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Achieving Educational Equity in Minnesota\u27s K-12 Public School Districts
Get PDFThis study seeks to determine whether there are relationships between: first, public funding investment and educational equity; second, access to opportunities for students of color and disadvantaged backgrounds and educational equity; third, the interaction effect between access to opportunities for students of color and disadvantaged backgrounds and public funding investment on educational equity; fourth, teacher workforce diversity and educational equity; and fifth, the interaction effect between teacher workforce diversity and public funding investment on educational equity. The Minnesota Achievement and Integration Program is the source of public funding for this study, and the program was established in the 2013-2014 school year to accelerate racial integration and improve educational equity for students in Minnesota K-12 public school districts. A decade after the implementation of the A&I Program, despite the state’s public funding investment to create educational opportunities and increase academic achievements for students of color and disadvantaged backgrounds, concrete disparities continue to exist. The purpose of this study is to better understand existing efforts and their direct impact on educational equity. The study determines the effectiveness of public funding investment in achieving educational equity in Minnesota’s K-12 public school districts through the A&I Program and seeks to identify specific efforts that positively impact educational equity such as access to opportunities for students of color and disadvantaged backgrounds and diversifying the teacher workforce
Incorporating World Languages in Elementary Schools
Get PDFBruce, A. (2023). Incorporating World Languages in Elementary Schools. This capstone project aims to answer the question: How does Learning a World Language Affect Elementary Students Academically, Socially, and Culturally? This topic is inspired by personal and professional experiences as a former student and now current educator. This project first explores my background information and influences along with an overview of the project. Then it dives into a thorough literature review that focuses on the academic, social, and cultural aspects of learning a world language. The research and findings from WIDA and the ACTFL organizations, along with other resources, helped inform and guide the development of the curriculum to be used within the local elementary schools. This curriculum is designed as a community education Spanish program. This program is specifically for kindergarten students in a six-week after-school class. This curriculum includes an overview of the weekly themed lessons, the goals of the program, and the six detailed instructional lesson plans. Also included are the active links, materials, and documents needed to implement each weekly lesson. The overarching goal of this project is to inspire students to learn, engage, and collaborate in Spanish with students of other backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. Project Type Curriculum Keywords World Language, Culture, Multilingual
The Impact of Universal Learning Strategies on Teacher Burnout in a Project-Based-Learning Secondary School
Get PDFThis study addresses the question: how do universal learning strategies impact teacher burnout at a project-based-learning secondary school? Interventions against teacher burnout frequently emphasize psychological strategies such as mindfulness exercises and cognitive-behavioral therapy despite inconsistent evidence that these practices have a significant impact on measurable burnout. This study presents an alternative and explores the impact of pedagogical practice on teacher burnout. Recent studies suggest that decreased workload and increased teacher/student autonomy lead to decreased levels of burnout; as a result, this study measures the impact of universal learning, a low-workload, high-autonomy pedagogy most prominently studied in the work of political theorist Jacques Rancière. Universal learning suggests that teachers would be more effective if, instead of deferring to expertise, they take a position of “ignorance” and utilize a questions-based approach to support their students in self-led learning. In 2022-23, 10 educators at a project-based-learning secondary school participated in a mixed-methods study in which they practiced universal learning strategies and recorded their experience of burnout over the course of nine weeks. Though the study found no quantitative correlation between pedagogical strategy and burnout, closing interviews suggested that universal learning is a beneficial intervention for educators with higher burnout scores. The interviews suggested that reactive teaching strategies that focus on in-the-moment practices (such as internet searches and seeking out expert colleagues) correspond to higher burnout scores, while teaching practices that emphasize student-led learning, open-ended questions, and prep work correspond to lower burnout scores. Though frequent use of universal learning strategies were not linked to low burnout scores, teachers with higher burnout scores found universal learning strategies to be more useful than their less-burned out colleagues; these educators explicitly discussed the efficacy of universal learning strategies as an intervention against increased burnout. The study also discusses limitations, implications for teachers, and recommendations for further research with regard to universal learning and its relationship with burnout
Multisensory Literacy Instruction: Efficacy for Struggling Multilingual Learners
Get PDFBy the year 2025, approximately 25% of U.S. public school students will be multilingual learners. However, many mainstream teachers have not received any development in supporting this particular group of students. This capstone explores best literacy practices for multilingual learners, multisensory learning, and teacher professional development to answer the focus question: how can multisensory instruction be utilized to add engagement and rigor in order to improve the literacy skills of multilingual learners between 5 - 8 years old who score between a 1.0 - 2.9 on the WIDA Access Assessment and are struggling with basic reading skills? Multisensory literacy instruction can be used to close the opportunity gap for multilingual learners who are struggling readers. The research concludes that dual coding theory explains how multisensory instruction can support struggling readers by activating working memory through both the phonological loop and the visual-spatial sketchpad, as well as increased repetition and review. This project is comprised of four hour-long professional development sessions in a series intended for all literacy teachers of multilingual learners. Through this development, teachers will increase their knowledge of multisensory instruction as well as their levels of self-efficacy in teaching multilingual learners
