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Full-Text Articles in Education
Modified Flexible Seating And Its Impact On Student Autonomy, Emma Lewis
Modified Flexible Seating And Its Impact On Student Autonomy, Emma Lewis
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
What is something you would never expect to hear or see in a first-grade classroom? Silence with every student working. Flexible seating classrooms gives students the autonomy to choose what kinds of learning spaces work best for them based on their personal learning style. With the implementation of flexible seating, students have “the ability to concentrate, focus, and learn effectively” (Harvey & Kenyon, 2013, p. 9). In this qualitative self-study, I explore how the use of flexible seating can provide students with a better understanding of what they personally need in order to learn best and what kind of seat …
Tiered Assessment: Supporting And Challenging Students While Utilizing Skills-Based Grading, Emilee Monken
Tiered Assessment: Supporting And Challenging Students While Utilizing Skills-Based Grading, Emilee Monken
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Creating a classroom that supports each student individually as well as the class as a whole has become increasingly difficult in recent years. Through tiered assessment, educators have the opportunity to alter assessments to further challenge or support students. Another implementation in many schools nationwide is standards-based grading (SBG). In SBG, students are assessed on each learning objective separately, meaning for each skill included on an assessment, students will receive an individual score. When tiered assessment is implemented alongside SBG, students have the unique opportunity to be assessed on each learning objective separately and to assess a skill based …
Modifying The Classroom For Diverse Learners, Natalie Moore
Modifying The Classroom For Diverse Learners, Natalie Moore
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Classrooms are continually becoming more diverse complete with students who have various needs. With more research being done, the structure of education in the classroom are changing. The CDC report as of 2014 was that around 5%-11% of the population shows symptoms of Attention Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). With more recognition of ADHD and other disabilities like it there is a need for more training of teachers to better accommodate students and make modifications to their instructional decisions. The purpose of this literature review is to enhance the knowledge of strategies in the classroom and examine what works and what may …
The Effects Of Student Autonomy In The High School Setting, Elizabeth Ayala
The Effects Of Student Autonomy In The High School Setting, Elizabeth Ayala
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
The high school setting is not always a place where students like to be. Studies have proven that students benefit from being given the ability to have choice and their own voice present in the classroom and overall school setting (Brooks & Young, 2011). This paper will explore how giving students a free period in high school further encourages students to want to be in school, as well as to have a sense of ownership over their education. The collection of data took place where I was student teaching: an urban high school environment that initiated a free-period program that …
Student Choice And Alternate Work Spaces, Sydney Seeman
Student Choice And Alternate Work Spaces, Sydney Seeman
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Alternate work spaces are seating choices that offer other options to a desk and chair. In this study, students were allowed some choice in which work space they used because, student choice increases engagement and decreases the amount of disruptive behaviors (Lane, Royer, Messenger, Common, Ennis, & Swogger, 2015). However, student selection of their own seating has also been shown to increase off-task behaviors such as talking (Bicard, Ervin, Bicard, & Baylot-Casey, 2012). The purpose of this study is to determine how student choice impacts the effectiveness of alternative work spaces in the classroom. Fourth grade students were observed while …
Engaging Students In Learning Style Based Activities, Sarah O’Rourke
Engaging Students In Learning Style Based Activities, Sarah O’Rourke
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Our world is changing every day and the educational classroom is not an exception: the way in which students learn has changed. In previous studies, researchers found that incorporating students’ learning styles into the classroom, through the use of a learning styles inventory has improved student engagement as well as assessment scores (Guven & Ozbeck, 2007; Faulk & Faulk, 2013). This study aims to identify how incorporating students’ learning styles can improve student motivation, confidence, and engagement in the classroom. This study was conducted in a rural high school with a class of twenty-five students. The students engaged in activities …
Student Choice And Motivation In The Secondary English Classroom, Matthew Wegh
Student Choice And Motivation In The Secondary English Classroom, Matthew Wegh
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Motivated students are far more likely to learn, but it can be difficult when students’ interests and inspirations all differ. One of the most effective ways to improve student motivation and attainment in the classroom is by giving students choice in assignments, following self-determination theory (SDT). Originally proposed by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan (1971)s, SDT suggests that students are more intrinsically motivated when their needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness are met. In this study, I gave students in a 12th grade African American Literature class choice in assignments, and kept track of the behavior of the …
Restorative Justice Circles In The Elementary Classroom, Shannon Green
Restorative Justice Circles In The Elementary Classroom, Shannon Green
