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Full-Text Articles in Education

Maximizing Learning And Engaging Students In Elementary Social Studies, Autumn Handin, Jessica Leeman Jul 2018

Maximizing Learning And Engaging Students In Elementary Social Studies, Autumn Handin, Jessica Leeman

Journal of Practitioner Research

Social studies has historically been marginalized in elementary school classrooms, with little instructional time devoted to the subject (Houser, 1995; VanFossen, 2005). Pressed for time, teachers frequently turn to teacher-directed methods that promote passive learning and perpetuate the perception that social studies is a boring and irrelevant subject in the lives of students (Zaho & Hoge, 2005). If social studies instruction is to be meaningful, teachers must utilize active learning strategies that encourage social interaction and discourse. Brain-based learning strategies connect pedagogy with cognitive neuroscience, allowing students to “learn more quickly, retain and recall more, and enjoy learning” (Kagan, 2016, …


Social Studies In The Elementary Classroom: Helping Students Make Sense Of Their World, Lauren Clark, Angela Hooser Jul 2018

Social Studies In The Elementary Classroom: Helping Students Make Sense Of Their World, Lauren Clark, Angela Hooser

Journal of Practitioner Research

This paper documents my journey as a preservice teacher engaging in practitioner inquiry to make social studies more meaningful for my first grade students. I begin by briefly introducing my background with social studies as an elementary student and my growing interest in making improvements to my own social studies instruction. Next, I provide information on the data I collected and the social studies lessons that I designed and taught. Then, I discuss three themes identified from the data that encapsulate the most important learning related to planning and engaging students in meaningful social studies lessons. Finally, I share reflections …


Engaging In Practitioner Inquiry And Critical Dialogue To Explore Student Engagement In A Fifth-Grade Classroom, Bailey Brown, Steve Haberlin Jul 2018

Engaging In Practitioner Inquiry And Critical Dialogue To Explore Student Engagement In A Fifth-Grade Classroom, Bailey Brown, Steve Haberlin

Journal of Practitioner Research

Classroom management and student engagement remain a top concern among emerging teachers In this article, we, a preservice teacher in her final internship in an undergraduate elementary education program, and a university supervisor, engaged in inquiry and critical dialogue to explore how various instructional strategies impacted student engagement in a fifth-grade classroom. The teacher collected qualitative data through interviews, photographs, surveys and observational notes and searched for thematic patterns within the data. To further challenge her beliefs, assumptions and perspectives as an educator, the teacher and supervisor participated as critical friends by engaging in reflective dialogue about her practice and …


Inquiry, Discovery, And The Complexities Of Teaching: Learning From The Research Of Practitioners, Angela Hooser, Laura Sabella Jul 2018

Inquiry, Discovery, And The Complexities Of Teaching: Learning From The Research Of Practitioners, Angela Hooser, Laura Sabella

Journal of Practitioner Research

In this opening article, Guest Editors Angela Hooser and Laura Sabella define the purpose of this special themed issue of Journal of Practitioner Research: Inquiry, Discovery, and the Complexities of Teaching: Learning from the Research of Practitioners and introduce the seven pieces of teacher research published in this volume that encapsulate this theme.