Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2228
The departments within the College of Education were reorganized and renamed as of July 1, 2011. This department incorporates the former departments of Curriculum & Instruction, Education Policy Studies, and Organizational Leadership & Policy Studies.
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Item Exploring the civic potential of places: Place-based education as a tool for youth civic engagement(2019) Sinclair, Kristin; Malen, Betty; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This qualitative case study examined how place-based education (PBE) (e.g. Gruenewald, 2003a, Sobel, 2004), might provide opportunities for young people from marginalized backgrounds to develop civic engagement attitudes, behaviors, commitments and skills. This study investigated personally responsible and participatory civic engagement (e.g., Westheimer & Kahne, 2004), but focused on critical or sociopolitical action and justice-oriented civic engagement (Watts & Flanagan, 2007). Grounded in a conceptual framework encompassing PBE’s theory of change, critical theories of place, and youth sociopolitical development (Watts & Flanagan, 2007) this study drew on documents, observations, student work, and interviews with administrators, teachers and 11th grade students at Greenfields Public Charter School during the three month long food justice project (FJP). The FJP was an interdisciplinary, experiential project wherein students researched a local food justice issue through community- and school-based fieldwork. Teachers’ goals for the FJP included that students would gain data analysis and research skills, understand the impact of their individual choices, and develop a set of skills and dispositions for engaging in critical social action, specifically a “sense of their own agency.” Even with a favorable school environment, supportive and flexible administrators, and dedicated teachers, the FJP’s outcomes were ultimately disappointing. Findings suggest that while most students gained research skills, only some developed a sense of agency and civic engagement attitudes, behaviors, and commitments. Students who completed projects that investigated school-based issues demonstrated participatory behaviors and skills. Students who studied neighborhood-based issues, however, were the only ones who demonstrated gains in justice-oriented civic engagement. They reported changes in their attitudes towards other marginalized groups, a greater awareness of structural explanations for injustice, and expressed newfound commitments to “be more active” in their communities. This study identifies conditions under which PBE might foster youth civic engagement. Primarily, it argues that the spatial context of PBE – defined as the arena (i.e., school, neighborhood, or city) in which projects are situated and the meanings of place a project invokes (e.g., place-as-container versus place-as-content and context) – may mediate PBE’s impact on civic engagement. Implications for practice, suggestions for future research, and potential refinements to the conceptual framework are discussed.Item PAUSING TO CULTIVATE OUR GARDENS: THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF WOMEN ENGAGED IN CREATIVE JOURNALING(2019) Riley, Sonya; Hultgren, Francine; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This phenomenological dissertation explores the lived experience of women participating in a creative journaling pause (CJP), a phrase describing the moment in which the participant chooses herself and engages in an activity of expression. Grounded in the tradition of hermeneutic phenomenology, biblical Christian principles, and the philosophical work of Martin Heidegger and Hans-Georg Gadamer, this research focuses on the practice of a creative journaling pause to assist a woman in cultivating her personal garden, in particular herself as an authentic individual. The metaphors of a sand garden and an oasis are used as descriptors to illuminate the phenomenon. The stories of the women hidden in the sand, or the depths of their journal pages, surfaced through our conversations in the moments of our four creative journaling pauses. Each pause, likened to an oasis, gave space to dwell in rest, freedom, and renewal. Thoele (2008) identifies women as “multi-focused, multifaceted, multi-tasking wonders” (p. 21). Yet, the various aspects or roles of a woman’s life may not always align with her ability to focus on self. Thus, the phenomenon of a creative journaling pause intrigues me with what it means to be a woman discovering and rediscovering her authentic self through the actions of pausing and the process of creative journaling. In brief, chapter one turns to the phenomenon and reveals my abiding concern. Chapter two allows an investigation of the phenomenon through the life stories of other women who journal and create. Chapter three provides a philosophical and methodological grounding that leads to a plan of engagement for my research. Chapter four reveals the essential themes from the lifeworld texts provided by the six participants of the study: A Disturbance Awakens—A Journey Towards An Oasis; A Chasm Remembered—A Vulnerability Exposes The Path To An Oasis; A Moment Revealed—An Expression Unfolds In the Oasis; and, An Openness Extended—A Return from the Oasis. Chapter five discusses the pedagogical implications of a creative