Publications, College of Education and Human Development

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This collection contains the published work of the College of Education and Human Development.

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Finding my way: Teaching methods courses from a sociocultural perspective
(Caddo Gap Press, 1998) Samaras, Anastasia P.
As teacher educators we are asked little about our teaching and offer little to others about ourselves (Bullough, 1994; Cole, 1995; Lanier & Little, 1986; McIntyre, 1980). This fear of self has been observed in both developed and developing countries (Raina, 1995). There is a definite disrobing in publishing self-study where one is immediately exposed to public view. There is support for the notion that professors of education can refine programs of education through their own self study and that of their students (Bullough & Gitlin, 1995; Knowles & Cole with Presswood, 1994). Listening to other self-study educators who seemed absorbed in introspection validated my position on wanting more than just my story; more than a narcissistic analysis of my pedagogy and theoretical orientation. I do view my life experiences and research as very connected to my teaching and seek the linkages between my own experiences and what I try to understand, but I need to know what in actuality my students are learning (see Richardson, 1990). What contribution does my self-study have to others? I see possibilities for innovation in teacher preparation, particularly in the methods courses I teach, because I am beginning to see myself and my students more clearly. I am coming to know the possibilities of those innovations because I have searched for them through self study' and with the support of others. I want my students to begin to embrace this developmental reflection of constructive knowing (see Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986), to recognize the object of their search, and to make choices on dilemmas through reflection and action. Action research allows reflections of self to take shape, facilitate change, and connect the theoretical with the practical (Ashburn, 1995; Erdman, 1990) According to Kenneth Zeichner (1995), most academicians involved in teacher research pay little homage to the process of action research in studying their own university-based teaching practices or in school-based inquiry as a form of knowledge production. In this chapter, I share insights gained through ongoing self study of my pedagogical efforts in guiding preservice teachers' self study through a collaborative process. Framed within teacher education reform efforts of reflection in practice and the influence of teaching methods courses on preservice teachers' development and socialization into teaching, I will describe: (1) the provocation of my search, rooted in my years of teaching and research; (2) my work context; (3) my theoretical perspective; (4) a description of my pedagogical formats using the Vygotskian approach; (5) my self study and research (i.e., appraising preservice teachers' perspectives of the process); and (6) implications of my search for a teacher education curriculum.
Transcending Traditional Boundaries Through Drama: Interdisciplinary Teaching and Perspective-Taking
(2000-06) Samaras, Anastasia P.
We conducted a self -study of drama integration with an emphasis on teaching perspective taking in a new interdisciplinary course. Our work employs a theoretical model of coming to understand the self through others or in Vygotskyan (1981) terms, from interpersonal to intrapersonal knowledge. One of our main aims was to determine how disciplines could be interwoven to enhance students’ personal development, as well as our own. We envisioned drama integration as more than a list of activities that could include teaching the ethic of care and empathy. Teaching and learning would be in a circle wider than self - in a collaborative network with a synthesis of our diverse experiences to provoke our students to pull down or even shatter their fences. Outcomes included: students’ utilization of drama in their career goals, finding our humanness, and knowledge of self and others. As professors, we uncovered our commonalties while renewing our individual passions. We discovered that drama could serve as an international language to communicate the need and value of human diversity while bridging many disciplines and careers.
Searching for Integrity in our Research and Practice
(2002) Kosnik, Clare; Freese, Anne; Samaras, Anastasia P.
We are three teacher educators practicing selfstudy and reflecting on its value to our students while also exchanging our reflections with each other. As with artists who come together in schools of study in both individual and joint exploration, we hope that our collaborative inquiry will shed new light on our thinking and research in teacher education program reform efforts. Our intimacy and collaborative exchanges allowed us each to think more deeply about the personal as part of a community of self-study scholars. We are at a critical point in our careers where we strive for ethical and moral integrity in our research to practice efforts as we reflect and study our own teaching to better serve as a role model to our students. For a decade we have redesigned our teacher education programs. Although we do not work in the same university, each of us has tried to develop our research agenda based on a certain set of beliefs. To what degree has our research made a difference in our students’ learning? What challenges and changes are similar and dissimilar across our programs? Each of us is involved in teaching, administration, selfstudy, and the development of innovative programs. How have we changed our teaching to be congruent with the program goals?
