Education Commons^™

From Silence To Collaboration: Supporting Children With Incarcerated Parents In The Classroom, Lily Cavanagh

Graduate Student Independent Studies

To better support children with incarcerated parents in the classroom, teachers must first know themselves and their biases. Teachers and schools must work to train staff and create a school environment that supports families to form a collaborative relationship with teachers in order to provide the best care for the child. Through the creation of a handbook for teachers and a three-part professional development workshop, this thesis aims to fill this gap in teacher education and proposes some concrete examples for ways teachers can support children with incarcerated parents in the classroom.

Improving Pre-Service Teachers' Preparation To Integrate Music And Movement In Early Childhood Classrooms, Elaine Myrianthopoulos

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study examines student teachers' fieldwork experiences, in order to better support their efforts to integrate music and movement in early childhood classrooms.

Reflecting Together On Race, Privilege, And Teaching: Why Bank Street Needs Stronger Commitment To Teacher Education In Social Justice, Guiliana De Grazia, Molly Raik

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This project explores the need for high quality teacher training in social justice education and the current program in early childhood education at Bank Street College.

A Look At What Are The Best Practices For Infant And Toddler Care, Tara Greaney

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The first part of this project looks at what qualifications and trainings are currently required to be an infant/toddler caregiver in New York City. This is followed by a literature review of the professional development training program's best practices for infant/toddler care in five states. Interviews with seasoned directors of infant/toddler programs and surveys are also included.

Moving From The What To The How : The Effects Of Instructional Coaching On Student Engagement, Mark Maranto

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study details the process of one-to-one instructional coaching and explores the question: what effect does one-to-one instructional coaching have on teacher pedagogical skill to improve student engagement?.

Designing A Professional Development Program For Teachers That Builds On Their Knowledge And Inspires Continued Commitment And Interest In Early Childhood, Susan Malone

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study investigates teachers' participation in several forms of professional development activities, and it describes teachers' assessments of the various opportunities offered by their school.

The Early Years : A Handbook For New Early Childhood Progressive Educators, Mallory Morris

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This master's project provides research, advice, and suggestions that will continue to prepare progressive early childhood teachers for their first years in the classroom.

Professional Learning Communities For Early Childhood Teachers, Kristen Scotese

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study describes research related to professional development, mainly professional learning communities. The author created two professional learning communities within a child care facility in Queens, New York. This study implies that professional learning communities can be beneficial to early childhood teachers.

Lesson Study At The Bank Street School For Children, Ryan Harrity

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Lesson study, the primary form of professional development in Japan, is receiving increased attention in the U. S. Its efficacy in Japan is well documented, and it has been successfully implemented in the U. S. Other educator-scholars have adequately argued for its use in American schools. What is needed, however, is more documented evidence of its implementation and outcomes, as well as school-specific frameworks for conducting lesson study in various schools, especially independent schools. There has been extensive documentation of lesson study in public schools across the U. S., but none, as we know, in independent schools. This paper establishes …

Mentoring Novice And Experienced Teachers On Block Play Using The Developmental-Interaction Approach In The Philippines, Kathrina Gancayco-Umali

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Traces the journey of traditional early childhood Filipino teachers in implementing the developmental-interaction approach in the block corner. Five novice and experienced teachers embarked on a professional development series of four mentoring sessions. As a result of this process, teachers have demonstrated confidence and involvement in implementing the use of unit blocks through the developmental-interaction approach and administration agreed to adapt this as a model design for the early childhood program.

Creating Conversations, Changing Cultures: Case Study Of A Professional Development Plan, Alexis Goldberg

Graduate Student Independent Studies

There's a lot working against authentic demonstrations of thinking, and legitimate avenues of collaboration in our school cultures. We force-feed students high-stakes tests that promote a single "right answer" instead of multiple solution paths. Despite research that suggests teachers learn best from each other, we promote the ideal of the teacher-as-­maverick. Many of our systems endorse closed-set, closed-door thinking that leaves room for neither independent student thinking nor the collaborative generation of ideas.

Breaking cultures this strong, this endemic, is a weighty task. In a yearlong case study, Alexis Goldberg creates and executes a professional development plan that engages with …

Bank Street And Teach For America: Process And Preparation, Paul Shirk

Graduate Student Independent Studies

In this paper I analyze the goals and practices of education that are implied in the mission statements and literature of Bank Street College of Education (Bank Street) and Teach for America (TFA). I noticed and struggled to understand the tension between the mission statements of the two organizations that I was a part of during my master's program. While analyzing the readings and my experiences, I began to see differences between these two organizations' theories and beliefs about child development. I considered how my experiences with children supported or refuted these beliefs. From Bank Street, I recognized many beliefs …

It's All About The Teachers: Bank Street's Math For Teachers As Professional Development, Robin Hummel

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This work describes a professional development initiative that was based on the graduate course, Mathematics for Teachers in Diverse and Inclusive Educational Settings (K-6), taught by Linda Metnetsky at Bank Street College of Education. The author wrote and implemented this professional development initiative for teachers in her former district: a large, middle class, suburban school district outside of Philadelphia. It consisted of six full day sessions, held from October through April during the 2004-05 school year. Eleven teachers from third, fourth, and fifth grades participated, and the impact of this professional development on two participants is the focus of this …

Collaborating With Colleagues To Improve Student Learning Using The Connected Mathematics Project, Margaret D. Seifer

Graduate Student Independent Studies

I am a teacher of mathematics at Millburn Middle School, Millburn, New Jersey. During my nine years at Millburn, I have taught using the Connected Mathematics Program (CMP) for seven years to eighth graders and before that, I taught CMP in it's pilot stage to sixth graders.

