Epistemic Beliefs of Middle and High School Students in a Problem-Based, Scientific Inquiry Unit: An Exploratory, Mixed Methods Study

Epistemic beliefs are individuals’ beliefs about the nature of knowledge, how knowledge is constructed, and how knowledge can be justified. This study employed a mixed-methods approach to examine: (a) middle and high school students’ self-reported epistemic beliefs (quantitative) and epistemic beliefs revealed from practice (qualitative) during a problem-based, scientific inquiry unit, (b) How do middle and high school students’ epistemic beliefs contribute to the construction of students’ problem solving processes, and (c) how and why do students’ epistemic beliefs change by engaging in PBL. Twenty-one middle and high school students participated in a summer science class to investigate local water quality in a 2-week long problem-based learning (PBL) unit. The students worked in small groups to conduct water quality tests at in their local watershed and visited several stakeholders for their investigation. Pretest and posttest versions of the Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire were conducted to assess students’ self-reported epistemic beliefs before and after the unit. I videotaped and interviewed three groups of students during the unit and conducted discourse analysis to examine their epistemic beliefs revealed from scientific inquiry activities and triangulate with their self-reported data. There are three main findings from this study. First, students in this study selfreported relatively sophisticated epistemic beliefs on the pretest. However, the comparison between their self-reported beliefs and beliefs revealed from practice indicated that some students were able to apply sophisticated beliefs during the unit while others failed to do so. The inconsistency between these two types of epistemic beliefs may due to students’ inadequate cognitive ability, low validity of self-report measure, and the influence of contextual factors. Second, qualitative analysis indicated that students’ epistemic beliefs of the nature of knowing influenced their problem solving processes and construction of arguments during their inquiry activities. Students with more sophisticated epistemic beliefs acquired knowledge, presented solid evidence, and used it to support their claims more effectively than their peers. Third, students’ self-reported epistemic beliefs became significantly more sophisticated by engaging in PBL. Findings from this study can potentially help researchers to better understand the relation between students’ epistemic beliefs and their scientific inquiry practice

Discoursing performativity for 21st century education: an ethnographic study of high-achieving 6th form students completing A-Level study and progressing into higher education in the UK from Brook College

This thesis reports on an ethnographic case study, informed by the critical frames of postmodernism and poststructuralism, and offers a critical evaluation of qualitative-interpretive methodology alongside a discussion of substantive issues. Primarily, I focus on neoliberal performativity in the context of Level 3 students’ completion of their A-Level studies as they navigate progression into Higher Education (HE) in the UK from a large sixth form college – Brook College. Brook College students and staff, therefore, account for the study’s primary participants, though other stakeholders were also involved such as HE representatives. Data collection and analysis proceeded iteratively and reflexively via extended periods of in-depth participant observations and interviewing, supplemented with documentary evidence and researcher-generated photographs, analysed using an socio-theoretically informed style of critical discourse analysis, understood as both theory and method. The analytic-interpretive chapters focus, in turn, on UCAS Personal Statements, and on a new teaching and learning approach called The A-Level Mindset implemented in Brook College during fieldwork. I explore these analytic ‘subjects’ as “instrumental” cases (Stake, 2005) to, ultimately, examine the nature and effects of discourses and practices of neoliberal performativity, firstly, on students’ experiences of completing their A-Levels as they attempt to progress into HE, their social identities and subjectivities as learners and their thinking about what HE is (and what it might be for) today; and, secondly, on the pedagogical practices and professional identities of Brook staff, as they guide and support students through this process. In conclusion, I extend my substantive-interpretive analyses through an interrogation of the hegemonic discourse of skills and associated (re)constructions of ‘learning as a form investment’ that appear to characterise the dominant pedagogical practices and understandings of education in Brook College amounting to a ‘preparation’ for the forms of education students will experience in HE. In particular, I further develop my interpretive analyses relating to the popular contemporary 9 educational notion of “resilience” – a central plank of The A-level Mindset programme – as a technology of the self indicative of “embedded neoliberalism” (Joseph, 2014), and draw wider connections to the contemporary mental health “crisis” in HE. Secondly, I more deeply explore the methodological problematics I encountered during this study and reflect on the learning, enhanced reflexive understandings and ‘new’ positions I feel I have arrived at through a discussion of the onto-epistemological fields of posthumanism and ‘new’ materialism. Though, this study’s central contribution, as I see it, is a critically reflexive parallel evaluation of methodology alongside discussions of substantive issues to outline the conjoined forms of learning I feel I have achieved regarding performativity – both in the context of contemporary HE and today’s prospective HE students in the UK, and in the context of doctoral study and ‘becoming (an) academic’ in the neoliberal academy as I have experienced it. In doing so, I try to articulate resonances that I believe exist between this study’s interpretive assertions, its methodological problematics and my own experiences of doctoral academic labour as manifestations of the same kinds of performative neoliberal discourses and governmentalities. To close I offer a series of more ‘personal’ reflections on the performativities, I feel, are central to ‘becoming (an) academic’. I try to connect my own reflexive commentaries of conducting this study and my embodied experiences of doctoral study, to extant discussions regarding the changing nature of contemporary doctoral education and the mental health and wellbeing of today’s doctoral students within the performative, neoliberal ‘culture’ of the academy set within the wider knowledge economy

