Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2018, Curriculum and Instruction

In a vastly changing world of fast-paced technology and dynamic forms of communication, dialect variance takes on a significant role within the confines of high school classrooms across the country. As educators are tasked with the job of ensuring that students are capable of putting words together into sentences, both in the written and spoken form, the conflicting ideologies of the familial dialect versus the academic dialect sometimes leads to difficulties in acquiring fluency in the academic dialect. This study is an investigation of the lived experiences that high school students have with those conflicting ideologies and their responses to them. Through students' own voices, struggles with opposing identities and gaining access to variant dialects are explained as they express their ideas about dialectal differentiation in a 21st century classroom. The research was constructed with these questions in mind: What are the relationships that rural northwest Ohio high school students have with Academic English? How do those relationship affect the acquisition of Academic English as part of their cultural identity? This is a qualitative, hermeneutical phenomenological practitioner research study using the theoretical frameworks of sociolinguistics, social constructivism, and critical language pedagogy. The research settings were two populations of students in two different classes in a rural Midwestern public high school. All participants were 17 or 18 years old and came from lower to middle income homes. Data were triangulated to analyze student perceptions of the academic dialect and its significance in the 21st century world. Data collection included: audio recordings of three separate group discussion sessions, student journal responses, and written responses to an editorial article. Allowing students to have discussions concerning dialectal differences and the way that those differences are perceived in this world give educators the opportunity to see in (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jenny Denyer Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Susanna Hapgood Ph.D. (Committee Member); Marcella Kehus Ph.D. (Committee Member); Anthony Edgington Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Secondary Education; Sociolinguistics; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1999, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1981, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1979, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1979, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1977, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Language

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1975, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2011, Theatre Arts-Arts Administration

The research hypothesis of this case study is that the natural marriage of language and arts can both strengthen foreign language learning and the vitality of arts organizations. The use of artistic and cultural examples greatly enhances foreign language learning on multiple levels. Furthermore, arts organizations can benefit from increased funding, positive community image and viability by incorporating foreign language into their educational outreach programming. The University of Akron, Emily Davis Gallery exhibition French Contemporary Art: The Work of Herve Heuze and related bilingual tour program tests this hypothesis. This paper describes the methodology for executing the bilingual exhibition and the findings of this central case study with support from the fields of arts administration and language acquisition. A small selection of other organizations' language-arts models is also presented. Through an examination of the reactions of attending French teachers, observations of the gallery staff, and a large amount of secondary research supporting these conclusions, it is evident that the arts and foreign language not only can, but also should be blended. As the U.S. faces an economy and cultural milieu in which arts stability and language learning struggle to flourish, this fusion of programming may be an important solution for the two arenas in the future.

Committee: Durand Pope (Committee Chair); Maria Adamowicz-Hariasz Dr. (Committee Member); Rod Bengston (Committee Member) Subjects: Art Education; Arts Management; Bilingual Education; Curricula; Curriculum Development; Education; Education Policy; Fine Arts; Foreign Language; Language; Language Arts; Modern Language; Multicultural Education; Multilingual Education; Museum Studies; Museums; Performin

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Educational Studies

The narrowing English language arts (ELA) curriculum in American public schools has negatively impacted students. Creative writing, specifically fictional narrative writing, has nearly vanished from ELA curriculum in the United States. This study focused on the literacies involved in creative writing to critically examine what is lost with a narrowing ELA curriculum. As an intermediate grade-level teacher and literacy researcher, I conducted this qualitative case study to better understand how 14 fifth-grade students experienced an after-school creative writing club while writing fictional narratives. By using process writing theory and expressivism as a conceptual framework, this study focused primarily on the writing processes and overall experiences that students had throughout the duration of the club. The analysis highlighted the literacies that students had access to, as well as the wide array of experiences they had within a creative writing club context. Findings showed that students must balance opposing experiences, broadly conceived as positive and negative, during all parts of the writing process so that they can make continued progress on their fictional narratives. These oppositions were grouped into three categories: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental. This act of balance was defined as “author equilibrium.” This writing experience provided students with a creative outlet, allowed students to participate in the writing process in an engaging way, provided students the opportunity to work alongside others, and showed students that writing can be enjoyable. While the narrowing of ELA curricula has prevented students from writing creatively in the classroom, this study highlighted the benefits of allowing space for creative writing within the ELA classroom.

