Education Commons^™

The Science Of Reading And The Use Of Decodable Texts In The Classroom, Anna Hudson

Honors Theses

This honors thesis includes a definition and explanation of the Science of Reading research, decodable texts and how they are used in the classroom, my creative process in writing my own decodable text, and a copy of my original decodable text "Can Meg Get In?"

Pediatric Anxiety Disorders And Their Accommodation In The Classrom, Olivia Hobson

Honors Theses

This project is an exploration of the origins, neurology and impacts of pediatric anxiety disorders, as well as the research-backed best practices for their accomodation within the school classroom setting.

What We Do For Each Other: Assessing Disparity In K-12 Education Across The State Of Arkansas, Noah K. Sanders

Honors Theses

This thesis observes data and attempts to draw conclusions about disparities plaguing K-12 Arkansas schools inside and outside the classroom.

Computer Science In The Elementary Classroom: The Basics, Mary Grace Belle Hill

Honors Theses

Computer Science is often ranked with Nuclear Physics or Biochemical Engineering; people understand it is an academic discipline, but have no desire to study or learn anything about it. With the introduction of Arkansas Computer Science Standards in the elementary classroom, many teachers wonder how to satisfy these and to do so without full knowledge of computer science and alongside all the other demands they must meet in the classroom. This paper covers my interest in computer science and why it is needed in elementary schools, specifically in Arkansas. It also incorporates the standards, including a chart of all the …

Mind The Gap: Examining The Gap Between The United States Education System And The Top Education Systems In The World, Kaitlyn Clark

Honors Theses

Improving our educational system is a hot topic right now in the political and educational worlds. As a country, we are always striving for the best educational experience for our students, burt we are still faced with many challenges. According to the 2014 Pearson Index of Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment the United States is ranked as number fourteen in the world. While we have risen from number seventeen since 2012, we are still not even in the top ten. In 2012, Finland had the top educational system in the world and in 2014, South Korea had number one.

In …

A Comparison Of How The United States And England Educators Teach Reading, Katy Wood

Honors Theses

During my time of studying to be an early childhood education teacher at Ouachita Baptist University, I felt a calling to explore and become immersed in another culture. I had never been out of the country before, and I believed that in order to become a well-rounded teacher, I needed to learn how other countries' teachers taught their children. I chose to study abroad in Liverpool, England, at Liverpool Hope University. I took several classes at the university, but one of the most impactful things that I did while I was in England was observing in St. Leo's and Southmead …

The Effects Of Physical Activity And Movement On Learning, Alexandria Lemos

Honors Theses

After performing research into the effects of physical activity and movement on learning, I was asked to present my findings at a school-wide colloquium. This gathering was well-attended by students and faculty members alike. The university professors seemed highly interested in what I had discovered and asked many in-depth questions. The majority of the questions dealt with the same major issue: implementation.

No one questioned whether the presented information was true or not. The questions that came were how it would be possible to incorporate movement in the classroom in ways that were not distracting from the content. While the …

Not Growin' Up: Poetry For Children, Lindsay Chastain

Honors Theses

If adults are the prime reviewers of children's poetry, then children may not give the poetry a good review. After writing my own children 's poetry and having it read by Dr. Johnny Wink, I put it to the test of Gifted and Talented fourth-graders. These bright students gave me feedback on my poetry and told me where to improve. At the completion of this project, I submitted a collection of my works to two children's book publishers for review.