Outdoor Education Integrated Curriculum Program Impact on Adolescent Self-Authorship

One of the challenges currently faced by secondary schools is to teach 21st century skills, such as self-authorship. Self-authorship is the command of one’s life, or the capacity to invent one’s beliefs, identity, and relationships with others. This study investigated the impact a one-semester outdoor education program has on adolescents’ perceived self-authorship development, as measured by the 27-item self-report Self-Authorship Questionnaire (SAQ). The sample population (n=26) for this study was made up of 10th and 12th grade students from two classes of one-semester outdoor education programs at a public secondary school in Ontario, Canada. Analysis of paired t-tests of the treatment phase (pretest and posttest) showed significant differences in participant scores for three of the four SAQ dimensions: situational coping, interpersonal leadership, and self-efficacy. Independent t-test analysis of the pretest and posttest (treatment phase) SAQ scores indicated no significant differences between males and females within the grade level or between 10th and 12th graders on all SAQ dimensions. Moreover, participants perceived confounding variables (i.e., instructor, teaching experiences, winter camping, canoeing, and solo experiences) substantially impacted their self-authorship development. Participants reported large positive (1.10 to 1.39) effect size scores, demonstrating that a one-semester outdoor education program can have a significant impact on adolescents’ perceived self-authorship development

(Un)Grading as Institutional Ecology: How (Alternative) Assessment Choices Shape Writing Classrooms

A longitudinal case study of grades and grading in the 1920s and 30s and the turn towards ungrading (2020-2022) in the First-Year Composition (FYC) program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), this project argues that institutional architecture structures classroom writing assessment and that the outcomes of ungrading (an umbrella term for a range of alternative assessment practices, including labor-based grading) vary based on teachers’ values/beliefs about writing. While rhetoric and composition scholarship on writing assessment typically frames ungrading as an individual, classroom-level choice that improves learning and increases equity, this project approaches ungrading from an institutional perspective, focusing on how programmatic and university contexts shape the function of conventional and alternative writing assessment and teachers’ experiences with ungrading. Drawing on archival data from the University Special Collections, the project opens by arguing that grades/grading prioritize institutional needs/reputation over student learning, mandating the use of standardized American English. Analyzing gradebooks kept by English professor John C. Hodges (1926-1938) shows that grades assigned in first-year writing courses fall along a bell curve, artificially depressing students’ grades and constructing students as in need of remediation. Grades do not track learning but rank students by the then-emerging standard of formal academic English. The project then jumps ahead a century to the contemporary First-Year Composition program (2020-2022), exploring the emergence of ungrading, or non-authoritative forms of writing assessment that center students’ labor and experiences in the course. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews/focus groups with graduate instructors and non-tenure track faculty, the project shows that programmatic architecture is key in depressing or expanding the use of ungrading. A resistant or hostile programmatic architecture may cause instructors to limit their use of ungrading, but writing programs can provide a more hospitable institutional context by ensuring faculty have the permission and resources to use alternative assessment. When instructors do use ungrading, they experience its outcomes as variable, dependent on their own values/beliefs about writing. This variability also means that the longer faculty use ungrading, the more likely they are to see meaningful results from its use

