Matching Items (20)
Description
Lead is a neurotoxin that has been shown to have a long and lasting impact on the brains, bodies, and behaviors of those who are poisoned. It also has a greater presence in communities with high levels of poverty and minority populations. Compounded over time, the effects of lead poisoning, even at low levels of exposure, impact a child's readiness and ability to learn. To investigate the relationship between the risk of lead poisoning, school level academic achievement, and community demographics, three sets of data were combined. The Lead Poisoning Risk Index (LPRI), used to quantify the risk in each census tract of being poisoned by lead, standardized state assessment data for third grade reading and eighth grade math, and census 2000 demographic data were combined to provide information for all Arizona schools and census tracts. When achievement was analyzed at the school level using descriptive, bivariate correlation, and multivariate regression analyses, lead's impact practically disappeared, exposing the powerful effect of poverty and race on achievement. At a school in Arizona, the higher the percentage of students who are poor or Hispanic, African American or Native American, these analyses' predictive models suggest there will be a greater percentage of students who fail the third grade AIMS reading and eighth grade AIMS math tests. If better achievement results are to be realized, work must be done to mitigate the effects of poverty on the lives of students. In order to improve schools, there needs to be an accounting for the context within which schools operate and a focus on improving the neighborhoods and the quality of life for the families of students.
ContributorsGehrman, Matthew Paul (Author) / Berliner, David C. (Thesis advisor) / Garcia, David (Committee member) / Danzig, Arnold (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This study explores the implications of a cultural and language match/mismatch between teachers and their Hispanic students. The study is particularly relevant given the disproportionate percentage of Hispanic students enrolled in Arizona schools who speak Spanish compared to a majority of teachers who are white and speak English. The purpose of the study was to learn how the experiences of matched/mismatched teachers differed in their efforts to connect with Hispanic students and families. The framework for this study relies on culturally responsive practice which suggests that maintaining both cultural and academic excellence for our Hispanic students and families promotes positive learning outcomes in schools. The research is based on case studies of eight teachers at an elementary school with a predominately Hispanic student and parent population. The data included surveys, interviews and lesson observations to assess culturally responsive practices. The results of this study indicated that teachers who share common cultural and language characteristics exhibit significantly more behaviors associated with culturally responsive practice than their mismatched counterparts. Mismatched teachers, however, were able to draw on specific school wide and pedagogical resources associated with culturally responsive practice to help support their students' learning.
ContributorsPriniski, David P (Author) / Garcia, David (Thesis advisor) / Powers, Jeanne (Committee member) / Thomas, Jeff (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This thesis investigates the environment of support for reclassified English Language Learners (RCELLs) in Arizona schools. Arizona English Language Learner (ELL) policy and pedagogy have been the subjects of research nationwide; many studies demonstrate that ELLs struggle before, during and after participating in Arizona ELL programs (Lillie et al. 2012; Roa 2012; Garcia, Lawton & de Figuieredo 2012; Office of Civil Rights 2012). Despite evidence that the achievement gap between RCELLs and mainstream students is not closing, little information is available about additional language support that RCELLs might receive in mainstream classrooms. This thesis addresses that void of information through: 1) A literature review of the framework of RCELL support, as outlined by the Arizona Department of Education and relevant studies, and 2) a study of teacher and principal opinion about support components for RCELLs and whether such support is adequate. Study findings present that teachers and principals generally believe RCELLs are well-supported, in terms of both the availability and quality of study-defined support components. Yet there is only weak consensus among teachers that support components are adequate. Additionally, teachers' knowledgeability related to important RCELL support components is low, undermining the reliability of teacher responses. The disconnect between participants' optimistic perceptions of support and the external evidence of low RCELL achievement is rationalized by two conjectures. The first is that teachers are not knowledgeable about RCELL support components and cannot accurately gauge the quality of such support. The second is that existing support components are effective at assisting RCELLs with English learning but are not sufficient to close RCELL academic content achievement gaps.