How Adult EFL Teachers Can Effectively Utilize Duolingo in Their Curriculum
Get PDFThe proliferation of cell phones and application technology has changed the way individuals access learning. It’s also opened up a space for profit-driven companies to be included in educational options. This project focuses on Mobile-Assisted Language Learning applications, in particular Duolingo, and how they can best be used by Language teachers, especially English teachers of adults in non-immersive environments, to use Duolingo as a supplement to their teaching. The literature shows that these applications can be helpful, but need traditional support to be most effective. The question the literature brings to mind is how teachers can best use these apps. This project consists of a website for adult EFL teachers to use as a reference, as well as a podcast which includes adult language learner and teacher input on using Duolingo in their learning and teaching
Networking Matters: Exploring the Developmental Networks of Healthcare Managers and the Relationship to Job Competency Development
Get PDFGiven the complexity and challenges faced by healthcare organizations today, the role of a healthcare manager is an important one. Therefore, it is imperative that managers develop competencies to contribute to the sustainability and success of the healthcare organizations where they work. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between having a developmental network and the development of healthcare competencies for individuals working in healthcare management roles. This study involved examining the developmental network characteristics of healthcare managers, including their network size, quality, density and range and self-reported job competencies. To understand this relationship, a cross-sectional survey was conducted at a multi-site, multi-region academic medical center of individuals working in healthcare manager roles. The results did not show a relationship between developmental network characteristics and self-reported job competencies for the healthcare managers surveyed. However, the data generated on the developmental networks of healthcare managers showed that healthcare managers have large networks and receive a high amount of developmental support from their network. Additionally, their networks were moderately dense and were of low range. The results are examined and connections are made to the existing literature. The findings and implications for professional practice are discussed and recommendations for future research are explored
PreK–12 Black Administrators’ Narratives in Urban School Districts
Get PDFThe purpose of this qualitative research was to understand what inspired and motivated Black leaders to join, stay, and thrive in public education in the United States, and how they can help bring structural and transformative changes in PreK–12 public education. This study centered on Black PreK–12 Administrators’ narratives working in urban school settings. For this project, I created a short background survey and conducted a thirty-minute interview per participant. This framework allowed ten Black preK-12 school administrators to narrate and reflect on a spectrum of challenges that they faced as well as their remarkable achievements in their roles. Referring to Black principals’ effective leadership among all, particularly Black learners, Bass (2020) stated that “to meet the needs of all their students, these leaders address structural inequality by enacting equity-minded initiatives that reduce opportunity gaps and manifest as caring practices” (p. 358). For generations, Black leaders have played a critical role in fighting systemic inequity in the United States public school system as instructional leaders and advocates on behalf of marginalized student populations. Bailes and Guthery (2020) stated that “only 20 percent of all principals nationwide are nonwhite, . . . there is a distinct mismatch between the demography of school leaders and that of teachers, the largest pool of principals. There are major inequalities within the country’s school leadership hierarchies\u27\u27 (para 4). The fact that PreK–12 public schools in this nation, especially in urban settings, are composed mostly of non-White students underscored the need to narrow the current leadership opportunity gap. Participants in this study reported the profound isolation that they experienced due to structural White supremacy. The Black leaders recommended that to close the leadership opportunity gap between Black PreK–12 leaders and their White counterparts, two major actions need to take place. First, increase the pipeline from which Black school leaders are selected by raising the number of Black licensed staff, particularly teachers. Second, educational organizations that train teachers and administrators in the state where this research has been conducted must collaborate with policymakers to create organizational-led networking opportunities for potential Black school leaders
“The Heart Of My Professional Work”: A Case Study Of EdD Student Experiences And Their Alignment To Program Outcomes And Graduates’ Professional Practice Needs
