Browsing by Department "Curriculum and Instruction"
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Item 3D modeling tool selection for research-based educational games: an experience(2016-05) Qiu, Yajun, M.A.; Liu, Min, Ed. D.; Horton, LucasNowadays, serious games are gaining wide recognition, and many studies have been conducted regarding their implementation. However, the value of serious games in education and research is still subject to debate. Serious game designers might have difficulty selecting appropriate tools for 3D game development since most 3D modeling tools and game engines are designed for developing commercial games. This report highlights the value of research-based educational games and suggests an Education Modeling Tool Framework for 3D modeling tools and game engine selection. The author modifies Petridis and De Freitas’s (2012) framework for serious game engine selection to meet the specialized needs of research-based educational games. The unique features identified are high compatibility with game engines, moderate visual fidelity, smooth learning curve, ample documentation and support, and low cost. Then, the report discusses the actual use of the Education Modeling Tool Framework for the development of a research-based educational game Alien Rescue. The framework was applied in selecting 3D modeling tools as well as game engines for Alien Rescue development. Finally, the conclusion includes suggestions for possible applications and utility of the Education Modeling Tool Framework in other research-based educational game projects.Item A case study of designing a mobile app prototype for seniors(2019-06-27) Liou, I-Hui; Liu, Min, Ed. D.As technology has advanced rapidly over recent decades, the aging population has also grown. Therefore, the importance of addressing senior users’ needs in using and learning technology deserves attention from the government and industry. There have been websites and mobile applications designed for senior learners to take online courses, join online discussions or make friends. However, there are limited mobile apps for seniors to acquire information, while connecting to others online. To fill the gap, this report explores the design considerations that should be taken into account to facilitate seniors to better use of technology. A mobile app prototype, Chatlet, was developed to illustrate the ideas of a mobile app that might interest seniors. To evaluate the design features, a case study on four seniors between 56 and 76 years old was conducted through interviews and usability testing. The findings indicate that seniors are motivated to use mobile apps mostly for getting information and communication, and one’s self-efficacy with technology could impact their selection of online activities. It is recommended that a senior-friendly mobile app be responsive to users’ actions on the app, have availability of technical support and clearly present the purpose of the app. Further details about design recommendations on mobile apps for seniors and pedagogical implications are discussed within the reportItem A case study of designing, teaching, and learning racial literacy in an urban seventh grade reading and writing classroom(2018-12) Pruitt, Alina; Skerrett, Allison; Bomer, Randy; Hoffman, James V.; Wetzel, Melissa R.; Gonzalez, JohnIn the current educational environment of high stakes testing and curricular control (Au, 2007), it is necessary for literacy teachers to be creatively compliant and selectively defiant (Hoffman, 2011) as it suits the learning needs of their students. The purpose of this study was to explore how to co-design and implement antiracist curriculum with one seventh-grade reading and writing teacher in his classroom (Dei, 2006; Troyna & Carrington, 2011; Wagner, 2005), as I aimed to draw upon and develop the racial literacy of the teacher and the students (Epstein & Gist, 2015; Ohito, 2017; Rogers & Mosley, 2006; Skerrett, 2011; Twine, 2004; Twine & Steinbugler, 2006). This research adopted case study methods (Yin, 2014) and consisted of two phases: Phase 1: Collaborative design between myself the researcher and the teacher. Phase 2: Teacher implementation of the antiracist literacy curriculum in his classroom with myself as reflective coach. Making use of qualitative, ethnographic methodologies (Marshall & Rossman, 2014), I collected data around the teacher’s design process and his implementation of the design within his classroom and analyzed all data using an inductive approach of qualitative data analysis (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014). Findings suggest a need for teachers to create antiracist units of study within the official curriculum, build such curriculum upon their own conceptual frameworks, and engage in extensive, recursive, and reflective conversations with peer-researchers around relevant texts, tools, and practices. Findings related to what knowledge, tools, and practices where brought to designing this type of curriculum point to the effective nature of teachers developing their own frameworks of racial literacy by drawing on their existing personal, political, and professional racial knowledge and identities. This study contributes to the literature on dialogue in racial literacy instruction (Bolgatz, 2005) as well as literature on antiracist curriculum and a multiliteracies pedagogy (New London Group, 1996) that demonstrate various ways teachers can go outside the box yet stay inside the standards of the official curriculum and instruction (Fecho, Falter, Hong, 2016). Furthermore, this study points to the potential of teachers as co-designers