- American College of Education, Teaching and Learning, Faculty MemberLiberty University, Education, Adjunctadd
- Literacy, 21st Century Literacies, Neuroscience, Brain and Cognitive Development, Longitudinal Research, Nonlinear Learning, and 6 moreCollaborative Clouds, Mobile Learning, Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education, Efl and Esol Teaching, Problem-Based Learning, and Service Learningedit
- Margaret Aker, a literacy and language educator and researcher, focuses on reading and the brain, 21st century learni... moreMargaret Aker, a literacy and language educator and researcher, focuses on reading and the brain, 21st century learning, non-linear learning, collaborative clouds, mobile learning, students with limited or interrupted formal education, and problem-based service-learning,edit
This study examined the impact of an in-school dance curriculum on the social-emotional development of at-risk preschoolers in a southern California public preschool program. The preschoolers (N = 69) participated in dance for thirty... more
This study examined the impact of an in-school dance curriculum on the social-emotional development of at-risk preschoolers in a southern California public preschool program. The preschoolers (N = 69) participated in dance for thirty minutes, once a week, over an entire
academic year. We compared the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP) scores in the Social-Emotional domain from Fall 2018 to Spring 2019 and controlled for dance by analyzing scores from four sites who received dance and two sites who did not receive any dance. Our
findings included an increase in preschoolers’ DRDP scores in the category of Integrating Social-Emotional Skills among those sites who received dance versus sites who did not receive dance. There were no significant changes among scores in the category of Building-Later. Through this study, dance was shown to support preschoolers’ ability to integrate and build social-emotional skills, strengthen their self-identity, and establish meaningful relationships with peers and adults.
academic year. We compared the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP) scores in the Social-Emotional domain from Fall 2018 to Spring 2019 and controlled for dance by analyzing scores from four sites who received dance and two sites who did not receive any dance. Our
findings included an increase in preschoolers’ DRDP scores in the category of Integrating Social-Emotional Skills among those sites who received dance versus sites who did not receive dance. There were no significant changes among scores in the category of Building-Later. Through this study, dance was shown to support preschoolers’ ability to integrate and build social-emotional skills, strengthen their self-identity, and establish meaningful relationships with peers and adults.
he world has moved stealthily away from our linear past; today, we live in a nonlinear world where the definition of literacy is ever evolving and continuously shifting. The dynamics have changed; reading, writing, listening, and learning... more
he world has moved stealthily away from our linear past; today, we live in a nonlinear world where the definition of literacy is ever evolving and continuously shifting. The dynamics have changed; reading, writing, listening, and learning have become nonlinear activities. The transformation was silent, but the impact will be significant, especially for our students. The crux of our work is ensuring we are preparing our students for the workplaces of the future. This is no simple task considering that most jobs they will hold have not been created yet. However, the 21st-century skills necessary for the success of our learners are known. In this article, we, as three scholars, reflect on how the instructional shift on 21st-century literacies is shaping the research focus and dissertation studies of researchers committed to social and educational equity.
Research has identified the essential proficiencies students should possess to be successful, but they are often not incorporated in the ESOL classroom. As a result, many teachers lack access to adequate instructional strategies to guide... more
Research has identified the essential proficiencies students should possess to be successful, but they are often not incorporated in the ESOL classroom. As a result, many teachers lack access to adequate instructional strategies to guide ELs to academic success. We argue in this article that, to provide a strong foundation and a bright future for ESOL students, problem-based learning and service-learning (PBSL) should be combined to activate the skills identified by the Partnership for 21 st Century Skills (2011). For this, we reflect on the 21 st century skills and the implications for teaching today's students—the Millennials and GenZs—keeping in mind the professionals they will become tomorrow. Reflecting a student-centered approach, we incorporate practice into the research process by illustrating a successful integration of PBSL into an ESOL learning environment in higher education and then highlight additional curricular opportunities for synthesizing PBSL at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
Research Interests:
Prevalent in the literature are the components of smart education, learning , and literacies; smart pedagogies are encouraged, but practical examples are scant. A gap between education and the workplace has been acknowledged; how can... more
Prevalent in the literature are the components of smart education, learning , and literacies; smart pedagogies are encouraged, but practical examples are scant. A gap between education and the workplace has been acknowledged; how can smart pedagogy fill the void? This chapter provides an example of an innovative educational process bridging the interval utilizing an online problem-based service learning (PBSL) instructional approach and a pedagogic collaborative cloud, a smart pedagogic collaborative cloud (PCC). Educators collaborating together are a crucial component of the changing praxis. In a university course using a PBSL approach, students collaboratively identified a problem-lack of time. A literacy pedagogic collaborative cloud was identified as the solution to the problem. A pilot study was performed (n = 12) to ascertain interest in the idea and warrant conducting a study. A triangulated qualitative study (n = 45) was implemented; a broad constructive theoretical framewor...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Problem-based service learning (PBSL) is an approach to literacy instruction recently proposed by the authors (2018) with the vision of promoting differentiated learning that exposes and encourages students to use twenty-first-century... more
Problem-based service learning (PBSL) is an approach to literacy
instruction recently proposed by the authors (2018) with the vision
of promoting differentiated learning that exposes and encourages
students to use twenty-first-century skills. Primarily guided by the
principles of service learning, civic engagement, and problem-based learning, PBSL takes into consideration the skills learners—
especially minority and underserved students—need today to
be successful in their classrooms and will need in the future to be
successful in their workplaces.
instruction recently proposed by the authors (2018) with the vision
of promoting differentiated learning that exposes and encourages
students to use twenty-first-century skills. Primarily guided by the
principles of service learning, civic engagement, and problem-based learning, PBSL takes into consideration the skills learners—
especially minority and underserved students—need today to
be successful in their classrooms and will need in the future to be
successful in their workplaces.
Research Interests:
Kappa Delta Pi Webinar Series
Incorporating Problem-Based Service Learning in Your
21st-Century Classroom
Incorporating Problem-Based Service Learning in Your
21st-Century Classroom
Research Interests:
Prevalent in the literature are the components of smart education, learning , and literacies; smart pedagogies are encouraged, but practical examples are scant. A gap between education and the workplace has been acknowledged; how can... more
Prevalent in the literature are the components of smart education, learning , and literacies; smart pedagogies are encouraged, but practical examples are scant. A gap between education and the workplace has been acknowledged; how can smart pedagogy fill the void? This chapter provides an example of an innovative educational process bridging the interval utilizing an online problem-based service learning (PBSL) instructional approach and a pedagogic collaborative cloud, a smart pedagogic collaborative cloud (PCC). Educators collaborating together are a crucial component of the changing praxis. In a university course using a PBSL approach, students collaboratively identified a problem-lack of time. A literacy pedagogic collaborative cloud was identified as the solution to the problem. A pilot study was performed (n = 12) to ascertain interest in the idea and warrant conducting a study. A triangulated qualitative study (n = 45) was implemented; a broad constructive theoretical framework provided support for smart education, PBSL, and the peda-gogic collaborative cloud. The research questions were: (1) Does the interest or need exist to create a literacy collaborative cloud for graduate students and alumnae? (2) What was the best format to encourage participation? Four types of data were collected and quality checks instituted. The findings revealed 80% of the participants agreed with the creation of a literacy pedagogic collaborative cloud (LPCC); 100% of the participants preferred to collaborate with a group of professionals in their field, and 100% agreed collaboration improved teaching practice. A private literacy PCC was created on Facebook; the implications are clear-smart pedagogy can fill the university/workplace void.