Education Commons^™

Comparing Time Allocation For Teaching Science As Inquiry In Two Educator Preparation Science Methods Courses, Lori A. Dira

Faculty Journal Articles

How much time an institution allocates to content can indicate its overall importance and intended value to the educator preparation program. For decades there have been calls to integrate more authentic science inquiry experiences into not only undergraduate elementary science courses, but into all elementary educator preparation courses. Many elementary educators do not receive training on effective methods for teaching science, they will not feel comfortable and will likely have low self-efficacy. This study investigated the amount of time allocated to teaching science as inquiry and the knowledge participants had prior to and after taking an elementary teaching science methods …

How Students Investigate: Understanding Students’ Use Of Scientific Schemas In Open-Ended Labs, J. Alexander Wall

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Schema provides a theoretical framework for understanding the nature of science, inquiry, and open-ended labs. These topics have been emphasized in the state standards, especially in high school sciences. In this study the researcher took field notes, collected lab write ups, and conducted focus group interviews to understand students’ use of schema related to open-ended labs. These data were analyzed with the constant comparative method to generate themes. The author describes the major findings with parallel narratives, one focused on a student’s confusion and the other focused on a student’s understanding. The author concludes by advocating for science teachers to …

Fall 2022 Project Intersect Learning Showcase Program, Jamey Burns

Project InTERSECT Materials

This program highlights the inquiry presentations of our Inservice and Preservice teachers. The teachers came together to celebrate their STEM+C learning and share lessons learned from implementation. This showcase was a partnership between University of North Florida and Duval County Public Schools.

Examining Elementary Teacher Perceptions And Experiences Of Transitioning From Knowledge-Based To Inquiry-Based Social Studies Standards, Benjamin Stephen Pinnick

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Elementary educators are responsible for the earliest years of student learning in a public setting. The amount of content students are expected to master continues to grow in scope, and the methods that are utilized shift to align with educational research and social momentum. After a decade of Common Core policies, social studies education in elementary schools has become a deemphasized subject. Reading and math, as well as science, have taken a greater precedence in today’s classrooms.

Yet, expectations for the creation of knowledgeable and participatory citizens continue to serve as a goal in elementary schools. Conceptualization of citizenship form …

Dancing Through The Harlem Renaissance: An Inquiry-Based Unit Plan Exploring Movement And Culture, Marina Tsirambidis

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Incorporating movement and physical activity into the K-12, general education classroom has been on the rise. In a study done in 2019, Chloe Bedard deemed physical activity successful within the primary school setting and was determined to examine the benefits of movement integration into the secondary school setting (Bedard et al 2019, as cited in Romar, 2023). Additionally, dance scholars have researched the positive effects of incorporating dance history and movement into the classroom. With these two major advancements in mind, this study will provide a social studies unit that integrates dance movement. This unit aims to teach students about …

Journey “Box” Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

The Journey “Box” allows preservice teachers to explore and share their own historical narrative as they different aspects of their own family’s journey to America. The Journey “Box” first asks preservice teachers to explore themes by reading children’s literature and then positions preservice teachers as interviewers as they seek out different facets of their family’s historical narrative from members of their family. Preservice teachers then use their experience with a Journey “Box” to design an inquiry that could be used in their field experience. The Journey “Box” integrates social studies standards and best practices with ELA standards.