This case study examined how a team of middle school teachers from different subject areas collaboratively planned interdisciplinary experiences for their students. Using fieldwork research methods, including long-term participant-observation, interviewing and document analysis, the study explored how team members planned interdisciplinary experiences. Data were analyzed through a process of searching for patterns, coding and comparison, utilizing the Hackman and Oldham (1980) model of group effectiveness as a heuristic for understanding the group processes. The results of this study raise questions about the preeminence of the "interdisciplinary thematic unit" in middle school rhetoric. The team developed a conception of interdisciplinary that progressed through phases of elusion and inclusion to allusion. Team members chose not to create any tightly-structured interdisciplinary thematic units, and they did not follow any established planning processes designed for creating such units; rather, they dialogued about their subject areas in ways that allowed them to make ongoing connections between subjects. Through their dialogues, team members gained insight into both their own subject areas and connections among subject areas. The Interdisciplinary Judgment Matrix was developed as a means of understanding team members' decision-making in determining whether to plan interdisciplinary experiences. This matrix presents the teachers' decision-making as a process of judging the relevance of potential interdisciplinary experiences both to the established curriculum and to the subject specialists’ criteria for what students ought to derive from a course. The matrix argues that team members do not merely follow a curriculum guide or textbook, but make professional judgments balancing the demands of the curriculum with subject specialists' assumptions and concerns. The study has implications for both practitioners and researchers. Middle school team members need to be given time to develop a conception of interdisciplinarity that fits with their understanding of the purposes of teaming. Also, rather than implementing pre-packaged interdisciplinary thematic units, such teams should be encouraged to dialogue about their subject areas in order to make meaningful and ongoing connections for their students. Rather than adhering to a set of steps for creating interdisciplinary thematic units, middle school teams must learn to discuss the substance of their teaching with one another. Such discussion promises professional growth through everyday occupational conditions. Based on the findings of this study, researchers might profitably investigate the role of unit planning as the common focus of collaborative planning. The study also suggests research into the effectiveness of pre-established planning models as compared to the dialoguing the study recommends. Finally, the study raises a research question about the interplay of collaborative groups with the larger culture of the school.

In this inquiry, I used a qualitative-portraiture approach to examine the social, cultural, and psychological influences on piano students' decisions to continue taking piano lessons. I collected data between 1997 and 2002. Data types included field notes, interpretive memos, audiotaped and videotaped piano lessons, audiotaped one-on-one interviews and retrospective interviews, email messages, and written documents. The main sources of data used for analysis were transcribed videotapes of piano lessons in the music studio and interviews with the teacher and three of her promising students. I drew on Vygotsky Halliday, and Wenger's theoretical frameworks to conceptualize my understanding of the social, cultural, and psychological issues that influence promising music students' commitment to learning music. I used Vygotsky's social-psychological-developmental theory of learning and Halliday's social theory of language to portray the significance of piano students' experiences in a music studio, their relationships with their teacher, and the teachers' use of language in the decision. Vygotsky's perspective on volitional-affective tendencies provided a framework for understanding how students' abilities to cope with their emotions influenced them to continue their music studies. I drew on Halliday's concept of Register to analyze the transcribed videotaped lesson data sets. I used Wenger's notion of Community of Practice to portray the social, cultural, and historical characteristics that play a role in motivating students to learn music. I found that being socialized into the music community, developing musical competencies, becoming a self-regulated learner, and being able to cope with the emotional experiences of playing and performing shape students' decisions to continue piano lessons. The results of my findings support that teachers influence their students' decision to continue their music studies by socializing them into the practices