journaling pause as the participant comes to the table, sits at the table, and leaves with the table in which she cultivates her garden, her authentic self.Item CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS IN THE CONTEXT OF A LARGE URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICT: AN ANALYSIS OF MATH & ELA TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PRACTICES IN TEACHING LATINA/O ELLs(2019) Beato, Carlos Manuel; Eubanks, Segun; McLaughlin, Margaret; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Latina/o English language learners are not achieving at the same levels as their White and English speaking peers. Research shows that 63% of ELLs, in large part Latina/o, are graduating high school, compared to an 82% overall rate. This study aimed to gather Math and ELA teacher perceptions around teachers’ ability to implement culturally responsive strategies. The researcher sought to answer three questions: (1) How do secondary Math and ELA teachers in District A schools with large populations of Latina/o ELLs perceive their own capacity to serve linguistically diverse students in their classroom? (2) What are the culturally responsive pedagogical practices that secondary Math and ELA teachers say they currently use to support Latina/o ELLs in District A schools with large populations of Latina/o ELLs? (3) What are the gaps that Math and ELA teachers perceive that exist in District A with building teacher capacity in culturally responsive practices in schools that have large populations of Latina/o ELLs? Based on a review of the literature on cultural responsiveness, the researcher distributed a web-based survey on the Qualtrics platform to 133 Math and ELA teachers at six District A high schools. The researcher used 18 statements from the Culturally Responsive Teacher Preparedness Scale [CRTPS] to gauge teachers’ perceptions on their ability to implement culturally responsive strategies. Teachers recorded their levels of agreement with their perceived abilities on each statement on a five point Likert scale ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” Teachers were also invited to participate in a focus group to gather specific examples of culturally responsive practices being implemented. Analysis of the survey indicated that teachers perceive to have the capacity to implement culturally responsive practices. The focus group, however, illustrated a need for deeper understanding of culturally responsive practices and how/when/where to implement them. On this basis, the researcher recommends that District A implement a collection of self-assessment data from all teachers that teach Latina/o ELL students, a curriculum review across major content areas, and the development of a network improvement community that addresses Latina/o ELL needs. Further research is needed in order to determine the influence of culturally responsive practices on academic achievement.Item Prospective Teachers' Noticing and Naming of Students' Mathematical Strengths and Support of Students' Participation(2019) Bowen, Diana Leigh; Walkoe, Janet; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation is a sequential qualitative case study that describes how prospective teachers begin to use strengths-based language and support students’ participation after participating in a digital learning experience on noticing and naming students’ mathematical strengths. The central research question guiding this work is: What feedback statements do prospective teachers (PTs) make before and after they receive explicit support for using strengths-based language and is there evidence of PTs’ sustained learning following this support? First, this study collected and analyzed prospective teachers’ feedback statements to students before and after a digital learning experience on noticing and naming students’ mathematical strengths (LessonSketch). The primary analysis used qualitative thematic coding to describe the type of language (strengths-based, mixed language, deficit-based, or uncommitted) used by six prospective teachers when making feedback statements and to qualify feedback statements. The secondary analysis followed two of the prospective teachers into field placements to determine if there was any evidence of sustained learning (as measured by PTs’ reflections on learning and moves in the classroom to support students’ participation). This study found that most (5 of 6) PTs moved from uncommitted or mixed language feedback statements to strengths-based feedback statements as a result of the digital learning experience. PTs went from mostly emerging strengths-based statements on the pre-assessment (20 of 28 statements) to primarily meaningful strengths-based statements on the post-assessment (22 of 28 statements). The overall finding from the secondary analysis is that while both PTs (Alicia and Marissa) showed positive shifts in their moves to support students’ participation only Marissa found the practice of noticing and naming students’ strengths as fundamental to her learning and teaching practice. On the other hand, both cases highlight examples of Marissa and Alicia, making specific and public feedback statements to position students' contributions positively and assign competence to students. Finally, tensions arise when PTs evaluate students’ responses for smartness while continuing to rank students’ responses and emphasize correctness.Item