Book review: From digital divide to digital opportunity by Appu Kuttan and Laurence Peters
(Haworth Press, 2003) Ndura, Elavie
This article reviews the book From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity, byKuttan and Peters (2003). After providing a brief summary of the authors' backgrounds, the reviewer presents a systematic overview of the book's six chapters and accompanying CD. She concludeswith an overall assessment of the book content as it relates to issues of equity and social justice. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: Website: © 2003 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]
Teachers' Discoveries of Their Cultural Realms: Untangling the Web of Cultural Identity
(Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc, 2004) Ndura, Elavie
Educators need to explore and understand their own cultural identities before they can comprehend and appreciate their students* cultural backgrounds. In this article, the author presents the findings from a qualitative study that investigated in-service teachers1 awareness of and characterization of their culture. She also discusses the importance of affording educators opportunities to reflect on and make the connection between culture and their worldview. The author concludes by recommending useful and practical next steps once teachers have a better understanding of their cultural identities.
Exploring the Self and the Other: Achieving the Empathic Goals of Teacher Preparation Through Multicultural Education
(2004) Ndura, Elavie; Lafer, Stephen
Effective multicultural education courses require both instructors and students to examine their own cultural backgrounds and philosophical underpinnings in order to understand their societal dispositions and behaviors. In this article, the authors share effective strategies for teaching about race and racism in a college multicultural teacher education course. They discuss ways in which they assess the impact of this process on the course participants.
Self-Study Through Personal History
(Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004) Samaras, Anastasia P.; Hicks, Mark A.; Berger, Jennifer Garvey
The profession of teaching, historically, has struggled with the degree to which the personal experiences of the teacher can or should influence classroom practice. This chapter explores the benefits of including “the personal” both for the teacher and student. Personal history – the formative, contextualized experiences of our lives that influence how we think about and practice our teaching – provides a powerful mechanism for teachers wanting to discern how their lived lives impact their ability to teach or learn. In this chapter, the authors explore the historical evolution of personal history self-study, the misconceptions that often limit its potential, and the multiple ways in which it can promote deeper learning. Specifically, this form of self-study can be used to: know and better understand one’s professional identity, model and test forms of reflection, and finally, push the boundaries of what we know by creating alternative interpretations of reality. The benefits of this method are further illustrated through a case study of the lived experiences of a teacher educator surfacing her own struggle to unpack how her identity impacts her teaching and her quest for modeling self-study as she reshapes a preservice teacher education program.
ESL and cultural bias: An analysis of elementary through high school textbooks in the Western United States of America
(2004) Ndura, Elavie
The content of instructional materials significantly affects students’ attitudes and dispositions towards themselves, other people and society. This is particularly so with students of English as a Second Language (ESL) whose success in a new environment is conditioned not only by their mastery of the new language, but also, and especially, by their ability to negotiate the new culture. Building on the argu- ment that learning a second language cannot be separated from the acquisition of the culture that it embodies, this paper argues that the design and adaptation of ESL textbooks and other instructional materials should reflect multiple perspectives inherent to a pluralistic society in order to engage students in a process of uncover- ing and confronting cultural biases and facilitate intercultural learning. The paper presents the findings from an examination of selected ESL textbooks for stereotypes and other cultural biases and discusses the potential impact of these biases on students. It posits that instructional materials that do not integrate students’ diverse life experiences in the teaching and learning process fail to empower them to ident- ify the missing, misconstrued and misrepresented voices. The paper suggests five strategies for dealing with stereotypes and other cultural biases in ESL textbooks and other instructional materials.
