<p>The purpose of this study was to examine English teachers who were considered successful at encouraging the social exploration of literature. The rationale for this study was to gain a greater understanding of the beliefs and ideologies of English teachers who were able to create a classroom climate that support students open exploration and discussion of literature in order to better understand the teachers? beliefs and ideologies as well as the ways in which they constructed their classroom climate and selected pedagogical tools to facilitate students? participation in open-forum discussion. The following research questions informed my dissertation study: What are the underlying beliefs of teachers of who have been identified as successful at engaging students in the social exploration of literature for the purpose of making meaning? What features of classroom climate do teachers actively facilitate in order to encourage the social exploration of literature through inquiry and reflection? What are the pedagogical acts that the teachers engage in to create conditions for inquiry and reflection? This multi-case study examined two English teachers identified as successful at creating a classroom climates that supported the social construction of knowledge around literature for students of historically marginalized backgrounds. Classroom observations were conducted of each teacher in the study as well as two in-depth interviews of both teachers. Documents and artifacts that were available from the lessons were collected. The findings revealed that while both teachers held a reputation for successfully implementing the social exploration of literature with their students, one teacher was more successfully able to engage students in open forum discussions. The data also showed the significance of holding an asset mindset, authentic care, relations of reciprocity, assisted performance, and scaffolding in being able to successfully create a the conditions that supported the social exploration of literature.

<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 ever-changing workplace of current society calls for instructional shifts to the predominately traditional educational system in existence today. In order to successfully navigate a globalized culture, the instructional makeup and educational structure must include knowledge of core subjects, student-centered learning environments, as well as literacy and mastery of recognized 21<tt>st</tt> century competencies. Effective implementation of 21<tt>st</tt> century skills requires modifications in assessment practices, educational policy, research-based curriculum, and instructional design, providing students opportunity for deeper application and learning of content. Research is needed regarding pedagogical practices, incorporation of 21<tt>st</tt> century learning skills, and a student&rsquo;s perceptions of learning. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study explores upper elementary student perceptions surrounding choice in evidencing learning during student-driven assessments using self-selected technology-based platforms. Frequency analysis was used to examine quantitative data collected by the Likert-based Technology Choice &amp; Academic Efficacy Student Perception Survey. Survey results indicated strong majority agreement among participants concerning student choice of technology and evidencing learning. A principal components analysis revealed correlations in the data between technology-based choice during assignments and student&rsquo;s academic efficacy and engagement. Coding was used to examine qualitative focus group data, major themes emerged including Engagement, Efficacy, and Learning Process, all centered on a student&rsquo;s foundation of Experience and Exposure. Results indicate that practices including self-selected technology choice during assignment completion should be used to positively influence a student&rsquo;s perception of a task, shaping learner engagement, efficacy, 21<tt>st</tt> century mindset, and ownership in the learning process.</p><p>

<p> This dissertation seeks to address the facilitation of difficult knowledges in the classroom. I employ constructs of poststructural feminism to critique rationalist-only frameworks that limit the forms of knowledge that "count" in the construction of knowledge. In response to these critiques, this dissertation constructs an alternative pedagogical framework from a psychoanalytic and poststructural feminist lens that emphasizes the bordered landscapes of the un/conscious. This approach is named Intimate Transgressive Pedagogy (ITP). Additionally, this dissertation introduces an empirical study that explored one semester of classroom teaching using Intimate Transgressive Pedagogy. Student and teacher experiences are analyzed through the theoretical concepts of ITP with a further discussion of the implications of the pedagogical concepts and empirical findings for multicultural teacher education.</p>