FROM VISION TO PRACTICE: A CASE STUDY OF WRITING PROJECT TEACHERS(2019) Singleton, Elizabeth M.; O'Flahavan, John; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation examines the experiences of three practicing teachers involved in a professional learning program focused on writing instruction as they envisioned and enacted new practices for teaching writing in their classrooms. A secondary aim of the study was to uncover the supports and barriers the teachers encountered as they attempted to implement their new ideas for improving their students’ writing in the midst of a reform-oriented literacy initiative in their high-needs school district. This study employed a qualitative multi-case study methodology to take an in-depth look at each teacher’s vision-to-practice process. Data sources from an examination of the visions, practices, and reflections of each of the three case study teachers included semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and analysis of documents produced during the professional learning program that captured teachers’ visions of good teaching. Findings lend insights into the dilemmas that teachers experience assimilating new teaching practices within their existing theoretical perspectives, beliefs, and established principles of practice. Teachers selected new practices that were aligned with their theoretical perspectives of writing development which informed their beliefs about students’ writing challenges and guided their implementation efforts in their classrooms. While beliefs about students’ challenges remained mostly unexamined, teachers developed new practices to address their beliefs about how they could help students improve as writers. Teachers engaged in productive struggle to balance the competing demands of content coverage, fulfilling their professional responsibilities, and meeting their students’ needs. Although teachers made different instructional decisions, they each prioritized preparing their students for their futures over other considerations. Teachers did not find many supports in their schools to encourage their efforts, and they experienced a lack of professional learning opportunities and a data-driven culture as barriers. Findings suggest that teachers require supports to enact professional identities as learners, knowers, and leaders within reform-oriented contexts. The study findings support the utility of teacher vision as a lens for examining practicing teachers’ professional learning and growth.Item WOMEN FACULTY AGENCY: A CASE STUDY OF TWO UNIVERSITIES IN RUSSIA(2019) Kuvaeva, Alexandra; Stromquist, Nelly P; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of the study was to explore professional and personal challenges experienced by women faculty in Russia and analyze organizational factors that influence their sense of agency. Expanding on O’Meara, Campbell & Terosky (2011) theoretical framework on agency, this research suggests differentiating two forms of agency experienced by women faculty in Russia, professional agency and personal agency. Professional agency is shaped by a woman’s strong confidence in her capacity in professional fulfillment. Personal agency reflects a woman’s confidence to build relationships in her family that help her manage multiple roles in her personal and professional life, therefore, producing a strong mediating effect on professional agency perspectives and behavior and work satisfaction. The use of structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed strong positive effects of organizational factors such as promotion procedures, collegiality, workload distribution policies and practices, resources and support, and work-family balance factor on women’s agency perspectives and behavior, and a strong effect of agency behavior on faculty outcomes such as academic rank promotion and leadership opportunities, research productivity and overall satisfaction with their careers. The SEM model did not find gender differences in the above relationships, suggesting that the effect of organizational factors on faculty agency and outcomes is significant regardless of gender. Survey data also provided a broader picture of work environments of the two institutions and helped to gain understanding of which aspects of faculty work reveal significant differences by gender, rank, discipline, and type of institution, and whether women faculty in Russia feel more or less agentic than men faculty. In addition to pre-defined categories of organizational factors that influence faculty career, interviews with women faculty created space for emerging themes of issues shaping women experiences in their work environments and helped to identify what agentic perspectives and behaviors women faculty assume in their career that are pertinent to the Russian context.Item SEARCHING FOR REFLECTIONS: THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF FILIPINO AMERICAN TEACHERS(2019) Castillo, Eleonor Grace; Hultgren, Francine H.