The Truth Of English Language Acquisition, Dinah R. Rucker

Honors Theses

Every year, over 1,221,000 immigrants come to this country without any English background knowledge in English and are immersed in the public school system. The approximate net international immigration rate of Arkansas is approximately 4500 people annually. Most students that come at a young age must immediately adjust to American life as they go to a new school with a foreign language with strange people and customs. What happens to the students that have language differences, the ones that don't grasp the language easily and continue to struggle through their education and in their careers? How do we know which …

Science Learning Museums As An Extension Of The Elementary Classroom, Aaron Ward

Honors Theses

The lack of good science education in the American school is a problem that will affect the future of the United States. Not only is the decline of science-based teaching of elementary school students due to lack of funds and increase of class size, it is caused by a deficiency of creative teaching methods. One possible method that has and can be cultivated and developed is the use of Science Learning Museums (SLM) as effective teaching tools. The integration of classrooms and science museums can bring about positive, creative, fun, and exciting ways to learn, bringing an unenthusiastic textbook example …

A Search, Through Educational Use, For A Definition Of Reading, Patricia Glover Landers

OBU Graduate Theses

The problem is to find a pragmatic solution to the question, "What Do I Teach?" regarding reading instruction. It is hypothesized that the answer can be found in a definition of reading held in universal agreement by reading methodology and testing. Also, because the results of the diverse methodologies are common; then, there must be some objective thought units (hence, commonly known as "skills") held in common by all methods gaining recognition in the field of reading education. If an horizontal analysis of all the skills contained in.the most educationally accepted methods were made, a group of common elements should …

Puppetry For School Children, Gennie Eldridge

Honors Theses

All puppetry is a form of play. More than most forms, quick methods seldom have utilitarian ends as far as the performer is aware. If the puppets develop from the available materials, then its practical use will quickly lead from aimless play to a more formal form. It is at this stage that dangers lurk for the beginner. It is the liberating possibilities of this medium that are so very important and not the development of a set pattern for repeated performances.

Cursive Writing, Kathy Bittle

Honors Theses

There is no generally accepted agreement concerning the exact time when cursive writing should be introduced. Ruth G. Strickland says that the second grade appears to a number of people to be too early for two reasons: (a) children still have not developed enough muscular skill to make cursive writing easy and an excessive amount of time must be spent learning it, and (b) children have just reaching the stage in which they can enjoy manuscript writing as a tool and are beginning to be better writers. Herrick says that, in general, the time necessary for making the transition decreases …

Manuscript Writing, Kathy Bittle

Honors Theses

Teachers influence the writing of children by example, planned lessons, and by establishment and maintenance of standards. To do this teachers need to be able to use acceptable manuscript writing, diagnose the individual needs of children, and plan experiences to meet those needs. Teachers do this by understanding the nature of the task to be done, the materials and tools, used and current procedure and philosophy, acquiring the personal skills needed, and understanding the range of individual differences among learners.

Storytelling Unit, Tanna Murry

Honors Theses

Since man learned to communicate with other men, storytelling has been a means for relating information, for teaching a lesson and for entertaining. As an elementary major with certification as a school librarian I will have daily opportunities to use storytelling with children. For this reason I decided to do this project on the different techniques of storytelling. The project gave me a chance to use different techniques to make the beginnings of a story pack I'll have for years and that I'll use year after year.

In this report of the project I will take each story I included …

Honors Special Study, Emma Gail White

Honors Theses

The major objectives which motivated the Honors Program student to select a project concerning elementary school children are as follows:

1. To develop an increasing interest in education;

2. To gain practical experience working with school children;

3. To use the Honors Program project as a guide for planning future educational plans.

One hour weekly, often more, was spent in the first grade classroom of Cale School District, Cale, Arkansas. During this time, the regular teachers were observed, special assistance was given with the pupils, and an activity was presented. Activities were selected from the general areas of current events, …

Learning Centers, Tanna Murry

Honors Theses

Individualized learning through the Learning Center method is becoming more and more popular in today's classrooms. For this reason I chose to develop two basic Learning Centers--one for math and one for language arts--for my honors project. I plan to use these centers and others when I begin to teach.

In preparing these Learning Centers, I used two basic handbooks: Invitation to Learning: the Learning Center Handbook by Ralph Claude Voight and Learning Centers: Children on Their Own prepared by the Association for Childhood Education International. These two sources helped me to sort out and apply ideas of my own …

Improving Reading Skills, Patricia L. Greene

Honors Theses

This study was undertaken as an aid for improving basic reading skills through the use of the Reading Lab instructed by Mrs. L. Durkee. This was thus a developmental project in reading.