<p> The instructor-student relationship is an important predictor of students' attitudes, motivation, and learning. Students benefit when they believe their instructor cares about them and instructors demonstrate caring for their students by supporting their needs. Instructors can support students' emotionally or academically. However, little is known about instructor characteristics that influence instructors' responsiveness to students. </p><p> Compassionate and self-image goals are powerful predictors of relationship dynamics because of their association with responsiveness (Canevello &amp; Crocker, 2010). Compassionate goals, or goals focused on supporting others out of genuine concern for others' well-being (Crocker &amp; Canevello, 2008), initiate positive relationship cycles. I proposed two types of compassionate goals, focused either on supporting students' learning or supporting students' emotions. I hypothesized that instructors' compassionate goals to support students' learning would be most beneficial to students. Self-image goals, or goals focused on creating and maintaining a desired impression in others' eyes (Crocker &amp; Canevello, 2008), undermine healthy relationships. I proposed two types of self-image goals, focused on appearing either likable or competent and hypothesized that both forms of self-image goals would undermine the instructor-student relationship. </p><p> The present work was the first investigation of the association between college instructors' compassionate and self-image goals and students' experiences in the class. In Study 1, I created a scale to measure instructors' compassionate and self-image goals for teaching. In Study 2, college instructors' compassionate and self-image goals for teaching were used to predict end-of-semester student evaluations. In Study 3, students' interpretations of their instructors' goals were measured and used to predict student evaluations. </p><p> Results indicated that that students respond most positively to instructors' goals to compassionate goals to support their learning. Instructors' compassionate goals to support students' emotions are largely unrelated to students' experiences in the class. Surprisingly, instructors' self-image goals are unrelated to student evaluations. </p><p> Overall, this research advances research in several domains. It advances understanding of effective teaching by indicating that instructors' compassionate and self-image are important components of the college classroom. This research also advances theory on interpersonal goals, as this is the first time that a non-relationship compassionate goal has been identified. </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> This mixed methods case study documents an effort to implement authentic science and engineering instruction in one teacher&rsquo;s ninth grade science classrooms in a science-focused public school. The research framework and methodology is a derivative of work developed and reported by Newmann and others (Newmann &amp; Associates, 1996). Based on a working definition of authenticity, data were collected for eight months on the authenticity in the experienced teacher&rsquo;s pedagogy and in student performance. Authenticity was defined as the degree to which a classroom lesson, an assessment task, or an example of student performance demonstrates construction of knowledge through use of the meaning-making processes of science and engineering, and has some value to students beyond demonstrating success in school (Wehlage et al., 1996). Instruments adapted for this study produced a rich description of the authenticity of the teacher&rsquo;s instruction and student performance. </p><p> The pedagogical practices of the classroom teacher were measured as moderately authentic on average. However, the authenticity model revealed the teacher&rsquo;s strategy of interspersing relatively low authenticity instructional units focused on building science knowledge with much higher authenticity tasks requiring students to apply these concepts and skills. The authenticity of the construction of knowledge and science meaning-making processes components of authentic pedagogy were found to be greater, than the authenticity of affordances for students to find value in classroom activities beyond demonstrating success in school. Instruction frequently included one aspect of value beyond school, connections to the world outside the classroom, but students were infrequently afforded the opportunity to present their classwork to audiences beyond the teacher. </p><p> When the science instruction in the case was measured to afford a greater level of authentic intellectual work, a higher level of authentic student performance on science classwork was also measured. In addition, direct observation measures of student behavioral engagement showed that behavioral engagement was generally high, but not associated with the authenticity of the pedagogy. Direct observation measures of student self-regulation found evidence that when instruction focused on core science and engineering concepts and made stronger connections to the student&rsquo;s world beyond the classroom, student self-regulated learning was greater, and included evidence of student ownership. </p><p> In light of the alignment between the model of authenticity used in this study and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the results suggest that further research on the value beyond school component of the model could improve understanding of student engagement and performance in response to the implementation of the NGSS. In particular, it suggests a unique role environmental education can play in affording student success in K-12 science and a tool to measure that role.</p>

<p>This project explores Larry Koonse's playing and teaching as it relates to improvisation. In particular, the author discusses the various aspects of Koonse's playing through the elements of melody and space. This project focuses on the author's interview with Larry Koonse, which presents questions that reveal the guitarist's views on space in playing jazz and improvising. Koonse's ideas are compared and contrasted with perspectives from other teachers and pedagogues, used to support and expand on his ideas. This project also explores the views and experiences of other students and players, such as Kevin Downing and Jamey Rosenn. </p>

