Education Commons^™

How Music Can Be Integrated Into Life Science Teaching In A Way That Enhances Scientific And Musical Learning In Middle School, Erin Hustad

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that students who learn interdisciplinary content lessons in school have a better understanding of the interconnectedness of the world they are entering. This paper, and the resultant project, focus on the interconnectedness of science and the arts, eventually ecology and music, in order to teach students both scientific and musical concepts. The project was created using backwards design, in order to ensure students have long term learning outcomes that center both science and music. Students first experience the scientific process and reflect on the similarities between scientific inquiry and artistic processes. Students then explore ecosystems and music …

The Impact Of Implementing Virtual Science Notebooks On Student Science Achievement In A Primary Classroom, Emily Sherman

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

This action research project investigated the impact of implementing virtual science notebooks on primary students’ science achievement. Participants included twenty first grade students and their classroom teacher in a suburban, Minnesota school district. Students used iPads to complete virtual notebook pages after whole group instruction and independent learning time. Qualitative data collected included mid-intervention and post-intervention student and co-teacher interviews and researchers field notes and observations. Quantitative data included pre- and post-intervention rubric scores and a tally count of student inquiry. The data collected showed that students were highly engaged with their virtual notebooks and reported feeling more focused. However, …

Why Ask Questions? How Phenomena-Based Inquiry Affects Student Engagement In A Middle School Science Classroom, Laura Nix

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of phenomena-based inquiry on students’ engagement levels in my science classroom. This action research study took place in the fall of 2021 with six student participants. Participants were enrolled in an eighth-grade honors science course in a middle school in South Carolina. The research was predominantly qualitative, and data was collected from participant pre- and poststudy surveys and interviews, anticipation guides, exit tickets, online discussion forums, and teacher field notes. The data revealed that phenomena-based inquiry encouraged students to participate and engage in their own learning, as indicated by post …

Preservice Teacher Action Research : Making Meaning And Generating Knowledge Through Inquiry, Rachel Ginsberg

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative study, situated in a large state university, investigated how the experiences of preservice teachers conducting action research in their full-time clinical placements as part of a seminar course in a teacher education program fostered a critical teacher inquiry stance. I examined how action research allowed preservice teachers to generate personal and educational knowledge and how their inquiry influenced the ways in which they thought about how teachers make meaning and generate knowledge. Using critical teacher inquiry as a framework allowed a critical lens that prioritized the need and importance of viewing teachers’ inquiry in the classroom as a …

International Baccalaureate Teachers’ Perspectives On Integrating Approaches To Learning Skills To Enhance Transdisciplinary Learning, Nancy Macharia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

The International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum recognizes approaches to learning skills(ATLS) as an integral part of the Primary Years Programme (PYP) framework. This vital element of learning is designed to be embedded in the program standards and practices of the inquiry-based IB curriculum. After an evaluation visit by the IB school visit team members in 2017, a report was shared with the international primary school (IPS) study site located in Southeast Asia, which indicated that teachers were encountering challenges in consistent integration of ATLS to enhance transdisciplinary learning, which is the problem of this study. The purpose of this qualitative …