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Description
This dissertation deals with the confluence of neoliberal and dominant Western social pressures in tension with researchers and educators striving toward a more sustainable world in light of the Anthropocene. Although scientists see the Anthropocene as a problem of human activity and environmental degradation, many social scientists and humanities researchers also see it as a problem with entrenched ways of thought. Current ways of thought complicit in the making of the Anthropocene include centering all thought, control, and agency in the radically individual human, centering science as the only legitimate access to knowledge, and presenting that knowledge as apolitical absolute truth. I engage in research creation activated by the minor gestures of human/nature entanglement in the Anthropocene and the promise of place in environmental and sustainability education. As such, I embark on the invention of a new ecology of practices that takes the process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead as their guiding foundation. As part of this invention circumventing normative neoliberal and Western logics, I take Ajo, Arizona and the surrounding Sonoran Desert as a partner in more-than-human process inquiry. I live in Ajo and explore the Sonoran Desert for four months of data generation employing basic techniques of ethnography divorced from their neopositivist founding theories.
Bodies generated from my entanglement with Ajo and the desert participate in inventing Remixing Data Experiences (RDE), a novel data engagement technique. Through RDE, my more-than-human partners and I create ideas by engaging in arts-based techniques that form multimedia art-workings. The ideas generated include Oasis, Decline, Celebrate, Precarity, and Directions. I respond to each idea through anarchival written texts in a variety of genres including ethnographic memoir, short fiction, essay, ballad, and talk poem. I put these ideas into conversation with current methodological and education literature to illustrate that aesthetic-based inquiry contributes new ways forward in the Anthropocene. These new ways include rhythms of certainty and uncertainty in knowledge creation, participating in reciprocal affective capabilities of bodies in joyful knowing, developing modest abstractions that frequently engage concrete experience, and inclusion of aesthetic experiences in learning and inquiry.
ContributorsBowers, Nicole (Author) / Carlson, David L (Thesis advisor) / Koro, Mirka (Committee member) / Jordan, Michelle (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Serious or educational games have been a subject of research for a long time. They usually have game mechanics, game content, and content assessment all tied together to make a specialized game intended to impart learning of the associated content to its players. While this approach is good for developing games for teaching highly specific topics, it consumes a lot of time and money. Being able to re-use the same mechanics and assessment for creating games that teach different contents would lead to a lot of savings in terms of time and money. The Content Agnostic Game Engineering (CAGE) Architecture mitigates the problem by disengaging the content from game mechanics. Moreover, the content assessment in games is often quite explicit in the way that it disturbs the flow of the players and thus hampers the learning process, as it is not integrated into the game flow. Stealth assessment helps to alleviate this problem by keeping the player engagement intact while assessing them at the same time. Integrating stealth assessment into the CAGE framework in a content-agnostic way will increase its usability and further decrease in game and assessment development time and cost. This research presents an evaluation of the learning outcomes in content-agnostic game-based assessment developed using the CAGE framework.
ContributorsVerma, Vipin (Author) / Craig, Scotty D (Thesis advisor) / Bansal, Ajay (Thesis advisor) / Amresh, Ashish (Committee member) / Baron, Tyler (Committee member) / Levy, Roy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
This project aims to situate ending policing on campuses in K-12 education alongside broader social movements. How does the school reform movement connect to broader policing reform efforts in the US? Specifically, who are the key organizations or voices leading the movement in schools, what opportunities or barriers have shaped their efforts over time, and how does this connect to the work of other social movements in the US? Through interviews with frontline activists and school officials this thesis builds an analysis from critical race theory and the intellectual tradition of police abolition to examine the movement to end police presence at schools. The very presence of police on campuses impacts how and for whom schools are situated as a space for building communities of trust.
ContributorsHornback, Carlie Danielle (Author) / Colbern, Allan (Thesis advisor) / GrillerClark, Heather (Committee member) / Walker, Shawn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
ABSTRACTThis design-based research study addressed whether cognitive apprenticeships mediated by informal mentor networks can expand, deepen, and transfer knowledge with and for Learning Sciences students. Three cohorts of Learning Sciences students were invited to participate with all three represented in surveys, co-designs, and interviews, with conjecture maps produced as artifacts for personal, professional, and education agendas. Survey and interview responses demonstrate that each participant found that it was a helpful tool for collaborative learning. Theoretically grounded in situated cognition, communities of practice, and legitimate peripheral participation, the conjecture predicted improved outcomes in students' perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs with informal mentor networks to support and encourage practice and engagement. Perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs did improve with confidence in conjecture mapping, however, through iterative co-design, the focus on informal mentor networks shifted from social media due to low usage among respondents to collaborative peer tutoring. Students expressed interest in expanding their networking and mentorship opportunities. Participatory co-design with conjecture mapping significantly improved recognition as a member in a community of practice for Learning Sciences students. Keywords: situated cognition, community of practice, legitimate peripheral participation, conjecture mapping, cognitive apprenticeship, mentorship, more knowledge other (MKO)
ContributorsBrouthers, Curtiss (Author) / Wolf, Leigh (Thesis advisor) / Craig, Scotty D. (Committee member) / Zuiker, Steven J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Since the genesis of the long experimental project known as the United States of America, the country has invested in the creation, implementation and maintenance of exclusionary policies and practices which have effectually denied whole and equitable access to educational spaces for Black children. These conventions have presented in a myriad of ways from: ignorance compulsory laws, segregation, disparate rates of school suspensions and expulsions, school closures, school funding inequities, denial of access to rigorous classes, burdensome school admissions policies and the disproportionate funneling of Black children into disabled and low-track class designations. Throughout this constant contortion of approaches to educational exclusion, Black mothers have had to guide, cover and encourage their children as they navigate these barriers and dodge the pitfalls of educational removal. This critical ethnographic oral history seeks to investigate the ways that a grassroots community organizing group led by a cadre of Black othermothers, known as the Aurora Coalition of Black Mothers, strategize to challenge the educational structures that support pushout and the continued exclusion of Black children from schools. Employing the frames of Critical Race Theory, BlackCrit and Black Feminist Thought, this study seeks to interrogate the following overarching concerns: 1) How does the mothers’ standpoint affect their response to school system inequities. 2)What is the influence of their efforts towards school equity? What is revealed is the mothers’ ability to employ a strategic wisdom that acknowledges the limits of systems change, perseveres against the intractability of White supremacy and works towards a freer Black education future for their children.