Self-Study Supports New Teachers’ Professional Development
(2005) Samaras, Anastasia P.; Beck, Clive; Freese, Anne; Kosnik, Clare
New teachers face incredible challenges, and often alone, forcing nearly half of all newly hired teachers to leave the profession within their first five years (Darling-Hammond, 1997). As teacher educators, we believe one of the key ingredients in teacher education is self-study of one’s teaching practices with systematic collegial support. We have each witnessed and researched the power of the self-study tool for teachers’ professional development in the programs we have directed (Freese, 1999; Kosnik & Beck, 2000; Samaras, 2002). In each of our programs, students are expected to reflect regularly on their teaching and their students’ learning through journals, action research projects, related life histories, evolving philosophies of education, and ongoing quarterly and semester self-evaluations. Some students engage in systematic self-study in a final master’s paper or portfolio. Zeichner wrote that “the birth of the self-study in teacher education movement around 1990 has been probably the single most significant development ever in the field of teacher education research” (Zeichner, 1999, p. 8). Although there have been numerous writings about self-study for teacher educators (Cole, Elijah, & Knowles, 1998; Hamilton, Pinnegar, Russell, Loughran, & LaBoskey, 1998; Kosnik, Beck, Freese, & Samaras, 2005), little attention has been given to what self-study can do to support new teachers. In this article, we discuss what teachers need to know about self-study and then offer three examples of teacher self-study and the difference it made for the teachers and their students.
Reflections of teachers’ culture in the classroom: Beginning to see and hear
(2006) Ndura, Elavie
This qualitative study investigated practicing teachers’ characterization of their classroom practices and relationships with culturally different students after being engaged in three weeks of reflective activities surrounding cultural identity development and how culture shapes our worldview, dispositions, and behaviors. The study showed that through such engagement, the participants began realizing that they and their students were human beings whose experiences and perceptions are shaped by their cultural backgrounds. The study revealed that while teacher-student relationships were portrayed mostly as nurturing, they were hampered by tension resulting from a clash of cultures.
Spheres of Learing in Teacher Collaboration
(Springer, 2006) Samaras, Anastasia P.; DeMulder, E.K.; Kayler, Mary A.; Newton, L.; Rigsby, L.C.; Weller, K.L.; Wilcox, D.R.
In this chapter, we report on two studies in a Master’s program for practicing teachers that maintains collaborative culture making at its core, for students and faculty alike. We conducted two studies related to this collaborative culture making and concluded that collaboration is essential to programs of study for teachers and teacher educators. In the first study, we investigated the perspectives of our alumni on their collaborative experiences. Findings indicated links between alumni’s multi-layered collaborative experiences in the program and their subsequent pursuit of National Board certification. In the second study, we conducted a collective self-study of a faculty teaching team’s collaborative experiences and factors that they believe enhanced their continued professional development. Both studies are placed within a description of the Initiatives in Educational Transformation (IET) program, which aligns with sociocultural practices of learning with and through others. To frame our work, we draw from Vygotskian (1978) theory and Samaras’ (2004) notion of learning zones, adapted from Vygotsky’s conception of the zone of proximal development and the social construction of knowledge. The work of Lave and Wenger (1991) in situated learning also informs this work.
Western education and African cultural identity in the Great Lakes region of Africa: A failed case of globalization
(Blackwell Synergy, 2006) Ndura, Elavie
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the identity crisis that has resulted from the Western-bound educational system prevalent in the Great Lakes region of Africa, particularly in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Rwanda. Four main points will guide the discussion. First, I will argue that Western-bound education is an overt tool of assimilation. Second, I will relate Western assimilation to the pervasive African identity crisis. Third, I will discuss the destructive divide between the educated elite and the illiterate masses. Fourth, I will propose strategies for reclaiming the African spirit of empowerment. The paper will conclude with some general reflections and recommendations.
Self-study of the craft of faculty team teaching in a non-traditional teacher education program
(2006) Samaras, Anastasia P.; Kayler, Mary A.; Rigsby, Leo C.; Weller, Karen L.; Wilcox, Dawn Renee
We share our self-study research of faculty building a successful collaborative culture and team teaching experience in a unique Master’s program for PK-12 practicing teachers. As part of selfstudy and reflective practice, this particular faculty team shared its collaborative experiences with teachers. This transparency impacted teachers’ perceptions of faculty and their own teaming experiences. To frame our work, we use the notion of learning zones (Samaras, 2002, 2004), adapted from Vygotsky's (1978) conception of zone of proximal development. A multi-vocal perspective on the processes of faculty professional development and program development is presented.
