This action research study followed a social studies educator as he developed and implemented screencasts in three ninth-grade world history classes. He focused on ways to increase student-centered learning and meeting the needs of broad ranges of learners. The study revealed an increase in student engagement, instruction in career and college technological skills, and facilitation of special education students' needs. Few studies investigate the use of screencasting in social studies education. This study reveals the benefits and some of the drawbacks to using this technology in the social studies classroom.
A unique multi-part qualitative study methodology is presented from a study which tracked the transformative journeys of four career-changing women from STEM fields into secondary education. The article analyzes the study’s use of archived writing, journaling, participant-generated photography, interviews, member-checking, and reflexive analytical memos. An exploration into the interconnectedness of the methodologies used reveals a robust framework from which the first stages of grounded theory emerged. A detailed explanation of the methodological aspects of conducting the study is discussed with the purpose of making this combination of qualitative methods replicable.
In this literature review, 10 empirical qualitative research articles published since 1999 are analyzed to better understand how researchers use Jack Mezirow's transformative learning theory as a functional tool for measuring the transformative process. The studies investigate higher education and/or professional education settings. This analysis reveals the following themes: lack of robust results on reporting transformation in highly structured transformational contexts, need for longitudinal design, difficulty in capturing and analyzing participant self-reports, and need for multiple data pathways to verify transformation. The author also suggests that the focus of transformative learning research move from assessing whether transformation has occurred and toward analyzing the transformative process for how it can inform curricular decision making and instruction.
This qualitative case study focuses on the transition made by three career-changing women moving from science and engineering fields into secondary teaching. The findings indicate that all three women exhibited unexpected levels of fear, anxiety, and shame in response to new learning. Supported by the literature on adult learning and transformative learning, the findings reveal that the participants underwent perspective transformations in their thinking about themselves as professionals and their philosophy of teaching. The study concludes with recommendations for support in order to increase the likelihood that this valuable professional cohort reaches their goal of becoming teachers.
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