College of Education
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1647
The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
Browse
35 results
Search Results
Item CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR EPISTEMIC AGENCY IN THE LEARNING OF SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES(2024) Hirst Bernhardt, Christine; Elby, Andrew; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation consists of three studies exploring factors affecting whether, when and how students engage in sensemaking in science disciplines, and the epistemological components of instruction that impact their engagement. Each study is grounded in science education reform efforts, including the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which call upon educators to engage students in science practices to learn science through sensemaking and necessitate a reorientation to position learners to “shape the knowledge building work in their classroom community (Miller et al., 2018, p. 1058; NRC, 2012). In other words, students must now act with epistemic agency to figure out more than they learn about (Krist et al., 2019). Study 1 addresses a gap in astronomy education research literature. Astronomy education is largely centered on undergraduates and is minimally researched in pre-college settings. I conducted a qualitative study with thematic analysis of surveys (N = 68) and 10 interviews with select participants to discover methods of teaching and learning astronomy internationally, as a follow on to the quantitative curricular study by Salimpour et al. (2021). I was looking for examples of astronomy as a gateway for further STEM learning in classrooms and community, and as a bridge to equity, as well as examples and takeaways. While the interview participants provided notable examples of programs which disrupt representation gaps in astronomy fields and promote STEM connections amongst historically underserved populations, I did not find easily replicable examples for US teachers to use astronomy as a “gateway” science; I found other nations wrestling with similar issues of deprioritized science instruction, lack of resources and poor access to teacher professional learning opportunities. Therefore, I turned to a deeper understanding of epistemologies of teaching and learning in studies 2 and 3. Papers 2 and 3 investigate the role of epistemological framing, or how people make sense of a particular situation, through speech and behaviors, from past experience (Elby & Hammer, 2010; Goffman, 1974; Hammer et al., 2004). Students may frame learning science as doing school for completion of worksheets and production of “correct” answers for a grade, or they may frame learning science as doing science when they consider “correct” as considering available evidence and weighing it against predicted outcomes to make sense of phenomena or developing disciplinary knowledge through the process of sensemaking (Hutchinson & Hammer, 2010; Miller et al., 2018). In papers 2 and 3, I explored how teachers used framing moves or bids through explicit or implicit signals such as means of instruction, tone, or body language to sustain, shift or redirect students’ approaches to learning activities (Berland & Hammer, 2012). In paper 2, I investigated the impact of two teachers varied framing moves while using similar curricular materials through secondary video analysis. I used codes for cognitive authority and epistemological stance to segment each teacher's dialogue while introducing the activities, or their” public talk,” which established and sustained classroom norms for participation and engagement. I also analyzed dialogue between each teacher and small student groups, as seen from a teacher-worn GoPro camera. I found that one teacher mostly framed the lesson as students doing science and established a culture of collaboration. I found that the other teacher mostly framed the lesson as doing school and established a culture of compliance. However, these findings were nuanced and context dependent. In paper 3, I investigated, through a single case study, how a veteran teacher acknowledged, addressed and adapted her work within the same curriculum from paper 2 to address a mismatch between the epistemic agency afforded by the materials and students’ “typical” epistemic agency enacted in that classroom. I engaged in a collaborative planning interview and observation cycle with the teacher, Amy, over five observations and eight interviews. While I intended to better understand and characterize Amy’s framing moves and how those moves positioned students to act with epistemic agency, I determined that, what I thought were purely her framing moves were also reinforcing embedded commitments (for relationships and community). These commitments were baked into all of her framing moves for sensemaking. I also saw over multiple days that students did not take up her framing bids; after revisiting the data, including a lesson not using the curricular materials, I saw students in her class and school, by structural design, always had some form of epistemic agency, and that the curricular materials suppressed some of the form of epistemic agency to which they were accustomed. By contrast, when