Students in Transition: Introducing English Language Learners from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to U.S. History

This two-year action research project discusses the transitions that English Language Learners (ELLs) experience in moving from remedial second language learning to content-area courses. Two cohorts of twenty-seven ELL students from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East—fifteen students in 2015-16 and twelve in 2016-17— participated in a U.S. History course while attending the pseudonymous West Ackerly High School. Absent a pedagogical bridge connecting ELL instruction with social studies practice, I created a curriculum that emphasized the democratic principles embedded in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution—concepts that general education students have known almost from birth—as an entry point for ELL students who lacked any knowledge about these documents. I followed this introduction with thematic choices about immigration, imperialism, Westward Expansion, the Civil War, Reconstruction, civil rights, and current events. We examined the social construct of race, and how it weaves through American society. My combined roles of practitioner and researcher created a unique awareness of the principles of second language instruction, especially best practices and co-teaching strategies that merged language learning and content instruction. I then evaluated students’ critical thinking and teachers’ methods of working with ELL students, experienced the value associated with co-teaching, and developed practical techniques to bring content knowledge into the ELL curriculum as a way to aid students in their transitions. In two journal articles (Chapters Three and Four), I combine “scholarship and story,” reminiscent of Ladson-Billings’ The Dreamkeepers (2009), in a personal scholarly narrative about co-teaching U.S. History. Both Ladson-Billings’ narrative and the stories about the West Ackerly immigrant students describe the struggle that children of color experience. My reflections about co-teaching revealed innovative ideas that emerged from our practice, helped us better understand the backgrounds of our students, explored best practices for ELL instruction, and showed how an adapted mainstream U.S. History curriculum could work for second language learners. The second article describes Socratic Seminar techniques that contribute to students’ learning and discourse development, with scaffolded instruction that incorporates the application of Common Core principles based on the work of Zwiers, O’Hara, and Pritchard (2014). I describe a thematic approach to U.S. History instruction that avoids “covering” all the material while highlighting what students need to know in order to function in American society. Hopefully, this work will bring greater awareness of the struggles experienced by ELL students in their academic and cultural transitions. In the end, I hope secondary teachers and administrators will understand that ELL students require extensive skill development around reading, writing, and research in order to transition into—and then successfully navigate—content-area classes

Schools to Learn From: Lessons From Minnesota Schools With High English Learner Language Growth

Multilingual learners are K-12 students who speak an additional language to English and have been screened and identified as “lack[ing] the necessary English skills to participate fully in academic classes taught in English” (Minnesota Statute 124D.59, subd. 2). With all of the variability in multilingual learners, the multilingual learner population is the fastest-growing population of public school students in the US (McKeon, 2005). In the fall of 2016, 4.9 million students in the United States were identified as multilingual learners, which is 9.6 percent of the total US student population (US Department of Education, 2019). In Minnesota during the 2017-2018 school year, 73,128 students, or 8.5 percent identified as English learners (Minnesota Department of Education, 2019). There is a legal and legislative history that exists both nationally and within Minnesota in support of multilingual learners and equitable education rights (Scanlan & López, 2015). In Minnesota, all school districts enrolling multilingual learners must implement an educational program that meets the linguistic needs of the students (Minn. Stat. § 124D.61, 2018). Though language programs are critical to the success of multilingual learners, school and district leadership is second only to classroom teaching as a major influence on student learning (Leithwood, Day, Sammons, Harris, & Hopkins, 2006). The study aimed to address the limited research on best practices of Minnesota schools with higher than average multilingual learner language growth as measured by language development assessments. The mixed methods study examined the common practices of leaders in schools identified under ESSA as achieving high language growth through qualitative and quantitative data from school administrators and multilingual program coordinators/lead teachers from four elementary schools in Minnesota. This data was evaluated using the Elfers and Stritikus (2014) framework of multilingual learner programming. It also identified the barriers encountered by the schools in implementing multilingual learner programs. Findings suggested that the most utilized programming components with the highest average implementation were: Professional development targets classroom teachers, Support data-based discussions of individual student progress, and Use data to identify areas for improvement. Commonalities outside of the Elfers and Stritikus framework included building relationships, communication, focus on writing, pull-out instruction, asset-based inclusion, and administrator support and knowledge of multilingual programs. Differences between school practices included common curriculums, focused core instruction, multilingual teachers being multilingual learners, and personalized learning. The main barriers identified by participants were around time, funding/staffing, bias, and the strategies to overcome the barriers centered on intentionality and advocacy

