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- Creators: Serafini, Frank
Description
This research is a reversal of the traditional concept of the student-teaching research experiment. Instead of studying the clear and stated goal of an apprenticeship, that of a pupil learning from the tutelage of a master, the focus here is on what a mentor-teacher learns from a student-teacher. During the act of teaching a novice, what can a mentor-teacher learn about her own practice, while demonstrating it to a pre-service teacher? Using the conceptual framework of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards' Architecture of Accomplished Teaching, and using it within a framework centered around cognitive coaching and reciprocal mentoring, this action research study implemented an intervention that called for series of five cognitive coaching cycles between a mentor- and student-teacher designed to foster dialogue and reflection between them. The ultimate aim of this case study was to help determine what a mentor-teacher learned about her own practice as a result of mentoring a student-teacher. Qualitative data were collected over sixteen weeks in a charter high school. Five findings were identified created after the data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach, and four conclusions were drawn about the intervention's role in the mentor-teacher's reciprocal learning.
ContributorsMcCloy, Daniel (Author) / Beardsley, Audrey (Thesis advisor) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Roen, Duane (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Drawing on a wide variety of literature from social constructionism, communities of practice and knowledge management this study brings to light the kind of support teachers will need in order to be able to use a knowledge construction model to develop a continual learning process for arts integration. Arts integration is a highly effective instructional strategy that brings active engagement, problem solving and higher levels of cognition to students. However arts integration is not easy work. It takes a great deal of planning and collaboration. In this action research study, I take the perspective of a social artist, a facilitator, who offers a framework for a group of teacher participants to dialogue, collaborate and share ideas and skills to develop arts integrated products to share with others. Utilizing a mixed methodology approach, the findings of this action research study revealed that the intervention had a positive impact on the participants. Though there were some set backs, participants reported more dialogue and shared experiences about arts integration on a daily basis, more dialogue about new arts integrate ideas, and an increased sense of collaboration in developing arts integrated products. Furthermore, the Knowledge Construction Model (KCM) concept had strength as a potential professional development model for teachers and schools interested in growing their arts integration practices.
ContributorsBenson, Robert Jason (Author) / Beardsley, Audrey (Thesis advisor) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Santarelli, Denton (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
ABSTRACT There are currently 82,369 teachers nationwide who are National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs). In Arizona the number of NBCTs is 678. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect cognitive coaching conversations and participation in a community of practice had on National Board candidates' self-efficacy and their understanding of the National Board Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). A mixed methods research approach was used to collect data including: surveys, interviews, researcher observations, and cognitive coaching transcripts. I conducted a case study of five National Board candidates at my school. Drawing on the social cognitive theory, this study was framed by the construct of self-efficacy. Through the use of open-ended questions, cognitive coaching conversations pushed candidates' thinking to a deeper level of understanding. The teachers involved in the National Board certification process represented a community of practice as the expectations and language of the NBPTS standards and portfolio directions also provided a common connection. Findings in this study reveal that cognitive coaching conversations and membership in a community of practice have a positive impact on teachers' self-efficacy during the National Board certification process. In addition, on-going cognitive coaching conversations and participation in a community of practice positively impact National Board candidates' understanding and articulation of the NBPTS standards.
ContributorsRobinson, Jennifer M (Author) / Beardsley, Audrey (Thesis advisor) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Surbeck, Elaine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The problem of practice addressed in this mixed methods action research study is the underachievement of fifth-grade students in mathematics. This study explores the effects of an innovation designed to help students develop a growth mindset by utilizing self-regulation strategies to improve academic growth in mathematics. Students’ underachievement in mathematics has been illustrated by both state and international assessments. Throughout the decades, mathematics instruction and reforms have varied, but overall students’ psychological needs have been neglected. This innovation was designed to develop students’ psychological characteristics regarding facing challenges in mathematics. For this purpose, two guiding theories were utilized to frame this research study, Dweck’s mindset theory and self-regulation theory. To address the research questions of this study, pre- and post-questionnaire data, observational data and student work was analyzed. Results of the qualitative data indicated that the innovation positively impacted students’ mindsets and use of self-regulation strategies. However, quantitative data indicated the innovation had no effect on students’ use of self-regulation strategies or academic growth, and a negative impact on students’ mindsets.