Amy modified the lesson to grant students their “typical” epistemic agency, the lesson went well, with students engaging excitedly in scientific argumentation. Therefore, this study demonstrated that the construct of epistemic agency is not monolithic, that the form of epistemic agency matters. Students recognize when there is a mismatch between the epistemic agency invited by curriculum and that which they are accustomed to, which influences their engagement and participation. Amy demonstrated the pedagogical moves and strategies to realign this mismatch.These studies are significant in that many teachers use highly structured materials to assist with NGSS implementation, yet the manner in which teachers approach these materials determine the objectives they establish, and the framing moves they enact, which are likely taken up by students (EdReports, 2022). Paper 3 specifically demonstrates the ability of expert, veteran teachers to understand and act upon knowledge of their students. This knowledge should be leveraged and supported through professional development and curriculum. Paper 1 is also significant because the NGSS embeds and interconnects Earth and Space Science into every grade band in every content area, thus elevating a previously ignored subject matter. Many teachers globally, as Paper 1 demonstrated, are unprepared to integrate this content with efficacy and authenticity. Therefore, we must consider, honor and respect the insight, experience and professionalism of teachers, and work holistically in that space to better understand what they already do well, instead of trying to consistently reshape or re-direct. Perhaps instead of teaching about practices and disciplinary engagement from a deficit stance, professional development should center teachers as professionals to improvise, to experience and to adapt materials as only professionals can. Each of the studies presented in this dissertation describes teachers (or teacher educators in Paper 1) with expert knowledge of their classroom or disciplinary cultures as they relate to engagement, and suggest that we must trust teachers, as professionals, to do just that.Item Problems and Possibilities: The identities and challenges of early career science teachers(2024) Mesiner, Jennifer Elizabeth; Levin, Daniel M; Elby, Andrew; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Learning to teach is multifaceted and dynamic resulting in a turbulent, fast-changing era of professional life for early career science teachers (ECSTs). Teaching practice is uncertain and tensions are endemic to the profession (Ball, 1993). This dissertation connects to and extends current research of the challenges ECSTs face and how those challenges affect ECSTs’ work, identity, and experience. In the first chapter, I introduce my research focus and offer a personal narrative to provide context of my positionality and experiences between myself and my research. In Chapter 2, I offer a systematic review of the literature to provide a contemporary update to Davis and colleagues’ (2006) review Challenges New Science Teachers Face to answer the question: What challenges do ECSTs face while navigating their first years of teaching? Chapter 3 describes the research design, data sources, and general analysis for the longitudinal case study of an ECST, Alexa. The remaining body chapters build upon Chapter 2 and each other in answer to my remaining research questions: What challenges does Alexa face as an ECST? How does Alexa’s teacher role identity develop over time? In what ways do challenges shape Alexa’s teacher role identity? Chapter 4 builds upon the themes drawn from Chapter 2’s systematic review to explore the challenges Alexa experiences. Chapter 5 describes how Alexa’s identity develops across her early years as an ECST using a Dynamic Systems of Role Identity framework (Kaplan & Garner, 2018). Chapter 6 explores how those challenges impacted Alexa’s science teacher identity using a productive friction framework (Hagel & Brown, 2005a). In Chapter 7, I close by summarizing the research, describing its implications, and offering future directions for research and practice.Item Enacting "Equitable" Computer Science: How U.S. PK-12 District and School Leaders Interpret Educational Policy(2023) Kramarczuk, Kristina; Terrell Shockley, Ebony; Ketelhut, Diane Jass; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)As technology continues to permeate all aspects of modern society, it is critical for PK-12 students to participate in computer science (CS) learning opportunities that prepare them to navigate and leverage technology in their future careers. However, research consistently shows that Black, Hispanic/Latino/a/x, and Native American students, students who qualify for the National School Lunch Program, and rural students are significantly less likely to attend a high school that offers foundational CS courses like Advanced Placement CS A (APCSA) or Advanced Placement CS Principles (APCSP). One way to challenge inequities within PK-12 public CS education is for federal, state, and local leaders to develop and enact CS education reform that specifically addresses disparities in CS education across racial, socioeconomic, and