Committee: Mark Sulzer Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Constance Kendall Theado Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lauren Colley Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2024, Educational Administration

This dissertation examines the effectiveness of blogging to improve student writing fluency and writing self-efficacy in ninth-grade English courses at Mount St. Mary Academy. Utilizing a case study approach with convergent mixed methods, a paired samples t-test found no statistically significant changes in pre- and post-assessments of general and writing self-efficacy over an eight-week period. A bivariate correlation revealed a moderately positive linear and statistically significant relationship between SESAW (pre- and post-assessment) and WCVALUER scores—indicating a strong association between initial self-efficacy and writing fluency development. Furthermore, specific blogging activities, such as reflective pieces following a communal class retreat, showed significant correlations with the SESAW and WCVALUER. The qualitative analysis revealed both positive and negative perceptions of writing among students, highlighting areas of stress and anxiety alongside opportunities for engagement and growth. Implications for practice include program refinements and tailored interventions to meet student needs, supported by ongoing faculty development programs. Future research could explore unique correlations observed in this study, particularly relating to communal experiences like the class retreat. While this study adds to the understanding of blogging as a tool for enhancing student writing outcomes, continued research and refinement of instructional practices are essential for maximizing its effectiveness in educational contexts.

Committee: Kevin Kelly (Committee Chair); Karen Kuralt (Committee Member); Meredith Wronowski (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Composition; Curricula; Curriculum Development; Education; Educational Software; Educational Technology; Educational Theory; Elementary Education; Language Arts; Literacy; Neurosciences; Secondary Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, EDU Teaching and Learning

Career-technical education (CTE) is essential in training and educating young people in the United States and has purposefully served a distinct role from comprehensive schooling models. However, the conceptualizations of career-technical education in common perception and in academic research typically reinforce the academic-vocational divide, a pervasive binary that has been maintained throughout history and into today. There is limited empirical research that explores literacies in CTE without the confines of the academic-vocational divide or outside of deficit perspectives of the students in CTE. In this study, I seek to speak to these gaps and dispel the academic-vocational binary by (re)conceptualizing literacies in a career-technical program, pharmacy technician, and an academic course, English language arts. During the 2020-2021 school year, I conducted a multiple-case study with an ethnographic perspective at Northside Area Career Center, a career-technical high school on the outskirts of a major Midwestern city. With a frame of social and sociomaterial perspective of literacies, I drew on theory of figured worlds, including positioning, personhood, and social imagination in order to understand literacy events and practices as they were used and positioned within the pharmacy technician program and ELA class. I primarily constructed data as a participant-observer in these spaces as I collaborated with veteran teachers: the pharmacy technician teacher, Ms. Lark, and the ELA teacher, Ms. Sims. Data collected included fieldnotes, audio and video recorded classroom lessons and lab work, artifacts, and interviews with both teachers and students. I share findings from each case and a comparison across them, arguing that students in both classrooms were learning to be citizens in a democratic society through the teachers centering collaboration, valuing multiple perspectives, and enacting a range of figured worlds. In the ELA class, Ms. Sims established seminars (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Caroline T. Clark (Committee Chair); George Newell (Committee Member); Michiko Hikida (Committee Member); Edward Fletcher (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Theory; Language Arts; Literacy; Pedagogy; Secondary Education; Teaching; Vocational Education

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1955, Educational Administration and Supervision

Committee: Melvin Hyman (Advisor) Subjects: Education

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1955, Educational Administration and Supervision

Committee: Melvin Hyman (Advisor) Subjects: Education

Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Creative Writing/Poetry

the deadbook is a journey through the underworld of the self, named “Aperstia.” At its core, deadbook depicts the psychological journey towards self-love and Truth as a trans human. What is the self vs. what is the impostor planted in us by society? The trans journey, for me, has been equal parts mystical and torturous. The former is natural; the latter is human-made. I have treated the deadbook as a text to be discovered, rather than created. It comes from a primordial pool. I describe the process of writing it as putting my hands into a pond and grasping at wild fish. It's in the structure of a play because the events in this book did occur in a psychic reality. the deadbook dips into the idea of self-deaths, and offers an alternative perspective, the syntheses of selves. the deadbook outstretches a hand to any reader with places to go.

