ScholarShare Presentations by Lisa Mitchell and Katelan Steward on Jan 31

Presenter: Lisa Mitchell, Ph.D Candidate
A Repertoire of Teaching: Understanding a Context for Internationally-Minded Music Education

Abstract:
In this ScholarShare session, I will be sharing the preliminary findings of my doctoral research. This qualitative research study investigates music education in an international school, and asks: (1) What are the stories of principle, practice and mindset that foster internationally-minded teaching and learning in an international school’s music program? and (2) How might these stories inform the practices of music educators in culturally diverse domestic schools? Data collection was completed at an international school in London, England, and was designed using Guo and Jamal’s (2007) trifold conceptual framework of principle, practice, and mindset: (1) analysis of 25 formal documents which revealed principles such as intercultural competency; (2) 60 hours of in-school observations which identified elements of internationally-minded music education practices; and (3) eight individual interviews which addressed the mindset of music educators and school administrators. Preliminary, emergent findings indicate a complex interconnectedness between stories of principle, practice, and mindset in the international school context, and include themes such as creative professionalism in teaching strategies, personalized learning in differentiated instruction, the encouragement of risk-taking in the classroom, and whole school community-building.

Presenter: Katelan Steward, M.Ed Candidate
Children's Physical Self-efficacy and Voluntary Physical Activity

Abstract:
The majority of Canadian youth are not obtaining the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity. These low activity levels may be partially explained by students’ physical self-efficacy in that cross-sectional research demonstrates a correlation between physical self-efficacy and children’s physical activity; however, school interventions focused on this relationship show limited success. The purpose of this sequential exploratory mixed method study is to better understand the relationship between Grade 5/6 students’ physical self-efficacy and physical activity levels. Grounded in social cognitive theory, 243 students from a rural British Columbia school district completed a questionnaire on their physical self-efficacy and physical activity. Next, 10 participants indicating above average physical activity levels, half demonstrating low physical self-efficacy and half demonstrating high physical self-efficacy, were selected for interviews. Thematic analysis followed and comparisons were made between the two groups with the intention of results potentially contributing to school approaches and interventions to increase students’ physical activity levels.

 
Scholarshare provides an opportunity for current graduate students in Education to share their work with their colleagues in a supportive environment and it gives attendees a chance to learn more about some of the research that is happening in the Faculty of Education.