This guide is a result of my thinking and learning during my time at Bank Street College. The guide is based on a journey through my learning as a professional developer. It is a tool which, I hope, will be of some use to other CMP leaders. It is hoped that if such …

Improving Teacher Preparation: Addressing The Needs Of New Teachers In Small, Progressive, Public Schools, Christina J. Dixon

Graduate Student Independent Studies

As an institution committed to progressive education, Bank Street College shares the mission of educating for democracy with New York's small, progressive public schools. Case studies of three students and semi-structured interviews with Bank Street instructors and researchers illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of Bank Street's Professional Development in Early Adolescence program in preparing its graduates to teach successfully in small, progressive public school environments. Through a literature review, six distinct areas of teaching expertise are identified as factors which contribute to a teacher's success in such schools: Understanding the Child, Social Context, Classroom Life, Academic, Interpersonal and Professional. The …

Interpretations Of Progressive Education: A Comparative Study Of The Philosophies Of Education Of The Municipal Early Childhood Schools Of Reggio Emilia And The Bank Street College Of Education, Monica Della Croce

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Compares the progressive philosophies of education of the municipal infant-toddler centers and preprimary schools of Reggio Emilia, and Bank Street College of Education and its School for Children. The histories and theoretical origins of each philosophy of education are introduced. Elaborations on the fundamental principles of each are provided, including discussions of the creation of learning environments, the perception of children's learning, the roles of teachers, and the place of the community. Throughout the text, cultural frameworks are made evident, in order to reflect on the influence that culture and history have on the ways in which progressive philosophies of …

A Staff Development Program For Paraprofessionals, Marjorie Brickley

Graduate Student Independent Studies

A description of the process of designing a staff development program for paraprofessionals working with children birth - 3 years of age. The thesis highlights special issues that infant/toddler programs face. The staff development process includes an assessment of the caregiver's skills, setting goals for the improvement of the program, a description of the 2 day training that was held, and an evaluation of the changes that resulted from the staff development experience.

A Study Of One Group's Experience Of The Advisement Process At Bank Street College, Marianne Montero

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study describes and analyzes the Advisement Process as experienced by eight members of one advisement group. Most of the data is based on interviews with the students and the advisor of the group. Particular emphasis is given to mental health concepts that are applicable to Advisement.

Also discussed are the philosophy and goals that five of these students have for the children they teacher and how they strive to apply these.

Of the seven students interviewed, six felt that advisement was effective for them. One person did not.

A Study Of Gordon Klopf: Bank Street Distinguished Specialist In Leadership Development, Fredda Pravitz

Graduate Student Independent Studies

A study is made of Gordon J. Klopf, the educator, focusing on the years that he has been at Bank Street. His approach, method and style of working with adult learners are examined, from the time he left Teacher's College in the 1960's to come to work at Bank Street. The role that he played in developing various programs is discussed as well as the effect that his teaching has had on the personal and professional development of educational staff at all levels. A professional biographical statement is included as an appendix.

A Study Of Olga Smyth, Director, High Valley School: 1934 Graduate Of Bank Street, Deborah Stone

Graduate Student Independent Studies

A study is made of the educator Olga Smyth, 1934 graduate of Bank Street. Examins her particular style of working with children, and what it is based on in her history, education, and personality. The continuity of her work and the consistency of her approach is shown, from her days at Bank Street through the making of "Incitement to Reading" (film by L. J. Stone showing her teaching first graders at the Poughkeepsie Day School in the 1950's) to her work at her own school with children whose emotional and learning problems make it impossible for them to succeed in …

An Advisement Group Model: A Student's Reflective Analysis, Deborah Sweet Burns

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper clarifies the components that define a group and describes a specific group structure, the conference group model at Bank Street College of Education. In concludes with a reflective analysis of the conference group the author participated in during graduate study at Bank Street College.

The Bank Street Threes And Their World, Lois Owen

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This is a study of a group of seventeen three year olds at the Bank Street School for Children, 69 Bank Street, New York City in which I was a student teacher for five months. My purpose is to, first, state some philosophical positions of my own concerning preschoolers and preschool education. On these bases I proceed to an investigation of the school as an institution, a discussion of the parents, the children, and the curriculum for the group. I attempt to analyze the suitability of the curriculum to the needs of the children, and to evaluate the expectations of …