This study juxtaposes W. E. B. Du Bois’s question raised in 1903, “How does it feel to be a probl... more This study juxtaposes W. E. B. Du Bois’s question raised in 1903, “How does it feel to be a problem?” to students who are deemed as a “problem” in classrooms today, using a Disability Studies in Education (DSE) lens incorporating social justice and equity awareness into perspectives on disability in particular and on education in general. Two separate but mutually enhancing research projects (one project with pre-service teachers and the other with in-service teachers) share pedagogical approaches to assist the participants in learning to perceive their students not as being a problem but as (sometimes) having a problem. Project 1 applies a DSE approach to teacher candidate coursework in (special) education, and Project 2 engages practicing teachers in professional development activities designing classroom Calming Corners. Results indicate that teachers can be empowered to create inclusive and equitable classrooms by providing them with a DSE lens and with tools such as the Calming...
One pathway to creating more equitable schooling is through schools becoming trauma sensitive. St... more One pathway to creating more equitable schooling is through schools becoming trauma sensitive. Students exposed to trauma are more likely to struggle in school compared to their non-trauma-exposed peers. Changing the school environment allows trauma-exposed students more opportunities to access academics. This qualitative study explores the practices and strategies employed by one elementary school (K–5) to become trauma sensitive. Based on the data, five subthemes emerged that coalesce around the overarching theme of creating a caring community to achieve a trauma-sensitive school. For the purposes of this study, a caring community is defined as a group of people sharing a common workplace who have a true interest in the well-being of others in the community. The five subthemes include (1) the faculty’s commitment to creating a safe school, (2) intentional school design to foster support (covered in Ballin, 2022), (3) a commitment to engaging families, (4) a desire to make school f...
In this study, two teacher educators share their educational journey using narrative inquiry. Spe... more In this study, two teacher educators share their educational journey using narrative inquiry. Specifically, the authors share how they learned to ground their teaching and research in disability studies, what they have learned in the field to become better teachers for their students in (special) education, and why the shift in their theoretical framework and teaching might be relevant to other educators.
Adult graduate students in five cohorts nation-wid e l sted factors of good and bad learning expe... more Adult graduate students in five cohorts nation-wid e l sted factors of good and bad learning experiences; factors were sorted into cognitive, affective, and psychomotor categories. Overall a high frequency of response i the affective domain was revealed. Instructor/student relationship was prominent. Thi s work can inform curricular and faculty development design decisions. Introduction Much has been written about how to create effecti v learning environments for adults in higher education. The purpose of this study was to examine what students themselves say makes for good and bad experiences of adult learning. Ad ult graduate students know what they want. When they tell about their classroom experiences, r ich and provocative stories emerge. But how often are these stories used to inform course desig n or to support teaching methodology? The research contributes a new path for decisions about course design through inclusion of student voice. The data set used here is from graduate...
Equity in education begins with creating structures that support students inclusive of their soci... more Equity in education begins with creating structures that support students inclusive of their social-emotional needs. Students exposed to trauma perform best in schools that adopt trauma-sensitive practices. Many of these trauma-sensitive practices naturally prepare students to learn social–emotional skills, as the trauma-informed staff also models social–emotional learning. Mastery of these skills leverages student success in school and adult life. This article focuses on one aspect of a larger qualitative case study of trauma-sensitive practices adopted by one elementary school to support all students, inclusive of students affected by trauma. The research presented in this article focuses on the intentional design of the school. The author uses the term intentional design to refer to specific structures and systems in place in the school to support a trauma-sensitive environment. This intentional design, which the author noted through observations and interviews, involved purposef...
Background and objective: First generation college students (FGS), are emerging as an important d... more Background and objective: First generation college students (FGS), are emerging as an important demographic group for colleges and universities. Having a ‘sense of belonging’ or belonging is important to the success of all college students, especially for the retention of students who may be at risk of not completing their academic degree. The purpose of this study is to analyze differences between first generation and non-first-generation college students based on a mattering survey.Methods: Two hundred and thirty undergraduate students in one New England College participated in a study designed to uncover differences between FGS and non-first-generation college students based on responses to a mattering survey. The study utilized a questionnaire designed to capture students’ opinions on mattering. Open questions were included to inform and enrich the data.Results: First-generation student perceived a greater number of obstacles in their college experience than non-first-generation...
During their master’s degree work, cohorts of adult graduate students participated in a common le... more During their master’s degree work, cohorts of adult graduate students participated in a common learning task in which they listed their factors of good and bad learning experiences. The lead author collected these factors from students over the course of 3 years. The purpose of our inquiry was to examine and document what adult graduate students listed as factors contributing to good and bad experiences in adult learning classrooms. The finding revealed emergent high-frequency themes that were identified and named relating to student experience (Student Self), perceptions of and experience with instructors (Instructors), and respondent’s content learning (Course Content). Each factor was sorted into themes; frequency count analysis of factors from both good and bad lists identified three strong subthemes—Respect, Safety, and Engagement. Overall, adult graduate student voices call for attention to the affective domain of learning when designing and implementing active and engaged exp...
