Education Commons^™

The Role Of The Student-Teacher Relationship In The Lives Of Fifth Graders: A Mixed Methods Analysis, Christopher M. Knoell

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The intent of this mixed methods study was to develop a more holistic understanding of the student-teacher relationship from the perspective of the fifth graders in two mid-western elementary schools on either end of the poverty spectrum. Quantitative data was gathered through the ClassMaps Survey (CMS) and analyzed for correlations with growth in student achievement data as measured by the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP). In the qualitative follow-up, the CMS data was further explored through semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data sources were analyzed for themes so as to provide a more in-depth understanding of the dynamics and importance of …

The Relationship Between Teacher Perceptions Of Elementary School Principal Leadership Style And Teacher Job Satisfaction, Joseph Kirk Biggerstaff

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher perceptions of elementary school principal leadership style and teacher job satisfaction. The study also investigated differences in teachers’ perceptions of elementary school principal leadership style and teacher job satisfaction based on teachers’ demographics (i.e., age, grade level taught, education level, teaching experience). Additionally, an examination of the significant factors that contribute to teacher job satisfaction as identified by the elementary teachers was explored.

This correlational study with a quantitative, non-experimental design utilized two surveys to measure elementary teacher perceptions of principal leadership style (Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire [MLQ]) and …

Classroom Factors, Student Engagement, And Self-Motivation In Reading, Anna M. Carlson

Honors Program Projects

The goal of this research was to determine how teachers most effectively produce engaged, self-motivated readers. The answer to this question was determined by preliminary research and survey results from 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th grade teachers. Based on the findings of the preliminary research, the following hypothesis was formed:

It is predicted that there is a relationship between implementing the following factors in the classroom and producing engaged, self-motivated readers:

1. 1. Providing time in class for independent reading
2. 2. Providing an appropriate environment for reading
3. 3. Allowing students to select books according to their interests …

Use Of The Pyramid Model For Supporting Preschool Refugees, Jennifer J. Hurley, Saveta Saini, Rachel A. Warren, Alissa J. Carberry

College of Education and Social Services Faculty Publications

Response to Intervention (RtI) is being applied to early childhood settings for the support of positive behavior and social development through the Pyramid Model (Fox, Carta, Strain, Dunlap & Hemmeter, 2010). This qualitative study assessed the use of the Pyramid Model for preschool aged refugee children living in a refugee resettlement community. Many young refugee children have experienced trauma (George, 2010) and some experience behavior and social challenges (Almqvist & Brandell-Forsberg, 1997). Twenty-five preschool service providers were interviewed about their use of the Pyramid Model for the support of preschool refugee students. Themes to be shared include how ECEs are …

Learning Ideas - Universal Design In Pre-K And Early Elementary Classrooms, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Family Resources

Universal design is an approach to designing environments and products so that the greatest number of people can use them. When applied to curriculum, teachers consider the potential barriers inherent in materials and activities, and plan many avenues to learning. This way, the greatest number of children can participate in the content and activities without adaptation.

Using Inquiry-Based Teaching And Kids Inquiry Conferences To Strengthen Elementary Science Instruction And To Encourage More Students To Pursue Science Careers, Paula A. Magee, Ryan Flessner

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

For the past 20 years, there has been a push to improve the teaching and learning of science in elementary schools. One strong reason for this was the release of the National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996). The Standards articulated not only what K-12 students should know (science content standards), but also how science teachers needed to teach (teaching standards) and be continuously supported (professional development standards). The Standards also considered ways to support inquiry-based and meaningful science learning for K-12 students (program and system standards). According to the NRC, one ot:·the four reasons underpinning all of this is because …

Must-Have Books: Critical Reading For Your Classroom Library, Jane Leeth

Articles

Visiting Scholar Katherine Bomer shared more than four dozen books with teachers at our 2012 Winter Workshop, helping us envision Critical Reading and Writing for Social Action units for our own classrooms. If you missed the workshop or didn’t get to see all of Katherine’s 50+ books, IPYW reading workshop coach Jane Leeth can help. Here, Jane presents her “must-have” recommendations from Katherine’s stack—including grade levels and story descriptions.

Using Their Words: Six Elements Of Social Justice Curriculum Design For The Elementary Classroom, Bree Picower

Department of Teaching and Learning Scholarship and Creative Works

This article provides a framework of six elements of social justice curriculum design for elementary classrooms. The elements move from students learning self-love and knowledge about who they are and where they come from to learning respect for people different from themselves. Students explore social injustice, learn about social movements, raise awareness, and engage in activism. By addressing all six elements, students develop an analysis of oppression and tools to take action. The elements help teachers visualize social justice education by providing examples of projects, making social justice in K-6 settings accessible, practical, and achievable.

