Matching Items (14)
Description
This linguistic ethnography follows three journalism students (Petra, Penélope, and María) as they engaged in experiential language learning (EX-LL) via collaboration with community members during their Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP) internship sites in the fields of journalism and medicine within the local Metro Phoenix community. Data were collected over the course of a 15-week semester via ethnographic methods (field notes, interviews, observations, and participant-reported data) to explore how the interns (i) took advantage of their SSP internship experiences to engage in identity work that exceeded the goals of the program and how they (ii) implemented their strategic knowledge via communicative strategies (CSs) during breakdowns in communication with community members related to their SSP internship sites/the social function of such strategies.
In order to answer the first research question, the data were analyzed via open and focused coding (Dyson & Genishi, 2005), followed by discourse analysis (Gee, 2005) informed by Critical Applied Linguistics (Pennycook, 2001) and Positioning Theory (Davis & Harré, 1990). To answer the second question, all instances in which the interns implemented communicative strategies were analyzed based upon the categorization repertories established by Dörnyei and Scott (1995a, 1995b, 1997), Lafford (2004), and Tarone and Yule (1987). To go beyond understanding what the interns were saying to why were they saying it, discourse analysis was used (Gee, 2005).
The findings show that Petra, Penélope, and María appropriated their SSP internship to engage distinct, yet interrelated language- and ethnic/racial-based identity work. Each intern utilized language (and extra-linguistic elements, such as corporeal expression) to position themselves in different ways within social discourse. Furthermore, this identity work influenced which CSs they utilized, as the social function of many of these strategies was to maintain and/or protect their desired identities.
Drawing on these insights, a variety of implications are offered from four viewpoints: implications for (i) EX-LL-based research: colonized versus humanizing research, (ii) critical community collaboration inside and outside of EX-LL, (iii) CSs and communicative competence, and (iv) EX-LL/Languages for Specific Purposes pedagogy and internship design.
In order to answer the first research question, the data were analyzed via open and focused coding (Dyson & Genishi, 2005), followed by discourse analysis (Gee, 2005) informed by Critical Applied Linguistics (Pennycook, 2001) and Positioning Theory (Davis & Harré, 1990). To answer the second question, all instances in which the interns implemented communicative strategies were analyzed based upon the categorization repertories established by Dörnyei and Scott (1995a, 1995b, 1997), Lafford (2004), and Tarone and Yule (1987). To go beyond understanding what the interns were saying to why were they saying it, discourse analysis was used (Gee, 2005).
The findings show that Petra, Penélope, and María appropriated their SSP internship to engage distinct, yet interrelated language- and ethnic/racial-based identity work. Each intern utilized language (and extra-linguistic elements, such as corporeal expression) to position themselves in different ways within social discourse. Furthermore, this identity work influenced which CSs they utilized, as the social function of many of these strategies was to maintain and/or protect their desired identities.
Drawing on these insights, a variety of implications are offered from four viewpoints: implications for (i) EX-LL-based research: colonized versus humanizing research, (ii) critical community collaboration inside and outside of EX-LL, (iii) CSs and communicative competence, and (iv) EX-LL/Languages for Specific Purposes pedagogy and internship design.
ContributorsVollmer Rivera, Alexis Ann (Author) / Lafford, Barbara (Thesis advisor) / O'Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Bernstein, Katie (Committee member) / Beaudrie, Sara (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
This project highlights the importance of students learning and applying social skills in educational settings for students with ASD. Social stories are one method used for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to integrate social skills instruction in classroom settings. Social stories are designed to help a child learn and respond to social cues for successful social interactions. Although, there is limited research on the effectiveness of social stories, research has demonstrated the effectiveness of peer-mediated learning and the effects of positive peer relationships in inclusive early childhood settings. This project draws on the evidence of peer- mediated learning through the medium of social stories to support students with ASD in school settings. This project is the creation of a double-sided social story picture book designed to teach prosocial peer interactions to students with ASD and to teach their peers to support them in learning the specific social skill. The target skill for this peer-mediated social story is learning how to interact with friends in the classroom by initiating and responding to requests to play. \r\nThe project is unique in that this social story includes a section for the student with ASD and a section to support the peer in their role within the social relationship.