geographic lines. This dissertation unpacks how local leaders–central office leaders and public high school principals–perceive the expansion of CS education in their local contexts and how they leverage their power to bring CS to all students, not just the White and Asian elite. This study includes three articles: 1) an exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis of national Google and Gallup (2020) survey data on U.S. PK-12 superintendents’ and principals’ perceptions of CS education in their local contexts, 2) a multiple case study analysis of interview data with 30 central office leaders and high school principals from six distinct school districts in two states on the East Coast, and 3) a policy brief that summarizes findings from the first two studies and proposes federal, state, and local level policies that can address disparities in U.S. public high school CS education. Findings from the first study revealed that U.S. superintendents and high school principals express positive support for CS education but do not feel that other stakeholders in their school districts, like school board members, parents/guardians, teachers, and students, are equally supportive. Perceptions of stakeholder support were lowest for leaders in the Western part of the U.S. and for leaders who oversee majority low-wealth students. Using the Capacity for, Access to, Participation in, and Experiences in CS framework (CAPE) by Fletcher and Warner (2021), as well as the educational debt theory proposed by Ladson-Billings (2006), the second study showed that support for CS education is fragmented between the state and local levels, even in a state with robust CS education policy in place. Interviews with central office leaders and high school principals confirmed that mainly White, male, and college-bound students are enrolling in APCS courses. Additionally, White-identifying central office leaders, despite recognizing these disparities, placed the blame on students rather than the lack of infrastructure for CS education in their school divisions; they claimed that without enough student interest in elective APCS courses, it is difficult to justify allocating district resources for CS. Whereas in larger school districts, leaders were aware of disparities and actively working to dismantle disparities in CS education. Any challenges that these advocates faced were most likely due to capacity issues, such as a sparse CS teacher workforce or limited funds to establish concrete CS education units at the district level. Five policies are recommended for federal, state and local leaders to enact: 1) federal leaders should develop CS education mandates that require U.S. states to create comprehensive plans for PK-12 CS education, 2) federal and state funds should be allocated towards district and school leadership professional development for CS education, 3) states should develop state-specific CS course sequences for PK-8 education that prepare all students for advanced high school CS coursework, 4) states should consider creating longitudinal data systems that track student enrollment in middle and high school CS courses, and 5) school districts should distribute funds to hire a CS advocate who oversees CS course expansion in the district. Researchers can use the data from this dissertation to develop interventions that address the unique needs of different U.S. PK-12 educational leaders and promote productive relationships between CS education policy and practice.Item STEM TEACHERS AS INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIC LEADERS: CHANGE AGENTS AT THE SYSTEMS SCALE(2022) Vieyra, Rebecca Elizabeth; Elby, Andrew; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation research attempts to answer the questions “What do early childhood teachers perceive as their original sources of self-efficacy for strategic leadership in STEM education?” and “How does their initial self-efficacy for strategic leadership mediate their eventual engagement as international leaders in STEM education?” This study aims to move beyond the mostly descriptive studies of teacher leadership, to understand why a particular group of teachers chose to lead. It attends to visionary leadership outside the school building or district that contributes beyond administrative or political boundaries, at the wider level of the STEM teaching profession. It explores literature across multiple disciplines to aid the adoption and contextualization of a theoretical framework for data collection and analysis of seven case studies of teacher leaders. The resulting theoretical framework is anchored in Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory for its emphasis on self-efficacy and is informed by prior work in leadership and STEM teacher leader development. This theoretical lens is aligned with themes that previously emerged from the results of preliminary interviews with teachers who attributed their leadership to significant increases in leadership self-efficacy. Findings from this study suggest that the teachers acted upon their tendency toward impulsivity to accept new opportunities for strategic leadership in STEM education even when self-efficacy for STEM and teacher leadership was reported to