A recent phenomenon widely noted among international volunteer agencies and church mission boards is an increase in the number of older adults offering service in foreign countries. To be effective, these people often need to learn a new language. However, much evidence has shown that older adults have a more difficult time than their younger adult counterparts in acquiring a second language.The case studies in this ethnography describe the language learning experiences of 26 adult students of Spanish during their first trimester at a language school in Central America. Most were planning some type of missionary service in Latin American countries after graduation. There were nine younger learners (20-39 years of age), eight middle-aged learners (40-49) years), and nine older learners (50-65 years). The research centered on these students' language learning self-image and expectations for success. The purpose was to learn more about what happens to adults, especially older learners, as they attempt to acquire a second language in a school located in a naturalistic setting and where classes are comprised of learners of mixed ages. Factors relevant to success and failure were investigated in the hope that language acquisition could be facilitated for these people.The researcher functioned as a participant-observer, taking a full load of classes and also conducting bi-weekly tape-recorded private interviews with the other 25 learners. Other data were obtained from language-learning journals and from observations of the students in their classrooms, community activities, and local homes. The teachers also shared what they had observed over the years about the characteristics of successful adult learners. A mail questionnaire was completed by 47 alumni of the school.The findings illuminated problems some learners have in balancing needs for immersion into the new culture and fellowship with same-culture classmates, finding good conversation partners in the community, obtaining useful types and amounts of error correction from native speakers, learning to shed ethnocentrism, and coping with differences between learning and teaching styles in the classroom. Specific suggestions are offered for adults wishing to obtain the most from their language school investment. / Department of English

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the impact of differentiated instructional techniques on non-traditional, adult student engagement in an RN-BSN completion program course. Differentiated instructional techniques have been a staple method of teaching in K-12 education for a number of years. Differentiated instruction (DI) is a means of teaching students by considering learning preferences and by offering options for meeting course requirements. Non-traditional, adult learners have varied life experiences as well as learning needs. This study addressed how and why engagement of the adult learner in a nursing course was affected by using common differentiated instructional techniques such as model-building, tiered assignment, and literature circles. The study was conducted using case study method. A purposeful sample of non-traditional, adult learners enrolled in an RN-BSN health promotion nursing course was taken. Data were collected via participant observation and field notes, faculty interview, participant journals, open-ended questionnaires, researcher notes, and focus group transcript. Tiered assignments (blog and family assessment) and literature circle postings were also reviewed. Thematic content analysis (TCA) was employed for data analysis. Five major themes emerged from the data: valuing the student, framing, learning environment, non-traditional teaching techniques, and behaviors of engagement. Each major theme was composed of several subthemes. Subthemes associated with valuing the student included personhood, voice of the student, self awareness, choice, and skills related to Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. The second theme of framing was connected with the subthemes of making meaning and context. The third theme of learning environment entailed subthemes of safety, freedom, structure, and forced engagement. The fourth theme of non-traditional teaching techniques included “Out-of-the-box” thinking, control over learning, and self-directed learning. The final theme of behaviors of engagement was comprised of subthemes of enjoyment, ownership, accountability, motivation, and creativity. Findings of the study indicated that each of the differentiated instructional techniques had a positive impact on student engagement. The subthemes served to identify specific aspects of the DI techniques that were found to be most beneficial for the non-traditional, adult learner. / Department of Educational Studies

