College of Education and Human Development

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Student dissertations

Graduates of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction engage in complex research agendas supported by our award-winning faculty members. See examples of past student dissertations and research agendas, grouped by doctoral track.

Arts in education

  • A Balanced Curriculum for Student-Oriented Learning in Art + Design Education: Toward Community-Based Participatory Design Research 
    Mee Jekal, 2020 
    Adviser: James Bequette
     
  • How does Creativity take shape in an arts classroom? A Post-intentional phenomenological and Arts-based study on the creation of artwork 
    Shelagh Gamble, 2019 
    Adviser: James Bequette
     
  • The Other Museum: The Experience of The Interior Space at The Adaptive Reuse Museum, where the institution meets its historically preserved building 
    Abdulrahman (Ben) Albannaa, 2019 
    Adviser: James Bequette

Literacy education

  • Race Talk in the Classroom: Whiteness, Emotionality, and Antiracism 
    Kevin Lally, 2020 
    Adviser: Tim Lensmire
     
  • Rereading and Rewriting Teachers’ Stories of Felt Impossibilities 
    Abby Boehm-Turner, 2020 
    Adviser: Tim Lensmire
     
  • Exploring Reading Motivation and Engagement in Discipline-specific Classes 
    Yongjun Lee, 2020 
    Adviser: David O’Brien
     
  • Beyond Urbanization: (Un)sustainable Geographies and Young People’s Literature 
    Nick Kleese, 2021 
    Adviser: Marek Oziewicz

Culture and teaching

  • Teacher Life: A Narrative Inquiry into the Storied Knowledge of Teachers 
    Jake Knaus, 2020 
    Adviser: Bic Ngo
     
  • Adviser: Bic Ngo Being and Belonging in America: Second-Generation Asian American Teachers’ Stories of Negotiating Identity & Culture 
    Meghan Phadke, 2021 
    Adviser: Nina Asher
     
  • How Service Learning Constructs Ideal Citizens for the Nation 
    Colleen Rost-Banik, 2019 
    Adviser: Vichet Chhuon

Second language education

  • Traveling through spatial repertoires and mathematics: Dialogic nature of physics discourse practices and socialization activities 
    Yi-Ju Lai, 2020 
    Adviser: Kendall King
     
  • On Becoming the Peace Elephant Warrior Princess: Reclaiming Indigenous Rights to Spirituality, Creativity and Orality for the Vitality of Mbòg Bàsàa 
    Veronica Quillien, 2019 
    Adviser: Mary Hermes
     
  • Elementary Mandarin Immersion Students Learning Alphabetic Pinyin and Using Pinyin to Learn Chinese Characters 
    Zhongkui Ju, 2019 
    Adviser: Martha Bigelow
     
  • Bilingual educational language policies in context: A multidimensional examination of California’s bilingual teaching authorization 
    Kathleen Mitchell, 2019 
    Adviser: Kendall King

Elementary education

  • Female Student Voice and Breaking the Silence: A Post-Intentional Phenomenological Exploration of the Lived Experiences of Females Using Digital Storytelling 
    Halah Alismail, 2020 
    Adviser: Mark Vagle
     
  • A Phenomenological Exploration of the Hegemonic Insider-Outsider in Teacher Education 
    Younkyung Hong, 2021 
    Advisers: Annie Mason and Mark Vagle

Social studies education

  • Essential Voices: The Lived Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Individuals in a Rural School. 
    Heather Abrahamson, 2020 
    Adviser: J.B. Mayo
     
  • “You Will See Yourself In This Class”: A Case Study of Rendering Absent Narratives Visible 
    Daniel Bordwell, 2019 
    Adviser: J.B. Mayo

Learning technologies

  • Examining Pre-service Teachers’ Technology Integration Perceptions and Practices 
    Yu-Hui Chang, 2021 
    Adviser: Cassie Scharber
     
  • Defining Active Learning in Online Courses Through Design Principles 
    Christiane Reilly, 2020 
    Adviser: Gill Roehrig
     
  • What Would Grace Hopper Do? Reclaiming Women's Place in Computer Science 
    Kris Isaacson, 2019 
    Adviser: Cassie Scharber

STEM education

  • Identity in Mathematics Spaces for Middle and High School Students: A Case Study Approach to the Revealing of Identities in Formal and Informal Mathematics Spaces 
    Elena Gullickson, 2020 
    Adviser: Lesa Clarkson
     
  • Growing North Minneapolis: Fostering Youth Leadership and Critical Mentorship Through Intergenerational Work and Community-University Partnerships 
    Illana Livstrom, 2020 
    Adviser: Gill Roehrig
     
  • Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Proof in Secondary Mathematics Teacher Preparation 
    Foster Graif, 2020 
    Adviser: Erin Baldinger
     
  • Student Experiences Navigating Data Analysis Tasks in Fifth Grade Science and Engineering Settings 
    Aran Glancy, 2020 
    Adviser: Erin Baldinger and Tamara Moore
     
  • Understanding Sensemaking in Undergraduate Science Classrooms 
    FangFang Zhao, 2020 
    Advisers: Gill Roehrig and Anita Schuchardt