The Role of Cultural Competence in the Creation of a Culture of Nonviolence
(Culture of Peace Online Journal, 2006) Ndura, Elavie
Using stories from her personal experiences and drawing on historical and contemporary voices of non-violence, the author discusses the importance of developing cultural competence in order to build a non-violent society. She posits that cultural competence is a corner piece in the puzzle of a culture of non- violence because it fosters cross-cultural communication, validates people’s lived experiences across different cultures and groups, and empowers them to work together to reclaim their humanity.
Beginning with Trusted Friends: Venturing Out to Work Collaboratively in Our Institutions
(2006) Kosnik, Clare; Freese, Anne; Samaras, Anastasia P.
Aself-study community encourages the sharing of experiences and new insights, both positive and negative. The building of knowledge develops through dialogue in a personal-constructivist-collaborative approach (Beck, Freese, & Kosnik, 2004). Loughran and Northfield (1998) note that the individual perspective may be a significant paradox in self-study terminology. The term, self-study, suggests that the individual is the focus of the study, yet self-study is a collective task (Elijah, 2004; Ham & Kane, 2004). Samaras & Freese (2006) write of this paradox of self-study as both personal and interpersonal. It is as if the community leads (Vygotsky, 1978) or completes (Newman & Holzman, 1993) development. Collaboration does not mean harmony. Interactions may cause the individual to question his/her position or those of others as they develop new understandings. Beyond the cognitive level, self-study scholars have the emotional support of self-study colleagues who are invested in improving learning and teaching through selfstudy. Kosnik, Beck, and Freese (2004) state that an inclusive and equitable self-study community fosters personal and professional growth which impacts program development. LaBoskey (2004) affirms the need for a supportive and interactive community in the knowledge building process. This paper addresses the impact of our collaborative experiences in the self-study community. We discuss how it has supported and influenced our personal and professional thinking as well as our work in our home institutions.
Transcending the majority rights and minority protection dichotomy through multicultural reflective citizenship in the African Great Lakes region
(Taylor & Francis, 2006-05) Ndura, Elavie
In this paper, the author examines how colonial racist policies and western-bound post-colonial educational practices have contributed to the recurring ethnic conflicts in the Great Lakes region of Africa. After defining democracy and reflective citizenship within the African context, she discusses how teachers' roles should be redefined and pedagogy revamped within a multicultural perspective in order to prepare students to become reflective citizens who are empowered to reframe interethnic relations in the region beyond the pervasive majority rights and minority protection discourse.
Understanding Electronic Medical Record Adoption in the United States: Communication and Sociocultural Perspectives
(JMIR Publications, 2013-03-26) Nambisan, Priya; Kreps, Gary L.; Polit, Stan
Background: This paper adopts a communication and sociocultural perspective to analyze the factors behind the lag in electronic medical record (EMR) adoption in the United States. Much of the extant research on this topic has emphasized economic factors, particularly, lack of economic incentives, as the primary cause of the delay in EMR adoption. This prompted the Health Information Technology on Economic and Clinical Health Act that allow financial incentives through the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services for many health care organizations planning to adopt EMR. However, financial incentives alone have not solved the problem; many new innovations do not diffuse even when offered for free. Thus, this paper underlines the need to consider communication and sociocultural factors to develop a better understanding of the impediments of EMR adoption. Objective: The objective of this paper was to develop a holistic understanding of EMR adoption by identifying and analyzing the impact of communication and sociocultural factors that operate at 3 levels: macro (environmental), meso (organizational), and micro (individual). Methods: We use the systems approach to focus on the 3 levels (macro, meso, and micro) and developed propositions at each level drawing on the communication and sociocultural perspectives. Results: Our analysis resulted in 10 propositions that connect communication and sociocultural aspects with EMR adoption. Conclusions: This paper brings perspectives from the social sciences that have largely been missing in the extant literature of health information technology (HIT) adoption. In doing so, it implies how communication and sociocultural factors may complement (and in some instances, reinforce) the impact of economic factors on HIT adoption.