Australian Aboriginal students in higher education

One of the striking features of Australian higher education over the last ten years has been the marked increase in participation by Indigenous Australians. In a National Review of Education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, carried out in 1994, it was noted that the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students had more than doubled between 1988 and 1993 (National Review of Education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, 1994:28-29). Indigenous Australians constitute 1.6 per cent of the population of Australia and in 1993 some 5,578 indigenous people were attending Australian public universities, which is 1.3% of all Australian students in percentage terms. Edith Cowan University, in 1995, had an overall student population of 18,058 and an Aboriginal student population of 359 (2% of the total). In some ways, however, these encouraging figures are deceptive. A majority of the Aboriginal students enrolled in the university (64%) are engaged in bridging courses which were set up to prepare them for entry to university degrees. Like the degree students, some of these are on campus, some in regional centres and some are enrolled as external students, coming to the university twice a semester for a week\u27s intensive tuition. The population of Indigenous Australians in higher education also differs from the non-Indigenous population in that they are more likely to have gained entry through special provisions: they are older when commencing university and they are under-represented in many areas of study, particularly science, technology and the more prestigious professional areas such as medicine, law and engineering

Strategies for Improving Data Protection to Reduce Data Loss from Cyberattacks

Accidental and targeted data breaches threaten sustainable business practices and personal privacy, exposing all types of businesses to increased data loss and financial impacts. This single case study was conducted in a medium-sized enterprise located in Brevard County, Florida, to explore the successful data protection strategies employed by the information system and information technology business leaders. Actor-network theory was the conceptual framework for the study with a graphical syntax to model data protection strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews of 3 business leaders, archival documents, and field notes. Data were analyzed using thematic, analytic, and software analysis, and methodological triangulation. Three themes materialized from the data analyses: people--inferring security personnel, network engineers, system engineers, and qualified personnel to know how to monitor data; processes--inferring the activities required to protect data from data loss; and technology--inferring scientific knowledge used by people to protect data from data loss. The findings are indicative of successful application of data protection strategies and may be modeled to assess vulnerabilities from technical and nontechnical threats impacting risk and loss of sensitive data. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential to alter attitudes toward data protection, creating a better environment for people to live and work; reduce recovery costs resulting from Internet crimes, improving social well-being; and enhance methods for the protection of sensitive, proprietary, and personally identifiable information, which advances the privacy rights for society

Failure: A Heuristic Inquiry of the Experience of Failure Through a Nature Based Art Therapy Process

The aim of this arts based study was to investigate the experience of failure during the dissertation process. Through a heuristic lens, its objective was to gain an understanding of the tacit experience of failure and the influence of a nature art based process on the understanding of failure. Failure is integral to the scientific method (Wang et al. 2019), enhancing understanding and teaching us valuable skills. Intentional engagement with our response to failure allows us to address and incorporate possibilities that are often unseen (Nelson et al., 2017). The art process illuminates tacit knowledge, unearthing creative solutions and untapped possibilities (Joseph, 2006; Manthe & Carolan, 2017). The process of creating art in nature welcomes curiosity and provides containment for the expression of emotional experiences (Berger & Lahad, 2013). The study was guided by Andy Goldsworthy’s process of making collaborative art pieces with nature to incorporate the process of taking risks and utilizing failure (Malapas, 2005). An elite sampling of art therapists engaged in a nature based art process inspired by the work of Andy Goldsworthy and the open studio process (Allen, 2016). The art therapists, along with the researcher, focused on a failure they encountered during their dissertation and engaged in a nature art process and narrative reflection. The intentional immersive depth of heuristic inquiry supported the illumination of tacit knowledge and unique contributions to the understanding of failure

Invitational rhetoric : alternative rhetorical strategy for transformation of perception and use of energy in the residential built environment from the Keweenaw to Kerala

This dissertation explores the viability of invitational rhetoric as a mode of advocacy for sustainable energy use in the residential built environment. The theoretical foundations for this study join ecofeminist concepts and commitments with the conditions and resources of invitational rhetoric, developing in particular the rhetorical potency of the concepts of re-sourcement and enfoldment. The methodological approach is autoethnography using narrative reflection and journaling, both adapted to and developed within the autoethnographic project. Through narrative reflection, the author explores her lived experiences in advocating for energy-responsible residential construction in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. The analysis reveals the opportunities for cooperative, collaborative advocacy and the struggle against traditional conventions of persuasive advocacy, particularly the centrality of the rhetor. The author also conducted two field trips to India, primarily the state of Kerala. Drawing on autoethnographic journaling, the analysis highlights the importance of sensory relations in lived advocacy and the resonance of everyday Indian culture to invitational principles. Based on field research, the dissertation proposes autoethnography as a critical development in encouraging invitational rhetoric as an alternative mode of effecting change. The invitational force of autoethnography is evidenced in portraying the material advocacy of the built environment itself, specifically the sensual experience of material arrangements and ambience, as well as revealing the corporeality of advocacy, that is, the body as the site of invitational engagement, emotional encounter, and sensory experience. This study concludes that vulnerability of self in autoethnographic work and the vulnerability of rhetoric as invitational constitute the basis for transformation. The dissertation confirms the potential of an ecofeminist invitational advocacy conveyed autoethnographically for transforming perceptions and use of energy in a smaller-scale residential environment appropriate for culture, climate, and ultimately part of the challenge of sustaining life on this planet

