Education Commons^™

Perceptions Of Preservice Teacher Candidates Towards Gifted Education Training And Obtaining The Gifted Education Endorsement Certificate In Florida, Zachary Laschober

HIM 1990-2015

According to the Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration, training in gifted education is inaccessible by teacher candidates in colleges of education in the United States. This study involved the use of questionnaires with 100 teacher candidates enrolled on an introductory course on diversity in education in a Florida university. Teacher candidates responded to a series of items to identify beliefs about giftedness within and outside the context of education as well as the value of training in gifted education for educators. Of the 100 respondents, 79% agreed or strongly agreed with the need for specialized training for educators …

Understanding And Achieving Brain-Based Instruction In The Elementary Classroom A Qualitative Study Of Strategies Used By Teachers, Amy Siercks

HIM 1990-2015

There are many approaches taken by teachers in order to effectively teach students the information they will need to be successful. One of these approaches is that of brain-based instruction. No one single definition is the same as another when it comes to brain-based teaching and learning. Definitions may include incorporating music and movement into lessons, using techniques to reach both hemispheres of the brain, and differentiating instruction to teach to the needs of the individual students. This study takes a closer look at the perspective of teachers when it comes to what brain-based instruction strategies are. Teachers were given …

Educator's Perceptions Of The Implementation And Effectiveness Of Response To Intervention Measures, Sheila Stepp Nugent

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' and administrators' perceptions of the implementation and effectiveness of Response to Intervention (RTI) strategies in their schools. The study used a mixed-methods research design. Data were collected through multiple-choice and open-ended surveys administered to elementary English language arts general education teachers, special education teachers in Kindergarten through fifth grade, and administrators in seven elementary schools. Quantitative data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis Analysis of Variance of Ranks. Qualitative data were analyzed by the researcher to determine similarities and differences among the written responses. All data were gathered during …

Reading Reform And The Role Of Policy, Practice And Instructional Leadership On Reading Achievement: A Case Study Of Grissom Elementary School, Faith Andrea Morrison

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The purpose of this study was to explore whether William Deming's 8 Step Model would increase reading achievement in 3rd grade students. The study investigated how well the process based plan-do-check-act model when used as a treatment with fidelity, coupled with the principal as instructional leader would result in success in the age of federal accountability.

A qualitative case study methodology was adopted for the study. A school in northwest Indiana was selected and data were collected from interviews, field observations, focus group interviews, a principal questionnaire, and data analysis of student test scores. The focus of the school was …

The Implementation And Modification Of Three 4th Grade Social Studies Content Lessons For English Language Learners And Students With Disabilities, Benelly Peralta

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The focus of this investigation was to take three general social studies content lessons created for a general education classroom and modify them for the particular needs of students with disabilities and English language learners.

Understanding Our Families : A Curriculum For Six-Year-Olds, Sarah Boltz

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Presents a social studies curriculum on families designed for six-year-olds in a New York City charter school. The author designed this curriculum using the "Modified Understanding by Design" format. This format requires the curriculum designer to structure the entire curriculum around a few carefully chosen learning standards. The two standards serving as the basis of this curriculum were selected from the New York State social studies standards for first grade.

Effective Methods Of Parent-Teacher Communication For Teachers Of English Language Learners, Luzeana Alfonzo-Reyes

HIM 1990-2015

Families from all over the world come to the United States for a new beginning. More often than not, these families speak little or no English. A challenge that teachers face every day is trying to communicate with children and their families who speak little or no English. Following a review of the various forms of communication and types of parental involvement, a survey was created. This survey was completed by elementary teachers in a local lower socioeconomic area elementary school with a high mobility rates and high levels of English Language Learner (ELL) students. The results of this study …

Increasing Oral Language Fluency And Syntactic Structure Through A Balanced Reading Approach A Case Study Of A Five-Year Old Beginning Reader Of The Edge Of The Autism Spectrum, Kelly Palmer

HIM 1990-2015

In recent years, a significant surge has occurred in the amount of children who are being diagnosed with a disorder on the autism spectrum. Current statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2011) show that 1 in 110 children in the United States have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and that the diagnosis of such is estimated to grow prodigiously due to a variety of different aspects, such as an ever-increasing broadening definition of autism, an inclusion of autism as a disability category under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990, improved diagnostic methods, and some other …

One Teacher's Journey Through Creating Culturally-Sensitive Instructional Material For Village And Orphaned Students In Sierra Leone, Jesica Shearhod

HIM 1990-2015

My first experience teaching, in Sierra Leone in July of 2010, is where I realized that most elementary students were illiterate and lacked the foundational skills in order to learn how to read. I decided to return the following year in May of 2011 to undertake a project to provide culturally-sensitive literacy materials for village and orphaned children in the form of storybooks. The school site for this thesis is Children of the Nations (COTN) which is a school of 98 orphaned and 1,488 village students that range from 4years-20 years of age. The titles of the two books produced …

A Contact Analysis Of Caldecott Medal And Honor Books From 2001-2011 Examining Gender Issues And Equity In 21st Century Children's Picture Books, Nicole Yello

HIM 1990-2015

An abundance of research has been conducted about the importance of including books and literature as part of a young child's developmental process. Much of this research suggests that picture books are vital to a young child's healthy development and "are important influences that shape us by reflecting the politics and values of our society" (Fox, 1993, p. 656). This study was completed to analyze character roles and gender representation of male and female characters exclusively in children's picture books. The entire population of Caldecott Award and Honor Medal books published between 2001 and 2011 was utilized for a frequency …