This study juxtaposes W. E. B. Du Bois’s question raised in 1903, “How does it feel to be a probl... more This study juxtaposes W. E. B. Du Bois’s question raised in 1903, “How does it feel to be a problem?” to students who are deemed as a “problem” in classrooms today, using a Disability Studies in Education (DSE) lens incorporating social justice and equity awareness into perspectives on disability in particular and on education in general. Two separate but mutually enhancing research projects (one project with pre-service teachers and the other with in-service teachers) share pedagogical approaches to assist the participants in learning to perceive their students not as being a problem but as (sometimes) having a problem. Project 1 applies a DSE approach to teacher candidate coursework in (special) education, and Project 2 engages practicing teachers in professional development activities designing classroom Calming Corners. Results indicate that teachers can be empowered to create inclusive and equitable classrooms by providing them with a DSE lens and with tools such as the Calming...
One pathway to creating more equitable schooling is through schools becoming trauma sensitive. St... more One pathway to creating more equitable schooling is through schools becoming trauma sensitive. Students exposed to trauma are more likely to struggle in school compared to their non-trauma-exposed peers. Changing the school environment allows trauma-exposed students more opportunities to access academics. This qualitative study explores the practices and strategies employed by one elementary school (K–5) to become trauma sensitive. Based on the data, five subthemes emerged that coalesce around the overarching theme of creating a caring community to achieve a trauma-sensitive school. For the purposes of this study, a caring community is defined as a group of people sharing a common workplace who have a true interest in the well-being of others in the community. The five subthemes include (1) the faculty’s commitment to creating a safe school, (2) intentional school design to foster support (covered in Ballin, 2022), (3) a commitment to engaging families, (4) a desire to make school f...
In this study, two teacher educators share their educational journey using narrative inquiry. Spe... more In this study, two teacher educators share their educational journey using narrative inquiry. Specifically, the authors share how they learned to ground their teaching and research in disability studies, what they have learned in the field to become better teachers for their students in (special) education, and why the shift in their theoretical framework and teaching might be relevant to other educators.
Adult graduate students in five cohorts nation-wid e l sted factors of good and bad learning expe... more Adult graduate students in five cohorts nation-wid e l sted factors of good and bad learning experiences; factors were sorted into cognitive, affective, and psychomotor categories. Overall a high frequency of response i the affective domain was revealed. Instructor/student relationship was prominent. Thi s work can inform curricular and faculty development design decisions. Introduction Much has been written about how to create effecti v learning environments for adults in higher education. The purpose of this study was to examine what students themselves say makes for good and bad experiences of adult learning. Ad ult graduate students know what they want. When they tell about their classroom experiences, r ich and provocative stories emerge. But how often are these stories used to inform course desig n or to support teaching methodology? The research contributes a new path for decisions about course design through inclusion of student voice. The data set used here is from graduate...
Equity in education begins with creating structures that support students inclusive of their soci... more Equity in education begins with creating structures that support students inclusive of their social-emotional needs. Students exposed to trauma perform best in schools that adopt trauma-sensitive practices. Many of these trauma-sensitive practices naturally prepare students to learn social–emotional skills, as the trauma-informed staff also models social–emotional learning. Mastery of these skills leverages student success in school and adult life. This article focuses on one aspect of a larger qualitative case study of trauma-sensitive practices adopted by one elementary school to support all students, inclusive of students affected by trauma. The research presented in this article focuses on the intentional design of the school. The author uses the term intentional design to refer to specific structures and systems in place in the school to support a trauma-sensitive environment. This intentional design, which the author noted through observations and interviews, involved purposef...
Background and objective: First generation college students (FGS), are emerging as an important d... more Background and objective: First generation college students (FGS), are emerging as an important demographic group for colleges and universities. Having a ‘sense of belonging’ or belonging is important to the success of all college students, especially for the retention of students who may be at risk of not completing their academic degree. The purpose of this study is to analyze differences between first generation and non-first-generation college students based on a mattering survey.Methods: Two hundred and thirty undergraduate students in one New England College participated in a study designed to uncover differences between FGS and non-first-generation college students based on responses to a mattering survey. The study utilized a questionnaire designed to capture students’ opinions on mattering. Open questions were included to inform and enrich the data.Results: First-generation student perceived a greater number of obstacles in their college experience than non-first-generation...
During their master’s degree work, cohorts of adult graduate students participated in a common le... more During their master’s degree work, cohorts of adult graduate students participated in a common learning task in which they listed their factors of good and bad learning experiences. The lead author collected these factors from students over the course of 3 years. The purpose of our inquiry was to examine and document what adult graduate students listed as factors contributing to good and bad experiences in adult learning classrooms. The finding revealed emergent high-frequency themes that were identified and named relating to student experience (Student Self), perceptions of and experience with instructors (Instructors), and respondent’s content learning (Course Content). Each factor was sorted into themes; frequency count analysis of factors from both good and bad lists identified three strong subthemes—Respect, Safety, and Engagement. Overall, adult graduate student voices call for attention to the affective domain of learning when designing and implementing active and engaged exp...
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