Browsing by Subject "Reflection"
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Item A Grounded Theory of Rhetorical Reflection in Freshman Composition(2011-05) Irvin, Lennie; Rice, Rich; Kemp, Fred; Rickly, RebeccaThe following dissertation presents a grounded theory of rhetorical reflection within the activity of writing performed by freshman writers at Texas Tech University. Influenced by the portfolio letter as a paradigm, composition as a field has predominantly framed reflection as a post-task activity; however, rhetorical reflection asks writers to problem-solve and generate new understandings between drafts. The following research sought to generate a new theory for two reasons: our field’s lack of understanding about reflection’s mechanisms and our field’s attachment to theories of reflection built from other speculative theories. The new theory satisfies each of these gaps by providing a detailed description and explanation of rhetorical reflection created from data following a grounded theory methodology. The grounded theory of rhetorical reflection discovered through this research states that reflection involves comparison, assessment, and judgment in terms of essay success. As the mental conception of what writers believe they should do, essay success is the key determining factor for the rhetorical reflection of freshman writers and undergoes a process of construction as writers engage in a writing task. The theory generated from this research offers an expanded view of reflection for the field of composition compared to the current portfolio-centric perspective. As a teaching activity, rhetorical reflection helps freshmen writers learn rhetorical practice and the flexible application of general concepts, theories, and rules in particular contexts. This research has also recognized and reaffirmed how important writers’ mental models are for the act of writing.Item Evaluating the cognitive process of students participating in a service-learning experience while enrolled in a collegiate social problems class(Texas A&M University, 2007-09-17) Pracht, Dale WayneThis study evaluated the cognitive process of students participating in a 20-hour service-learning experience while enrolled in a collegiate Social Problems course. This study examined student attitudes about social problems and their ability to affect change and examined relationships between demographic variables, student attitudes, and their stages of cognitive process. The population was all students who were enrolled in a Social Problems course during the Fall 2005 semester. Of the 77 students enrolled in the course, 48 completed both the pre-test and post-test questionnaire and 64 completed the service-learning journals and papers. The researcher used a mixed method research design. The quantitative study used a pre-test and post-test questionnaire to evaluate changes in attitude towards service learning. The qualitative study evaluated journal entries and papers using the Constant Comparative Method of Qualitative Analysis to assess stages of cognitive development. The major findings of the study were: 1) Students progressed through six stages of cognitive development - Shock, Guilt, Normalization, Cultural Sensitivity, Engagement, and Empowerment, however no student experienced all stages; 2) Three new stages were discovered - Guilt, Cultural Sensitivity, and Empowerment; 3) All students who had not volunteered before experienced Shock; 4) Shock occurred for some students who had previously volunteered; 5) Students experiencing Guilt were primarily White and from families with parental incomes greater than $75,000 a year; 7) A majority of students experienced Empowerment; 8) Most students volunteering more than 10 hours a month experienced Empowerment; 9) All People of Color experienced Empowerment; 10) Results from pre-test and post-test questionnaires did not indicate a significant change in attitudes towards service-learning as a result of participating in the service-learning experience. Educators should: 1) Be prepared to assist students as they experience multiple stages of the cognitive process during their service-learning experiences; 2) Give instruction in reflective journaling, provide students with guided journal questions, and monitor stages of the cognitive process; 3) Incorporate service-learning into curriculum to enhance cognitive learning and empower students; 4) Replicate with a more diverse population and larger sample size.Item Interdisciplinary studies portfolio(2012-05) Weinert, Philip M.; Morse, Audra; Davis, Donna F.; Heuman, Amy N.For completion of my Masters degree I must complete a portfolio comprised of specific works of which I think would show growth and development as a collegiate scholar. I have chosen for my portfolio a composition of a case study analysis, research proposal, a term paper, and an overall reflection to show the growth I have developed over the last two and a half years. The three papers which I have included I have written for several of the many graduate courses I have taken while achieving my Masters of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies.Item Lost & found(2012-05) Botkin, Erica Lauren; Sutherland, Dan, 1966-; Goodman, MarkI have produced two distinct bodies of work, landscapes and portraits. In both, I investigate my relationship to the subject. My role as the photographer fluctuates between the time I spend by myself and the time I spend with others. The landscape series promotes the act of looking and obscures my presence as photographer. Responding to the saturation of images in the media today, I hope to recalibrate viewers to a slower pace. I look for spaces at the edge of a controlled wilderness that are still accessible to the general public and mimic the identity of my childhood home in Northern California. Both color and black and white photographs sentimentalize manicured nature in ordinary locations. These landscapes facilitate reflection through consideration of similarities and differences. In doing so, these locations lose their specificity and approach a generalized sense of the sacred. The second body of work is a series of photographic collaborations I make with my autistic friend, Will Johns. He selects the subject matter and operates the light meter. His autism informs his methods, which then affects my methods. His idiosyncratic choices force me to photograph subject matter I wouldn’t be drawn to and compose in a new way where I must consider Will as author, subject and subject matter. In these images Will stands with the light meter, his posture gaze and facial expressions explicitly make reference to our relationship and reveal the complexity in separating subject matter from subject and the difficulties artists face with issues of exploitation and authorship.Item Novel tools for ultrafast spectroscopy(2011-12) Jarvis, Thomas William; Li, Elaine; Fink, Manfred; Keto, John; Lim, Sang-Hyun; Shih, Chih-Kang; Sitz, GregExciton dynamics in semiconductor nanostructures are dominated by the effects of many-body physics. The application of coherent spectroscopic tools, such as two-dimensional Fourier transform spectroscopy (2dFTS), to the study of these systems can reveal signatures of these effects, and in combination with sophisticated theoretical modeling, can lead to more complete understanding of the behaviour of these systems. 