<p> This doctoral research is an ethnographic study that describes the lived culture of Alice Lloyd College, a work college located in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, and its efficacy in engaging Appalachian students in sustainability education in a college setting. Campus culture was found to be consistent with that of the broader Appalachian region, with three blue collar values emerging as core cultural indicators within the campus community. The three core values are work ethic, service, and self-reliance. Student participants reported low levels of cultural dissonance in transitioning from their family lives to life in college, with most claiming that their immediate families were supportive of their decision to attend college. This is uncommon in the higher education landscape as many Appalachian students on more traditional campuses are first-generation, struggle to persist to graduation, and experience clashing between their home culture and that which they experience at school. The institution was found to be a model of sustainability education in the areas of social and economic justice. Social justice is promoted through the enactment of the institution&rsquo;s mission of cultivating leaders to serve and improve the Appalachian region. Economic justice is fostered through the College&rsquo;s work program which makes higher education possible without debt for low-income Appalachian students by providing tuition waivers to those who work a minimum of 10 hours per week carrying out critical campus operations. While environmental justice was not found to be a current outcome, the institution&rsquo;s practices have valuable implications for re-envisioning higher education as a tool for promoting&mdash;rather than impeding&mdash;holistic sustainability efforts by reinforcing and promulgating sustainable blue collar values through teaching subsistence skills and systems thinking in a work college setting. Data collection for this study was conducted via responsive qualitative interviews with multiple campus constituent groups, including students, faculty, and staff. Data analysis consisted of attributes coding, magnitude coding, and values coding, followed by code landscaping to identify patterns across each coding phase.</p>

<p> This qualitative, descriptive case study addressed the research question: How is learning experienced in tough cases aimed at accelerating expertise in a cognitively complex work environment?&nbsp;The time it takes to develop expertise in many professional domains is problematic for industrialized societies. As the baby boom generation transitions from the workforce, they are leaving behind a smaller, less experienced pool of workers to replace them. Accelerated expertise theorists have proposed tough cases as a way of speeding the development of expertise. Tough cases are rare situations that convey novel learning challenges by requiring learners to make plans and decisions in the face of ambiguous and interacting data (Klein and Hoffman, 1992). Expertise can be particularly difficult to develop in cognitively complex work environments. Cognitively complex work environments are &ldquo;systems composed of psychological (cognitive), social, and technological elements, all embedded in a broader team, organizational, and social context&rdquo; (Hoffman &amp; Militello, 2008, p. 216). The study explored the learning process from the perspectives of learners, tough case leaders, and organizational leaders supporting the use of tough cases at the research site. Data were collected through observations of five tough cases and interviews before and after cases with participants and organizational leaders. Themes were inductively developed. The study had eight findings: 1) Tough cases are dynamic learning experiences that are interactive and concrete, while simultaneously confusing and disorienting; 2) the use of real events and complex problems grabs learner attention and interest; 3) making and defending quick decisions draw out learner beliefs and theories, stimulating focus and a tremendous sense of enthusiasm; 4) the practice of eliciting decisions by cold-calling puts learners on the spot, mimicking the stress of high stakes situations common to cognitively complex work environments; 5) role-playing throughout the case forces participation with the learning environment while reducing stress by making the learning experience more enjoyable and entertaining; 6) individual reflection and observation provide continual opportunities for re-examining decisions; 7) interaction and dialogue during role-play expose learners to other ways of thinking and lead to refinement of their mental models; and 8) hearing "the rest of the story" at the end of the case provides an opportunity for learner self-assessment and can build their confidence. The study concluded: (1) the tough case learning process incorporates both experiential and social cognitive learning in a single process; (2) the tough case learning process is substantially different from learning processes proposed in the expertise development literature; (3) tough case learning is a departure from processes described in the adult learning literature; and (4) tough case learning leverages everything considered foundational about adult learning. The study offered recommendations related to theory, practice, and future research.</p>