Working with an organization outside the public school system that was creating schoolyard gardens, I began to think about culture and cultivation inside and outside of schooling practices. The liveliness of schoolyard gardens presented possibilities for enlivening educational discourses. With two participants I planted a container box "schoolyard" garden outside Lamoureux Hall, which houses the Faculty of Education. Utilizing aspects of place-based pedagogy, ecoliteracy, ecopedagogy and a metissage of a/r/tography, eco-art and writing as a method of inquiry, we tended the garden and dwelled upon ideas of nature, culture, and their intersection in a particular place. Our garden experiences left cyber footprints in virtual space as blog spots on a thesis blog site1. The garden and the inquiry it generated outside is brought back inside the Education building as a Masters thesis. The garden grew in different and unpredictable ways due to intense construction on site entwining the planter boxes with unforeseen variables. 1http://escapelot.wordpress.com

<p> This research was carried out within a qualitative research paradigm. The objective was to observe, analyze and enrich pedagogical practice through the use of pedagogical learning strategies. The learning strategy was a participative and individualized lab carried out during a research project in a non-Traditional Laboratory (LnT). The primary aim of this research was to observe if the LnT assist the students and in this way maximizes success and knowledge in the Introductory Math course (MATE3001) on the University of Puerto Rico campus. </p><p> The investigation questions were discussed in the light of each of the strategies of information collected, personal experience and revision of literature. The methodology used was of a qualitative nature in which the student reflected on the process experienced in the LnT. Seven participants of the math course (MATE3001) who formed part of the LnT in a voluntary manner were interviewed at the beginning and at the completion of the research. The purpose of the interviewed was to discover the participant opinion regarding the pedagogical impact of the LnT. Finally, the research professor made an observation in order to discover of the LnT strategy had the anticipated acceptance by the students.</p><p> The LnT contributed to: (1) students improved their study habits; (2) the students had greater participation in the solution of math problems, their practice and discussion; (3) they accepted that the research professor supervise their work as it was carried out and understood that the presence was for their benefit. Also, the findings of this research were contrasted with the Theory of reciprocal determinism, sources of self-efficacy and self-regulation of Bandura with the impact that these have on learning (Bandura, 1986, 1989a, 1989b). It was also found as the implicit theory (Yeager &amp; Dweck, 2012) resurges in the LnT the effects on interest, student&rsquo;s resilience and situational motivation (Nolen, Horn, &amp; Ward, 2015) which occurs during the living out of the lab experience. LnT stimulates the student, creates security and increases confidence in the solution of math problems.</p>

<p> This qualitative case study examined the connection between experienced teachers' pedagogical beliefs and their learning of mathematics content. The beliefs of eight experienced elementary (K-8) mathematics teachers were examined before, during, and after the teachers participated in a professional development training exclusively teaching elementary mathematics content. Teachers' beliefs about quality mathematics lessons were solicited through lesson plans, journals, and interviews. Research questions discussed are: (1) What do experienced K-8 teachers believe constitutes a "quality mathematics lesson?" (2) How does the experience of learning mathematics content through inquiry change teachers' beliefs about what constitutes a "quality mathematics lesson?" This study found that teachers changed their beliefs about quality lessons with regard to mathematics content, to pedagogical strategies, and to students as learners through their experience learning mathematics. Teacher beliefs became more focused on mathematical reasoning, more focused on inquiry, and more student-centered. These new beliefs better align with definitions of quality instruction from the literature. Teachers incorporated their beliefs about mathematics, pedagogical strategies, and students as learners into a vision of quality mathematics lessons and the teacher's role in creating those lessons. Teachers' vision of their role changed from that of provider of knowledge to a guide of student discovery of mathematical understandings. The data indicated that these changes in beliefs, including changes in beliefs about pedagogy, were driven by the act of learning mathematics content via methods of inquiry. The results of this study have implications for understanding current and future research on teacher beliefs, for in-service professional development training in mathematics teaching, and for improving teacher effectiveness and student achievement in mathematics.</p>