ContributorsGacad, Clare Santos (Author) / Oakes, Wendy (Thesis director) / Bernstein, Katie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This creative project is a children's book entitled Sheldon the Shy Tortoise. Accompanying the story is a literature review of the research on childhood shyness. The purpose of the project is to gain a better of understanding of shyness in childhood. Topics covered in the literature review include risk factors and causes, negative social and behavioral effects, impact on academics, and treatment options. Using this information, the children's book was written. It aims to be fun for children to read while also providing insight and encouragement into some of the problems related to being shy. The story features animal characters and a relatively simple plot so it is easily understandable by the target audience of late-preschool and early-elementary children. The main character, Sheldon the tortoise, is often physically and metaphorically "stuck in his shell". He wants to participate in social activities but is afraid to do so. Through a series of events and interactions, Sheldon starts to come out of his shell in every sense of the phrase. The book is illustrated using photographs of hand-crocheted stuffed animals representing each of the characters. By incorporating scholarly research into the writing process, children will hopefully be able to gain an understanding of their shyness and ways to help decrease it. Teachers should be able to better understand their shy students and understand some of the unique challenges of working with shy children. This creative project helps convey necessary information to children and families during a critical period of development.
ContributorsRyan, Amanda (Author) / Hansen, Cory (Thesis director) / Bernstein, Katie (Committee member) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This dissertation study investigated how Somali refugee families living in Nairobi, Kenya experience and negotiate their religious and secular identities through literacies. This study provided detailed experiences and reflections of individuals––children and parents about their literacies. The children in this study learned to read in English and Kiswahili in school, and they learned to read in classical Arabic—three languages they do not speak at home. The study explored Qur’anic schools which literacy researchers have long overlooked, yet these are spaces that shape many children’s rich multilingual, multiliterate, and multiscriptual repertoires while, at the same time, shaping and negotiating their fluid identities. Three themes, literacy as social practice, liturgical literacy, and funds of knowledge offered a complimentary lens through which this community was studied. Literacy, as a social practice, demonstrates how certain social groups use specific socially constructed literacies within specific contexts to achieve various goals. The concept of liturgical literacy foregrounds how minority languages, such as Classical Arabic, have great symbolic value for communities, including those who neither speak nor understand the language, while funds of knowledge conceptualize the knowledge and related activities present in homes that have the potential for contributing positively to children’s learning. Using the ethnographic methodology, this inquiry spanned six sites and focused on participants during their interactions with literacy, orality, and text for eight months. The study occurred in three homes, two Dugsis, and one school site. A rich description of the community was achieved by presenting language and literacy practices in a multi-sited ethnography. This dissertation ultimately also offers contemporary relevance: investigating a community whose literacies are invisible, minoritized, and marginalized, and aimed to inform educational researchers, policymakers, and teachers who are devoted to rethinking what counts as literacy, for whom, in what contexts, and with what kinds of consequences. In a time of increased movement of people across borders, this research has important implications for teacher preparation, theories of language learning, and literacy education.
ContributorsMohamed, Saida Hussein (Author) / Bernstein, Katie (Thesis advisor) / Warriner, Doris (Thesis advisor) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Parental rights bills are pieces of legislation that detail and lay out the rights and abilities that parents have in the educational systems in the United States. After diving deeper into the history and effects of parental rights bills historically throughout the nation as well as what factors contribute to the passing of parental rights bills, I take a closer look at the specific parental rights bill that is central to my analysis: Arizona House Bill 2161. I conducted a thorough analysis of the transitivity of the bill paying close attention to who the actors were and the type of process they were conducting. Then, I singled out all the modals and the abilities they were depicting. As a result of both methods, I found that parents are given exclusive and undeniable control over their children’s education. Additionally, I found that students are cast to the side and their voices are swept under the rug as they have no modals and are never the actor - only the clients.