Should Value-Added Modeling Be Used To Identify Highly Effective Teachers? Counterpoint, Kathryn Kinnucan-Welsch

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

In the past two decades, the importance of the teacher’s contribution to student learning has been widely acknowledged. Some researchers have argued that the teacher is the most important factor in explaining differences in student achievement. In previous decades much of the educational research literature explored differences in student achievement based largely on student characteristics such as educational attainment of the parents, socio-economic status, race, and gender. It is only recently that teachers have been placed at the center of research and accountability related to student learning. To put it simply, it is widely said that “teachers matter,” and recent …

Relationship Between Assessment And Students’ Learning, Babar Khan

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

Assessment is a critical aspect of teaching and learning process which aim at collecting, interpreting and analyzing the regarding students’ performance. The quality of learning is determined by the quality of assessment practices in the classroom. There are many purposes of assessment that focus on the different dimensions of educational development, however, the most dominant purposes of assessment are improving students’ learning and develop accountability measures for learning at classroom and school levels. For effective assessment, using appropriate assessment strategies is significant. There are number of that can be employed to enhance students’ learning outcome but teacher rely on only …

The Moral Dimension Of Teaching, Affectionate Schools And The Student Drop Out: The Case Study Of A Mountainous Community In Pakistan, Zeenat Shah, Sultan Alam, Sharifullah Baig

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

This study explored the perceptions, perspectives and viewpoints of the students about the reasons for turning the schools into uninteresting and unaffectionate places for the students eventually leading to the increased drop out ratio. This qualitative study was conducted in four secondary schools, which provide education to the children in four different educational systems of Gilgit- Baltistan, Pakistan. A number of six students from each school and altogether twenty four students were selected as the primary participants of this research. Semi structured interviews were the main tools of data collection. The findings highlighted the ethical, moral and behavioral aspect of …

Growing Effective Cld Teachers For Today’S Classrooms Of Cld Children, Gayla Lohfink, Amanda Morales, Gail Shroyer, Sally Yahnke

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Using a case study design, this investigation examined the effective teaching characteristics of nontraditional, culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) student teachers placed in rural, elementary schools with high populations of Latino/a students. Data collected reflected high percentages of effective teaching characteristics in multiple domains with specific indicators reflective of consistent teaching over time. A discussion of these findings considered aspects within the distance-delivery model that facilitated the CLD participants’ development of effective teaching and noted (1) consistent leadership, (2) explicit teacher instruction within CLD school settings, and (3) the strong cohesive nature of the CLD participants’ cohort as positively affecting …

Because It’S A Girl Cake!: Fostering Dialogue About Gender Identity In Elementary Classrooms, Amy E. Ryken, Niko Wacker

All Faculty Scholarship

In this documentary account, a kindergarten teacher and teacher educator describe our efforts to explore how young children think and reason about gender expression in and beyond the classroom. We describe our ongoing collaboration to develop a framework for teacher-initiated and student-initiated conversations about gender, which often result from students’ spontaneous remarks and questions about gender norms. We explore the question, How can educators create relevant and engaging learning opportunities to invite young learners to discuss gender norms within the classroom? In this paper we share kindergartners’ conversations about gender and three examples of their writing about this topic. We …

Improving Elementary American Indian Students’ Math Achievement With Inquiry-Based Mathematics And Games, Jamalee Stone, Edmund T. Hamann

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Project Inquiry-Based Mathematics was a National Science Foundation Math-Science Partnership implemented in a Great Plains city school district with a significant K-12 Native American population. One goal of the project was to reduce the achievement gap between Native American and non-Native students enrolled in the district. This gap reduction was to be achieved using inquiry-based mathematics curricula along with cognitively guided instructional strategies, particularly at the elementary level. This study focuses on whether inquiry-based mathematics strategies were consistently implemented in three fifth-grade classrooms at K-5 elementary schools with significant Native American student populations. Test result of Native American students at …

Integration Of Learning Spaces And Modes In The Elt Class: A Case Inquiry Paper, Mariam Farooq

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

Dialogic Conversations In An Embedded Literacy Assessment Field Experience, Lucy Spence, Amy Donnally, Amy Johnson Lachuk, Marcie Ellerbe

Faculty Publications

Preservice teachers often come into teacher education programs with a positivist view of assessment, which may have developed during their own schooling experiences. For this reason, purposefully constructed course work and field experiences must be offered to enable them reframe their conceptions of literacy assessment and to complicate the assessment practices that have become most familiar to them. This paper examines a course in which, the aim is to intentionally counter the positivist testing culture and invest in helping preservice teachers understand assessment as a multi-faceted, dynamic process of inquiry.

Enrollment And Academic Outcomes Of English Language Learners In Pre-K To Grade 3 In The Boston Public Schools, Sy2009: Data Points For A Discussion At Wheelock College, Miren Uriarte, Faye Karp

Gastón Institute Publications

This brief report focuses on the enrollment, characteristics and academic outcomes of English Language Learners in Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 3 in comparison with those of English proficient students and all students at these grade levels. The purpose of the report is to generate discussion about ways in which the learning needs of these students can best be met. As proposed, the report consists primarily of data tables and annotations organized around five sets of questions.