kania Greer

Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State

Ossabaw Island is a Georgia barrier island, accessible solely by boat and protected from development through a public-private partnership between a foundation and the state. This site has the potential to serve as a primary resource for inspiration, education, and lifelong learning. Our study illuminates how one pre-service teacher (PST) and six teacher educators (TEs) experienced an immersive site visit to this local learning environment. We highlight the importance of experiencing places first-hand and using sources (e.g., oral histories) to make content connections. Additionally, the immersive site visit experience allowed us to collaboratively brainstorm place-based curricular units.

Digital Intelligence In Egypt’S K-12 Public Schools: Educators’ Perspectives, Mohammed Al Mousa

Theses and Dissertations

Technological integration has been a dominant feature of Egypt’s education recently, especially after the announcement of the Education 2.0 initiative, which aims to transform Egypt's education to digital-based and skill-based learning (UNICEF, n.d.), Ever since, public schools in Egypt started adopting technology into teaching practices through online classes, digital textbooks, e-learning platforms, and digital examinations. This educational transformation requires teachers and students to possess the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to become effective and responsible users of the transforming digital education system and the digital world in general, which are collectively known as Digital Intelligence (DQ). Despite the substantial role …

Senior Exit Interview, Brendon Pedro Duran

Construction Management

The goal of this project was to provide graduating seniors in construction management a means to share their opinions on the department and offer potential solutions that could improve the student learning experience. Prior to COVID, the senior exit interview filled this need, but it was run by faculty and has not been repeated since 2021. The discussion was structured to cover the three topics that constitute the student experience: curriculum, student-run clubs and teams, and industry recruitment. Prior to the event, a dozen in-person interviews were conducted with graduating seniors to better understand what topics should be included in …

The Role Of Language Ideologies In Curriculum Design: Possibilities In Computational And Digital Literacies Integration In Teacher Education, Jessica Velez Tello

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Literacy and language are linked in its usage, perception, and practice. As new forms of engaging with literacy are explored, digital practices and tools are being employed as useful supports for students and their language practices (García et al., 2017). As emerging technologies are further introduced in educational spaces, education programs have a role in shaping how computational and digital literacies (CDLs) are integrated and how teacher candidates and teachers learn about them, especially those who are being trained to become bilingual teachers or will inevitably work with emergent bilinguals and linguistically diverse learners^[1], as the intersections between …

The Affable Raphael: Milton's Surrogate Instructor In Paradise Lost., Beau Kilpatrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667) is a beautifully written epic that continues to be a stalwart text in the English literary canon, with unlimited potential for interpretation. In this dissertation I propose that Paradise Lost can be read as a pedagogical lesson for Milton’s “fit audience,” where the author implements his views on education in the context of heaven, hell, and Paradise. In the poem, Milton presents three pedagogical methodologies: first, the wrong way to knowledge is presented through Satan’s manipulations of the fallen angels and Eve; second, the divine way to knowledge is illustrated via Michael’s prophecy to Adam …

Sexual Health Education Scope And Sequence, Sara Wadsworth

Honors Projects

Based on a significant amount of prior research, comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) has been identified to be the most effective method of teaching sexual health education (SHAPE America, 2021; World Health Organization, 2023). Comprehensive sexual health education improves healthy behaviors and outcomes, provides useful information, and is positively perceived by students (Gardner, 2015; Kirby, 2002; Robinson et al., 2022). However, the United States’ current sexual health education has not implemented this ideal method, which is shown through state laws, students’ experiences, underdeveloped skills and flawed understanding of concepts, and – most importantly – a lack of resources for teachers (Foley, …

Curricula As Ideology: A Study Of Cultural Representations In Arabic As A Foreign Language (Afl) Textbooks, Zakaria Fahmi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines cultural representations in two widely used AFL textbook series, namely Al-Kitaab and Arabiyyat al-Naas. Fundamentally, three main issues motivate this study: (1) the cultural politics of language textbooks underlying the construction and dissemination of cultural knowledge and its prioritization of the latter on grounds of subjectivity, ideology, and power, (2) the politicization of Arabic as a foreign language (AFL) in light of the post 9/11 language advocacy, and (3) the prevailing standard language ideology of al-Arabiya al-fuṣħaa (العربية الفصحى) and the pedagogical challenges posed by Arabic diglossia. The data comprise five textbooks from the aforementioned series, …

A Roadmap For Trauma-Informed Practice Integration In Teacher Preparation Content, Kathryn S. Young, Ofelia Castro Schepers