The stories of our women: Exploring the barriers to Aboriginal women’s help seeking in the context of family violence

Family violence in Aboriginal communities is an ongoing tragedy and a blight on Australian society and governments. Developing a clear understanding of the nature of family violence in Aboriginal communities and the barriers preventing Aboriginal women’s help seeking is, therefore, of the upmost importance. In collaboration with target communities in Armadale and Kwinana, the following research question was devised: what barriers do Aboriginal women face when seeking help to address family violence? Community focus groups and individual interviews, guided by the Indigenous Research Methodology of ‘Yarning’, were held in the two focus sites. A total of 37 women participated in this process and three types of barriers to help seeking are identified from their stories. There are: i) barriers within our own communities; ii) structural barriers, and; iii) institutional racism. The barriers within our community were the normalisation of violence, problematic family intervention and a collective fear of child protection. Structural barriers were refuge accommodation inaccessibility, police negligence and harmful child protection intervention. Thirdly, direct and indirect experiences of institutional racism from members of two key institutions, the police force and child protection agency, were found to negatively influence the women’s willingness to seek assistance and protection. The findings of this research provide a comprehensive account of Aboriginal women’s experiences of help seeking in the context of family violence within the Perth metropolitan region

A New Model of Opportunity Recognition: Linking Individual Agency, Entrepreneurial Action, and the Innovation Process

The purpose of this study is to explore how individuals go about identifying new business opportunities, also known as opportunity recognition. Opportunity recognition is the first and most critical step in the entrepreneurship and innovation process. Past models of opportunity recognition took a narrow approach, subscribing to a single perspective of opportunity recognition and tended to overemphasize either the person or the process rather than examining all possible mechanisms and their interaction effects. This study has taken a holistic approach, with a focus on both serial entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, aimed at exploring a range of conditions present in small startups and large organizations. Data findings were distilled down into ten proposition statements and presented in a visual process model of opportunity recognition. A total of 23 variables emerged in the research study, 12 of which were new concepts not identified in previous models. The most salient and profound insight from the study was the importance of reframing the opportunity until the “real opportunity” emerged. This back and forth reframing process occurred in cycles until a clear problem-solution fit was identified. The major contribution of this model is that it expands upon cognition theory by showing how the idea enactment process feeds back into the individual’s thought process, emphasizing the interaction effects between thinking and action. The resulting model follows a clear flow and sequence of events but also illustrates the organic nature of the ideation process and allows for multiple pathways into an innovative idea. This study bridges an important divide between the entrepreneurship and innovation literature and shows how different perspectives in the literature such as creation and discovery, identification and enactment, and active and passive search can coexist. This research provides the foundation from which to operationalize the model and develop training and educational materials for management, consultants, and educators. The study has the potential to help business leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs unlock new market opportunities, navigate a broad mix of innovation tools and techniques, and enhance cognitive skills that are central to the opportunity recognition process. Cultivating this talent is critical to achieving a sustainable competitive advantage and the successful value creation of new ventures

Third Person Effect and Internet Privacy Risks

The current study tests the third-person effect (TPE) in the context of Internet privacy. TPE refers to the phenomenon that people tend to perceive greater media effects on others than on themselves. The behavioral component of TPE holds that the self-others perceptual gap is positively associated with support for restricting harmful media messages. Using a sample (N=613) from Amazon Mturk, the current research documented firm support for the perceptual and behavioral components of TPE in the context of Internet privacy. Moreover, social distance, perceived Internet privacy knowledge, negative online privacy experiences, and Internet use were found to be significant predictors of the TPE perceptions of Internet privacy risks. There are four novel contributions of the current study. First, this study systematically tests TPE in a new context―Internet privacy. Second, this study examines five antecedents of TPE perceptions, of which perceived Internet privacy knowledge, negative online privacy experiences, and Internet use are novel to TPE studies. Unlike prior studies which assume social distance and desirability of media content, the current study provides direct empirical tests of these two antecedents. Third, prior research primarily examines support for censorship of harmful media messages, a context in which individuals do not have control over policy enforcement. In the case of Internet privacy, people can decide whether to adopt privacy protective measures or not. The current study addresses two types of behavioral intentions to reduce privacy risks: (1) the willingness to adopt online privacy protection measures; and (2) recommend such measures to others. Fourth, unlike prior studies using fear based theories to investigate Internet privacy issues, the current tests Internet privacy from a novel perspective—TPE theory