Committee: Larissa Szporluk-Celli MFA (Advisor); Daniel Rzicznek MFA (Committee Member); Abigail Cloud MFA (Committee Member) Subjects: Language Arts; Philosophy; Theater; Womens Studies; Wood

PHD, Kent State University, 2022, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The purpose of this qualitative research case study was to better understand how high school teachers who teach the subject of English Language Arts (ELA) perceive and identify their personal dispositions, professional teacher dispositions, and English Language Arts pedagogical content knowledge. How teacher dispositions and English Language Arts pedagogical content knowledge align was also explored. Shulman's (1986) pedagogical content knowledge theory and the construct of teacher dispositions (Bair, 2017) shaped this study. Teachers who participated in this study were grouped by years of service and identified as novice (1–5 years), experienced or mid-career (6–15 years), or veteran (16 or more years) educators. The following four research questions guided this study: 1. How do high school English teachers identify, perceive, and construct their personal dispositions and the professional dispositions they deem necessary to the success of the profession? 2. How do high school English teachers perceive that they have developed their pedagogical content knowledge? 3. In what ways do high school English teachers' dispositions and their pedagogical content knowledge seem to align? 4. What differences exist in the responses of veteran high school English teachers versus novice high school English teachers versus mid-career high school English teachers in terms of their perceptions of their own dispositions and pedagogical content knowledge? Teacher dispositions and pedagogical content knowledge are both relevant constructs in education that have been researched for decades, but they are still not universally understood, clearly defined, or consistently applied.

Committee: Timothy Rasinski Ph.D. (Committee Chair); William Kist Ph.D. (Advisor); Craig Resta Ph.D. (Other); Sara Newman Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Pedagogy; Secondary Education

MAE, Otterbein University, 2021, Education

The purpose of this curriculum development project is to help practicing English Language Arts and Social Studies teachers in grade 5 construct and develop content-area curriculums that reinforce and support both critical literacy and social justice pedagogical frameworks for teaching and learning. This particular curriculum development project also addresses the ways in which English Language Arts and Social Studies teachers in grade 5 can use LGBTQ-themed curricular materials to not only promote critical literacy and social justice frameworks for teaching and learning but to also meet the Common Core State Standards (CCSS, 2010) for English Language Arts, Ohio's Learning Standards (OLS, 2018) for Social Studies, and the Social Justice Standards (SJS, 2018) that were developed by the Teaching Tolerance project. In addition, this proposed curriculum development project reflects Gorski's (2010) key characteristics of a multicultural curriculum which ultimately serve as a guide for the development and implementation of a three-week unit plan that focuses on the life and societal contributions of Harvey Milk: the first openly gay elected official in the history of California. Essentially, this type of unit plan demonstrates to practicing English Language Arts and Social Studies teachers in grade 5 how they can infuse critical pedagogical choices into their content-area curriculums in a way that successfully aligns with state standards.

Committee: Diane Ross (Advisor); Bethany Vosburg-Bluem (Committee Member); Dee Knoblauch (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Elementary Education; Social Studies Education

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2021, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

Rigorous school curriculums and end-of-course (EOC) exams have brought the need for literacy interventions at the high school level to the forefront. As 21st-century learning evolves, curriculum is shifting from traditional teaching to more student-centered approaches that value differentiated literacy instruction. Furthermore, teachers are receiving resources and ongoing professional development on secondary literacy interventions through Ohio literacy grants. However, the concept of literacy intervention across courses at the high school level is often overlooked due to the assumption that students have mastered reading comprehension in elementary school. The current mixed-methods investigation focuses on the implementation of evidence-based literacy interventions in an Ohio designated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) high school. The purpose of the current study is to determine the impact of 21st-century literacy strategies on student reading levels, as well as student and teacher perceptions of literacy interventions and instruction. The examined literacy strategies include vocabulary instruction, differentiated literacy instruction, and both Fountas' & Pinnell's System of Strategic Actions (SOSA) and Leveled Learning Literacy Intervention (LLI). Results from the current investigation can inform administrators and teachers on the impacts of literacy interventions at the secondary level. Quantitative data results suggest that students grew an average of three Fountas & Pinnell reading levels over one academic year, and an average of five Fountas & Pinnell reading levels over a longitudinal three-year time span when receiving literacy interventions across content areas. Qualitative student interviews demonstrated four emerging themes: Student Perception, Changing of Students' Perceptions, Student Perceptions of Instruction, and Students' Perceived Importance of Reading. Additionally, qualitative teacher interviews demonstrated three e (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Larwin PhD (Advisor); Patrick Spearman PhD (Committee Member); Sharon Stringer PhD (Committee Member); Sherri Woods DM (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Language Arts; Literacy; Reading Instruction