ContributorsKelly, Cary Shepherd (Author) / Garcia, David (Thesis director) / Garcia, Eugene (Committee member) / Seleznow, Steven (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This study examined perception of K12 schooling systems as experienced by a randomsample of adults in Phoenix, AZ. It explored whether the values purported as key factors
in the American K12 schooling system - as presented in academic literature - were compatible with the lives, interests and goals of ‘users’, student-participants. In addition, it offered opportunity for post-K12 student-participants to share their views on the purposes, goals, and outcomes they held to be important. The sample consisted of 139 post-K12 stu-
dents/individuals residing in Phoenix, AZ. Mean age of student-participants was 29. Results indicated a mismatch between purported K12 schooling goals and important outcomes embedded in the system and values held by the K12 student-participants. The participants in this research generally perceived K12 schooling as valuable, both to themselves and to society at large, but stressed that the deficiencies they perceived in the system were particular to delivery platforms as they relate to the learning styles of students and belonging. Future life skills and success - in and after K12 schooling - whether related to college or not were also of importance. Results revealed that the initial hypothesis of income, age, and ethnicity as
key factors in satisfaction with K12 schooling was not borne-out. Rather it revealed that a sense of belonging and the suitability of learning platforms to the individual learning styles of students were of greatest significance.
ContributorsParker-Anderies, Margaret (Author) / Janssen, Marco (Thesis advisor) / Garcia, David (Committee member) / Mishra, Punya (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
While deep disciplinary knowledge will be required to develop next-generation clean energy technologies, the skills to work across disciplines and with diverse stakeholders will also be required. Providing authentic and explicit opportunities for graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to engage in the broader impacts (BI) 0f their research could support the development of these skills. A concurrent mixed methods action research study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a three-part, semi-structured design workshop on clean energy fellows’ knowledgeability of the broader impacts of their research, their identification with the clean energy field, and their ability to develop high-quality educational outreach products. This study was grounded in a sociocultural theory of learning and informed by several conceptual frameworks: situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991), communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), and knowledgeability (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015). Quantitative data was collected through a rubric and survey informed by guiding principles from the Broader Impacts Review Document for National Science Foundation Proposals (Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society, 2020). Qualitative data was collected through this survey and a focus group interview. Results demonstrated a significant, strong, and positive correlation between attendance at the design workshop attendance and Product of Lasting Value (PLV) quality. Unfortunately, the lack of respondents in the post-survey prevented the ability to quantify any changes that took place in fellows’ knowledgeability of the BI of their research and their identification with the clean energy field due to the innovation. Yet, results from the focus group interview do show that some fellows experienced increased knowledgeability of the BI of their research and identification with the clean energy field, but these gains were not necessarily due to the PLV Design Workshop.
ContributorsHendrickson, Danica Lyn (Author) / Salik, Steven (Thesis advisor) / Weinberg, Andrea (Committee member) / Garcia, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This three-paper dissertation explores the ways in which the skills, dispositions, tools, social norms, and ways of knowing associated with maker practices and design theory illuminate opportunities and challenges for changing education systems. Making and design are unique in that they provide alternative visions for the central aims of schooling as well as a novel set of approaches for the realization of such visions. This duality is explored at three organizational scales: student experience, educator practice, and school leadership. The findings of these investigations highlight major barriers to creating and sustaining innovative education systems while also suggesting ways that these barriers may be overcome. The first paper, which details a qualitative study of 27 young adult makers and their parents, suggests that even strong proponents of maker-based education are bound by the institutional logics of formal education and have a hard time imagining how making could be integrated into school. The second paper documents a design-based research study, in which 20 preservice teachers in an integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education course show that their current training emphasizes the delivery standards-based content over the design of student-centered learning experiences. These studies prompted and shaped the development of a theoretically grounded, design-based conceptual model, detailed in the third paper, which aims to help multi-stakeholder design teams more rigorously imagine new futures for existing schools using generative, participatory prototyping activities.
ContributorsWeiner, Steven (Author) / Jordan, Shawn S (Thesis advisor) / Lande, Micah (Committee member) / Mishra, Punya (Committee member) / Wylie, Ruth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Experiential learning has gained the attention of higher education institutions, specifically business schools, as a way to bring the business world into the classroom. It has become a fundamental methodology for designing business schools' curricula that promotes 21st-century skills like problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork. This study evaluates an experiential learning-based undergraduate business program and its signature entrepreneurship course. The goal is to understand how the entrepreneurship course and its experiential learning component, design sprint, influence first-year students' entrepreneurial mindset, creative self-efficacy and teamwork self-efficacy. Additionally, this study aims to understand the perceptions of first-year undergraduate students of their experiential activities and how they make sense of these experiences.