The difficulties of conceptualising and operationalising critical thinking through assessment practices: a case study of academics in a UK business school

Critical thinking defines a university education. If universities are nurturing critical thinkers then this should be apparent from and demonstrated through assessment. This is challenging, however, because critical thinking is subject to wide interpretation, with little or no academic consensus as to its specification. Additionally, assessment in higher education has long been a challenging issue, particularly so for complex higher-order thinking. Research continues to demonstrate considerable variability across assessors and the literature affords many reasons for this, but hitherto unexplored is the potential role played by differing conceptualisations of critical thinking as applied to the task of assessing students’ work. In response, this thesis examines how participants - academics in a UK university business school - conceive of critical thinking in application to assessing undergraduate dissertations. A case study methodology is employed, with a qualitative approach to data collection (via semi-structured interviews involving document elicitation) and thematic analysis, underpinned by social constructionism. The findings illustrate the perceived facets of an undergraduate student as critical thinker, and identify how individualised approaches to assessment differ, questioning the effectiveness of mitigating institutional mechanisms. This thesis adds to our theoretical understanding of critical thinking in higher education, in demonstrating that participants conceptualise critical thinking as a set of skills, dispositions and originality, and in proposing a link between models of epistemological development and academics’ assessment related expectations of students’ critical thinking. Further practical contributions are offered through demonstrating what participants look for as evidence of students’ critical thinking and how this can influence assessment, together with the challenges to achieving consistency and averting grade variation. These could be of use to institutions, academics and students, subject to considerations of transferability

Transformational leadership strategies in U.S. public universities

This qualitative study explores the transformational leadership strategies used by university leaders to transform their respective institutions of higher education in the post-pandemic era. The study builds on Bass\u27s (1985a) transformational leadership model, and the guiding research question is, What transformational leadership strategies do university leaders use to transform university environments? The study utilizes a narrative inquiry approach to collect and analyze data from publicly available and accessible sources. The data analysis highlights four themes of transformational leadership practices, including idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. The findings reveal that transformational leaders exhibit high moral standards, personal magnetism, and tenacity in their pursuits to influence others. They also nurture a growth mindset, forward thinking, and a culture of excellence to motivate others. Furthermore, they promote learning and discovery, progressive collaboration cultures, effective critical thinking, and out-of-the-box thinking to stimulate creativity. Lastly, they create an individualized connection, acknowledge and validate feelings, take a personalized approach, and enable employees to show individualized consideration. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on transformational leadership in higher education and provides insights for university leaders to lead their teams more effectively in a rapidly changing global economy. The study concludes with a discussion of the principal results, conclusions, and applications

The Making of Latina Leaders: Leadership Styles, Influences, and Challenges

The purpose of this qualitative study was to find common themes among Latina leaders. This study aimed to identify the leadership styles and leadership qualities unique to Latina leaders. It also analyzed the factors that have contributed to or inhibited the advancement of Latina leaders, as well as the challenges they have faced during their journey to the top. Sixteen Latina leaders, representing a variety of sectors, were interviewed by the author asking each one to share her story of what has influenced the leader she has ultimately become. Three predetermined general research questions served as a basic structure for the interview, but the format of the interview was meant to be a conversational style. The themes that recurred throughout the sixteen interviews with Latina leaders were grouped under the corresponding research question and were analyzed using various quotations from the interviewees themselves. The essential themes that emerged included: a) transformational leadership; b) authentic leadership; c) leadership qualities—New Latina, visionary, and marianismo; c) successful educational attainment; d) family influence; e) networking; f) internal barriers; and g) family obligations. This study expanded the knowledge and research of the unique characteristics of Latina leadership and identified ways of preparing the next generation for achieving success and advancing the rise of Latinas in significant leadership positions

Third-Grade Students’ Poor Performance on the Math Section of the Stanford Achievement Test at Chapel Hill Elementary School: An Instrumental Exploratory Qualitative Single-Case Study