Specifically stated the purposes of this study were: (1) to increase reading rate; (2) to increase the use of words through vocabulary building; and (3) to improve reading comprehension.

The approach here is one of practicality rather than theoretical. The course of study was therefore geared from the particular deficiencies of the student to improve reading skills. This afforded flexibility on the parts of the instructor and the …

A Study Of The Treatment Of The Child With A Cleft Lip Or Palate, Charolette Duckett

Honors Theses

The elementary teacher will encounter many children in her experiences. Some of these will be handicapped; she will face the problem of helping these students adjust to regular classroom activities under her guidance. These handicapped children may have a wide range of mental, psychological, and physical disadvantages and may demand a little extra attention and ingenuity. This paper is a discussion of one possible type of physical handicap which causes secondary problems that may be encountered.

The purpose of this study is to explore the characteristics, problems, treatment, and speech education of the cleft palate or cleft lip child. While …

Education Book Reviews: Special Studies In Education, Lynda Bearden

Honors Theses

The following is a review of six education books that may help the inexperienced teacher:

We Do Not Throw Rocks at the Teacher! by Katherine C. La Mancusa

Slithery Snakes and Other Aids to Children's Writing by Walter T. Petty and Mary E. Bowen

Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman

The Saber-Tooth Curriculum by Raymond Wayne

Life in Classrooms by Philip W. Jackson

Children's Thinking by David H. Russell

Motivation To Creativity: Responsibility Of The Elementary Teacher, Charolette Ann Duckett

Honors Theses

The purpose of this paper shall be to explore the nature and characteristics of creativity and to try to understand what atmosphere and discipline best motivates children to be creative.

Creativity has been termed synonymous with inventiveness, imagination, and originality. In the educational viewpoint, there are other, more complete ways to define this word. Creative teaching once meant correlating art, music, writing or dramatics with other subjects. Now, however, it has been expanded to cover more than in the past. Morse and Wingo discuss creativity as "seeing or expressing new relationships."

An Analytical Survey Of The Elementary Music Program In The Class Aa Schools Of Arkansas, Rosemary Langley

OBU Graduate Theses

Varying methods of instruction in music have been employed in public schools. A regular re-evaluation of what is being done in the public schools is necessary in order that the children of each generation receive the proper training for their musical instruction.

It was the purpose of this study to investigate and evaluate the elementary music programs in the Class AA schools of Arkansas.

A Study Of What Should Characterize The Education Program Of The Mentally Retarded Child, Charolette Ann Duckett

Honors Theses

It is the purpose of this paper to explore the qualities which are necessary to a program of education of the severely mentally handicapped--those who are termed the "educable mentally retarded" and those who are termed the "trainable mentally retarded." I will give a definition of these terms, followed by a short sketch of the history of education for the mentally deficient. I will then try to give some idea of what the goals of special education have become today, and what sort of teacher attitudes, training, and educational principles should be used in relation to teaching these exceptional children.

Today's Elementary School Library, Sharon Gail Floyd

Honors Theses

"A library is a library... A library is a place for books. And Books need people to enjoy them, children to pore over them, to wander through them and wonder, to leaf over them and laugh over them and love them. Teacher need to know them to delight in them, and to want to share them. Librarians who are not merely the keepers by the ambassadors of books, their representatives, their introducers, their friends and advocates."

The above statement is one which this paper will attempt to prove is very correct. One of the most stimulating and interesting developments in …

Economic Education In Arkadelphia Elementary Schools, Judy Crumby

Honors Theses

In order to learn more about the economic education of Arkadelphia elementary school pupils I was granted interviews with Mrs. Neal, principal of the Arkadelphia Elementary School, Mrs. Goodloe and Mrs. Baber teachers in the same school.

Extensive economic education, especially in the elementary school, began three years ago in 1962. It began with the Economic workshop held at Ouachita Baptist University where five Arkadelphia teachers and two administrators first learned of the potential for economic education in elementary schools.