ContributorsManchester, Sarah (Author) / Judson, Eugene (Thesis advisor) / Moses, Lindsey (Committee member) / Ellis, Raquel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Among researchers, educators, and other stakeholders in literacy education, there has been a growing emphasis on developing literacy pedagogies that are more responsive to the ways young people experience literacy in their everyday lives, which often make use of digital media and other technologies for exchanging meaning. This dissertation project sought to explore the nature of these digital-age literacies in the context of children learning through and about new technologies. Conducting a year-long, multimethod observational study of an out-of-school library-based program designed to engage students in self-directed learning around the domain of computer programming, this project was framed around an analysis of digital-age literacies in design, discourse, and practice. To address each of these areas, the project developed a methodology grounded in interpretive, naturalistic, and participant-observation methodologies in collaboration with a local library Code Club in a metropolitan area of the Southwestern U.S between September 2016 and December 2017. Participants in the project included a total of 47 students aged 8-14, 3 librarians, and 3 parents. Data sources for the project included (1) artifactual data, such as the designed interfaces of the online platforms students regularly engaged with, (2) observational data such as protocol-based field notes taken during and after each Code Club meeting, and (3) interview data, collected during qualitative interviews with students, parents, and library facilitators outside the program. These data sources were analyzed through a multi-method interpretive framework, including the multimodal analysis of digital artifacts, qualitative coding, and discourse analysis. The findings of the project illustrate the multidimensional nature of digital-age literacy experiences as they are rendered “on the screen” at the content level, “behind the screen” at the procedural level, and “beyond the screen” at the contextual level. The project contributes to the literature on literacy education by taking an multi-method, interdisciplinary approach to expand analytical perspectives on digital media and literacy in a digital age, while also providing an empirical account of this approach in a community-embedded context of implementation.
ContributorsAguilera, Earl (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth R (Thesis advisor) / Gee, James P (Committee member) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
In the real world outside of schools, contemporary students are routinely reading, writing, communicating, acting, and learning internationally, translingually, and multimodally, thanks to the prevalence of digital online communication; this has taken place across students’ racial, ethnic, and linguistic identities and national affiliations. Today, the global online contexts are considered as one of essential literacy environments, and the globally networked online contexts might become a main stage of future literacy practices.
In this sense, this study develops new three theories about literacies studies from the perspective of the New Literacy Studies in an increasingly digitalized and globalized contemporary world. To achieve this, first, I introduced the features of a global online affinity space as a new concept. Second, I developed the theoretical claim of “complexified diversity.” Finally, I developed the theoretical concept of “Border-Crossing Discourses” on the basis of Gee’s (1990/2015) seminal idea of capital “D” Discourses. I expanded the concept of capital “D” Discourses, looking across borders at a variety of languages, nations, and broader cultures under the global view. The concept of Border-Crossing Discourses was established on the basis of the new concepts that I put forth previously of global online affinity spaces and complexified diversity.
As an example of possible supplementary empirical studies, I conducted a small piece of discourse analysis. I observed and examined literacy practices in two global online affinity spaces. They are sites devoted to K-pop fanfiction sharing (hereafter, Asianfanfics) and to Japanese anime (hereafter, Crunchyroll). In particular, I explored the aspects of multimodal and translingual practices in these spaces. Both theoretical and empirical future research will contribute to the elaboration of these theories.
In this sense, this study develops new three theories about literacies studies from the perspective of the New Literacy Studies in an increasingly digitalized and globalized contemporary world. To achieve this, first, I introduced the features of a global online affinity space as a new concept. Second, I developed the theoretical claim of “complexified diversity.” Finally, I developed the theoretical concept of “Border-Crossing Discourses” on the basis of Gee’s (1990/2015) seminal idea of capital “D” Discourses. I expanded the concept of capital “D” Discourses, looking across borders at a variety of languages, nations, and broader cultures under the global view. The concept of Border-Crossing Discourses was established on the basis of the new concepts that I put forth previously of global online affinity spaces and complexified diversity.