ContributorsCrookenden, Hadley (Author) / Bernstein, Katie (Thesis director) / Kaveh, Yalda (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2023-12
Description
This study utilized a Culturally Responsive Teaching training and bi-weekly collaboration sessions to improve the connectedness between teachers and their Latino male students. Three first-year teachers and 21 students participated in this study to learn how teaching practice and student classroom experiences changed as a result of the innovations. The findings showed teachers modified their planning and teaching and demonstrated more frequent culturally responsive teaching behaviors at the end of the implementation period. Participating students also showed increased classroom engagement and stronger relationships with their teachers, in addition to feeling more valued and included in the classroom. This study highlights effective structures and practices in areas such as cultural responsiveness implementation, teacher collaboration processes, teaching evaluations, and professional development models.
ContributorsThomas, Richard (Author) / Bernstein, Katie (Thesis advisor) / Waite, Bryan (Committee member) / Carrillo, Juan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Content-based instruction, task-based language teaching, and game-mediated learning are three pedagogical approaches that are perceived as effective in second and foreign language education. These approaches share common ground in a sociocultural and functional view of language learning and popularity as engaging classroom strategies in K-12 contexts. However, challenges may exist in attaining content-integrated language learning goals, designing engaging and efficient language learning tasks, or implementing game-mediated activities in classroom settings. Prior research has suggested an enhanced result in facilitating language learning as well as promoting student participation when combining some of these existing approaches. What is missing is an attempt to blend all three approaches which may lead to a synergistic way of utilizing task-based, game-mediated activities to help achieve the goals of content-integrated language learning. To address this gap in current literature and field practice, I proposed a game-mediated dual learning instructional model that aims to conceptually and practically discuss various ways of blending these aforementioned approaches. In addition, I adopted two analytical frameworks—a close analysis of language-related episodes and a three-step multimodal analysis of learners’ participation—to provide empirical evidence for participants’ language production and multimodal participation during a game-mediated project. This qualitative-driven study took place in a physics class in an independent high school in the northeastern U.S. from January to March 2022. Data sources for the project included (1) audio and video recorded data, and (2) observational data such as student-oriented notes taken during the stay at the research site. The findings of this project illustrate the diverse opportunities for language learning through participating in collaborative, game-mediated, and task-based activities. The findings also suggest that participants adopted multimodal ways of communication when engaging in these activities. This project contributes to the literature on game-mediated second and foreign language education by adopting an interdisciplinary approach to propose a new way of integrating several pedagogical approaches, while also providing an empirical account of this instructional model.
ContributorsGao, Yuchan (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth R. (Thesis advisor) / Bernstein, Katie (Committee member) / Reinhardt, Jonathon (Committee member) / Sykes, Julie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Elective cosmetic surgery has grown more popular in the last several decades, including procedures specifically targeted at older adults and anti-aging. The aim of this study is to better understand elective cosmetic surgery rationale for older adults. The first part of the study summarizes literature on elective cosmetic surgery for older adults and determines what factors influence the desire for elective cosmetic procedures. From the research databases PubMed, JSTOR, and ScienceDirect, eighteen sources were referenced in the final review. The review found that there are differences in sociocultural views of men and women as they age as well as internal views of aging. The modest number of studies used in the literature review reflect a current gap in current research studying elective cosmetic surgery in older adults. For the second part of the study, data was collected from a 2018 survey designed to better understand aging, body image, and subjective age. The survey was limited to individuals living in the United States aged 40 and above and was deployed through MTurk (Mechanical Turk). A total of 1199 responses were received. Only participants 55 years and above are included for the purpose of this study. Most participants who answered the question for elective cosmetic surgery rationale answered that their primary rationale is to reduce age-related physical markers. For participants identifying as female, nine percent cited self-esteem as their rationale while no male-identifying participants responded similarly. Future research can include questions on internal and external factors older adults feel have the greatest impact on their decision to have elective cosmetic procedures.