2dFTS has previously been applied to the study of GaAs quantum well samples. In this thesis, we outline a precis of the technique before describing our own experiments using 2dFTS in a partially collinear geometry. This geometry has previously been used to study chemical systems, but we believe these experiments to be the first such performed on semiconductor samples. We extend this technique to a reflection mode 2dFTS experiment, which we believe to be the first such measurement. In order to extend the techniques of coherent spectroscopy to structured systems, we construct an experimental apparatus that permits us to control the beam geometry used to perform four-wave mixing reflection measurements. To isolate extremely weak signals from intense background fields, we extend a conventional lock-in detection scheme to one that treats the optical fields exciting the sample on an unequal footing. To the best of our knowledge, these measurements represent a novel spectroscopic tool that has not previously been described.Item Reflective Practice of a Hispanic Chief Financial Officer and Interim Superintendent in a Predominantly Hispanic South Texas School District(2014-12-10) Amezcua, Jesus J.Reflective practice has been utilized in many fields. Education studies have recommended that reflexivity be used to enhance the practice of principals, teachers, and counselors. There has been little research in the area of reflective practice for superintendents and chief financial officers (CFOs) and the linking of Sch?n?s reflective practice with Mezirow?s transformative learning. Therefore, this study was aimed at examining my critical events and the use of reflective practice to improve professional development for superintendents and/or CFOs. The study was a first-person account of my experiences in a predominantly Hispanic South Texas school district. My autoethnography allowed me to be the primary participant and researcher in the study, and I used three types of reflective practice (reflection-in-action, reflection-on-action, and reflection-for-action) to narrate the critical events during my district tenure. Data collection included conducting a series of semistructured interviews with my committee chair, reviewing artifacts such as video tapes and board reports, and reflections from my journal. I ensured trustworthiness through data triangulation, thick description, and reflective journaling. My analysis included examining the data using Sch?n?s reflective practice and Mezirow?s precursors of transformative learning to identify disorienting dilemmas and examine my thinking, emotions, and reactions to the critical events and experiences. I identified five themes that were salient to my study: (a) disrespect, (b) ethical dilemmas, (c) politics, (d) bullying and oppression, and (e) change. Three suggestions to the adult learning process that will aid educational strategies for superintendents and CFOs have been identified: (a) that a chief financial officer not consider being an interim superintendent because being in such a position might create political situations, (b) that a new reflective practice model be considered where reflection-for-action (RFA) is used as a planning tool knowing that we are always in the reflection-in-action (RIA) mode, and (c) that journaling and peer discussions be used as a way to reflect on experience. The autoethnography should be carefully examined for limitations and personal interpretations. I believe that my stories will contribute to the preparation and practice of superintendents and CFOs as well as future research, and my stories are discussed herein.Item The Impact of a Metacognitive Reflection Component in a Problem-Based Learning Unit(2010-01-16) Seifert, Kathryn A.This mixed methods dissertation explores the impact of metacognitive support (reflective journal entries and a think-aloud exercise) in a PBL (problem-based learning) unit. While students are developing a solution for a PBL unit they may become occupied solely in solving the problem or task and not take time to fully consider what and how they have learned. This study examined how a metacognitive reflective component in a problem-based learning curriculum aids the learning process. The problem explored in this dissertation is that though problem-based learning may engage students, it is not known to what extent reflection adds to learners? development and application of critical thinking skills such as problem solving. The participant observer taught a problem-based learning unit concurrently with a poetry unit in three secondary senior-level English/language arts classrooms over a six weeks period. Four data sources were analyzed quantitatively: a pre-test and post-test on poetry terms, students? essay scores, and a survey. To determine differences between groups ANCOVA (Analysis of Covariance) was used to analyze the results of the poetry terms pre-test and post-test of the two experimental groups and the control group. MANCOVA (Multivariate Analysis of Covariance) was used to compare the results of the two experimental groups and the control group on the criteria of the essay. MANCOVA was also conducted to compare survey results between the experimental groups and the control group. The ANCOVA and MANCOVA tests used SPSS software. Additionally, qualitative analysis used a constant comparison method to analyze students? journal entries and a think-aloud exercise to provide insights concerning the research questions. The overall findings of this study fail to lend support for the intervention that was examined. The quantitative analysis results were not statistically significant between the two experimental groups and the control group. While the qualitative data sources provided some insights regarding how students learn, the data did not indicate that this type of metacognitive support greatly impacted student learning over the course of this study.Item Video reflection in teacher professional development(2013-08) Bell, Randy Clinton; Callahan, Rebecca M.The goal of this report is to synthesize my current understanding of teacher reflective practice as addressed in academic literature and to specifically examine the potentials and limitations of video recording in the reflective process of teachers. I trace my experience and growth in reflective practice as a bilingual elementary school teacher and consider how teachers as researchers/participants in reflective practice cohorts can contribute to the professionalism of teaching. As a result of my findings I make recommendations toward appropriate professional develop using video reflection as a key component in the development of novice teachers via the mentor/mentee framework. This report contributes to the knowledge base regarding reflective practice and to the growing literature on video recording in the reflective process of teachers. It also provides insights into the potential for action-based research by practicing teachers. Implications and recommendations for teachers and researchers are included.