It is widely assumed that participation in study abroad contributes to developing second language (L2) proficiency, as well as related outcomes such as higher levels of L2 learning motivation and intercultural competence. However, empirical studies into the outcomes of participation in study abroad have been affected by a series of methodological limitations, including complete reliance on participant self-assessment, the omission of longitudinal design elements, failure to control for non-equivalent comparison groups where these are included and insufficient sample sizes for testing programme effects. Thus, the present study investigates further the impact of studying abroad with the EU's ERASMUS programme on the participants' overall L2 proficiency, their self-efficacy and anxiety in using the L2 with native and non-native speakers and on their self-motivation to continue learning the L2. To this end, a longitudinal mixed methods design was employed in which 143 German university students who applied for an ERASMUS exchange with a British university for the academic year 2012-2013 and were either accepted or rejected/ withdrawn formed the abroad and comparison groups. All students completed C-tests of overall English language proficiency and questionnaires that inquired into the students' mobility history, their L2 learning background, L2 motivation, intergroup attitudes and aspects of the study abroad experience itself. Both instruments were administered online at the onset of the study abroad period (September 2012), one term into the programme (December 2012) and prior to the students' return (either December 2012 or June 2013). This predominantly quantitative group-level study served to establish the outcomes of participation in study abroad for the students' linguistic and motivational development. Repeated interviews with a sub-sample of 15 participants served to illuminate the observed outcome patterns in terms of the motivational dynamics during study abroad, as well as common factors associated with individual differences in linguistic development. The results of the study show that during the first 3 months abroad the ERASMUS students made significantly higher gains in overall English proficiency than the group of potentially mobile students who continued to study at home. The effect of the learning context was large and highly significant (p =.001), even after the influence of pre-existing participant characteristics on the students' proficiency development was controlled for. During the subsequent 6 months of the study abroad period, however, progress among the ERASMUS group slowed and the between-group differences were no longer significant. The participants' L2 proficiency level at programme entry emerged as the strongest predictor of overall L2 proficiency gain, explaining up to 31.5% of the variance. The students' attitudes towards their own national group, their perceptions of self-efficacy and feelings of anxiety when using English in social interactions, the perceived present-future L2 self-discrepancy and gender explained another 13.6% of the variance in overall L2 proficiency gain. Learner-external factors, including participation in English language instruction, participation in clubs and societies, the number of academic contact hours and type of enrolment, and free time spent with co-national peers, including friends and family back home explained a further 10.9%. The qualitative analysis of the students' accounts provided further insights into the ways in which these factors play out in L2 learning abroad, as well as into the students' perceptions of aspects of studying abroad that contributed most to their linguistic development. Regarding the motivational impact of the study abroad experience, the study found that ERASMUS students tended to develop significantly higher levels of self-efficacy in using English in social interactions as compared to the group of potentially mobile students who continued to study at home, while both the levels of perceived present-future self-discrepancy and English use anxiety with native and non-native speakers fell during the first 3 months abroad. While the overall impact of the study abroad experience on the students' motivation to continue learning the L2 was perceived as positive by the vast majority of participants, a decline in learning motivation was observed for most students after the initial 3-month period. The qualitative analysis showed that this decline can be plausibly explained by developments in the students' English self-concept that occurred in response to the study abroad experience. Evidence-based recommendations are made regarding ways in which the linguistic and motivational development of ERASMUS students can be more effectively supported by higher education institutions.