of antiracist curriculum and racial literacy instruction in classrooms and across schools.Item A critical consideration of contemporary openness in online education(2018-08) Dearmon, Matthew Jacob; De Lissovoy, Noah, 1968-; Pinar, William F; Brown, Anthony L; Hughes, Joan E; Salinas, CinthiaAs the so-called Open Education Movement develops amidst the maturation and growth of computer and Internet technologies, there exists a need for a critical understanding of Open Education itself and its implications for online learning and teaching at distance and scale. To that end, this project essays to establish the limits and possibilities of Open Education as they exist within the context of contemporary neoliberal ideological infiltration of public and higher education, as well as associated processes and structures of licensing, funding, and curriculum. Utilizing a deschooled critical approach grounded in postmodern theories of rhizomatic formation and contemporary notions of the commons, this textual and theoretical research begins by stating the need to clarify what is meant by the term, "open education" and verifying whether and to what extent existing scholarship has engaged the subject at a level appropriate to the threat posed by neoliberal policies, discourses, practices, and enclosures. Applying a transformative research paradigm to a textual analysis that views purposefully-selected free-and-open learning, education, and teaching websites as examples of material culture, this research project seeks to understand Open Education outside of the strictures and limitations of institutionalized education. By examining the mission of selected sites, their promotion of open licensing practices, funding resources that make such learning possible, curricular decisions made at networked scale, and a sample of learning experiences, a conception of limits and possibilities emerges within each of these domains. It is suggested that by encouraging reciprocal learning and teaching through the most permissive level of attributive licensing that encourages sharing, open education can indeed realize some measure of its potential to proliferate open and inclusive learning practices at scale. Due to its low barrier of entry, relative openness, and non-reliance on institutionalized funding, Wikiversity is promoted as a promising site for future efforts through a model of Openly Shared Learning Opportunities (OSLO), even though continued care must be taken to resist corporatocratic and neoliberal intrusion. By removing traditional boundaries established by the need for "teachers" to "educate" learners, OSLO reinvigorates both the subject and the Multitude through engagement with the digital commons.Item A longitudinal, cross-sectional case study of students’ digital literacy learning and development at the middle school using a blended, technology-rich, project-based learning approach(2019-05-10) Hsu, Hsiao-Ping; Hughes, Joan E.; Resta, Paul E.; Schallert, Diane L.; Petrosino, Anthony J.This study examined changes to middle school students’ digital literacy after engagement in a learning environment based on a blended, technology-rich, project-based instructional innovation (BTPII). Guided by the social constructivist epistemology and the European Union’s DigComp 2.0 framework, this study attempted to understand how students’ digital literacy changes and final performance in a BTPII learning environment differed, with respect to participants’ multiple engagement, levels of daily Internet access time, and daily Internet usage purposes. Thus, this study applied a cross-sectional, mixed method case study approach to middle-school participants of the BTPII-based after-school program, across the spring and fall semesters of 2017 and 2018. Eighty middle school students completed the whole program and provided valid survey responses. Participants of program iterations in the spring and fall 2017 semesters presented a significant development in digital literacy. However, students enrolled in the spring and fall 2018 semesters exhibited non-significant changes in digital literacy. The results of this study further include the following findings: (a) relationships between the BTPII learning activities and digital literacy changes differed by semester, (b) impacts of students’ multiple engagements on the difference in digital literacy changes and final performance varied by semester, and (c) students’ daily Internet access time and Internet usage purposes did not significantly impact DL changes and final performance.Item A phenomenological exploration of andragogy-based professional learning using lesson study in physical education(2022-08-09) Colburn, Jeffrey; Keating, Xiaofen; Salinas, Cinthia; Liu, Min; Hodges, Michael; Stephenson, RachylThe ongoing professional learning of teachers is crucial for any society to provide educational opportunities for all its youth. Teacher professional development (PD) is vital as teachers cannot possibly learn everything there is to know during their college and university preparation programs. Given the rapid changes in society (i.e., changing student demographics, increased technological advances), supporting teachers in their ongoing professional learning is needed so that responding to children’s needs stays centered in our educational system. Physical education teachers (PETs) are no different than other teachers, in that they need ongoing professional learning to stay current and effective as they work to provide physical literacy to all their students. PD for PETs has been studied vigorously for the last few decades, yet there has been limited