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2020, Foundations of Education

This qualitative case study explores the perceptions of fifth grade students in a predominantly White school and community about race, analyzes the effects on student learning when Common Core Language Arts instruction is blended with the Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bias objectives (Southern Poverty Law Center, 2014a), and describes the tensions and issues that emerge when a standards based curriculum is taught from a Human Relations approach to multicultural education (Grant & Sleeter, 2003). This study focuses on the systematic integration of issues of race and racism within the confines of a standardized curriculum. A thematic analysis of the students' initial perceptions about race showed that the students were unsure how to define race, perceived race as a Black and White dichotomy, did not consider themselves to be racial beings, and felt uncomfortable talking about race. A thematic analysis of authentic student work exhibited learning within all four Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bias domains. Students described their identities, understood that group identities were only a part of one's identity and appreciated differences. Students exhibited curiosity about and acceptance of diverse lived experiences and desired to get along with all people. They also increased their awareness of injustice and unfair treatment, rejected discrimination and oppression, reported willingness to speak out against injustice and realized the importance of working with others when advocating for a more equitable society. The students showed progress in all four domains and simultaneously mastered content standards, evidenced by the American Institute for Research test scores. Issues that emerged throughout the course of the study included students' discomfort and insecurity when talking about race and the inability for some students to move past the color-blind ideology. Additional roadblocks included resistance from colleagues and the intersectionality of race and social class.

Committee: Renee Martin Ph.D (Committee Chair); Christine Sleeter Ph.D (Committee Member); Lynne Hamer Ph.D (Committee Member); Jenny Denyer Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Sociology; Language Arts; Middle School Education; Multicultural Education; Reading Instruction; Teaching

Bachelor of Science in Education, Ashland University, 2021, Teacher Education

Many contemporary researchers and educators agree on the need to implement social-emotional learning (SEL) in modern public education to teach necessary life skills not usually covered in academic instruction. Typically SEL instruction has focused on primary-level students, but research shows that middle and high school students also benefit from SEL instruction in a very meaningful way during the critical period of development these students experience during adolescence. The field of English Language Arts in itself is a venue for straightforward SEL instruction. Many English Language Arts teachers are already implementing SEL into their curriculum, whether intentionally or unintentionally. The very nature of the field of literature and the study of it embodies SEL as readers vicariously observe and empathize with the experiences of fictional characters. This characteristic of the field creates a unique pathway to SEL instruction through the use of literature that allows for straightforward intercurricular implementation, requiring few changes to the existing curriculum. Included in this document is a curriculum guide for high school English Language Arts teachers to implement SEL into their existing academic curriculum, based on the Ohio Department of Education's new K-12 SEL Standards.

Committee: Hilary Donatini Dr. (Advisor); Terri Jewett Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Education; Educational Theory; Language Arts

Specialist in Education (Ed.S.), University of Dayton, 2020, School Psychology

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the process by which students incorporate skills, attitudes, and behaviors to deal effectively with life's daily obstacles (CASEL, 2019). Social and emotional skills are predictors of school success; thus, schools are increasingly looking for ways to develop students' social-emotional skills. SEL programs can have a long-term impact behaviorally and academically. Most SEL programs are implemented in after-school programs or added on to schools' pre-existing daily curricula. SEL is often integrated into a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) and specifically provided to those students who demonstrate a need for it (Eklund, Kilpatrick, Kilgus, & Eckert, 2018). To date, few studies have investigated SEL programs that are delivered within the academic curriculum; programs that demonstrate alignment between SEL standards and academic learning standards remain largely unexplored. Using a qualitative inquiry design, the implementation of a social-emotional learning English/Language Arts program known as SELLA was examined from the perspective of participating teachers for its feasibility, acceptability, and alignment with the state's learning standards for ELA. Themes fell into two categories related to teachers' perceptions of the program experience, including: 1) areas of strength and 2) areas of suggested improvement. Additionally, three themes emerged specifically regarding alignment of the program with the state's learning standards in writing: 1) teachers needed to independently add content to meet writing standards; 2) teachers see improvements in their students writing after the SELLA program; however, they cannot deduce if that is a direct result of the SELLA program; and 3) students who do not normally participate in the general curriculum are now participating in the SELLA curriculum. The findings are presented along with implications for future research.

Committee: Elana Bernstein Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Sawyer Hunley Ph.D. (Committee Member); Treavor Bogard Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Mental Health; Psychology; School Counseling; Teacher Education