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This hermeneutic phenomenological study explores the lived experience of Filipino American teachers in U.S. public schools. Grounded upon the tradition of hermeneutic phenomenology, the study is guided by philosophical works, including those of Heidegger, Gadamer, Merleau-Ponty, Arendt and Casey. Furthermore, I draw from Philippine and Filipino American scholarship, such as the writing of Enriquez, de Guia and David. In conducting this research, I follow van Manen’s methodological structure of six activities: turning to the phenomenon; investigating experience as we live it; reflecting on essential themes; writing and rewriting hermeneutically; maintaining a strong and oriented pedagogical relation; and balancing the research context by considering parts and whole. The eight Filipino American teachers in this study have served as elementary, middle and high school teachers. Through one-on-one conversations, a collective group dialogue and in their reflective writing, their lived experiences of being racially and culturally misunderstood and the loss of native language emerged as essential themes. These revelations reflect the existentials of lived body and lived relation within the lifeworlds of Filipino American teachers. In addition, the role of place, namely that of the distinct and limited presence of Filipino American teachers in U.S. classrooms and on school campuses, unveils the aspect of lived space upon their existence. The insights from this study can serve to inform teacher education programs, school districts and the Filipino American community. Recommendations call for incorporating the unique lived experiences of Filipino American teachers within curriculum and conversations regarding diversity, inclusion and teacher identity within colleges of education. In addition, the study asks for school district leaders and school site administrators to engage mindfully with and harken to the culturally silent voices of Filipino American teachers. Yet the call to listen deeply to Filipino American teachers is also directed towards the Filipino American community, as choosing to be a Filipino American teacher is an existence that is not readily embraced within Filipino American families and the community. Therefore, the study recommends that the dialogue on what it means to be a Filipino American teacher continues, with the aim of further moving forward our understanding of their lifeworlds.Item Investigating the Stories of Success of Students who are African American and Male in AP English(2019) McArdle, Erin E; Turner, Jennifer D; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Students who are African American and male living in the United States have been marginalized from gifted and talented and Advanced Placement (AP) classes in public education. Students who have enrolled in specifically AP English and have taken an AP English exam have been shown to outperform other types of students in college (Barnard-Brak, McGaha-Garnett, & Burely, 2011; Cech, 2008; Chajewski, Mattern, & Shaw, 2011; Hargrove, Godin, & Dodd, 2008; Keng & Dodd, 2008; Mattern, Marini, & Shaw, 2013; Mustafa & Compton, 2017; Patterson & Ewing, 2013). Attending college and earning a collegiate degree offers a multitude of benefits; however, “college entrance and matriculation for African America students remains critically low,” especially for males (Curry & Shillingford, 2015, p. 14). This research study examined how students who are African American and male came to enroll in an AP English course, how they maintained their success in an AP English course, what and who influenced them along the way, and what later impact AP English had on their lives, especially as collegiate scholars. The researcher was the participants’ high school AP English teacher and relied on her personal experiences in teaching AP English to frame her research. The participants attended a high school where the ethnicity demographics of students closely mirrored the ethnicity percentages of the U.S. population. The school is well-funded, well-staffed and serves a middle class socio-economic population. Despite this, African American male students who attend this school continue to be underrepresented in AP English courses and in completing and passing AP English exams. Using a cross-comparison of eight distinct case studies following qualitative research protocol, the researcher was able to interview and create narratives of the participants’ experiences in AP English. This dissertation analyzes and synthesizes findings from the interviews to establish how the participants enrolled in AP English and maintained success. Additionally, the study focused on the influences on their success and the later impact on their lives. The findings from this study suggest that for the participants, college acceptance and completion as a “nonnegotiable” significantly influenced their conviction for taking AP English. The participants determined that AP English would influence college acceptance, which is part of the “educational game” students are aware of when attempting to market themselves for college enrollment. Teachers, family members, and peers in G.T. and AP classes were described as influential on enrollment and success. This study led to the discussion of how to include more students who are African American males in AP English class. It also contributes to educational policy that continues to weigh the pros and cons of offering AP English courses.Item Alternative Education and Student College and Career Readiness: An Examination of One Urban School System(2018) Fossett, Mark Eric; McLaughlin, Magaret J.