Elementary Education and Teaching Commons^™

How Does Reciprocal Teaching Scaffold Reading Comprehension Of Non-Fiction Text?, Mary Delaney-Beane

Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted in a suburban fourth grade class in New Jersey. Its purpose was to examine how Reciprocal Teaching scaffolds comprehension when reading non-fiction text. Students were evaluated prior to the study. Teacher modeling preceded students' application of the strategies. Throughout the study, students were evaluated on whether they were using the four strategies, predicting, questioning, clarifying, summarizing, in a manner that made sense and was related to the text. Rubrics were used to evaluate each of the four strategies. Additional data came from the discussions among students while reading text together. Data analysis showed the use of …

The Dream Deferred: The School-To-Prison Pipeline And The Destruction And Potential Resurrection Of The Black Male, Alexandria L. Timoll

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In American society, Black boys are both “at-risk” for academic failure and for having their dreams deferred. The label at-risk is a larger consequence of the commonly portrayed image of the Black male as a criminal within American society. Unfortunately, what is thought of as the great equalizer, education and schooling, also plays a significant role in the criminalization of Black males. In schools, their intersectionality on measures of socioeconomic and special education status, race, and gender renders them susceptible to the thwarting effects of the school-to-prison pipeline. Through this paper I argue that (1) the education- related causes of …

An Exploration Of Close Reading Strategies And 3rd Grade Comprehension, Loretta Cecilia Houck

Theses and Dissertations

The research case study was conducted to explore how Close Reading Strategies support 3rd grade Basic Skills students' comprehension. The purposes of the study were to first determine if utilizing the rereading and text questioning strategies would support students' comprehension while reading complex texts. Secondly, to determine if annotating in the margins of the text would support comprehension as the students reflected on their thinking. The students were of varying abilities of below grade level readers and one student was an ELL below grade level and challenged by language meaning difficulty. The students were reading on an end first grade …

The Impact Of Blogs In The Classroom: A Qualitative Analysis Of Elementary Students Using Blogs To Respond To Texts, Jessica Bakan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how students in a fourth grade classroom used blogging when responding to texts. Students were required to write a blog post about the fictional text that they were currently reading. In the posts, I encouraged students to incorporate details and well-developed responses. Students were given freedom to write without a prompt to guide their responses. After the students wrote their initial posts, they had the freedom to read their classmates' entries and comment, developing an online community. Throughout this study, I have analyzed student engagement, motivation, writing skills, quality of responses, and …

Reading With Choice Of Texts In The First Grade Classroom, Erine Lloyd

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how first grade students would respond to reading when provided with the opportunity to select their own texts to read. More specifically, I was curious to see if offering students choice of reading materials would engage them in reading, motivate them to want to read, and have an impact on reading growth. The first grade students' reading logs, reading response journals, reading attitude surveys, and interviews were analyzed. Offering students the opportunity to self-select their own texts to read transformed the literacy classroom. When choice was afforded to the learners, most students …

“Science Is Not My Thing”: Exploring Deaf Non-Science Majors’ Science Identities, Cara L. Gormally, Amber Marchut

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing are underrepresented in science majors, yet we know little about why. Students from other underrepresented groups in science—women and people of color—tend to highly value altruistic or communal career goals, while perceiving science as uncommunal. Research suggests that holding stereotypical conceptions about scientists and perceptions of science as uncommunal may strongly hinder recruitment into science majors. This study sought to explore the science identities of students who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing signers. The study focused on non-science majors in bilingual (American Sign Language and written English) biology laboratory courses. This study is the …

A Qualitative Case Study Describing The Relationship Of Physical Activity And Classroom Behaviors Expectations For Elementary Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Steven Robert Wehrle

Theses and Dissertations

This case study examined the relationship of elementary age students' participation in a before-school physical activity program and their adherence to the behavioral expectations in the morning homeroom period. Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) demonstrate behaviors such as impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattention. One theory that as to the cause of these behaviors is the lack of a synaptic connection in the Executive Functioning brain area, which is caused by the lack of dopamine and norepinephrine which increase during physical activity.

