FOR THE LOVE OF LANGUAGE: MICRORITUEL IN THE SOCIALIZATION OF LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Language and social interaction have been determined to be intricately linked. Over the past century, studies surrounding how to learn languages have shifted the conversation on how to teach them. With the introduction of Hymes’ (1971) Communicative Competence into pedagogical literature, learning language within social context replaced the formally grammar based, traditional methods. During the early 1960’s the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Language led the charge on providing standards and learning objectives to shift language learning towards a more integrated and communicative approach. However, based on the research of Celce-Murcia (2007), Aguilar (2007), and Ishihara & Cohen (2010) and studies done by Burke (2011), Busch (2010), Bangou (2010), Chaudron (1988), Byram (1997), Holmes (2014), the traditional, largely grammar focused methods endure. However, studies that include qualitative research methods on educator experiences are few and far between (Bailey & Nunan 1996). To fully understand what is taking place in the current language classroom, this qualitative research study examines what factors shape language educator beliefs, perspectives, and attitudes about teaching and learning languages other than English. This study pulls from Duff’s (2011; 2017) work on language socialization, Riley (2012) and Kroskrity’s (2004) work on language ideology, and finally Javeau’s (1994) work on microrituel, to examine language educator experiences in a largely rural state in the Rocky Mountain west. The aim of this research is to identify barriers and opportunities to shift educators’ perspectives and ultimately provide insight into how changes in practice can be accomplished

New York City Music Educators’ Perspectives of How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Access and Equity in Instrumental Music Education

Music education plays a foundational role in fostering students’ social and emotional well-being and promoting independent thought and the development of the students’ unique voices (Váradi, 2022; Westerlund, 2008). The COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown to the New York City school system resulted in an unprecedented disruption in K–12 education, exacerbating the disparities that existed in the educational system towards instrumental music. Using the theoretical lenses of Maslow’s (2015) hierarchy of needs and Adams (1965) Equity theory, this study asks: What are music educators’ perspectives on the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic on the quality, equity, and delivery of the instrumental music curriculum and experiences to students in New York City schools? What are the challenges and opportunities faced by music educators during the COVID-19 pandemic? Using the explanatory sequential mixed methods, the researcher surveyed New York City instrumental music educators who were employed during the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown (March 2020 to May 2021). Data collected through the qualitative research yielded perceived impact pertaining to the following themes; curricular offerings, extra-curricular offerings, effects of programs, technical and remote modality. Based on the data provided in this research, it is clear that educators identify that the pandemic had an impact on instrumental music education in New York City. The findings of this research have implications for music educators as well as educational leaders and administrators at all levels of education. Recommendations include increasing instrument access, expanding the usage of online tools, and updating instrumental music curriculum

We were all learning and doing our best: Investigating how Enabling educators promoted student belonging in a time of significant complexity and unpredictability

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted education provision worldwide. In Australia, the government took a proactive stance to reduce the impact of the pandemic, temporarily banning higher education students from attending university campuses. With a lockdown in place, educational institutions required a rapid shift in approaches to teaching and learning by both educators and students. Educators throughout Australia were asked to work from home and quickly transition their face-to-face (synchronous) classes into bichronous, fully online offerings. This paper reports on the experiences of 25 educators in an enabling course in a regional Australian university who were required to make this shift. These educators not only had to navigate this complex time personally, but they also had to work in their professional role with the additional responsibility of ensuring a particularly vulnerable cohort of non-traditional students felt a sense of belonging within this new educational space. Results showed that while the educators encountered a number of challenges in their transition, they also found ways to promote student belonging in the new teaching and learning environment. With a Pedagogy of Care being central to the educators’ practice, they developed strategies to create a sense of emotional engagement among students to help them feel genuinely cared for. Additionally, they were able to construct a ‘we mentality’ discourse to establish a sense of shared understanding with students around the situation they were in. This study shows that enabling educators are capable of responding creatively to a complex and unpredictable environment, finding ways to replicate their proven pedagogies of care in unfamiliar contexts and thus foster a crucial sense of belonging among enabling students. The implications of a discussion about ‘care’ and ‘belonging’ within the field of enabling education are critical at the intra-pandemic and post-pandemic times, when traditional teaching methodologies are in flux