be low, or non-existent due to the lack of familiarity with leadership or STEM (Finding #1). After accepting leadership opportunities, growing self-efficacy for leadership activities primarily derived from improvements in their STEM identity (Finding #2). Among Bandura’s sources of self-efficacy, these teachers frequently reported the importance of emotional and physiological states to engage opportunistically in strategic teacher leadership in STEM education, as well as the role of persuasion from friends and colleagues (Finding #3). Implications from this research include recognizing the importance of supporting early childhood teachers’ STEM identity through the recognition of work they already do that falls within the domain of STEM content and processes. It also suggests the need for educational leaders to help early childhood teachers move toward and overcome a commonly expressed fear of STEM. Further, it calls for those who support teachers to identify and foster risk-taking mentalities concerning leadership, offering opportunities and support even (or perhaps especially) to those teachers who do not yet feel ready to lead others. This work aims to increase the awareness of early childhood teachers’ potential as reform agents in STEM education, as well as bring attention to more human, individualized elements of teacher personal wellness and professional growth that can be realized through leadership.Item From Dichotomy to Continuum: Linking the Recruitment and Retention of Science Teachers(2022) Coon, Ashley Nicole; Jass Ketelhut, Diane; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)High schools throughout the United States, especially those serving high poverty and high minority communities, struggle to find qualified science teachers to fill vacancies, a situation that has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This science teacher shortage is caused by a combination of low levels of recruitment into the profession and high levels of attrition from the profession, which has led those hoping to ameliorate the shortage to focus on either increasing the recruitment of pre-service teachers into science teacher preparation programs or improving the retention of in-service science teachers in the field. Instead of viewing these two ends of the so-called science teacher pipeline as distinct and dichotomous, the primary goal of this two-paper dissertation is to explore and characterize the connection between the recruitment and retention of science teachers. In the first paper, a content analysis approach is used to identify the factors that motivated six science undergraduates to apply to a secondary science teacher preparation program and compare their motivations to those described in the literature. In the second paper, a multi-case study is conducted to determine how the science teaching commitments of six pre-service science teachers changed over the course of their science teacher preparation program and to identify the elements of their science teacher preparation program that contributed to changing commitments to science teaching. By drawing upon the findings of both papers, this dissertation argues that there is a link between science teacher recruitment and retention, and it lies in the conversion of interest in science teaching into commitment to science teaching. This connection positions science teacher preparation programs not only as instruments of science teacher recruitment, but also as a first line of defense against science teacher attrition.Item SOUTH KOREAN FAMILIES’ CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF MUSEUM-BASED SCIENCE LEARNING(2020) Jeong, Hannoori; Elby, Andrew; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This exploratory research study examined how three South Korean families in theU.S. conceptualize museum-based science learning by exploring varied contexts in which they are embedded. In applying a sociocultural perspective, I investigated the families’ backgrounds, views of school and museum learning, in conjunction with their virtual museum tours to address my overarching research question: How do South Korean families in the U.S. conceptualize museum-based science learning? The purpose of this study is to understand how, or by what means, South Korean families’ conceptualizations about museum-based science learning are socially and culturally situated. In adhering to the guidelines of Yin’s (2018) suggestions to conduct multiple case research, I collected individual interviews prior to and following the families’ self-guided virtual museum tours, observations, self-reflections, and self-generated photographic images that captured their views of museum learning. Guided by the Contextual Model of Learning framework (Falk & Dierking, 2000), I used three analytic lenses to explore and analyze the data: personal context, sociocultural context, and physical context of learning. Through the use of narrative analysis, I reported within-case and cross-case findings across the three cases of families. In doing so, I first synthesized each family’s background setting, views of school and museum learning, and museum-based learning interactions to seek insights into how they shaped the family’s conceptualizations