As an example of possible supplementary empirical studies, I conducted a small piece of discourse analysis. I observed and examined literacy practices in two global online affinity spaces. They are sites devoted to K-pop fanfiction sharing (hereafter, Asianfanfics) and to Japanese anime (hereafter, Crunchyroll). In particular, I explored the aspects of multimodal and translingual practices in these spaces. Both theoretical and empirical future research will contribute to the elaboration of these theories.
ContributorsLee, Kewman M (Author) / Gee, James Paul (Thesis advisor) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Warriner, Doris S. (Committee member) / Lam, Wan Shun Eva (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
This educational case study looked at student engagement and motivation in a collaborative environment, one that provided students the freedom to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. In order to create this collaborative environment, students in a third-grade elementary classroom participated in a Project-Based Learning unit. The unit culminated in hands-on projects. Sociocultural theory and Self Determination theory were used to guide the development of the innovation and the formulation of the research design. The qualitative data collection tools that were used in this study consisted of observations through video and audio recordings, researcher's field notes, student interviews, and artifacts. The artifacts gathered consisted of student journal entries reflecting on their experiences within the innovation and their learning process throughout. Data were collected, transcribed, and analyzed using multiple rounds of both deductive and inductive coding. This research suggests that a Project-Based Learning environment positively impacts student participation both within a single lesson and throughout the unit by increasing students’ background and competence. Additionally, within a Project-Based Learning environment, students co-construct new meaning through goal-oriented group work designed by the teacher. The teacher also supports student thinking through clarifying and questioning statements designed to support students’ learning and development of ideas. Finally, this educational case study suggests that students demonstrate an increase in intrinsic motivation over time as demonstrated by an eagerness to apply their new learning beyond the Project-Based Learning lessons. Students applied the learning within their classroom, school, and even their homes.
ContributorsLund, Stephanie (Author) / Bertrand, Melanie (Thesis advisor) / Imel, Breck (Committee member) / Moses, Lindsey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Small-group literacy instruction is frequently used in schools in order to engage students in discussions around texts. Instructional settings vary and produce a range of results. They are complex social spaces in which students position one another and themselves as they enact different identities. These identities are associated with sets of literacy practices. This paper describes the results of a study examining the ways in which 3rd and 4th grade students and their teachers positioned themselves and one another in three different small-group literacy settings and the literacy practices that they used as they performed their identities. Using a multimodal discourse analysis (Kress, 2012) and D/discourse analysis (Gee, 2005, 2011), the form and function of language and gestures were used to look at the kinds of identities that the participants enacted and the literacy practices that the students engaged in the different settings. The results of the analysis suggested that the identities that the participants performed were related to the context in which interactions around texts took place. The identities themselves were connected to the use certain literacy practices. The literacy practices used by the participants were also related to the classroom context. The findings suggest that it is important for teachers to consider the figured worlds active in small-group settings, the identities performed within those worlds, and the literacy practices in which students engage.
ContributorsKrauter, David (Author) / Marsh, Josephine P (Thesis advisor) / Gee, James P (Committee member) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The State of Arizona mandates that students with superior intellect or abilities, or identified gifted students, receive appropriate gifted education and services in order to achieve at levels commensurate with their intellect and abilities. Additionally, the State of Arizona adopted the Arizona College and Career Ready Standards (AZCCRS) initiative. This investigation explores if, according to the perceptions of gifted educators, the AZCCRS support a gifted mathematic curriculum and pedagogy at the elementary level which is commensurate with academic abilities, potential, and intellect of these mathematically gifted students, what the relationships are between exemplary gifted curriculum and pedagogy and the AZCCRS, and exactly how the gifted education specialists charged with meeting the academic and intellectual needs and potential of their gifted students interpret, negotiate, and implement the AZCCRS.
This study utilized a qualitative approach and a variety of instruments to gather data, including: profile questionnaires, semi-structured pre-interviews, reflective journals, three group discussion sessions, and semi-structured post interviews. The pre- and post interviews as well as the group discussion sessions were audiotape recorded and transcribed. A three stage coding process was utilized on the questionnaires, interviews, discussion sessions, and journal entries.
