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Description
Schools are in place to provide for the education of students across the nation. In trying to ensure all students have equal opportunities, both state and federal government have instituted policies which direct and influence what and how the curriculum is taught across the nation. Teachers are compliant in following these guidelines, as district adopted curriculum aligns with accountability measures. However, when teachers are encouraged to innovate instructional practices specific to the needs of their students, success follows. Further, when processes are in place to allow teachers to innovate collaboratively, collective teacher efficacy is enhanced. Research shows that collective teacher efficacy is a top indicator of student achievement. The purpose of this mixed methods action research study was to identify if teacher-initiated innovations, enacted through collaborative inquiry cycles, would increase teachers’ self- and collective efficacy and how the sources of efficacy may have contributed. While quantitative data did not show statistical significance, aggregated qualitative data indicated otherwise. Through the process of using collaborative inquiry cycles, teachers were more intentional with their instruction, were positively influenced and impacted by their peers, and they felt successful. These are behaviors that lead to higher levels of collective efficacy.
ContributorsChristy, Jacquelyn (Author) / Marsh, Josephine (Thesis advisor) / Loescher, Shawn (Committee member) / Hoogsteen, T.J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The focus of this research study was to better understand the development of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) culture within an urban middle school campus and to analyze if the intervention, intended to develop a campus PLC culture, had any positive or negative impact on student achievement. This mixed-methods research study utilized pre and post surveys and interviews with campus educators to delve into the perceptions of the development of a PLC culture within the middle school campus. Furthermore, student academic performance was explored through the analysis of state academic performance reports.
The first significant finding of this study was that the results of the concurrent method of data analysis affirmed that, potentially because of this intervention during the 2018-2019 academic school year, the middle school of this study did commence the development of a professional learning community culture. The second significant finding was that based on the data analyzed of student performance for the three previous academic years, student achievement did increase academically when accounting all students and all contents. Furthermore, both math and English language arts had the lowest percentage of students not meeting grade level standards since 2016. Finally, the largest subpopulation within the school campus, English Learner students, demonstrated large gains at 23 percentage points over the last three years in the academic performance tier of approaching grade level or above. This increase in academic performance by the students did ultimately lead to the campus performance rating to increase positively, as measured by the state of Texas.
The first significant finding of this study was that the results of the concurrent method of data analysis affirmed that, potentially because of this intervention during the 2018-2019 academic school year, the middle school of this study did commence the development of a professional learning community culture. The second significant finding was that based on the data analyzed of student performance for the three previous academic years, student achievement did increase academically when accounting all students and all contents. Furthermore, both math and English language arts had the lowest percentage of students not meeting grade level standards since 2016. Finally, the largest subpopulation within the school campus, English Learner students, demonstrated large gains at 23 percentage points over the last three years in the academic performance tier of approaching grade level or above. This increase in academic performance by the students did ultimately lead to the campus performance rating to increase positively, as measured by the state of Texas.
ContributorsHerrera, José Antonio (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth (Thesis advisor) / Henriksen, Danah (Committee member) / Marsh, Josephine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
There are few studies on parents' perspectives on multicultural literature. Most studies on Korean American children's literature have relied on the researchers' content analysis of the books, rather than readers' responses to them. To fill this gap, this study sought to understand the Korean/Korean American parents' perspectives on Korean American children's literature by examining their responses to seven picture books on Korean American children. Data were collected for this qualitative study by interviewing ten Koreans/Korean Americans, twice. The first interview focused on stories about their immigration to the U.S., involvement with their children's reading, and experiences reading books related to Korea or Koreans published in the U.S. The second interview focused on their responses to seven Korean American children's literature books. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed. The parents' responses, which were infused with their personal, social, and cultural marks, focused on five themes: (a) use of Korean names without specific cultural description, (b) misrepresentation of Korean/Korean American experiences, (c) undesirable illustrations, (d) criteria for good Korean American children's literature, and (e) use of Korean words in English books. The parents' stories about their involvement with their children's reading suggest that to promote multicultural literature, libraries or schools should offer lists of multicultural literature. The parents' responses showed concern about stereotypical images of Korea or Korean American in the U.S. media that often get transferred to stories about Korean Americans in Korean American children's literature. This study confirms the importance of editors and reviewers, who are knowledgeable about the Korean culture and Korean American experience. It also suggests that more books with varied images of Korean Americans, and more stories about Korean Americans children's authentic experiences are necessary in order to represent the complexity and divergence within Korean people and the Korean American culture.