Technology Enhanced Learning: Applying Padlet, VoiceThread and Microsoft Teams in online university courses

The use of technology in language teaching and learning has been rising in popularity with rapid developments in technology as well as increased need due to the recent coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, the sheer number of technologies available and the choices with how to implement them can be quite daunting for educators. In this article, three technologies implemented in Master of TESOL university online courses are presented and explored with regards to their enhancement of learning: Padlet, VoiceThread (video recordings) and Microsoft Teams (chat forum). Firstly, the applications of these technologies were mapped to the TPACK framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) along with educator observations on their implementation. Secondly, data from surveys and interviews provided students’ perspectives on the use of technology and the benefits and challenges they experienced. Thematic analysis of this data revealed six themes: Engagement and interactivity, Peer learning, Flexibility, Record of work, Usability, and Challenges. The findings of the study demonstrate how technologies can enhance learning through increased motivation and participation, shared learning and self-directed learning. The goal of this article is to inform TESOL educators on the potential of these technologies and inspire them to explore options for integrating technologies in their own classrooms and contexts

Challenging the Gifted Learner Virtually: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of core academic middle school teachers with differentiating instruction and assessment for gifted and talented students in rural southern Maryland. Two theories providing the theoretical framework for this study include Bandura’s self-efficacy theory and McClelland’s achievement-motivation theory These two theories explain learning experiences and interactions between the learner and the instructor while addressing the educator’s efficacy in challenging gifted learners within the virtual classroom. The central research question that guided this research was, “What are the shared lived experiences among select middle school, core academic, teachers when differentiating instruction and challenging gifted learners in southern Maryland during virtual instruction?” The instrumentation for this study was a set of open-ended questions conducted in a face-to-face interview, archival data in the form of document analysis and journal prompts. Data were analyzed by the researcher using MAXQDA qualitative data analysis software. Three themes emerged, including efficacy dependent on available supports and strategies, the challenge of teaching virtually, and positive attitudes and beliefs toward differentiation. The themes that developed revealed that the participants experienced conflicting attitudes toward differentiating for gifted students and felt ill-equipped differentiating instruction for this group of students. The results of this study may inform the body of knowledge regarding the education of gifted learners and address acceleration practices to improve challenging this population in the classroom and achieve academic success

Educators’ Experiences of Job Embeddedness in Parochial Schools: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore educators’ experiences of job embeddedness in southeastern United States parochial schools and communities. The theory guiding this study was the job embeddedness theory, which states that people within an organization have links or connections with other stakeholders or activities in the organization and that an employee’s professional life must be a good fit with other aspects of their life. I explored educators’ experiences of job embeddedness during this study. The central research question asked, “How do educators describe experiences of job embeddedness while teaching in a parochial school system in the southeastern United States?” Twelve educators from a school system in the southeastern United States were interviewed regarding their lived experiences of being an educator in the school system and their experiences of job embeddedness. Data collection took place through an initial questionnaire, an interview, and a journal entry. Following Moustakas’ data analysis procedures, I divided questionnaire responses, interview responses, and journal entries into units for meaningful analysis. The themes of this study represented the lived experiences of 12 educators in a parochial school system and their descriptions of job embeddedness. The five themes were as follows: (a) strong relationships with students, (b) mixed relationships with parents, (c) strong fit to the school, (d) strong relationships with colleagues, and (e) lack of people connections to the community

Supporting professional development of in-service educators teaching English in a multi-language environment