widespread, systematic improvements in the way that continuing professional development (CPD) is provided for and pursued by PETs. While scholars have found several forms of CPD to be “effective” they also have noted that the reality is that CPD for PETs is still largely limited and rooted in more traditional practices. These practices, contrary to known effective CPD structures, are based on CPD that is often one day, limited in scope, provided by an outside expert, and presented in a one size fits all manner. The research base on CPD for PETs has been conducted primarily using (1) case studies to explore situated learning theories, and (2) large scale CPD interventions centered on specific knowledge acquisition. This dissertation will contribute to this body of research by addressing gaps in the theoretical frameworks and methodological lenses that have dominated this research and addressing scholars calls for innovations and new ways of exploring how PETs learn, and ways to support teachers as they move through their careers. This study will investigate the professional learning of elementary PETs in AbLS. Andragogy has rarely been used to understand PETs professional learning so this study will address this gap and mark one of the first attempts to explore this framework in PE. Qualitative analysis produced four first order themes: (a) collaborative planning shines light on shortened lesson plans, (b) isolated locally, AbLS provides solidarity and support, (c) AbLS increased professional confidence, including lesson planning, and (d) powerful reflective processes through AbLS. These results support the current literature in several ways that include the benefits of learning in professional groups and that confidence can result from participation in professional learning environments. This study also has identified that AbLS can serve to combat marginalization in the workplace by connecting PETs outside their districts. This study also highlighted that as PETs have shortened their lesson planning during their inservice years, AbLS served to remind PETs of why lesson planning is so important, as it was when they were preservice teachers. Future research should continue to consider the balance between initial teacher preparation and the length and time committed to lesson planning. PETE should be investigating ways that the important skill of lesson planning is taught, conceptualized, and brought into inservice teaching. Ongoing study regarding andragogy-based facilitation for PETs should also be a research priority moving forward.Item A quantitative study of intended post-graduation plans of undergraduate biomedical engineering students : assessing self-efficacy, value, and identity beliefs(2020-04-09) Patrick, Anita D.; Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Borrego, Maura; Markey, Mia; Neff, KristinThere has been a consistent call to action to attract talented individuals to help bolster the STEM workforce. Yet, the lack of diversity of students attracted to STEM and the inability to retain them in the profession persists. Among STEM fields, engineering is a prime discipline for examining this challenge. However, treating engineering as one monolithic profession is both inaccurate and misleading as there are over 28 accredited engineering programs in the United States alone with varying levels of diversity based on student demographics. Nonetheless, engineering programs remain male-dominated; however, biomedical engineering (BME) is one such discipline with nearly equal proportions of men and women. BME is a unique case in which to study the intended post-graduation plans of undergraduate engineering students as degree holders have been cited to go on to work in a variety of careers in and outside of the engineering workforce. My aim in this dissertation is to address gaps in the biomedical engineering/engineering education literature on undergraduate women’s intended career choices and related implications. In doing so I problematize the binary and often deficit view of “stay or leave” as related to persistence in engineering and instead further contextualize choice by capturing the potentialities of students’ intended post-graduation plans. Drawing from Eccles’ Expectancy Value Theory and models of STEM Identity in engineering education, I investigate this issue. Using quantitative research methodologies, I explore the structural relationships between student gender and the motivational engineering attitudes of academic self-efficacy, interest, utility value, attainment value, and professional identity. Data was gathered from n=716 undergraduate biomedical engineering students from a large public research institution in the Southwestern United States. Using hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis, the results revealed students form five clusters of intended post-graduation plans: Engineering, Job, Non-engineering, All, and School. I further examined the composition of these clusters by student gender and classification; gender differences in engineering attitudes between clusters; and gender differences in engineering attitudes within clusters followed by structural equation models to assess the fit of gender and engineering attitudes as related to cluster membership. Implications and areas of future research are discussed.Item Academia Cuauhtli : bilingual/bicultural teacher expertise in a cultural and linguistic revitalization project(2020-05-12) Bell, Randy Clinton; De Lissovoy, Noah, 1968-; Palmer, Deborah K., 1969-; Salinas, Cinthia; Valenzuela, Angela; Abril-Gonzalez, PatriciaIn this dissertation I considered the work of bilingual/bicultural