Education Commons^™

Dr. Josh Hollinger, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Is It Really Worth It?, Sheila Mulder

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Is Christian Education "Worth It"?, Sheila Mulder

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"God desires that His people work to restore and form culture."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the value of Christian education from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/is-christian-education-worth-it/

Pedagogies That Foster A Growth Mindset Towards Mathematics, Valorie L. Zonnefeld

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Research demonstrates that a student’s mindset plays an important role in achievement and that mindsets are domain specific. Carol Dweck claimed that mathematics needs a mindset makeover and has shown that teachers can foster a growth mindset through their pedagogical choices. This paper shares how one university trains preservice teachers in mathematics pedagogies that are key to fostering a growth mindset. These practices include educating students on brain function, equitable access, metacognition strategies, feedback practices, the importance of productive struggle, and learning from mistakes.

Writing For An Authentic Audience In The Middle Grades, Emily Huffman

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research study investigated the effects of writing for an authentic audience on the achievement and engagement of students in a school in Southern California. The participants were 79 8th graders, split into an experimental group of 40 that wrote a review with the opportunity to be published in The New York Times, and a control group of 39 students that wrote a review for the teacher to read and grade.

Athletic Teams Reach Scholarly Milestone, Mike Byker

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Smartphones And Schoolwork: Determining The Relationship Between Students’ Beliefs And Habits Regarding Phones, Luke Breems

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research project investigated the relationship between students’ beliefs about the effects of using phones concurrently with schoolwork and the extent to which they engage in that behavior. Forty-five students from an independent school in southwestern Ontario participated in a study to determine their beliefs about phones’ effects on their schoolwork, and their responses were compared to observational data regarding how frequently they checked their phones during class. The results of the study indicate that, on average, students believe phones have little effect on their schoolwork, in contrast to current academic literature, which suggests an overall negative effect. This …

Becoming Dordt University, Sarah Moss

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Do Kindergarten Readiness Screenings Predict Academic And Social Success?, Lori Schaap

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research study investigated the correlations between kindergarten readiness screening scores and kindergarten academic success, kindergarten social success, and third grade academic success. The participants included eighteen students who were given a readiness screening prior to kindergarten entry. These participants continued to be enrolled in the same school and were given a standardized academic test at the end of third grade. Additionally, kindergarten screening scores were compared to teacher surveys rating the participants’ academic and social ability in kindergarten. The screening scores were also compared to find if a correlation existed between the kindergarten screening scores and the third …

Flipped Classrooms And The Video Creator’S Impact On Achievement, Kailee Davelaar

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research study investigated the correlation between the creator of a flipped instructional video and the math achievement of the students. The researcher designed a study to examine the pre- and post-test math scores of 19 7th grade participants who viewed instructional math videos created by their classroom teacher and instructional math videos available via YouTube. After students completed one math unit with each video type, they also completed a voluntary survey investigating their video preference. Quantitative data collected from the pre- and post-tests were analyzed and the researcher found the results to be inconclusive for student achievement. The …

Ordinary Moments With Extraordinary Outcomes, Karen Van Schouwen

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Defender Football: More Than A Game, Justin Banks

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Endings And Beginnings: Two Sides Of The Coin, Amy Westra

The Voice

No abstract provided.

New Research Institute Brings New Funding, Sally Jongsma

The Voice

No abstract provided.

Childhood Fitness And Academic Achievement: An Exploration Into The Effect Of Physical Fitness Scores On Academic Assessment Tests, Kevin Vanderwal

Master of Education Program Theses

This research study examines the correlation between the effects of physical fitness scores on academic assessment tests. The study examines students’ PACER scores and what impact that causes with the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) test. The study included a sample of 147 students from a large Midwestern elementary school of fifth graders. The study found that PACER scores seems to have a positive relationship with students’ MAP scores; that improving on the PACER does not show significant gains to show a connection between the two variables; that high BMI scores can indicate lower MAP scores and that lower BMI …

Visual Formative Assessment And Learning Styles, Julie Pickard

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research study investigated the impact of visual formative assessments on the achievement levels of students with visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles. The study was conducted in four classes of freshmen at Southwest Christian High School in Chaska, MN, with a total of eighty-four participants. Two pairs were created for the study with control and treatment groups in each pair. Students were classified according to learning style, and a unit pre-test was administered to identify growth. Treatment groups were instructed using daily visual formative assessments for the duration of the unit. Students were assessed again at the end …