The results and findings demonstrated that AZCCRS clearly support exemplary gifted mathematic curriculum and practices at the elementary level, that there are at least nine distinct relationships between the AZCCRS and gifted pedagogy, and that the gifted education specialists interpret, negotiate, and implement the AZCCRS uniquely in at least four distinct ways, in their mathematically gifted pullout classes.
This study utilized a qualitative approach and a variety of instruments to gather data, including: profile questionnaires, semi-structured pre-interviews, reflective journals, three group discussion sessions, and semi-structured post interviews. The pre- and post interviews as well as the group discussion sessions were audiotape recorded and transcribed. A three stage coding process was utilized on the questionnaires, interviews, discussion sessions, and journal entries.
The results and findings demonstrated that AZCCRS clearly support exemplary gifted mathematic curriculum and practices at the elementary level, that there are at least nine distinct relationships between the AZCCRS and gifted pedagogy, and that the gifted education specialists interpret, negotiate, and implement the AZCCRS uniquely in at least four distinct ways, in their mathematically gifted pullout classes.
ContributorsDohm, Dianna (Author) / Carlson, David L. (Thesis advisor) / Barnard, Wendy (Committee member) / Moses, Lindsey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
This dissertation shares the results of a study of the community of the mobile augmented reality game Pokémon Go. It also serves to build on and expand the framework of Distributed Teaching and Learning (DTALS), which here is used as a framework through which to explore the game’s community (Gee & Gee, 2016; Holmes, Tran, & Gee, 2017). DTALS serves to expand on other models which examine learning in out-of-school contexts, and in particular on the connections between classroom and out-of-school learning, which numerous scholars argue is of critical importance (Sefton-Green, 2004; Vadeboncoeur, Kady-Rachid, & Moghtader, 2014). This framework serves to build bridges as well as fill gaps in some key literature on learning in out-of-school contexts, including connected learning (Ito et al., 2009), participatory culture (Jenkins, Purushotma, Weigel, Clinton, & Robison, 2009), learning ecologies (Barron, 2006), and affinity spaces (Gee, 2004; Gee & Hayes, 2012). The model also focuses on teaching in addition to learning in and across informal contexts.
While DTALS can be used to examine any number of phenomena, this dissertation focuses on the community around Pokémon Go. The game, with its emphasis on geography and community, presents unique opportunities for research. This research draws on existing video game research which focuses on not only games but their communities, and in particular the learning and literacy activities which occur in these communities (Gee & Hayes, 2012; Hayes & Duncan, 2012; Squire, 2006; Steinkuehler, 2006).
The results here are presented as three separate manuscripts. Chapter Two takes a broad view of a local community of players, and discusses different player types and how they teach and learn around the game. Chapter Three focuses on families who play the game together, and in particular three focal parents who share their perceptions of the game's merits, especially its potential to promote family bonding and learning. Chapter Four discusses teaching, in particular guides written about the game and the ways in which they are situated in particular Discourses (Gee, 2014). Finally, Chapter Five offers implications from these three chapters, including implications for designers and researchers as well as calls for future research.
While DTALS can be used to examine any number of phenomena, this dissertation focuses on the community around Pokémon Go. The game, with its emphasis on geography and community, presents unique opportunities for research. This research draws on existing video game research which focuses on not only games but their communities, and in particular the learning and literacy activities which occur in these communities (Gee & Hayes, 2012; Hayes & Duncan, 2012; Squire, 2006; Steinkuehler, 2006).
The results here are presented as three separate manuscripts. Chapter Two takes a broad view of a local community of players, and discusses different player types and how they teach and learn around the game. Chapter Three focuses on families who play the game together, and in particular three focal parents who share their perceptions of the game's merits, especially its potential to promote family bonding and learning. Chapter Four discusses teaching, in particular guides written about the game and the ways in which they are situated in particular Discourses (Gee, 2014). Finally, Chapter Five offers implications from these three chapters, including implications for designers and researchers as well as calls for future research.
ContributorsTran, Kelly Michaela (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth R (Thesis advisor) / Gee, James P (Committee member) / Serafini, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018