<p> Collectivism and individualism are widely recognized as the most important aspects of culture and communication impacting the highly human relational fields of psychology, social work, and education. In the field of education, collectivism is attracting recognition as a determinate consideration impacting educational outcomes, classroom management, and the purpose of teaching and learning, particularly relevant in light of increasing economic inequity, institutional racism, and the decline of social cohesion. Collectivism affirms interdependence, other-interestedness, mutuality, equity, and care for holism and sustainability, which includes ecological sustainability and embraces communitarian values (Hofstede, 1980; Triandis, 1989; Lodge, 2009; Greenfield, 1994; Trumbull, Rothstein-fisch, &amp; Greenfield, 2000). </p><p> The purpose of this study was to contribute to the development and promulgation of pedagogy promoting collectivist worldview. It examines the impact of Democracy Education pedagogy, a self-transformation through a social participation approach to teaching and learning developed by Roy Wilson, at the Institute for Community Leadership (ICL). Education aims at strengthening democracy as a means for rectification of disparities in academic achievement and meaningful civic/social engagement, evidenced by prevalent race and class divides in the U.S. educational system. The research draws on 16 years of programming provided by the ICL, in 62 predominately low-income, racially diverse, urban, rural, and tribal school districts of Washington, Oregon, California, and Florida. Former student and teacher participant survey data were collected and analyzed for transformative and emancipatory relevance. A mixed method, quantitative and qualitative research approach provided a complementary, iterative-analytic assessment, optimizing elaboration, illustration, and clarification. A survey measuring collectivism and individualism (Singelis, Triandis, Bhawuk, &amp; Gelfand, 1995) was included in the student survey. </p><p> The research findings support the hypothesis that collectivist worldview can be taught and learned. Evidence of increased collectivism was found in correlation to increased length of time student participants were in the Democracy Education program. Above-average collectivist scores were registered by 86.4% of the student respondents. This indicated a high associational value favoring teachability and learnability of collectivism. The study illuminates conduct, character, and consciousness affiliated with collectivist worldview and documents the impact of their acquisition. Analysis of impact was organized around four themes: significance for the individual learner; educational method and practice; educational philosophy and worldview, and the relationship between collectivism and individualism. Collectivism is weighed as an essential consideration for the sustainability and advancement of democracy.</p>

<p> Previous research focused on characteristics of effective teachers, teacher recruitment or new pathways to teaching (Ball &amp; Forzani, 2009; Ronfeldt et. al., 2014). However, there is a gap in the research regarding the best path to prepare secondary math teachers. Universities create a customized path of preparation based on their beliefs within the scope of a set of standards given by organizations such as the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics or National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. Further research supports the necessity for both content and pedagogical knowledge (Ball, 2000; Graham &amp; Fennell, 2001; NCATE, 2010; Thames &amp; Ball, 2010). Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative case study pursues to increase the research by uncovering perceptions of secondary math teacher preparation with the standards, content knowledge, and content pedagogical knowledge. The study included two universities&rsquo; programs to gain awareness as to the interpretations of novice teachers, cooperating teachers, and University professors of the pre-service training program used to prepare future secondary mathematics educators. The findings suggest: while only the Mathematics Education Professor at both Universities were the only study participants to have a vast knowledge of the standards it did not seem to impede on the overall preparation of the novice teacher. Novice and Cooperating teachers lacked the vision for the purpose and value of upper level math classes required for the degree. Both Novice and Cooperating Teachers wanted an increase in opportunities for real-world content pedagogical situations along with differentiation, coteaching, and Special Education. Novice teachers acknowledged the need for relationships with University professors and peers in their path toward preparation. Lastly, Mathematics Education Professors stated value in making connections between courses and research to high school math. Furthermore, the finding suggest for teacher preparation program: to prepare secondary math teachers for the current culture of mathematics education, content and pedagogical courses should not be separated and a push to increase program enrollment should be a priority.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of theories of intelligence and an intervention of incremental mindset training on students' attitudes toward statistics and their mastery of content in an introductory statistics college course. The sample was 547 undergraduate students at a small, faith-based, liberal arts college in the Midwest.</p><p> A pretest-posttest design was used for the three instruments implemented. The Comprehensive Assessment of Outcomes in a first Statistics course (CAOS) assessed students' statistical literacy. The Student Attitudes Towards Statistics - 36^&copy; (SATS^&copy;) assessed six components of students' attitudes toward statistics including affect, cognitive competence, difficulty, effort, interest, and value. The Theories of Math Intelligence Scale - Self Form (TMIS) assessed students' mindsets toward mathematics. Students in the treatment group received four brief incremental mindset training sessions throughout the semester. The initial mindset categorization had no significant effect on the difference in mean SATS^&copy; or CAOS gain (<i> p</i> &lt; .05); the power to detect a difference was limited due to a low response rate.</p><p> Students in the treatment group decreased at a rate greater than students in the control for the component of effort on the posttest SATS^&copy; assessment when the pretest was controlled for, <i>F</i>(1, 138) = 14.778, <i>MSE</i> = 10.954, <i>p</i> &lt; .001. The remaining components produced no significant differences between groups (<i>p</i> &lt; .05). Students in the control group also improved more on their mastery of statistics as assessed by the posttest CAOS when the pretest CAOS was controlled for, <i>F</i>(1, 297) = 6.796, <i> MSE</i> = .100, <i>p</i> = .010.</p><p> Analysis revealed that females gained more than males in the treatment group on the SATS^&copy; component of value, &micro;_Diff = 0.829, <i>t</i>(28)= 3.123, <i>p</i> = .004. The remaining components of the SATS^&copy; assessment did not produce statistically significant results (<i>p</i> &lt; .05).</p><p> Recommendations for practice include creating classrooms that support growth mindsets and the design of mindset training. Recommendations for research include replication of the current research in statistics and other mathematics courses. A final recommendation calls for an examination of the differences by gender on the SATS^&copy; assessment. </p>