A Novel Application of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Imaging
(Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2013-09) Eranki, Avinash; Cortes, Nelson; Ferenček3, Zrinka Gregurić; Siddhartha, Sikdar
Ultrasound is an attractive modality for imaging muscle and tendon motion during dynamic tasks and can provide a complementary methodological approach for biomechanical studies in a clinical or laboratory setting. Towards this goal, methods for quantification of muscle kinematics from ultrasound imagery are being developed based on image processing. The temporal resolution of these methods is typically not sufficient for highly dynamic tasks, such as drop-landing. We propose a new approach that utilizes a Doppler method for quantifying muscle kinematics. We have developed a novel vector tissue Doppler imaging (vTDI) technique that can be used to measure musculoskeletal contraction velocity, strain and strain rate with sub-millisecond temporal resolution during dynamic activities using ultrasound. The goal of this preliminary study was to investigate the repeatability and potential applicability of the vTDI technique in measuring musculoskeletal velocities during a drop-landing task, in healthy subjects. The vTDI measurements can be performed concurrently with other biomechanical techniques, such as 3D motion capture for joint kinematics and kinetics, electromyography for timing of muscle activation and force plates for ground reaction force. Integration of these complementary techniques could lead to a better understanding of dynamic muscle function and dysfunction underlying the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of musculoskeletal disorders.
The Irony of Ethics: (De)Coding the Lived Experience of Women and Minority Faculty
(SciEdu Press, 2014-04-28) Reybold, L. Earle
What does it mean to ‘be’ an ethical faculty member? A number of scholars point to legal and moral issues, aligning ethics with professional codes and regulated by institutional policy. From this perspective, being ethical is a matter of knowing and following the professional rules—the goal is to avoid certain actions. On the other hand, others question this objectivist approach and position faculty ethics as an experience, a fusion of personal and professional histories that include disciplinary training, socialization to the profession, and—especially—the specter of faculty rewards such as tenure and promotion. This article explores these competing perspectives in a qualitative meta-synthesis of data collected across studies of faculty identity, professional epistemology, and academic ethics. This analysis concentrates on 116 interviews with women and minority doctoral students and faculty members conducted between 1999 and 2012, a subset of more than 200 interviews I conducted during this timeframe. All interviews were initially coded using constant comparative analysis. For the meta-synthesis, I chose to apply an elaborative coding technique that juxtaposes data with the ethics literature related to chilly and alienating climates, cultural taxation, and the snare of faculty rewards in higher education. This (re)analysis allowed me engage in a formal dialogue between local theory and scholarship, resulting in six sub-themes: ‘real’izing, acting out/in, toiling, serving, aligning, and diverging.
Effect of compensatory acceleration training in combination with accommodating resistance on upper body strength in collegiate athletes
(Dove Medical Press Lmtd., 2014-08-04) Jones, Margaret T.
Purpose: To determine the impact of inclusion of a band or chain compensatory acceleration training (CAT), in a 5-week training phase, on maximal upper body strength during a 14-week off-season strength and conditioning program for collegiate male athletes. Patients and methods: Twenty-four National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) collegiate baseball players, who were familiar with the current strength and conditioning program and had a minimum of 1 year of formal collegiate strength and conditioning experience, participated in this off-season training study. None of the men had participated in CAT before. Subjects were matched following a maximal effort (1-repetition maximum [1-RM]) bench press test in week 1, then were randomly assigned into a band-based CAT group or a chain-based CAT group and participated in a 5-week training phase that included bench pressing twice per week. Upper body strength was measured by 1-RM bench press again at week 6. A 2 × 2 mixed factorial (method × time) analysis of variance was calculated to compare differences across groups. The alpha level was set at P,0.05. Results: No difference (F1,22=0.04, P=0.84) existed between the band-based CAT and chain-based CAT groups. A significant difference was observed between pre- and posttests of 1-RM bench (F1,22ˆ.46, P=0.001). Conclusion: A 5-week band CAT or chain CAT training program used in conjunction with an off-season strength and conditioning program can increase maximal upper body strength in collegiate baseball athletes. Using band CAT and/or chain CAT as a training modality in the off-season will vary the training stimulus from the traditional and likely help to maintain the athlete's interest.

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