ContributorsSirilan, Angeli (Author) / SturzSreetharan, Cindi (Thesis director) / Bernstein, Katie (Committee member) / Agostini-Walesch, Gina (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2022-12
Description
Transfer students have emerged as a growing student population in higher education. There is a need for higher education professionals to understand the needs of transfer students. In this study, the implemented intervention consisted of restructuring retention programming for first-semester transfer students. This qualitative action research study explored how first-semester transfer students understand and experience academic and social engagement across the semester they participate in retention programming. Students identified perceived barriers and facilitators to engagement. The researcher also examined transfer students’ experiences of the intervention. The findings indicate that students’ understanding of engagement align with their expectations of their first semester and remained consistent throughout the study. One of the biggest perceived barriers to engagement was lack of time. Overall, transfer students found the intervention useful during their transition to a new institution.
ContributorsKulhanek, Kristy Lynn (Author) / Bernstein, Katie (Thesis advisor) / Wilcox, Jeanne (Committee member) / Edwards, Sarah (Committee member) / Dorn, Sherman (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
ABSTRACT
To remain competitive on local, state, and national levels and to achieve future economic and social goals, Imperial and Yuma County need an educated workforce. The primary industries supporting the desert region are technical, science, technology, enginnering and mathematics (STEM)-based, and require a highly skilled and educated workforce. There continue to be vast disparities in terms of numbers of students declared and enrolled in STEM transfer degree programs and the number of students completing STEM bachelor’s degrees.
Perceptions regarding post-secondary education start to develop at a young age and can prevent or enable a student’s development of post-secondary aspirations. Understanding a student’s perceptions of barriers are important because they can prevent students from completing a four-year degree. The pilot research provided in the study are the first steps in helping educators and community leaders understand what drives and form student perceived educational barriers and student perceptions of self, and then provide a better understanding of first-generation Hispanic students’ value of higher education.
As part of the study, I designed the science, technology, engineering, agriculture and mathematics (“STEAM”) College Success Program to help college students overcome the perceived barriers intervening with the completion of a bachelor’s degree. The program involved community, industry, and college students in a unique experience of incorporating a one-week camp, academic year of mentorship, STEM education, and college support. Pilot results of the “STEAM” College Success Program indicate the innovation was effective in reducing perceived barriers relating to college success and bachelor’s degree completion.and was most effective in the area of self-efficacy and personal achievement.
To remain competitive on local, state, and national levels and to achieve future economic and social goals, Imperial and Yuma County need an educated workforce. The primary industries supporting the desert region are technical, science, technology, enginnering and mathematics (STEM)-based, and require a highly skilled and educated workforce. There continue to be vast disparities in terms of numbers of students declared and enrolled in STEM transfer degree programs and the number of students completing STEM bachelor’s degrees.
Perceptions regarding post-secondary education start to develop at a young age and can prevent or enable a student’s development of post-secondary aspirations. Understanding a student’s perceptions of barriers are important because they can prevent students from completing a four-year degree. The pilot research provided in the study are the first steps in helping educators and community leaders understand what drives and form student perceived educational barriers and student perceptions of self, and then provide a better understanding of first-generation Hispanic students’ value of higher education.
As part of the study, I designed the science, technology, engineering, agriculture and mathematics (“STEAM”) College Success Program to help college students overcome the perceived barriers intervening with the completion of a bachelor’s degree. The program involved community, industry, and college students in a unique experience of incorporating a one-week camp, academic year of mentorship, STEM education, and college support. Pilot results of the “STEAM” College Success Program indicate the innovation was effective in reducing perceived barriers relating to college success and bachelor’s degree completion.and was most effective in the area of self-efficacy and personal achievement.
ContributorsHodges, Tanya Marie (Author) / Bernstein, Katie (Thesis advisor) / Dyer, Penny (Committee member) / Montopoli, George (Committee member) / Schaal, Mary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019