<p> The academy has long acknowledged teaching, service, and research as the threefold work of its members. Those members in community colleges primarily engage in teaching, as opposed to research and service, but historical trends show an increase in the percent of courses taught by contingent instructors as opposed to full-time faculty members. This trend, when considered with the fact that almost half of the students now pursuing postsecondary educational opportunities do so in community colleges, provides a rich landscape for investigation. </p><p> This dissertation examines, through description correlation methods, the existence of relationships between characteristics of community college contingent faculty and the planning, preparation, class environment, instruction, and professional development activities used by contingent faculty in community colleges, specifically those instructors in the Arts and Sciences or general education divisions. </p><p> Those varied teaching activities are the components of Danielson's Framework for Teaching, a model developed to address wide-ranging aspects of instruction. That model serves as the conceptual framework for this study, which included participants from across the nation who work in community colleges differentiated by size and the populations they serve. </p><p> The analysis of the results of this correlational study leads to recommendations for more effective instructional practices in contingent faculty and improved integration of this group into the academic life of community colleges.</p>

<p> The purpose of this research is to document the use of chest voice in sound recordings of sopranos from the early 1900s through the twentieth century and to survey the vocal pedagogy informing performance practice of chest voice throughout the twentieth century. The research includes a survey of the chest voice in vocal pedagogy treatises from the seventeenth century through the twentieth century, and the performance practice of singers throughout the twentieth century in regard to the use of chest voice. The research also includes recording practices as they pertain to the different time periods of sound recordings used in this study. Three singers from each recording era are documented in regard to their rise to fame, voice teachers, training, use of chest voice in recordings, and approach to singing. Three arias will be used to trace the use of chest voice throughout the different eras of recorded history to document changes in style and approach to chest voice singing. The arias are "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini's <i>Il Barbiere di Siviglia </i>, "Salce, Salce" from Verdi's <i>Otello</i>, and "Air des bijoux" (The Jewel Song) from Gounod's <i>Faust</i>. The views about the use of chest voice over the past four hundred years inform the modern vocal pedagogue in regard to the changes in methodology, ideology, and practice due to the advances in vocal science and technology used to explore the voice and its function. However, until the beginning of sound recording the only form of documented historical performance lay in the opinions of critics and those who wrote about the performers of their day. In the research of this document the archival recordings provide the impetus for comparing vocal pedagogy instruction with performance practice in the use of chest voice.</p>

<p> Each chapter of this thesis explores a technique commonly found in post-tonal piano repertoire for students Levels 1-3 (Magrath). Post-tonal techniques evaluated for difficulty are Nonwestern scales, polychords and clusters, polytonality, atonality, serialism, aleatoric music, and experiments in sound. There are some inherent difficulties for beginner pianists in each of these topics that are discussed in detail. The appropriateness of these styles for students is evaluated and elements that are conceptually advanced are altered so that earlier exposure to these techniques is possible. Where there are areas of pedagogical weakness or a lack of material for young pianists, compositions have been supplied in a methodical order, introducing and expanding upon new and creative methods of approaching these techniques.</p>

<p> Music appreciation is a popular General Education course at the university level and is included as a survey course for music majors at many universities, yet there is not a consensus on the "correct" way to teach the course. Many pedagogical approaches have been explored; each having its merits, and it is probable that there will never be unanimous agreement among music educators regarding which approach is the most effective. Three pedagogical approaches in particular have been effective; namely the analytical approach, the historical approach, and the contextual approach as described by professor of music Dr. Lewis W. Gordon. These approaches were applied in a onesemester survey music history course with the goal of analyzing which is the most effective in teaching freshman music majors. The assessment of these results will be discussed, and suggestions of ways to incorporate these methodologies into teaching will be offered. These approaches will also be discussed in their accordance with the Essential Learning Outcomes of AAC&amp;U's LEAP initiative.</p>