ContributorsDemps, Dawn M. (Author) / McGuire, Keon (Thesis advisor) / Nakagawa, Kathryn (Thesis advisor) / Bertrand, Melanie (Committee member) / Sampson, Carrie (Committee member) / Stovall, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
ContributorsMorgan, Marshall (Author, Co-author) / Shrestha, Milan (Thesis director) / Boyce-Jacino, Katherine (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, Sch (Contributor)
Created2021-12
ContributorsMorgan, Marshall (Author, Co-author) / Shrestha, Milan (Thesis director) / Boyce-Jacino, Katherine (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, Sch (Contributor)
Created2021-12
Description
This dissertation explores changes in fertility and family formation in South Korea, a setting in which rapid demographic changes have taken place since the early twentieth century. Despite active debate and discussion among experts and policymakers, knowledge is still limited in regards to the country’s significant demographic changes. I take advantage of Korean census samples data from 1966 to 2010, which span birth cohorts from pre- and early-transitional stages to post-transitional stages, which comprise the entry stage of the second demographic transition. From a cohort perspective, I use diverse demographic methods to analyze three different aspects of fertility and family formation—fertility differentials, marriage delay, and fertility concentration.
The findings illustrate how fertility and marriage patterns have changed over generations and range from a politically tumultuous period, which includes World War II, liberation, and the Korean War, to an advanced economic period. By and large, the three studies suggest that until 1960, fertility and family formation converged as per social norms and leadership guidelines. Then, marriage and childbearing behaviors began to diversify and variation by social groups increased for cohorts born during and after the 1960s. The phrase “convergence towards diversity” captures the reversal of demographic trends within the country. Taken together, this dissertation advances our understanding of how fertility and family formation have changed in South Korea, which has been on an intense demographic journey from pre-transitional fertility through very low fertility, and currently headed toward another destination.
The findings illustrate how fertility and marriage patterns have changed over generations and range from a politically tumultuous period, which includes World War II, liberation, and the Korean War, to an advanced economic period. By and large, the three studies suggest that until 1960, fertility and family formation converged as per social norms and leadership guidelines. Then, marriage and childbearing behaviors began to diversify and variation by social groups increased for cohorts born during and after the 1960s. The phrase “convergence towards diversity” captures the reversal of demographic trends within the country. Taken together, this dissertation advances our understanding of how fertility and family formation have changed in South Korea, which has been on an intense demographic journey from pre-transitional fertility through very low fertility, and currently headed toward another destination.
ContributorsYoo, Sam Hyun (Author) / Sarah, Hayford (Thesis advisor) / Agadjanian, Victor (Committee member) / Yabiku, Scott (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Black male students experience a number of issues related to identity during the persistence process, which have potential to deter them from graduating. Some of these issues include feeling isolated and lack of access to resources due to their ethnic and/or racial identities. Recent statistics indicate that though there is an increase in college enrollment for Black students, the graduation rate is disproportionate to their enrollment. Using critical race theory, co-cultural theory, and communication theory of identity, this study investigated the role of identity in the persistence of Black male students’ graduation rates. Specifically, the central question was ‘What role, if any, do identity processes play in Black male students' decisions to continue or depart from a Predominantly White Institution?’ In order to answer this question, fifteen first-generation Black male college students were interviewed in order to understand the specific experiences that impacted them in relation to graduation. The study sample included a subset of Black male athletes who were found to have distinct differences in college experiences based solely on their athlete status. The overall results indicate that Black male students have expectations of the persistence process and that their personal identity also plays a significant role in the persistence process. In order to maintain their identities and continue with coursework, Black males enacted persistence strategies that were consistent with an overall goal of graduating. Research findings suggest that Black males must maintain a strong personal identity in order to maintain their personal commitment to graduation and college institutions can support them in this endeavor. Research outcomes also suggest that Black males should have a plan of persistence upon entering college, which is constantly reinforced as a graduation motivator.
ContributorsRobinson, Jennifer Christine (Author) / Martin, Judith (Thesis advisor) / Alberts, Jess (Committee member) / Jimenez-Castellanos, Oscar (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
This study investigated the relationship between social emotional competency (SEC) and academic placement in gifted students. Data were collected on children between the ages of 5 and 12 years old (n=206) in three academic placement types - self-contained, cluster and content replacement. Social emotional skills were assessed by teacher report using the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment. Regardless of placements, the gifted students in this study were rated as having higher social emotional competencies than the standardization group of the DESSA. Gifted students in the cluster and self-contained settings demonstrated significantly higher scores in the area of Self-Awareness, which measures students' capacity to understand their personal strengths and weaknesses. When analyzed by gender, no significant differences were discovered between males; however, girls demonstrated significantly higher scores in the areas of Optimism and Self-Awareness in the self-contained and cluster settings. The results of the study have import for the development of gifted programs, especially for gifted girls.
ContributorsBacal, Emily (Author) / Caterino, Linda (Thesis advisor) / Brulles, Dina (Committee member) / DiGangi, Samuel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015