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Social complications are inevitable in an elementary classroom. The way that these complications are handled can have a great effect on the classroom environment. Restorative practices are alternative discipline methods whose main values focus on developing good relationships while restoring a positive classroom environment (Costello, 2009). The purpose of this study is to explore how incorporating restorative practices through weekly restorative justice circles affect the classroom environment. Students were in charge of the topics that were discussed during the circle facilitation. I found that students were willing to discuss disputes even if they were directly involved in the particular conflict …
Student Choice: How Does It Relate To Student Behavior?, Stephanie Prentice
Student Choice: How Does It Relate To Student Behavior?, Stephanie Prentice
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
The purpose of this self-study research is to examine how incorporating student choice in an elementary classroom influences student behavior. Student choice or student agency, is an important concept in education because it gives students the opportunity to be empowered in their own learning. In an effort to examine the ways in which student choice directly impacted student behavior, I reflected upon my own teaching practices through field notes and lesson plans, analyzed anecdotal records, behavior logs, and the different choices students made during lessons. Findings demonstrate that student-choice leads to increased motivation levels among students, resulting in a …
Impact Of Differentiation On Student Engagement, Shelby Thomas
Impact Of Differentiation On Student Engagement, Shelby Thomas
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
When teaching elementary students, teachers face the challenge of getting students to be authentically engaged in the content. Tomlinson (2012) argues that differentiation in the classroom can help to engage students by ensuring that content is at their level, process meets matches learning profile, and level of support is appropriate to their ability. Differentiation is a way of recognizing and teaching according to the different readiness, interest, and learning profile of students (Tomlinson,2008). This self-study sought to explore the impact of differentiation on student engagement. Lesson plans, field notes, student surveys, student work, summative and formative assessment data, and anecdotal …
Student Choice Is Lit!, Erich Lieser
Student Choice Is Lit!, Erich Lieser
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
This study investigates assessments that offer student choice in a secondary English classroom. After reading a short story or novel, assessments traditionally ask students to find themes or answer a question with evidence from the text. While this system promotes close reading and writing skills, unique interpretations are not represented. In response to this, I compared the traditional process to a student choice assessment. I administered a single question literary analysis based on The Necklace written by Guy de Maupassant to gauge student understanding and writing skills without student choice present. After the following unit, I created a new assessment …
Applying A Multisensory Approach To Teaching, Claudia Mcgee-Morales
Applying A Multisensory Approach To Teaching, Claudia Mcgee-Morales
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
This study was conducted to explore the benefits of taking a learning-style approach to elementary instruction, opposed to the traditional lecture-style approach. For this study, I observed students’ growth and attitude in English Language Arts and mathematics classes with the implementation of grouping, based on learning style. Farkas (2003) found that the retention of new and more complex information significantly increased when students engaged in lessons that incorporate some aspect of learning styles. Through the analysis of field notes, student anecdotal records, student work, and feedback my students gave me on what worked best for them, I revealed the relationship …
Self Awareness In Elementary Students, Alexandra Hurth
Self Awareness In Elementary Students, Alexandra Hurth
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Being self-aware and making smart decisions are important skills for elementary students. By teaching students to be self-aware, they are able to learn positive habits that will remain with them throughout the rest of their schooling. This study was conducted to provide teachers with practical ways to guide students to be self-aware and promote pro-social behavior within the classroom. Pro-social behavior is when a student displays voluntary actions that are intended to help or benefit another individual or group of individuals. Using slight behavior modifications to promote pro-social behavior, students were given opportunities to play a role in their learning. …
Talk It Out: Peer Collaboration In The Writing Process, Alyssa Dorning
Talk It Out: Peer Collaboration In The Writing Process, Alyssa Dorning
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
This self-study explored how students working with a partner during writing activities not only affected their writing, but confidence in themselves as well. Often times, students struggle to find a topic to write about and do not have the opportunity to talk out their thoughts and ideas with a partner. Peer collaboration gives students an opportunity to do just that as well as build relationships with their peers within the classroom. During my student teaching placement, I conducted a writing unit in a third-grade classroom where students worked with a partner to discuss ideas, edit, and revise their personal narratives. …
Technology Integration In Elementary English Language Arts, Emma Hanzelin
Technology Integration In Elementary English Language Arts, Emma Hanzelin
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Technology integrations in the elementary classroom are becoming more common in today’s advancing society. As communication through technology evolves, it is important for teachers to adapt and provide a curriculum that promotes communication skills students will need to succeed in the future. Recent research reminds teachers that the key to successful technology integration is to “pay close attention to students’ responses to the use of [information and communication technology] in teaching by balancing these with traditional teaching” (Parvin & Salam, 2015, p. 57). This self-study research focuses on the implementation of Google Docs during the writing process. It takes place …