about museum-based science learning. Findings showed that the interweaving of each family’s varied contexts, namely personal, sociocultural, and physical, appeared to shape how they conceptualized museum-based science learning. Aspects of the families’ personal context—such as individual goals and beliefs—appeared to motivate their learning experience during the virtual museum tours mediated by sociocultural and physical contexts—such as within- group interactions and orientations to the physical space, respectively—that reinforced or shaped their conceptualizations of museum learning. Thus, in connection with prior literature, the families’ views of learning and authoring their sense of self that manifest their unique contexts may have spurred their conceptualizations of museum-based science learning. Broad implications of the study for museum education research, virtual museum learning, and future research related to informal science education are also discussed.Item A Study of How Inequities Emerge in Interaction in Undergraduate Physics and Engineering Education Spaces(2020) Sabo, Hannah Christine; Elby, Andrew; Turpen, Chandra; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)My research uses interaction analysis to investigate two STEM education spaces and discuss how instructors can and should notice and address unproductive group dynamics, particularly in the service of creating more humane learning environments. The primary goal of this work is to investigate how inequities emerge and continue as interactions in STEM spaces unfold. In the first chapter, I describe how my own experiences of marginalization in physics classrooms and my position as a learning assistant led me to pursue physics education research. The second chapter discusses my researcher positionality and how interaction analysis techniques address my research questions and sheds new light into my research areas. The first body chapter focuses on how tutorials may contribute to inequitable group dynamics. Even though we do not traditionally think of tutorial writers as instructors, they can spot harmful groupdynamics emerging in pilot testing of the tutorial and they should modify the tutorial accordingly. In the fourth body chapter, engineering Learning Assistants, undergraduate teaching assistants, address harmful group dynamics emerging in freshman-level engineering design teams. Role-plays in the LA pedagogy seminar make visible some of the harmful ideologies that constrain LAs diagnoses and proposed treatment of teamwork troubles, creating space for the LAs to discuss and challenge those harmful ideologies. I conclude by discussing insights which cut across both research spaces, including how equity is conceptualized and learning environment design.Item FORMATIVE-HOME CULTURAL INFLUENCES OF SCIENTIFIC SENSE-MAKING: A CASE STUDY ON THE AFFORDANCES OF PEDAGOGICAL “BIO MECHANISTIC THOROUGHNESS” (“BMT”)(2020) Powell, Kweli Bennett; Chazan, Daniel; Elby, Andrew; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Science education research continues to struggle with clarifying the formative-home culturally pedagogical merits of everyday, vs formal science vocabulary focused, classroom discourse (ex. Hammer, et al, 2005; Warren et al, 2001). More broadly, cross-contextual cultural pedagogical efficacy is a resonant aim for education scholar-practitioners in general, regardless of topic (ex. Chazan, 2000; Howard, et al, 2017). While a bio-mechanically thorough (BMT) methodological lens could offer robust theoretical insight into these questions, such an application has yet to become widely evident. In this dissertation, I apply a bio-experimental theoretically based case study approach (Yin, 1989) to interrogate the BMT-causal African-American cultural dynamics of two science sense-making transcripts. The first transcript (2010) featured a first year cohort of teachers as they engaged in the same science sense-making discourse that we researcher-trainers aimed for them elicit in their classrooms. Findings indicate that, from a BMT-aligned perspective, the learning practices of the two African-American (formative-home) cultural participants (out of 5), indeed evinced signatures of their formative-home culture’s discursive-behavioral influence. The second transcript (2012) featured a first year cohort of teachers as they engaged in a facilitated science sense-making structure identical to that applied in 2010. Again, BMT-informed findings indicate that the learning practices of the three African-American participants (out of 6) showed signatures of said culture’s motivating impact. Further notably, relative to the first (2010) context, the 2012 cohort evinced markedly more on-topic discursive-learning per unit time. This dissertation models the affordances of a BMT-aligned case study lens (Yin, 1989) for understanding the culturally causal dynamics of productive sense-making. Results suggest that the distinction between the two transcript outcomes rooted in a deeper sense of ‘starting familiarity' or 'communalism' amongst the focal cultural participants in the 2012 group, a factor shown to uniquely resonate among African-American learners (ex. Boykin, 1994; Seiler, 2001). These findings