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Community member involvement in school-based prevention : bridging gaps to adult connection in educational institutions
No full textRoby, LaTreece N.
Teen mental health and connectedness to school are interconnected factors that significantly influence a teenager's present and future life outcomes. In response to a decrease in feelings of school connectedness and a increase in suicidal ideation and sucide attempts amongst teens across the country, a growing number of states are rolling out system and district level policies for suicide prevention and social-emotional learning interventions. Educators are not always equip with the knowledge, skills, time or desire to implement such programs. Community organizations can harness useful skills, financial resources and connections to volunteers to aid schools in the implementation of prevention and SEL interventions. Sources of Strength is a connection-based evidenced-based suicide prevention program being implemented in schools across the United States. Sources of Strength traditionally leverages school-based adult and student connections to promote a positive school culture shift towards help seeking, increased school connectedness and a sense of belonging. This study examines the use of community members as adult advisors in the Sources of Strength program and their impact on students self-reported quality of connection to adults. Qualitative data associated with 17 open-ended questions from 12 participants was analyzed utilizing grounded theory. The 3 major themes that emerged from the data were sense of connection with adults, pathways of connection and a safe place for communication. Through analysis of th data a new theory emerged called Community Member Integration Theory. This theory is a foundation for best practices on successfully integrating community members into Sources of Strength programs as adult advisors
The perception of culturally responsive teaching from the perspective of educators
No full textDavis, Jennice
Given the increasing diversity of school populations, it is imperative that school systems participate in culturally responsive teaching, which highlights the need for teachers to include students’ culture in their learning. Culturally responsive teaching acknowledges student culture, teacher relationships, student engagement, and curricula. These attributes help to contribute to student success and attainment as they relate to culturally responsive teaching. This study aimed to describe and understand teachers’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching by exploring teachers’ experiences and personal perceptions of teaching and incorporating culturally responsive teaching strategies into the classroom. The methodology that was chosen for this study was a narrative inquiry that included an initial survey and interview. The data collection was completed during two interview sessions. Five teacher interviews were analyzed using 15 interview questions associated with the two research questions. The participants ranged from beginning to veteran teachers. Participants also taught in various grade levels within K-8 classrooms. The results revealed that to effectively implement CRT, there should be an increase in instructional practices that encourage different cultural perspectives, maintaining cultural awareness, and building student relationships. The study also indicated that there was a slightly positive correlation between teachers' perceptions and CRT strategies. The limitations and barriers that were identified were the need to increase professional development around CRT and more autonomy in curricula from teachers. Limitations, recommendations, and implications for leadership and further study were discussed
A phenomenological study of faculty members’ definitions of online course rigor: Exploring how an online course quality assurance program shapes online course rigor
No full textHamel, Brad
This study aimed to describe higher education faculty members’ perspectives on the value of a quality assurance boot camp and how it shapes their definitions of rigor. This study also explored the relation between institutional support and rigor, specifically quality assurance initiatives. By exploring the impacts of additional online education quality assurance on faculty members’ definitions of rigor, this research may have implications for the future of online education and its effects on traditional face-to-face learning.
The subjects of this phenomenological study were faculty members from a comprehensive Great Lakes regional four-year state higher education institution. Six participants were chosen via simple random sampling from a list of volunteers who had one or more years of online teaching experience and participated in at least one professional development training program to improve online education design and delivery at the institution. Interviews were semi-structured with open-ended questions to explore the shared lived experiences of taking the quality assurance boot camp for online course development.
Interview data were coded and analyzed in relation to the research question. Codes emerged through two rounds of coding the detailed and rich data obtained in the interview process. The second round of coding concluded with a final total of 12 codes. Analyzing the final codes and how they were interconnected, six unique themes emerged. The themes include: 1) faculty readiness for quality teaching, 2) faculty internal institutional support as a component of rigorous teaching, 3) alignment in online course design, 4) feedback to shape course rigor, 5) educational technology aiding quality courses, and 6) faculty workload affecting course quality and rigor.
The data and themes resulted in four major findings. The key finding was that the boot camp experience reinforced participants’ definitions of rigor rather than directly shaping them. The second finding was that the more their definitions of rigor aligned with the literature, the more open they were to new techniques for improving rigor and modifying courses over time. The third finding was that participants felt that institutions need to provide support beyond boot camp training to achieve quality online courses. The final finding was that the boot camp, which focused on online teaching, had a positive impact on participants’ face-to-face teaching.
One implication of this research is that boot camp training benefits faculty members by helping them develop better quality and more rigorous online courses. Institutions should support faculty members with robust mentoring and peer review processes throughout new course ideation, design, implementation, and modification. Lastly, course formats other than online may benefit from implementing quality assurance boot camps. However, faculty members are not always up to date on the new pedagogy or tools that are available to them, and that would enable them to improve the rigor and quality of their courses
Guidelines toward more socially just mental health screening in schools
No full textKiperman, S., Clark, K., Renshaw, T.L., Anderson, J.R., Bernstein, E., & Willenbrink, J.B.