The purpose of this instrumental exploratory qualitative single-case study was to explore the understanding of the principal, teachers, and parents related to the poor performance on the math section of the Stanford Achievement Test and the related factors of self-determination and self-efficacy of third-grade students in a private Christian elementary school in a city (pseudonym, Chapel Hill) in the Western United States. The theory guiding this study was Bandura\u27s social cognitive theory, which is the foundation of self-determination theory, academic self-efficacy, and school-related parental monitoring. This case study contained a purposeful sample of ten participants (one principal, four teachers, and five parents). Although the themes of professional development, mathematics performance, and student learning were prevalent for teachers, paren-ting was primarily applicable to parents. Positive psychology was present for all participants. The cultural environment influenced and was linked to all other themes. The findings indicated that poor performance was related to students lacking motivation in third grade to learn math and maintain their skills successively in elementary school. Possible causes of these findings were inadequate synchronized effort between teachers and parents and a lack of student discipline despite math drills offered in the curriculum enforced by rules and supported by manipulatives. Parents needed to dedicate themselves more adequately to student learning. The influence of the cultural environment had implicitly adverse effects on student regulation and academic achievement. Suggestions were given on how teachers, parents, and educational policymakers can leverage self-determination and self-efficacy-related theories to help them improve students\u27 learning outcomes. Implications for educational (reform) policies were given

Determination of Reliability of the Nutrition Care Process Evaluation Instrument

Objective: At the time of this study, no known validated tool existed that was specifically developed to assess dietetic students’ clinical judgment during interprofessional simulations. To fill this gap, the author developed the Nutrition Care Process Evaluation Instrument to measure clinical judgment of dietetics students during interprofessional simulations at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Methods: Through a pilot study, the Nutrition Care Process Evaluation Instrument was tested to determine reliability when measuring simulation participants’ clinical judgment during three separate patient scenarios. Study subjects (n=16) were pooled from Dietetic Intern students who participated in interprofessional simulations as a requirement of the Dietetics and Nutrition 826 Medical Nutrition Therapy course. During the simulations, one rater completed the validated assessment tool, the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric, while two other raters completed the newly developed Nutrition Care Process Evaluation Instrument. Results: Matched by student and scenario, inter-rater reliability was determined using Cohen’s Kappa between raters who completed the Nutrition Care Process Evaluation Instrument. Exploratory analysis was also completed using Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficient to determine the strength of association between raters using both the validated and new tool. Discussion: Reliability of the Nutrition Care Process Evaluation Instrument was not fully established, possibly due to the small sample size, vast differences in raters, issues with scheduling, and the subjective nature of the assessment. Additionally, little association was seen between scores provided on both tools, likely due to the differing contents of each. Further research is needed to fully determine the reliability and validity of the Nutrition Care Process Evaluation Instrument

Teaching through culture in the K-12 classroom

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2018This study explores how quality experienced teachers use culture to successfully deliver K-12 classroom instruction. Additionally, it develops and tests the effectiveness of a resource designed to instruct early career teachers on the use of culture to deliver classroom instruction. Research was conducted in two phases over a four-year time frame (2014-2017). The study followed a mixed methods exploratory sequential design, using a participatory action research approach. Phase 1 gathered qualitative data from 20 experienced teachers located in two states, which were analyzed using constructed grounded theory. The results of this analysis, accompanied by a literature review, resulted in the development of a Chapter about Culture (CAC), an instructional resource on teaching through culture for early career teachers. Phase 2 gathered quantitative data using a Checklist of Classroom Inventory (CCI) from eight Alaska early career teachers and one Montana experienced teacher, and were analyzed by averaging the pre/post CAC scores and comparing the differences. In addition, one open-ended question after use of CAC provided additional qualitative data about the resourcefulness of CAC, as well as the process for implementing the lessons. Phase 1 results revealed five common themes when teaching through culture: Relationships, Communication, Connections, Respect, and Multicultural Resources. These themes contributed to the construction of a value-added theory of practice for teaching through culture, and served as the basis of the CAC. Phase 2 results demonstrated growth by early career teachers after using the newly created CAC in all five themes of teaching through culture