teachers as they worked collaboratively to design and implement a linguistic and cultural revitalization program called Academia Cuauhtli. I engaged Critical Ethnography along with decolonial theory in order to make sense of the linguistic, curricular and pedagogical priorities and enactments of two focal research partners. I further situated my study around established and emerging theories of translanguaging and raciolinguistic ideologies as I sought insights into the linguistic, pedagogical and curricular priorities and becomings of bilingual/bicultural teachers. Interrelated findings situate the teachers values, beliefs and teaching within Academia Cuauhtli as a unique epistemological space in which teachers and community members make sense of current sociopolitical and geohistorical influences in their lives. Furthermore, findings suggest that Academia Cuauhtli serves as a unique cultural and linguistic space in which bilingual/bicultural teachers are able to support intergenerational learning, sustaining language practices and dialogic relationality. Implications are included regarding language policy, dual language education, Ethnic Studies, teacher education and research design.Item Academic Spanish during mathematics instruction : the case of novice bilingual teachers in elementary classrooms(2008-05) Fabelo, Dora M., 1955-; Palmer, Deborah K., 1969-This dissertation focused on the study of the Spanish academic language proficiency of novice bilingual teachers during the act of teaching mathematics in elementary grades. Four first year teachers in a large urban school district in central Texas participated in the study. At the time of the study two participants were fully certified and had attended four-year teacher preparation programs. The additional participants had completed all certification requirements including content examinations and the Texas Oral Proficiency Test (TOPT); they were completing their certification requirements through alternative certification programs. The study sought to identify the moments in their teaching of mathematics in Spanish when their instruction broke down, i.e. when they appeared unable to communicate ideas to students, and the reasons for these breakdowns. Findings revealed that the teachers in the study demonstrated linguistic and/or pedagogical breakdowns and that certain factors influenced their knowledge and language competencies. Linguistic breakdowns were manifested when teachers switched to English, used repetitive language when teaching, or provided limited academic language. Pedagogical breakdowns were identified as a lack of: student talk or discussion, effective teacher questioning, or diverse presentation of content. Overall, the teachers struggled with limited language in Spanish and limited pedagogical reasoning skills while teaching mathematical concepts to their students. These limitations were exacerbated by the pressures of high stakes testing and countered by the fact that all four teachers shared linguistic and cultural affiliation with their students. This collective case study was conducted from within a constructivist theoretical framework focusing on theories of academic language, communicative competence, and Vygotsky’s sociocultural perspective of learning. Recommendations for future training and practice of bilingual teachers are provided specifically on the importance of Spanish language proficiency of this group of educators.Item Accessible eLearning content, a video series : a sequence of videos exploring the importance, guidelines, and practices of creating accessible eLearning content for learners with vision impairments(2021-05-03) Zhu, Wei (M.A. in curriculum and instruction); Resta, Paul E.The purpose of this report is to explore the research relating to the accessibility of eLearning courses for visually impairment learners and help instructional designers to have a better understanding of the learning experience of visually impaired individuals. A series of animated micro-learning videos are created to acknowledge instructional designers of the problems and issues in the accessibility of eLearning design that they might have not been aware of and become barriers for visually impaired leaners to access multimedia content. More importantly, the report integrates WCAG 2.2 guidelines and provides feasible suggestions and best practices that instructional designer can employ in their eLearning design.Item Addressing the "Elephant" in the room: exploring race and social justice in the early childhood years(2016-08) Holmes, Kathlene Alysia; Brown, Anthony L. (Associate professor); Brown, Keffrelyn D.; Salinas, Cinthia; Adair, Jennifer K; Price-Dennis, DetraThis critical case study examined young elementary students’ understandings of race as they participated in an interdisciplinary Social Studies and English Language Arts unit in two kindergarten classrooms and one first grade classroom in two urban regions of the United States. The study utilized the principles of Critical Race Theory, Social Education, and Social Justice to analyze the young elementary-aged students’ thought-processes on race. By implementing an interdisciplinary unit on counter-narrative stories about the past and present experiences of communities of color, the students were also able to examine the impact of race through multiple perspectives. There were distinct differences in classroom teachers’ years of experience, their comfort level in addressing contentious topics such as race and racism, as well as their approaches to deconstructing complex information to their young students. This study also included