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

With the continued interest in trauma-informed practice (TIP) knowledge at the P-12 level, it has become imperative to consider the role of teacher preparation programs in providing this crucial knowledge to preservice educators. The TIP program at Mountain U (pseudonym) School of Education (SOE) is working to increase the current TIP knowledge of preservice teachers so that they are ready to implement TIP from the beginning of their careers. This paper adds to the trauma-informed literature in teacher preparation by describing the TIP initiative at Mountain U. It provides a roadmap for schools and departments that want to undertake this …

Flannery O'Connor And Storytelling Unit Of Study, Caroline Lacksen, Natalie Puckett, Keith Pruett, Erin Smith, Nathan Pearson, Lashonda Hurst, Jessica Mcquain, Timothy Connors

Writing for Success

The Writing for Success grant sponsored by the federal Department of Education pioneered the creation of a standards-based fifth grade unit of study focused on Flannery O’Connor and the theme of local storytelling. This project utilizes an author study, digital humanities, and intensive writing instruction to engage students with an important Georgia writer and boost their interest and engagement with various forms of written and oral expression.

Through exposure to a variety of communication forms, including narrative, informational, and opinion writing in addition to oral history, poetry, song, and podcasting, students gain confidence in evaluating the context and audience of …

Understanding The Virginia Literacy Act, Candace Bechtold, Kimberly Bridges, David Naff, Joan A. Rhodes, Valerie Robnolt, Tara Davison, Suzanne Alexandre, Michael Crusco, Karli Johansen, Amber Butler, Allison Yandle, Jennifer Askue-Collins, Jean Samuel, Sharrie Merritte, Regina Frazier

MERC Publications

This research and policy brief from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) offers an overview of the Virginia Literacy Act. It is structured to explore the following questions: 1) What are the recent trends in reading achievement in Virginia? 2) What are the policy implications of the VLA for Virginia school divisions? 3) What does the research say about Science of Reading (SoR)? 4) What core instructional programs are approved to meet the VLA? It concludes with a series of key takeaways and recommendations.

Click here to listen to our podcast episode on the Virginia Literacy Act and click here …

A Custom Mixed-Reality Simulation Design: Minimizing Teacher Biases In Mathematical Discussion Practices, Melihan Ünlü, Signe Kastberg, Sezai Kocabas, Melva Grant

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

[First paragraph] Mixed-reality simulations (MRSs), blending real and virtual environments, provide a low-risk environment (Dieker et al., 2014; Piro & O'Callaghan, 2019) to rehearse core teaching practices (Jacobs & Spangler, 2017). Grant and Ferguson (2021) designed a MursionTM custom simulation to support pre-service teachers' (PTs) mathematics discussion practice. PTs had opportunities to facilitate a discussion of provided student solutions (e.g., drawing, repeated subtraction, creating table) to a mathematics task: "Harry the Dog Problem" (Grant & Ferguson, 2021), where Harry the dog is waiting in a line of 23 dogs to be washed. When a dog is washed, Harry sneaks ahead …

Deep Change Theory: Implications For Educational Development Leaders, Caitlin Martin, Elizabeth Wardle

Publications

While chapters 1 and 2 explore the promise of theoretical frameworks for making conceptual change that leads to innovative action around teaching and learning in higher education, they also point out the challenges to this kind of work as teams of faculty strive to lead change in their programs and departments after completing the program. To summarize our claims thus far: one of the goals for the HCWE Faculty Writing Fellows Program is to empower faculty who participate to return to their departments to make programmatic changes—changes they identify as central to their work and values and program culture. The …

Decolonization Of The Writing Classroom: Creating Space For Decolonial Theory, Tools, Anti-Racist Pedagogy, And Methods To Improve The Emerging Bilingual Student Experience, Desiree L. Brown

Masters Theses (Archived)

In this thesis, the author addresses the colonial roots of the secondary writing classroom and the origin of standard academic English which enables strict standardized testing and writing assessment requirements that in-turn incite linguistic violence towards emerging bilingual students. The author frames her study within the framework of April Baker-Bell and Asao B. Inoue through a reflective/reflexive study of her teaching in a ninth grade writing classroom in a primarily Hispanic school district in South Texas, which is assessed by the state of Texas through STAAR. This study seeks to identify instances of linguistic violence being perpetuated in the writing …

Steps On Establishing A Faculty Development Curriculum For Health Science Educators In A New Medical School, Beatriz Tapia, Karina Madrigal, Robert Nelson

Research Colloquium

Purpose: New Medical Schools need health science educators, to teach throughout the medical education continuum from basic science to clinical years. The need to establish a defined faculty development curriculum for health science educators will aid in standardizing best teaching practices and build a potential master teacher to move the curriculum toward active learning and innovation. The UTRGV SoM is a distributed campus, to achieve increase outreach we will offer synchronous and asynchronous online faculty development during the pandemic. This poster will share our progress to date.

Methods: A pilot, faculty development program, was established from faculty needs assessment data, …