This case study examined how a team of middle school teachers from different subject areas collaboratively planned interdisciplinary experiences for their students. Using fieldwork research methods, including long-term participant-observation, interviewing and document analysis, the study explored how team members planned interdisciplinary experiences. Data were analyzed through a process of searching for patterns, coding and comparison, utilizing the Hackman and Oldham (1980) model of group effectiveness as a heuristic for understanding the group processes. The results of this study raise questions about the preeminence of the "interdisciplinary thematic unit" in middle school rhetoric. The team developed a conception of interdisciplinary that progressed through phases of elusion and inclusion to allusion. Team members chose not to create any tightly-structured interdisciplinary thematic units, and they did not follow any established planning processes designed for creating such units; rather, they dialogued about their subject areas in ways that allowed them to make ongoing connections between subjects. Through their dialogues, team members gained insight into both their own subject areas and connections among subject areas. The Interdisciplinary Judgment Matrix was developed as a means of understanding team members' decision-making in determining whether to plan interdisciplinary experiences. This matrix presents the teachers' decision-making as a process of judging the relevance of potential interdisciplinary experiences both to the established curriculum and to the subject specialists’ criteria for what students ought to derive from a course. The matrix argues that team members do not merely follow a curriculum guide or textbook, but make professional judgments balancing the demands of the curriculum with subject specialists' assumptions and concerns. The study has implications for both practitioners and researchers. Middle school team members need to be given time to develop a conception of interdisciplinarity that fits with their understanding of the purposes of teaming. Also, rather than implementing pre-packaged interdisciplinary thematic units, such teams should be encouraged to dialogue about their subject areas in order to make meaningful and ongoing connections for their students. Rather than adhering to a set of steps for creating interdisciplinary thematic units, middle school teams must learn to discuss the substance of their teaching with one another. Such discussion promises professional growth through everyday occupational conditions. Based on the findings of this study, researchers might profitably investigate the role of unit planning as the common focus of collaborative planning. The study also suggests research into the effectiveness of pre-established planning models as compared to the dialoguing the study recommends. Finally, the study raises a research question about the interplay of collaborative groups with the larger culture of the school. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The purposes of this case study were: to ascertain the beliefs held by teachers of mentally handicapped students toward the concept of integration; to determine the perceptions of teachers about their program planning practices, in particular the development of Individual Education Programs and their use of the Special Education Core Curriculum Supplement; to elicit teacher opinions regarding their job-related needs for administrative and instructional support and personal professional development; and to generate, in the form of recommendations to the school district, a framework of support combining teachers' perceived needs and district objectives. The setting of the case study was the anonymously named Burrard School District—a medium-sized school district located in the metropolitan Vancouver area. The participants in the study were fourteen teachers of students with mental handicaps located in five different school settings and members of the District's administrative and consultative staff. Data for the study were obtained through open-ended "reflective" interviews with the study's participants during the period of May and June 1985. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed and condensed into major categories related to the questions posed for the study. Among the major findings of the study were: 1. Integration is judged to be an appropriate goal for mentally handicapped students in that it results in: more normalized behaviour, greater skill acquisition, improved self-concept, and access to more facilities and activities. 2. Positive attitudes among regular classroom teachers, administrative support, and the degree of co-operation between specialist and general classroom teachers were the factors judged to be minimally required for successful integration. 3. Teachers of mentally handicapped students endorse the development of Individual Education Programs (IEP's) as a part of program development activities, regardless of program type and actual use. 4. Individual Education Programs are used most by teachers of moderately and severely handicapped students and least by teachers of students with mild handicaps. 5. Specific program concerns varied considerably from program to program. 6. Teachers were positive about the structure and philosophy of the Special Education Core Curriculum Supplement and, with the exception of teachers of the severely/profoundly handicapped, judged it to be a useful guide for program planning. 7. Teachers indicated a desire for more professional development opportunities to gain more expertise, to be reassured of the soundness of their own practices, and to maintain professional affiliations with colleagues. The findings of the study suggest that teachers of students with mental handicaps have three general concerns: opportunities for expanding their skills, feelings of professional isolation, and the ambiguities of program ownership. The study presented several recommendations for the amelioration of these concerns. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between scores of the new teachers' classroom effectiveness with numerical indexes of mentor support, mentor infrastructure, and workplace ecology. In addition, this study sought to determine the effect of various demographics (i.e., gender, age, race, degree, teaching level, and certification route) on the Classroom Effectiveness Index (CEI) scores of first-year teachers, and to determine the differences, if any, between the Classroom Effectiveness Index scores of first-year teachers who remained on campus, switched campuses, or left the district. This study is primarily correlational in nature - looking for relationships between quantifiable variables. The subjects are 68 first-year teachers. The mandatory mentoring program the subjects were involved in consisted of a paid, veteran teacher who worked on the same campus as the first-year teacher and assisted in instructional or behavioral needs. This study measured the impact of the first-year teachers' mentoring experiences to the Classroom Effectiveness Index scores and teacher retention. The findings suggest that the Classroom Effectiveness Index scores might not be an appropriate tool for uncovering which aspects of mentoring contribute to student achievement and retention. Adding the value-added measurement tool to the categories of mentor support (MS), mentor infrastructure (MI), and workplace ecology (WE), rendered no statistically significant results. Therefore, further research is necessary to continue to define the effective characteristics of mentoring and its impact on classroom effectiveness and retention.

No description available.

Research in higher education service-learning suggests that there is a positive relationship between service-learning and student learning outcomes as well as a positive relationship between students‘ interactions with the ―real world‖ through service-learning and the effects of these experiences on deepening students‘ knowledge in their disciplines. Recent studies have established this positive relationship between service-learning and university composition and literature students. However, aside from the existing literature on service-learning and composition and writing, there has been virtually no examination of the relationship between service-learning and creative writing. The purpose of this study was to investigate how seven creative writing students experienced the process of creative writing differently after engaging in service-learning in a creative writing course at a large, urban university in the southeastern United States and to determine if students experienced a transformative learning experience as indicated by Mezirow‘s (2000) transformational learning theory. This research study employed an instrumental narrative case study design to determine how seven university creative writing students experienced the process of creative writing differently after taking a creative writing course with an optional service-learning component. The results of the study indicated that service-learning invoked a transformative learning experience in these seven higher education creative writing students, each in different ways—some in their writing processes and writing content, some in how they reflected upon themselves and their writing in relation to the ―outside world,‖ and some in their sense of civic duty