Education Commons^™

The Relationship Between Discipline-Specific Subject Matter Knowledge And Discipline-Specific Science Teaching Efficacy Of Elementary Teachers, Douglas Ball

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Because a teacher's confidence in their ability to teach science is associated with instructional methods and their persistence in the face of challenges, improving science teaching confidence becomes critical for improving science teaching of young children. Science teaching confidence also varies by discipline for elementary teachers: physical science teaching confidence tends to measure lower than life science. This discrepancy leads to elementary teachers engaging in less effective science teaching practices with physical science than life science. A teacher's subject matter knowledge influences their confidence in their ability to teach that subject. Subject matter knowledge impacts science teaching confidence because when …

Kindergarteners' Conceptions And Representations Of Temperature: An Exploratory Study On How Young Children Perceive Air Temperature, Ryan Francis Cain

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As states, districts, and teachers work to make science classes more about doing the work of science and less about remembering science facts, research is needed to show what doing science looks like. This is especially needed for the youngest students, since much of the current research studies examine the upper part of the K-12 grade range.

Having been an early elementary science teacher, my work in this dissertation and beyond is focused on making the doing of science accessible to young children. One way to do science is to collect and interpret data – to measure something and make …

The Effect Of Direct Instruction In Teaching Addition And Subtraction Of Decimals And Decimal Word Problems On Students At Risk For Academic Failure, Heather Hoopes Small

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the effects of a direct instruction program on the ability of elementary school students identified as at risk for math failure to add and subtract numbers with decimals, and complete addition and subtraction word problems with decimals. Direct instruction has previously been shown to increase the math skills of special education and general education students. This study examined the extent to which these students could master these skills in six hours of instruction, with carefully designed sequences of examples and strategy instruction in word problems. The study took place in two elementary schools. The participants were fifth …