an in-depth review of the teachers’ thoughts on race and their rationale for teaching their students about it. While the curriculum, lessons, and materials presented in each of the classrooms were slightly different, the common theme of developing a strong sense of community emerged in all three classrooms. Each teacher discussed that, as a result of presenting the students with lessons focused on all different communities of color and their historical fight for equity, a stronger bond formed in their kindergarten or first grade classroom. Considering the curriculum, lessons, and materials all addressed how race and racism impacts different communities, this study presents the conversations that could occur when teachers begin to hold explicit conversations about race with young elementary-aged children.Item Adult education student transition and persistence in community college(2017-12) Tupa, Carrie Lynn; Salinas, Cinthia; Payne, Katherina A; Field, Sherry L; Munoz, Linda; De Lissovoy, NoahUsing Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA), this study examined the experience of individuals who earned a high school equivalency following the completion of a federal adult education program, then transitioned to community college. The IQA research protocol was used to address three research questions: 1) What are the elements/factors that make up The College Experience/Being a Student for individuals who have completed their high school equivalency? 2) How do these elements/factors relate in a system of influence? 3) How do the experiences of adult education students who transition to college compare to those of traditional college students. Following several focus groups, eight affinities were identified: 1) Faculty Impact; 2) Playing the Game; 3) Life Management; 4) Academic Life; 5) Relationships; 6) Growth and Transformation; 7) Emotions; 8) Career Advancement/Reward and Purpose. Interviews were conducted with 20 former adult education students to examine the relationships between these affinities in a system of influence. The affinity of Faculty Impact was found to be a primary driver in the College Experience for these students, and further analysis of interviews highlighted additional positive and negative experiences faced by students relative to the various affinities. Implications of this research highlight the importance of postsecondary institutions addressing all barriers students may face during participation, in particular nontraditional students, and considering all characteristics of these students when mapping out a plan for their success and persistence.Item An adult ESL curriculum development project : integrating academic effectiveness with a critical orientation(2012-05) Joseph, Amy Elizabeth; Horwitz, Elaine Kolker, 1950-; Martínez, Ramón Antonio; De Lissovoy, NoahThis paper is a curriculum proposal for a mid to high beginner adult English as a Second Language class. It is hoped that this curriculum will prove to meet students’ academic needs, especially in terms of development of literacy, listening skills, and language learning strategies. In addition to this, the lessons include a critical orientation; that is, the class is structured to facilitate student engagement with social issues, namely racism and economic struggles. With these considerations in minds, two units comprising half the semester were developed and relevant extra materials are provided.Item Adult ESL learners reading and discussing The great Gatsby: literary response to and perception of reading and discussing a narrative novel written in English(2008-05) Chu, Hyung-Hwa, 1972-; Schallert, Diane L.; Fairbanks, Colleen M.The purpose of this study was to examine how adult students in a reading class offered in a college-affiliated ESL program responded to The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald, 1925; GG, afterwards) in small group book discussion sessions over eight weeks, and how they perceived their reading and discussing experiences. Analysis of students' literary responses demonstrated students' strategies in constructing textual meaning and transformation of their meaning-making strategies across time. Students in this study made sense of the text by making connections between the textual world and the text, themselves, and the world around them. Students also brought into discussion their reading experiences and a critical approach to the text. The percentage of comments devoted to each response category illustrated the changes in the focus of discussion and meaning making strategies across time. Taking up the novel, initially students spent more time discussing the historical context of the text and formulating connections with themselves and the world. Students were self-conscious about their reading difficulties. Further along in their reading, as they derived more information from the text, their discussion became more text-centered. Inferential comments and emotional reactions became more frequent elements in discussion, and talk about the reading experience itself and contextual information about the text diminished. Perceptions expressed about their reading experience of the literary text in their second language were predominantly about the enjoyment of reading and challenges and rewards in terms of: 1) language challenges, 2) culture challenges, and 3) literary challenges. Analysis of students' perceptions of their experiences in literary discussion as they read GG revealed their enjoyment of discussions and appreciation of how literary discussion had enriched their interpretation of the novel by providing opportunities for: 1) checking