This action research study draws from theories of learning and psychology, such as Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) by Kolb (1984, 2015); mindset theory by Dweck et al. (1995) and Dweck (2006); self-efficacy by Bandura (1977, 1997); and figured worlds by Holland et al. (1998). These theories support the research questions by emphasizing the collaborative nature of learning, how beliefs about learning, intelligence, and capabilities influence an individual's behavior, and how the environment shapes an individual's interpretation of the world.
This mixed-methods action research study combines quantitative data in the form of a pre and post-intervention survey. The qualitative data was gathered from interviews that focused on understanding the experiences of participating students and their perceptions of their learning after the intervention workshop. Additionally, qualitative data included a feedback survey after the workshop to learn students' perceptions of the intervention activities.
The results of this study suggest that experiential learning activities support students' growth of their creative skills and help them view entrepreneurship from a user-centered perspective. Additionally, results suggested that short-term experiential projects tend to inhibit students from growing in their teamwork skills as they focus all their attention to their project. Lastly, results suggest experiential learning programs can become a space for collaboration, skill development, and motivated students. However, it can also lead to students feeling frustrated and alienated due to the professional codes permeating experiential settings. The study concludes with several implications for practitioners.
ContributorsFrias Vargas, Alfonsina (Author) / Carrillo, Juan (Thesis advisor) / Henriksen, Danah (Thesis advisor) / Mishra, Punya (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Currently in the United States, Arizona high school students are testing at a standardized testing level barely being ranked in the top 50%. As far as education goes, Arizona's education system is not successful in demonstrating neither teacher nor student success. As past high school students from different forms of education being private, public, or charter, we three have seen what successful and unsuccessful schools are. We also have seen what successful teachers look like. It is our goal to help understand what makes an education system successful and what Arizona can do to help the success of their teachers and their students. The students in high schools today are the future of our world and it is the duty of the education system to help prepare for their future and to be successful. What we currently don’t know and hope to learn from this thesis are the factors that go into making a high school successful and their students also successful. As of right now Arizona is currently ranked 46th in education out of all states and territories belonging to the United States. This means that there are states with schools producing a higher success rate with their students. Not only is the Arizona Education ranking low but its teacher rankings are also low in work environment, student performance, salary compensation, and student success as well as countless others ranking as the 50th state in teacher success. It is clear that the Arizona education system needs to find reform and our goal is to search for what changes need to be made in our classrooms and work environment to create not only more successful teachers and students but also to create a successful education system.
ContributorsBolosan, Kaleo (Author) / Bizuneh, Abyssinia (Co-author) / Hernandez-Martinez, Chelsea (Co-author) / O’Connor, Brendan (Thesis director) / Garcia, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
Education is known for being powerful in reducing poverty, improving health, promoting healthier economies, and providing peaceful and productive opportunities for young people worldwide. It’s a key to success that has been threatened in the state of Arizona through low funding, teacher shortages, and a lack of resources. Inadequate learning environments further educational inequalities and hinder academic achievement among students. In finding a solution, the objectives of education policy in Arizona are analyzed from an economic and equity standpoint.
ContributorsHernandez Martinez, Chelsea (Author) / Bizuneh, Abyssinia (Co-author) / Bolosan, Kaleo (Co-author) / O'Connor, Brendan (Thesis director) / Garcia, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / School of Transborder Studies (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
The Latinx community is growing at an alarming rate in the country. First-generation Latinx Students are uninformed about navigating the educational system, which can place them at a higher risk of dropping out of college. The present work explores the relationship between high school guidance counselors and Latinx first-generation students by producing a podcast that features seven interviews with Barrett The Honors College's first-generation Latinx students. Student participants answered questions about their families, high school experience, and college transition. The student responses were shared with two high school counselors, who reflected on the student participants' answers and shared their perspectives on working with Latinx first-generation students. The findings suggest that the student-to-counselor ratio affects the role of counselors in assisting students, along with the determination of Barrett Honors Latinx First Generation students to push through obstacles to receive higher education.
ContributorsMaya, Alejandra (Author) / Garcia, David (Thesis director) / Schugurensky, Daniel, 1958- (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2023-05