Mental health screening is a pivotal practice for promoting the social–emotional–behavioral (SEB) health and well-being of youth in schools. However, some aspects of traditional mental health screening practices may inadvertently perpetuate structural racism and unintentionally facilitate oppression and SEB disparities. We address this issue constructively by presenting an intentional approach to guide school psychologists and related professionals in implementing more socially just mental health screening in schools. Our guidelines are grounded within the four phases of the Participatory Culture-Specific Intervention Modeling (PCSIM) framework: system entry, culture-specific model development, culture-specific program development, and program continuation or extension. We propose that conceptualizing mental health screening within PCSIM methodology promotes more socially just practices by (a) displacing the implicit power of professionals, (b) giving transparent representation to local communities, and (c) employing methods that are recursive, culturally relevant, and intended to build capacity for sustained transformative change. Within each PCSIM phase, we recommend culturally responsive practices for professionals that foster equity in screening and SEB outcomes and discuss ways to resist practices that perpetuate oppression and disparities. We aim to convey a method for mental health screening that is not done to students and schools but rather done in partnership with and for the benefit of students and schools.
Impact and Implications
We propose guidelines for helping school psychologists and related professionals implement more socially just mental health screening practices to promote more equitable social–emotional–behavioral student outcomes. The guidelines reference PCSIM and ASPIRE frameworks, which emphasize forming partnerships among professionals, staff, and families where all are experts, and counteracting practices, which perpetuate systemic inequities, respectively. The guidelines can disrupt harmful practices and yield more culturally relevant, evidence-based services that benefit all students
Unlocking the path to success : exploring Vincent Tinto’s theory of student persistence for the historically underrepresented students in higher education
No full textDavis, Taiyani
This case study examined if Tinto’s theory of student persistence is applicable to retention of historically underrepresented students at one institution of higher education. This research identified possible ways educators can assist in increasing retention and persistence rates for historically underrepresented students pursuing higher education and how universities can offer historically underrepresented students the resources they need to feel they are a part of campus culture and a part of the story of the campus community. Historically underrepresented students are graduating at lower rates than their White counterparts. Tinto’s theory of student persistence emphasizes that a strong sense of self-efficacy, a sense of belonging, and a student’s perceived view of the value of the curriculum are critical factors in student persistence and retention.
Structured interviews were completed with seven participants. The analysis showed a strong connection between Tinto’s three factors and positive retention rates amongst historically underrepresented students but does not consider how this impacts student happiness as they are pursuing their bachelor’s degree. I concluded that Tinto’s theory is applicable to improving retention rates of historically underrepresented students at predominantly White institutions, yet faculty and institutions must also focus on student’s happiness to ensure a student’s positive experience while pursuing the bachelor’s degree
Reconceptualizing creativity : creativity as embodied practice as research
No full textTeague-Mann, Christina
Predominant models for creativity are highly computational leaving considerations of embodiment out of the process. The question of the role of the body in creativity has been widely debated in the field of creativity. The research explored the value, extent, and enaction of embodied cognition in creativity to reconceptualize how creativity can be engaged with and facilitated. It was a post hoc analysis of creative outputs from graduate level choreography courses that offered learning experiences synthesizing 4 e cognition with choreographic practice as research. The researcher used practice as research, hermeneutic phenomenology, and thematic analysis to place the student’s creative expressions in dialogue; to grasp how student-creators were experiencing, comprehending, and using embodied cognition in creative processes.
Contrary to the ubiquitous use of highly computational models for creativity, the study demonstrates the rigor of embodied practice as research in choreography and the value it brings to creative processes. The importance of embodiment for holistic and authentic processes for creativity is discerned, as well as the impact of situated embodiment for the facilitation of creativity. The synthesis of 4 e cognition and choreographic practice as research created a means for students to realize and articulate dynamic, complex, and multidimensional aspects in their creative processes. These findings have important methodological implications for creativity from how it is conceptualized and facilitated, to how it is approached through unique dispositions for perception and interpretation; shedding light on the rarely acknowledged issue of disembodied creativity
The effect of first-year writing programs on the retention and persistence of historically underserved students
No full textBlemberg, Derek
Retention and student persistence are perennial issues in higher education. With the current enrollment challenges in all sectors of higher ed, more attention is being paid to these issues than ever before. Colleges and universities are interested in shoring up their budgets as well as improving completion rates to be more appealing to future students. Most of the scholarly work on retention and persistence often emphasizes demographic differences or the psychological traits students possess. By contrast, this project specifically examined the role that first-year writing (FYW) courses can play to improve outcomes for students. I continue to be especially interested and invested in historically underserved students (first-generation, low-income, students of color, LGBTQIA+, ESL/ELL students, etc.).