ContributorsKim, Hye-jong (Author) / Smith, Karen (Thesis advisor) / Marsh, Josephine (Thesis advisor) / Edelsky, Carole (Committee member) / Hudelson, Sarah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This interpretive dissertation study sought to understand what happened when a seventh-grade teacher introduced multimodal concepts and texts into his English Language Arts classroom. Multimodal texts contain linguistic features (words and sentences) but also images and graphic design features. The classroom teacher described himself as a novice with regards to multimodal literacies instruction and had previously focused predominantly on written or spoken texts. Motivating his decision to design and enact a multimodal literacies pedagogy was his belief that students needed to garner experience interpreting and composing the kinds of texts that populated his students’ social worlds. Therefore, I asked: What happened when multimodal narratives were used as mentor texts in a seventh-grade English Language Arts classroom? Drawing from ethnographic and case study methods, I observed and gathered data regarding how the teacher and his students enacted and experienced an eight-week curriculum unit centered on multimodal concepts and multimodal texts. My findings describe the classroom teacher’s design decisions, the messiness that occurred as the classroom was (re)made into a classroom community that valued modes beyond written and spoken language, and the students’ experiences of the curriculum as classroom work, lifework, play, and drudgery. Based on my findings, I developed six assertions: (1) when designing and enacting multimodal literacies curriculum for the first time, exposing students to a wide range of multimodal texts took precedence; (2) adapted and new multimodal literacy practices began to emerge, becoming valued practices over time; (3) literacy events occurred without being grounded in literacy practices; (4) in a classroom dedicated to writing, modes of representation and communication and their associated tools and materials provided students with resources for use in their own writing/making; (5) the roles of the teacher and his students underwent change as modal expertise became sourced from across the classroom community; and (6) students experienced the multimodal literacies curriculum as play, classroom work, lifework, and drudgery. The dissertation study concludes with implications for teachers and researchers looking to converge multimodality theory with pedagogical practices and maps future research possibilities.
ContributorsReid, Stephanie Francesca (Author) / Serafini, Frank (Thesis advisor) / Moses, Lindsey (Committee member) / Marsh, Josephine (Committee member) / Williams, Wendy R. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
This mixed methods study was conducted within a highly diverse K-12 public charter school setting to address a need for targeted professional development related to the development of intercultural competence for teachers in public schools, given the growing gap observed between the cultural backgrounds of K-12 public school teachers and their students. The study examined the influence of a ten-session professional development workshop training series on (a) the development of intercultural competence in teachers as measured by the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and (b) teacher capacity for self-reflection on potential personal biases, awareness of others from different cultural backgrounds, managing emotions while navigating complex conversations regarding cultural and racial differences, and making meaningful and authentic connections with students and families from the different cultures which make up the school community. The Intercultural Development Continuum and Transformative Learning Theory were utilized as theoretical frameworks for this study. Participants were introduced to concepts related to intercultural competence, engaged in group discussion both in person and online, reviewed tools and strategies for classroom implementation, and completed the Intercultural Development Inventory at the beginning and conclusion of the workshop sessions. Following the series of workshop sessions, quantitative data analysis indicated growth of approximately 14% for the group of participants on the Intercultural Development Continuum, and qualitative data analysis provided evidence of participant progression through the stages of Transformative Learning Theory, resulting in new patterns of action and behavior. Discussion of findings include implications for practice and for further research.
ContributorsBrady, Julia (Author) / Marsh, Josephine (Thesis advisor) / Boveda, Mildred (Committee member) / Hernandez, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020