Dissertation (MEd (Learning Supp Guid and Counselling))--University of Pretoria, 2022.Language is a contentious issue in South African history and although changes have been made regarding the language policies in education, more needs to be done to ensure that the language needs of learners and educators are being met. This study explores the developmental needs of educators working in multilingual environments where the language of instruction is English. Language teaching methodologies are explored – pertaining to the methods and strategies educators use when teaching. The six participants were purposively selected from educators working at a multilingual school based on their experience and the subjects they teach. The qualitative study took the form of a single case study where the participants were involved in a focus group interview, an individual interview and then two educators were selected to have an observation lesson to determine their developmental needs as based on their experiences in a multilingual environment. Following the data collection process, the data was analysed using inductive analysis where no pre-determined themes were used but rather were drawn from the data sets collected. It became clear that the participants were willing to engage in developmental opportunities that could develop their English proficiency, provided the focus of such programmes would enable them to function more optimally in the classroom and enable them to teach their respective subjects in a way that would benefit their learners. The participants felt that they needed to be consulted in the planning phase of such in-service development programmes and believed that their teaching context should be considered when preparing materials for such courses. There was a preference shown for face-to-face, in-service training opportunities. The sampled participants felt that their needs could best be met by online learning platforms which personalise learning more, as they viewed this as being able to cater best to meet their developmental needs. These afford them the opportunity to engage with the content, receive feedback and add meaningfully to their portfolio. The format in which educators receive their training would be a mediating factor to determine their willingness to participate. It is clear that educators are willing to develop their proficiency in English, but that multiple factors impact this and need to be investigated further. This should be on a much-larger scale to be able to make impact where they are needed.Educational PsychologyMEd (Learning Supp Guid and Counselling)Unrestricte

Transformative Learning and the Power of Experience Contextualized in Tertiary-Level Study Abroad

The study abroad experience for many students is ineffable by nature. Teasing this apart and understanding how to maximize student learning abroad can lead to more enriched and potentially transformative experiences. There is little training offered to faculty and administrators at most American institutions about how to integrate study abroad learning into the wider higher education curriculum before, during, and after a global experience. By utilizing transformative learning theory (TLT) and experiential learning theory (ELT), this thesis provides a space for thought to conceptualize study abroad as a fully integrated part of the college curriculum that enhances the learner experience and the journey towards fulfilling the vision of a liberal education. TLT consists of a ten-phase process that is enhanced by critical reflection and intentional scaffolding to support the engaged learner. ELT suggests a multi-mode cyclical structure to learning through experience that can be deepened over time. The two theories complement one another well when the educator understands both and realizes how pairing TLT with ELT can maximize the power of experience. There is a particular focus on understanding the learner experience and how educators can best facilitate learning. Finally, suggestions are presented for integrating TLT and ELT into practice within tertiary-level study abroad

Teacher perceptions of E-learning during Covid-19 in low-and-high-income schools

This study examined if there were significant differences among K-12 teachers at low-income and high-income schools on their perceptions of various aspects of e-learning due to COVID-19. The study also sought to collect data concerning how teachers’ perceptions of technology may have changed, what factors impacted their ability to conduct e-learning, and what factors most impacted their students’ performance during e-learning due to COVID-19. A concurrent nested mixed-methods design was used. A 15-item self-report survey containing both Likert scale and open-ended questions was developed by the researcher to assess differences in teachers’ perceptions. Findings indicated a statistically significant difference in perceptions on the impact of a lack of a school-issued device on student performance. Emergent theme analysis revealed that teachers at low-income schools were more likely to have a positive change in their view of technology, attribute effective e-learning to professional development, become aware of the impact of socio-economic status on student performance, cite parental support as a factor in students who performed well during e-learning, and mention a lack of access to the internet as a factor in poor student performance. Conversely, teachers at high-income schools were more likely to have a negative change in their view of technology, attribute effective e-learning to their personal skill, change their classroom policies to accommodate students during e-learning, cite previous in-person performance as a factor in students who performed well during e-learning, and mention a lack of parental support as a factor in poor student performance