There has been work connecting retention, persistence, and FYW, but that work typically focuses on placement and the support services that surround FYW (tutoring, supplemental courses, first-year seminars, and/or bridge programs) rather than the content of FYW courses or specific strategies for instructors to implement. Some scholarly work exists examining the connection between course content, methods, design, and/or assignments and retention/persistence. This study contributes to and expands the work that has already been done in those areas and provides some avenues for further study.
This qualitative study uses interviews and document analysis from two small institutions in the Midwest. The first is a public university with an access mission; it primarily confers associate degrees and enrolls approximately 1000 students. Second, the study examined FYW courses at a small to midsize private college; this school confers bachelor’s degrees as well as graduate degrees and enrolls approximately 1200 students. This cross-section provided vital insights into the connection between FYW and retention/persistence. Interviews were conducted with both instructors and students to compare their perspectives on what aids persistence.
The project found that: instructors and students agree far more than they disagree about FYW, there are several areas for improvement for colleges and instructors, and the cultural obstacles of higher ed are significant for this population of students. These findings can help FYW instructors by providing some insights into best practices, methodology, content, design elements, and assignments that can positively affect student persistence and retention
Learning style preferences of female undergraduate students in the U.S. and possible associations with selected ‘hard’ vs. ‘soft’ academic majors
No full textBabayev, Roland
Studies have shown that demotivation and dissatisfaction can occur when learning style preferences and teaching methods are misaligned. Taking student learning styles into consideration as an instructor is therefore important. While many learning style preference studies have been conducted globally, female undergraduate students in the U.S. have had limited focus. A quantitative associational study was conducted to determine the learning style preferences of female undergraduate students in the U.S. and possible associations with 'hard' vs. 'soft' academic major selection. The Felder-Soloman Index of Learning Styles inventory was utilized to identity the learning style preferences of 189 research participants. Biglan's Taxonomy of academic disciplines was used to categorize academic disciplines as 'hard' and 'soft'. The findings demonstrated that female undergraduate students in the U.S. preferred Sensing, Visual, and Sequential learning styles with a balance across the Active-Reflective learning style dimension. This overall preference for Sensing, Visual, and Sequential learning was seen across both 'hard' and 'soft' academic major groups. A Chi-Square Test of Independence was conducted to determine a possible association between 'hard' vs. 'soft' academic discipline selection and learning style preferences. A Mann-Whitney U test was also applied. The tests revealed no significant association between any of the learning style preference dimensions and academic major category. These findings are of consequence as they quantitatively demonstrate that instructors in higher education should not design courses under the presumption that students in certain academic tracks prefer to learn in specific ways. Instead, pluralism and diversity in teaching strategies should be adopted to facilitate deeper learning irrespective of academic major type
The impact of a system wide integration of Indigenous Knowledge on students, staff and community
No full textPaap, Beth
The history of the American public school system has used a curriculum and educational approach that lacks a diversity of cultural epistemologies and pedagogy. Of note is a profound lack of Indigenous Knowledge subjects taught. This research explored what impact a system wide integration of Indigenous Knowledge had on students, staff and community. The literature review consisted of three strands; a historical look at American public school beginnings, secondly, curriculum development and design and lastly a review of the literature on the culturally responsive educational movement with particular attention to the education of Native American students. As a qualitative case study the Indigenous Research Paradigm framework was employed with field observations and interviews as methods of data collection. The Indigenous Knowledge subject studied was one season of iskigamizigan (Ojibwe sugarbush). The sample group participants shared stories that learning about and participating in iskigamizigan was impactful. Impact was reflected in; heightened cultural connections, cultural identity, intergenerational connections and a broader worldview. This research helps to legitimize Indigenous Knowledge subjects as scholarly and offers valuable cultural connections to students, staff and community. This research supports the revitalization of public school education in ways that honor the worldview of the diversity of students. It also reminds the reader that public schools should be community schools, welcoming community members to help create a robust and meaningful community of teachers and learners
Still unfolding through time and space : a qualitative phenomenological pilot study of education at 9/11 Memorial & Museum
No full textEgger, Owen R. S.
This dissertation presents an in-depth case study of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum (9/11 Memorial) as an alternative learning space. The study explores the unique pedagogical and andragogical practices, technology use, and physical space characteristics that contribute to authentic learner engagement and connection with educational material. The research reveals that 9/11 Memorial leverages its unique resources, such as authentic artifacts and the physical location at Ground Zero, to create a reflective and empathetic learning environment. The study also highlights the museum's use of contemporary technologies to connect learners across space and time, and the role of the museum's physical layout in fostering an authentic learner experience. The virtual educational offerings of 9/11 Memorial are also examined, revealing their potential to extend the reach of the museum’s programs to learners who would otherwise not be able to engage with the memory of the 9/11 attacks.
This dissertation presents the first case study in a larger body of work seeking to develop a grounded theory and model for understanding and analyzing alternative learning spaces. The findings of this study contribute to the understanding of how alternative learning spaces can be effectively utilized for educational purposes and provide insights for future research and practice in this area