demonstrate how science sense-making educational contexts that cultivate 'everyday', thus including formative-home culturally rooted, discourse can facilitate learning. This model can inform the development of cross-contextually robust forums for sense-making based teacher-preparatory policy, regardless of topic.Item EXPLORING THE DIMENSIONS OF GENDER AND STUDENT EPISTEMOLOGIES IN A REFORMED LEARNER-CENTERED ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY COURSE: A MIXED METHODS APPROACH(2019) Klosteridis, Jennifer Hayes-; Hultgren, Francine; Croninger, Robert; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Gender and student epistemology play a role in how students interact with STEM content and knowledge development in the classroom and may influence the retention of women in the sciences. Reform agencies have called for changes to the undergraduate biology curriculum to produce students with high level quantitative and critical thinking skills. As educators seek to reform college biology courses to align with policy maker recommendations, it remains important to consider how these dimensions influence student learning of reformed content and pedagogy. This mixed methods study explored the dimensions of gender and epistemology as they related to student learning in a reformed learner-centered organismal biology course at a large east coast university. Pre-test and post-test epistemological survey results and qualitative interview data collected over two semesters by Hall (2013) were analyzed. The results indicated that there was no significant relationship between gender and student epistemologies at pre-test or post-test on the MBEX I instrument or in 3 of the 4 epistemological clusters. Both women and men experienced significant positive shifts on the instrument overall and in two clusters of the survey instrument. Specifically, women and men became more sophisticated in their view of the structure of biological sciences knowledge as composed of principles, and how biology knowledge should be constructed rather than memorized. Qualitative findings, however, suggested that gender and level of epistemological sophistication played a role in how women and men experienced the reformed content and pedagogy in the course. Specifically, women expressed resistance to the inclusion of physical science content in the course, while most men expressed receptivity. This study is unique in that it explored the interplay between gender and epistemology as it related to course content and pedagogical reform. Through integration of the quantitative results and qualitative findings, the study concluded that the reformed learner-centered course was successful at creating more epistemologically sophisticated men and women who viewed biological knowledge as principles-based and developed a belief that biological knowledge is a process of knowledge construction. The results also suggested that women had a more favorable response to the active learning pedagogy. Gender may have created a potential resistance to the inclusion of other disciplinary perspectives and content in the course. The results and findings add to the higher education curriculum reform and instruction literature by providing some insight into how student epistemology and gender may influence faculty efforts to develop courses that align with national reform efforts.Item A GENDER ANALYSIS OF ENGINEERING PHD STUDENTS’ CAREER DECISION-MAKING PROCESS USING A BOUNDED AGENCY MODEL(2019) da Costa, Romina Bobbio; Stromquist, Nelly P.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This qualitative research study applies a bounded agency model in investigating the career decision making process of engineering PhD students at a large, public research university in the United States. Through a gender analysis of the career decision-making of men and women PhD students in engineering, this study sheds light on the reasons why men and women choose different career trajectories in engineering, with implications for diversifying the professoriate. This study highlights the ways in which men and women PhD students in engineering experience the university as an institution differently, and form different impressions of the academic career. The bounded agency model allows for a holistic examination of the organizational barriers, as well as the individual level dispositions and characteristics that work to limit the range of feasible alternaives and choices for men and women as they make their career choices. The findings provide insight into the career decision-making of men and women PhDs as an iterative process of information gathering, crystallization of values, and narrowing down of options. Gender differences are outlined at each stage in this process, providing a framework for furthering understanding of other underrepresented populations in the professoriate. Additionally, the findings have implications for graduate education in engineering, and for PhD student career development and choice, both in the United States and beyond. keywords: agency, bounded agency, career choice, career development, diversity in STEM, engineering education, gender, graduate student agency, graduate student experience, higher education, STEM