Get PDFGoodman Chien, K. R. (2023). “The Heart of my Professional Work”: A Case Study of EdD Student Experiences and their Alignment to Program Outcomes and Graduates’ Professional Practice Needs. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to learn about the experiences of EdD graduates and how those experiences aligned with the intended outcomes of a program and graduates’ professional practice needs. This research is vital to the field because it connects current scholarship regarding EdD programs with how these programs meet the professional practice needs of participants by developing scholarly practitioners (Gigliotti et al., 2016; Kline, 2016; Rueda et al., 2013; Teske, 2017). The findings provide essential information for EdD programs to align programming and outcomes with student experiences and provide potential students with information about the EdD experience. The three theoretical frameworks used in this study to inform the research questions were Mezirow’s (1991) transformative learning theory, Benner’s (1982) Novice to Expert Theory, and Wenger’s (1998) Communities of Practice Theory. This study was conducted using a survey (61 respondents) and semi-structured interviews (8 participants) of the first 10 cohorts of EdD graduates from one Midwestern university. An aspect of the interview included an arts-based data collection method. Findings provided evidence of EdD graduates’ experiences meeting intended program outcomes and their professional practice needs. Overlap between meeting intended program outcomes and professional practice needs emerged in themes from both the survey and interview, such as improved research and writing skills and applying dissertation research to professional practice. The latter theme is also supported in the literature (Kumar & Dawson, 2013; Teske, 2017). Recommendations include the continuation of learning communities beyond the time spent in pursuit of the degree for scholarly encouragement and support, periodically surveying EdD students about their experiences to identify needs and made adjustments during the coursework phase, conducting post-EdD surveys to keep the EdD program connected to current professional practice needs, using a commonly accepted metric for graduation rate calculation to track progress, and intentional recruitment of skills course facilitators who are committed to supporting students’ needs. Research Methodology: Case study–survey, interview, and arts-based data collection Key Words: Student experience, doctorate in education (EdD), doctoral education, professional doctorate, scholarly practitione
Implementing Inquiry in a High School Economics Course
Get PDFInquiry-based learning (IBL) allows students a more authentic learning experience by providing them the opportunity to question, explore, investigate, analyze, draw conclusions and create. In contrast, traditional didactic teaching methods often hinder students\u27 deeper comprehension and disenfranchise students from institutional education as a whole. This paper advocates for the integration of IBL methodologies within high school economics education by exploring the question, how can high school seniors use inquiry-based learning in economics? IBL\u27s cognitive advantages, including heightened student involvement, critical thinking enhancement, and improved problem-solving skills, are explored in this paper. By encouraging active questioning, collaborative investigations, and exploration, IBL mirrors real-world inquiries, enabling a more profound grasp of understanding. The project itself implements IBL into a 10 day personal finance unit in a 12th Economics course. The curriculum was created using a four levels of inquiry framework from Banchi and Bell and Understanding by Design from Wiggins & McTighe. Throughout the unit, students are scaffolded from structured inquiry to guided inquiry to allow for an increasingly more authentic and challenging learning experience. Students will investigate the guiding question for the unit, how could I plan for my ideal future life? This will be broken down into more digestible experiences with 6 supporting questions that each involve an activity. These activities provide students more time to engage in the content while the teacher transitions to a facilitator of learning. A budgeting project allows students to investigate how they can practically plan for their ideal life. By the end of this unit, students will be able to effectively engage in problem solving through inquiry, and obtain a thorough understanding of fundamental personal finance topics
The Impact of Racism: Experience of Black Women Leaders in the Public Sector
Get PDFDespite the Civil Right Act and a myriad of DEI initiatives that claim to create an anti-discrimination and antiracism environment, Black women leaders still experience racism, discrimination, and disrespect in the workplace. Black women are less likely to be promoted than their White counterparts, and over 25% of Black women reported that their social identities led to a missed advancement opportunity (McKinsey & Lean In, 2022). Society is in the midst of a unique time in history where government institutions, willingly or forced, are having difficult conversations regarding institutional racism. The national movement that declares racism as a public health crisis has created a culture and appetite for government accountability as a social expectation.
Society has arrived at a point where we can no longer ignore the voices that represent the communities closest to the margins and the communities on the other end of issues such as police murders, environmental racism, infant mortality, and mass incarceration. Institutional racism is embedded in the foundation of government. Cox (1994) insists that cultural bias is baked into the culture and normalized within institutions, including those who outwardly endorse anti-racist practices. Grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT), the study used a phenomenological approach to conduct semi-structured interviews with 12 Black women leaders who work in state government in midwestern, eastern, and southern regions of the United States.
The purpose of the interviews was to explore the experience of Black women leaders in government, specifically understanding the impact of racism on their advancement in state government. Several themes surfaced under the five main categories: Institutional racism Interpersonal racism Conscious and unconscious alignment and perpetuation of white supremacy culture Strategies Black women use to navigate state government Committed to improving the culture of government and invested in making an impact
Three new aspects of Black women\u27s experiences surfaced from the research: Black women are demoted from leadership positions Black women resist role-flexing and show up authentically 3. Black women perpetuate anti-Blackness in state government
The research concludes with implications and recommendations for government and research: DEI strategies intended to support Black women should be informed by Black women State Government would benefit from partnering with an external culturally competent investigator to investigate patterns of discrimination complaints involving Black women leaders State government should consider establishing and implementing a culturally specific peer mentor program to support the onboarding and ongoing success of Black women leaders