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION AND STUDENT COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS: AN EXAMINATION OF ONE URBAN SCHOOL SYSTEM Mark E. Fossett, Doctor of Education, 2018 Dissertation directed by: Magaret J. McLaughlin, Ph.D. A quantitative causal-comparative study was conducted in one large urban school system, in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States to examine the efficacy of alternative high schools for students at high-risk of academic failure as compared to students at high-risk of academic failure in comprehensive high schools. The investigation revealed that there is a significant difference in the academic and sociocultural variables related to college readiness and successful learning outcomes for high-risk students enrolled in alternative schools versus high-risk students enrolled in comprehensive schools. The research was conducted in one large urban school system, and will be referred to as DeKota County Public School System(DKCPS). DKCPS opened their alternative school program in 2003. Through a casual-comparative longitudinal analysis of one graduation cohort’s four-year journey through high school, we will examine the differences in academic and sociocultural variables related to college readiness and successful learning outcomes. Severn variables emerged as being relevant and four of those variables emerged as being significant. They were four different types of quantitative analysis done to validate the variables and the strength of their inclusion in the analysis and outcomes. The data collected provided an opportunity to make recommendations to DKCPS on the benefits that alternative schools have on high-risk alternative school students in their system. Additional research was also recommended to expand this research to multiple school districts to further identify the significant variables that are explanatory of college readiness and successful learning outcomes for high-risk students enrolled in alternative high schools versus high-risk students in comprehensive high schools.Item Instructional Partnerships Between Science Faculty and Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Assistants: Implications for Formative Assessment(2019) Jardine, Hannah Elizabeth; Levin, Daniel M; Elby, Andrew; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In order to support more student-centered instruction in undergraduate science, as suggested by national reports over the last several decades, instructors may integrate undergraduate teaching and learning assistants (UTLAs) into their courses. A growing body of literature describes the beneficial outcomes of UTLA-faculty partnerships in teaching and learning, and opportunities for feedback, co-creation, and collaboration. However, scholars know little about what goes on during meetings between UTLAs and faculty to support feedback and collaboration, and have yet to investigate UTLA feedback in-depth. For this dissertation, I applied qualitative case study research methods to explore the nature of UTLA-faculty interactions and the quality and substance of the feedback provided to faculty by UTLAs. I studied the UTLAs and faculty instructors for two biology courses over the course of the Fall 2018 semester, collecting multiple sources of data, which included observational field notes, audio recordings of meetings, interviews, e-mails, and written documents. To explore the nature of UTLA-faculty interactions, I drew on the guiding principles of respect, reciprocity, and responsibility (Cook-Sather, Bovill, & Felten, 2014) to study how UTLAs were positioned in interactions with faculty. I found that UTLAs may be positioned as students, informants, consultants, co-instructors, and co-creators, that these positions were fluid and could occur simultaneously, and that respect, reciprocity, and responsibility manifested in various ways across these different positions. Thus, UTLA-faculty partnerships are complex and dynamic; even if we rank or characterize partnerships more broadly, considering the variety and fluidity in positioning may help to understand the nuances behind different types of partnerships. In addition to studying UTLA positioning, I also analyzed the quality and substance of the feedback the UTLAs provided to instructors, to explore if and how the feedback might play a role in formative assessment of student learning. I presented a conceptualization of UTLA-faculty interactions as part of a formative assessment “system” comprised of multiple feedback loops between instructors, UTLAs, and students. After analyzing the UTLA feedback, I found that UTLAs provided evidence about what’s going on with students in the course, and often, in addition to that evidence, provided interpretations, suggestions, and predictions to the instructor. UTLAs regularly offered feedback related to course logistics, and instructional materials. They also provided instructors with feedback on student attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions as well as student conceptual understanding. UTLA feedback was valuable for making adjustments to improve teaching and learning; however, UTLA feedback was not always related to or supported by evidence of student ideas. Thus, it was not always relevant for supporting deep formative assessment of student learning. Overall, this research helps to reveal new insights into the potential of UTLA-faculty partnerships for collaboration around instruction, formative assessment, and improving teaching and learning in undergraduate science, and how best to support those partnerships.