up on the textual information, 2) exchanging opinions, and 3) building a sense of learning community.Item Aggression in the classroom : connecting the dots(2005-08-15) Dunn, Sandra Hall; Davis, O. L. (Ozro Luke), 1928-Aggression, an observable behavior recognized within the psychological profile of sensation seeking, in our schools not only disrupts the learning environment but also sets the aggressive child on a path leading to academic failure, grade retention, and potential adult health risks such as alcohol/drug dependency, violent crime, and unsafe sex habits. This review of literature focuses upon physically and verbally aggressive children who are predisposed to the behavior due to physiological features based in genetics, prenatal, and childhood health factors. When coupled with negative socio-cultural factors found in the home, community and with their peers, the impact of the behavior takes on greater significance, particularly as it affects the classroom. By linking the foundational factors of aggression, the author hopes to achieve a better understanding of aggression; the effect of aggression in the classroom, on other students, and teachers; and the possible consequences of the behavior, up to and including removal of the student from the classroom, the most restrictive form of disciplineItem “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around” : learning about race in the early grades(2020-06-22) Falkner, Anna Christine; Adair, Jennifer Keys; Payne, Katherina A.; Salinas, Cynthia; Brown, Anthony L; Smith, Christen AYoung Children of Color in the United States are experiencing the effects of racism on a daily basis. There have been calls for anti-bias and anti-racist education across the field of education, yet most recommendations are based on older students or studies in laboratory settings. In this ethnographic study of two early childhood classrooms, children used diverse strategies to learn about race, racism, and difference across the school day. Children explored individual and collective racialized identities, investigated the role of race in the lives of children across time, and applied theories of justice to ideas about race. Their strategies were nuanced, embodied, and socio-historically and socio-culturally influenced. Teachers supported children’s inquiry by valuing and extending their learning and ideas. Findings suggest racial pedagogy should support students’ racial inquiry by acknowledging what they already experience, do, and wonder about race.Item Ambiguity within early childhood education pre-service teachers' beliefs(2002) Thornton, Candra Dianne; Goldstein, Lisa S.This study explores the nature of early childhood education pre-service teachers’ beliefs and represents an effort to look closely at those beliefs. Current literature on the role of beliefs in teaching tends to look generally at beliefs as generic structures that are assumed to be stable. This study found that beliefs are more complex. The idea that beliefs are knowable and that pre-service teachers know what they believe is called into question. Focused conversations about early childhood education pre-service teachers’ beliefs about young children’s gender construction provide information that suggests their beliefs are fluid, unstable, and inconsistent. This study documents the presence of belief topics such as internal inconsistency and role playing the good teacher, good mom and philosopher. Peer influence on beliefs as well as unstable responses to the term ‘belief’ are also presented.Item An ecology of instructional design : a case study of real-world practices in the workplace(2020-12-07) De Freitas Viana, Laíse; Resta, Paul E.; Brown, Christopher P; Horton, Lucas R; Liu, Min; Veletsianos, GeorgeThis descriptive case study narrates the dynamics of the instructional design process, from project intake to designed product. It describes an instructional designer in her work environment, more specifically in a learning and development organization within a large multinational corporation. I looked at instructional design from an ecological or complex systems approach, which means that the interactions among the agents of the system and their environment were explored. I observed the elements that might help inform and shape instructional design practices—focusing more specifically on the interrelationships among the instructional designer, the product being designed, the target audience, and their environment. This study used qualitative data collection methods to gather evidence of the relationships among the elements of the instructional design ecology and its environment. The data sources for this study included two semi-structured interviews with the instructional designer, field observations, email communications, and artifacts related to the instructional design process, including documents created by project managers that were shared with the instructional designer participant. The results of this study demonstrated that the instructional design process in the real world differ from what prescriptive models of instructional design recommend we follow. Although instructional design process models and approaches inform the instructional design process at a microlevel, a lot of information about the design process is left undiscovered and unexplored if the instructional designer education is based solely on models and approaches. Models and approaches of instructional design alone do not address the skills necessary for an instructional designer to be successful in a work setting. Neither do they offer the skills necessary for instructional designers to