Relationship Between Parenting Styles And Mathematics Achievement, Laura Kramer

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research project examined the relationship between parenting styles and mathematics achievement for middle school students at a small Christian school in the Midwestern United States. The participants were 22 fifth through eighth grade students and their parents. Students and their parents completed surveys measuring the parenting dimensions of demandingness and responsiveness, which were used to determine the overall parenting style in the home. Parenting styles determined by the surveys were compared to mathematics scores from the students’ most recent achievement test. The study results indicate that an authoritative parenting style does not necessarily correlate with higher mathematics achievement …

Exploration Of Mathematics: Investigating The Continuum Of Mathematics From The Middle Years Program To The Diploma Program At International Baccalaureate Schools, Stela Irene Tampubolon

Master of Education Program Theses

The purpose of this action research was to study the continuum of the mathematics curriculum from the Middle Years Program (MYP) to the Diploma Program (DP) at an IB School in Jakarta, Indonesia. To investigate the continuum of the mathematics curriculum from MYP to DP, data from the assessments of each program was collected from 2014-2016. The participants in this research were 44 grade 12 students who had already taken the DP Mathematics external examination. Their final mathematics scores were compared to their level of achievements in MYP Mathematics in grade 10. The results of the study were mixed, indicating …

Mathematical Justice?, Valorie L. Zonnefeld

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"I’d like to suggest the possibility of guiding students toward more just ways of seeing and being in the world in mathematics class."

Posting about human flourishing through mathematical study­­­­­­­­ from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

http://inallthings.org/mathematical-justice/

Reaching All The Students In Your Classroom, Kathleen Vantol

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This presentation discusses scaffolding: distinct instructional techniques which provide the supports that struggling learners may need to learn challenging lesson content. Planning for inclusion of appropriate scaffolding requires that teachers know both their students and their content well.

Celebrating Diversity In Christian Schools With Differentiation, Patricia C. Kornelis

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Does it matter if some of your students are lost and have no idea how to connect with you and with learning? Does it matter if some of your students are consistently ahead and are spending considerable time waiting for the rest of us to catch up?

Teacher Retention At A Tribal School, Cara Mulder

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research project examined teacher retention in an extremely stressful job at a tribal school in northwest Washington. Two groups of teachers participated. The first group was made up of teachers who had been at Lummi Nation School for less than five years and the second group was made up of teachers who had been teaching there for more than ten years. The participants were interviewed about their jobs, uncovering the job stressors that they faced, the job satisfaction that they found, and the reasons they continued in their jobs. Both groups had similar responses regarding job stress and …

Parent Involvement In The Middle School, Stephanie Walhof

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research project investigated the effects of parental involvement on the education of middle school students. Parents and teachers at Sioux Center Middle School were surveyed on how they viewed the potential impact of parental involvement on student achievement. Parents and teachers were also asked about barriers that might prevent involvement and best practices that would capitalize on effective parental involvement. The results of the survey confirmed that teachers and parents see parental involvement as important for student achievement. Few barriers were noted as inhibiting parental involvement. The best practice of parent-teacher conferences was noted as the most effective …

Motivation, Mindset, And Grading Systems, Russell J. Vander Molen

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research study examines whether students in a standards-based grading environment are more intrinsically motivated than students in traditional grading environment. Additionally, it examines whether students in a standards-based grading environment exhibit more of a fixed or growth mindset compared to students in a traditional grading environment. The participants were 72 sixth grade students in a standards-based grading classroom environment, and 32 students in a traditional grading-based classroom environment. A survey with statements reflecting students’ intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, fixed mindset, and growth mindset was administered to both groups of students. The survey results suggest that the grading environment, …

At-Risk Writer Program That Benefits Both The Students And The Educators, Bill Elgersma, Luke Hawley

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This session presented a small-college writing workshop model centered on increasing at-risk writers' persistence and motivation as they improved their writing through the use of pre-service teachers. An important component of the presentation was the one-on-one interactions that occurred and the value of these to both parties.

Correlations Between High School Athletic Participation And Academic Performance, Tim Klein

Master of Education Program Theses

This research study examines the correlation between high school students‘ school-sponsored athletic participation and their academic performance. Previous studies show students who participate in school-sponsored athletic activities will have an academic advantage (Eccles, Barber, Stone, & Hunt, 2003; Hartmann, 2008). This study expands previous studies by examining whether the amount of participation has an impact on students‘ academic achievement. The research study included a sample of students from a small midwestern Christian school in the ninth and eleventh grades. This study found a negative correlation between school-sponsored athletic participation and students‘ academic performance. This study concludes that as students‘ school-sponsored …