This case study was conducted using three student participants diagnosed with ADHD and their classroom teacher. Data collection …

Impact Of Mindset On Literacy: What Happens To Literacy Skills When A Growth Mindset Is Taught To First Graders, Katherine Saia

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the type of mindsets held by first graders and to determine what happens when they are exposed to ways to have a growth mindset. The goal is to see what happens when children use a growth mindset when asked to engage in challenging literacy activities. First graders were first evaluated using a mindset survey and reading levels were determined. Logic puzzles were given and timed to determine if work effort matched that of the mindset survey. Students showed a change in mindset and growth in reading abilities. Implications for future research are …

Using A Senior Seminar During Internship Ii As A Means To Increase Self-Efficacy, Perceptions Of Preparedness, And Internship Experiences For Elementary Education Teachers, Shane Trenta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quasi-experimental, mixed methods study was to examine how a Senior Seminar pilot conducted during elementary preservice teachers' Internship II semester could potentially increase their teacher self-efficacy and perceptions of preparedness to teach. The study was conducted at a large public university located in the southeast United States and included 29 participants. The collection of data included the 24 item Teacher Sense of Self-Efficacy Survey (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) used to measure pre- and post- teacher self-efficacy for classroom instruction, classroom management, and student engagement. To measure pre- and post- perceptions of preparedness, the 8 item …

Transition Goals For Youth With Social, Emotional, And Behavioral Problems: Parent And Student Knowledge, Judith R. Harrison, Talida State, Howard P. Wills, Beth A. Custer, Elaine Miller

Department of Teaching and Learning Scholarship and Creative Works

Transition planning is a mandated component of individualized education plans (IEPs) designed to ensure successful transition to adult life for students with disabilities. Students with social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) needs experience poor post-school outcomes, suggesting a need for more effective transition planning. This study evaluated student and parent knowledge of employment and training goals in IEPs and the match between goals and student future planning. Ninety-three high school students and parents reported their IEP participation and knowledge of goals and responses were compared to goals in their IEPs. Results indicated that students and parents had limited knowledge of goals …

What’S To Be Learned? A Review Of Sociocultural Digital Literacies Research Within Pre-Service Teacher Education, Ana Karina De Oliveira Nascimento, Michele Knobel

Department of Teaching and Learning Scholarship and Creative Works

This circumscribed review analyzes recent sociocultural, qualitative research in digital literacies within pre-service teacher education. It focuses on what teacher educators are doing with respect to working with pre-service teacher education students and digital literacies conceived more in terms of social practices than as proficiency in using education technology tools. Analysis suggests digital literacies within pre-service teacher education are typically linked to out-of-school practices in order to help facilitate student teachers' take-up of digital literacies in their own classrooms. The studies also suggest that projects that encourage and support collaboration are well received by pre-service teachers and seem to result …

Writing With Parents In Response To Picture Book Read Alouds, Danielle L. Defauw

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

High-quality writing instruction needs to permeate elementary students’ in- and outside-of-school experiences. The aim of this research was to explore how teaching writing to parents may support home-school literacy connections. This qualitative case study explored parents’ experiences in interactive writing sessions. The descriptive coding and constant comparative analysis of transcribed parent writing sessions, field notes, and documents revealed three themes: (1) Writing Tips and Strategies, (2) Parent-Writers, and (3) Story Connections. The parent writing sessions facilitated parents’ understanding of how to support their elementary-age children’s writing development. Parents demonstrated a desire to support their children’s writing development, and they needed …

Teaching In The Age Of Humans Helping Students Think About Climate Change., Grinell Smith

Faculty Publications

To convey the magnitude and rapidity of current climate change and the severity of predictions for the next century, I present essential climate science information using four key sets of data and contextualize that information with personal anecdotes. I then consider the reasons for the large gap between the scientific consensus about anthropogenic climate change and public perceptions of that consensus. With several known challenges to climate change education in mind, I offer four recommendations for teachers that map relevant social psychology to pedagogy: (1) establish a learning community that works to disrupt in-group favoritism and reduce attribution bias; (2) …

Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Attitudes And Pedagogical Strategies Toward Hypothetical Shy, Exuberant, And Average Children, Qizhen Deng, Guy Trainin, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Irina Kalutskaya, Stephanie Wessels, Julia C. Torquati, Robert J. Coplan