navigate the complexities of instructional design environments and projects. The implications of this study relate to new ways of observing the instructional design practice in situ, considerations for instructional design education programs, and the understanding that the instructional design process is a complex, non-linear, dynamic practice.Item An exploratory case study of educators learning together about religion in children's literature(2020-05-11) DeWalt, Lora Michelle; Mosley Wetzel, Melissa; Dávila, Denise; Brown, Christopher; Holme, JenniferThis exploratory case study examines the experience of literacy leaders collaboratively analyzing award-winning picturebooks to understand the interactions of religion and children’s literature. The critical literacy educators worked together to conduct a critical content analysis for themes of religion. I observed their analysis sessions and discussions in order to consider the following research questions: What religious connections do literacy leaders identify and draw upon when analyzing award-winning picturebooks published between 2014-2019 through a lens of religious pluralism? How does participating in a collaborative critical content analysis, focused on religion and picturebooks, expand literacy leaders’ understanding of critical literacy and support their vision for socially just pedagogical practices? Using theories of literacy as a social practice (Street, 1984), religious literacy (Dinham & Francis, 2015; Skerrett, 2014), and religious pluralism (Eck, 2001; Rouner, 1984) I examined the literacy leader’s collaborative analysis process. Additionally, I drew on Rosenblatt’s (1978) transactional theory, Sipe’s (2008) theory of literary understanding, and Janks’ (2000) conceptualization of critical literacy through domination, diversity, access, and design. I conducted pre-and-post surveys from participants, audio and video recorded the analysis sessions, collected artifacts including emails and anchor charts, and individually interviewed each participant in a semi-structured format. The data collection took place over six months in the summer and fall of 2019. My analysis processes included both inductive and deductive coding. In response to my first research question, I found literacy leaders connected religion within children’s literature through personalization, hermeneutic, and aesthetic impulses. My findings add to Sipe’s (2008) understanding of personalization by demonstrating how the literacy leaders personalized and made meaning from the texts in response to their multiple relational identities as readers, teachers, leaders, and women. Additionally, my data analysis supported Janks’ (2000) notions of critical literacy as interconnected. However, through participation in collaborative critical content analysis, the literacy leaders demonstrated increased intersectional understandings of religion as a component of critical literacy education and expressed personal awareness of religious intolerance as a form of systemic oppression in schools.Item Analysis and evolution of the ICT educational program in Colombia(2016-05) Daza Gomez, Miguel Felipe; Resta, Paul E.; Hughes, Joan EThis Master’s report represents the culmination of a study; wherein I set out to evaluate the evolution of the Information and Communication education policies in Colombia. I conducted the original self-study with a historical analysis of the technical policies in Colombia since 1930, tracing the connection between policymaking and the implementation of national educative programs. Based on primary sources from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications, Colombian National Development Plans, and the Decennial Plan of Education, I was able to identify changes in the Colombian legislation regarding the development of ICT education policies. The Colombian development of ICT education policies is an interesting case, as since in 1991 the educative system is decentralized meaning that municipal governments should be accountable of the adoption and integration of educative policies created by the Ministry of Education in Bogotá. The regional adoption of national policies is done through the strategic coordination between the Ministry of Education and the Regional Education Secretaries. This Master’s report presents a historical analysis that describes the socio-economic impact of ICT on the development of a knowledge-based society that supports economic growth in innovation and research. Continuously, is a historical description of the Colombian educative system, analyzing decisions made by policymakers to modernize the ICT infrastructure and teacher training in public schools to increase the quality of Colombian public education through the use of technology. The implementation of technology in public schools has been supported by the conjunct efforts of the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Information Technologies and Communication through the program “Computadores para Educar” (Computers to Educate). The program Computers to Educate had facilitated computers, tablets and teacher training to public schools across Colombia. An alliance between public and private sector had facilitated the creation of open-source content in the five Innovation Centers around the country, who creates the content for the national portal “Colombia Aprende”. This national portal facilitates content on science, language, math, and other areas to teachers and students. Colombian Policymakers had also utilized UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers to create an own competency framework for Colombian teachers.