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Children’s learning and development are directly and indirectly influenced by teachers’ beliefs and pedagogical strategies toward child behaviors. This cross-sectional study explored elementary preservice teachers’ attitudes and pedagogical strategies for working with hypothetical children demonstrating temperament-based shy, exuberant, and average behaviors in the classroom. A secondary goal was to compare attitudes and pedagogical strategies at the beginning and end of teacher training program. A total of 354 participants responded to three vignettes describing children frequently displaying these behaviors. Results indicated preservice teachers were more likely to use social-learning strategies with shy children and high-powered strategies with exuberant children. Participants were …

Developing And Validating The Elementary Literacy Self-Efficacy Survey, Adam Ulenski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to measure the task-specific self-efficacy beliefs of elementary literacy coaches. In order for this to happen, a synthesis of literature regarding literacy coaching tasks including the International Literacy Association's standards for literacy coaches were used to write several items on the survey. In addition, the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale and the researcher's experiences as an elementary literacy coach were used to write other items on the survey. Experts in the field of literacy coaching and self-efficacy provided content validity. Construct validity was established through correlation statistics with …

Identity Politics, State Standards, And On The Ground Realities: A Critical Policy Analysis Of Teaching/Learning Gender/Sexuality In A Virginia Elementary School, Stefanie Hudson

Theses and Dissertations

Even though America has seen an increase in the level of acceptance for people who identify as LGBTQ and/or gender non-conforming, certain aspects within society continue to hinder their rights, especially within public education. Specifically, there are insufficiencies regarding content of and attitudes toward including LGBTQ issues in teaching and leadership training programs. Add to that, the deficits in most Family Life Education (FLE) programs in elementary schools as they lack adequate coverage of developmentally appropriate teaching and learning about gender and sexuality. Taken together, it remains questionable whether the needs of LGBTQ and/or gender non-conforming children can truly be …

Investigating Mathematics Self-Efficacy Beliefs Of Elementary Pre-Service Teachers In A Reform-Based Mathematics Methods Course, Abdelghani Setra

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For the last thirty years research has unfailingly shown that teacher efficacy has a positive impact on student outcomes, making teacher efficacy an critical element in quality mathematics instruction. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a math methods course on the mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs of elementary pre-service teachers. Seventy participants from four classes were students enrolled in ELED 4310 math methods course responded to the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI) on

first and last week of class. Paired sample t-tests were used to analyze the quantitative data. mixed methods design was implemented to …

Assessing General Education Teacher Training On Idea And Section 504 Law, Yolian Cintron

All Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to assess how much general education teachers actually know about the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in order to identify training needs for general education teachers regarding these two laws. A survey was created to cover several areas within the legal mandates of IDEA law (2004) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Results showed that teachers have a lot to learn about 1) the referral, assessment, and placement process; and 2) requirements of the IEP team meeting and the IEP document; and …

The Western Sydney Rustbelt: Recognizing And Building On Strengths In Pre-Service Teacher Education, Loshini Naidoo, Jacqueline Ann D'Warte

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Preparing pre-service teachers to address the disparities in educational attainment that occur in settings with complex demographics such as high poverty and super diversity (Vertovec, 2007) require a theoretically driven contextual and spacial (Soja, 1996) understanding of disadvantage. This understanding highlights the structural and systemic inequalities that exist between the rich and the poor and limit social and economic mobility for disadvantaged students in schools. This paper uses a conceptual and spacial understanding to focus on the strategies implemented by a primary and secondary pre-service teacher program to support and improve pre-service teacher learning of disadvantaged schools. We detail approaches …

Instructional Strategies Of Effective Mathematics Teachers Of African American Upper Elementary Students, Susan Warthen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

National assessments have revealed that African American students do not demonstrate proficiency in mathematics to the same degree as their White counterparts; however, some teachers are able to guide their African American students to mathematics success. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine the instructional strategies of teachers who have been successful in promoting mathematics achievement in African American students. This study was guided by a single research question that focused on the instructional strategies used by teachers whose African American upper elementary students demonstrated proficiency in mathematics on a state standardized test. Feuerstein's mediated learning experience …