Content Analysis Of Mathematical Concepts In Children’S Literature, Jessica John

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Distinguished Educators On Academic Gain Of Louisiana Academically Unacceptable Schools, Ruby C. Scroggins

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the degree of academic growth of Academically Unacceptable schools in Louisiana which have been assigned a Distinguished Educator. Distinguished Educators are external change agents who are placed in Academically Unacceptable schools in Louisiana. The data were generated from the Louisiana Department of Education. The study investigated if English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics scores significantly increased in schools which were assigned a Distinguished Educator. School Performance Scores for third, fourth, and fifth grades were examined to determine growth, as well. The ex post factodesign study consisted of different school configurations which …

Lesson Study: Restructuring Teacher Professional Development In The United States, Anthony G. Buono

Educational Studies Dissertations

This study reports how teachers at one suburban elementary school in the United States launched, organized, and structured lesson study, as well as how participants interpreted and perceived the lesson study experience. Additionally, it examines how lesson study supports teachers’ professional learning and the development of collaborative teacher teams. In doing so, it attempts to answer the following research questions: What does the lesson study experience look like at one elementary school in the United States? How does lesson study support and influence school based professional learning teams? How does and to what extent does the lesson study experience impact …

The Role Of Elementary School Principals Supporting Teachers In The Instruction Of Reading For English Language Learners: A Dissertation, Nadene B. Stein

Educational Studies Dissertations

This study utilized data gleaned from on-line surveys of primary level teachers and elementary school principals to understand what principals need to know and be able to do to support teachers in their instruction of reading for English Language Learners (ELLs). A review of five areas of literature provided a theoretical foundation for this study. Twenty-six primary level teachers and four elementary school principals, from eight Massachusetts schools, participated in separate, three-part online questionnaires. Participants answered questions about licensure, experience, and professional development focused on teaching English Language Learners. In addition, participants responded to questions about their perceptions of (1) …

Behind The Scenes: Understanding Teacher Perspectives On Technology Integration In A Suburban District Technology Initiative: A Dissertation, John Woolard

Educational Studies Dissertations

Efforts to prepare students with skills necessary to compete in a 21st Century global, digital economy require technological literacy, but many teachers are inhibited by antiquated models of education and epistemological beliefs that leave them reluctant to integrate educational technologies in their content instruction (Dunn & Rakes, 2010; Mouza & Wong, 2009). At the most basic level, apart from time constraints influenced by contradictory school improvement plans, elementary school teachers must contend with the barriers known to hinder the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) including: access, familiarity, training and support (Collins & Halverson, 2009, Levin & Wadmany, 2008). …

Integrating Archaeology Into A Standards-Based, Fifth Grade Classroom, Lindsey Lee Elizabeth Mieras

Theses and Graduate Projects

Archaeology enhances student learning through use of cooperative skills, inquiry, anthropologic thought, hands-on learning, and community connections. However, a standards aligned curriculum to educate students in the field of archaeology is currently inadequate. Due to variation in teacher's interest, knowledge base, and ability to merge archaeology into several disciplines, a guide to be used as engagement activities, individual lessons, or filler activities is more helpful than integrating it in a social studies or science unit. In the process of this project, a curriculum guide was created and intended to reach all types of teachers, disciplines, and standards in the process …

Case Study On The Journey Of An Elementary School Labeled As A Persistently Low-Achieving School, Annette Duncan

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study examined an elementary school, located in an urban school district, which was labeled as a Persistently Low-Achieving School (PLAS) by the federal government in 2009 in order to determine how the school planned to change leadership and staff; increase student achievement; and implement new approaches for changes in school climate.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the response of this school in the following areas:

1. Professional Practices of Teachers and Administrators: What impact did the PLAS label have on the professional practices of teachers and administrators in this building?

2. Curriculum and Academic Achievement: What …

The Effects Of Interactive Strategies Approach On At-Risk Kindergarten Children's Spelling Development, Sun Hwa Lee

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study involved secondary analyses of an existing kindergarten developmental spelling data set which was collected using the Developmental Spelling Test (DST; Tangel & Blachman, 1992, 1995) in Scanlon and her colleagues' 2005 study (Scanlon, Vellutino, Small, Fanuele, & Sweeney, 2005). The purpose of the current study is to examine whether the early literacy instruction/intervention approach called the Interactive Strategies Approach (ISA; Scanlon, Anderson, & Sweeney, 2010; Vellutino & Scanlon, 2002) is effective for improving at-risk children's spelling development.

Current Reading Methodologies Used In Classrooms: Grades K-6, Brett Ott

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of my research is to examine what reading strategies k-6 general education teachers use in their classrooms to support balanced literacy instruction. In its relevancy to leadership, this research is specific to the current body of knowledge on how to teach children to read. I surveyed 35 k-6 teachers' literacy practices and compared their choices with the methods promoted by leading advocates in the field of literacy.

The Influence Of Teacher Preparation Programs' Field Experiences On Pre-Service Teacher Candidates' Sense Of Teaching Efficacy, Alison Marie Reddy

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

In this descriptive, mixed methods study, the researcher investigated the influence of teacher preparation programs' field experiences on teacher candidates' sense of teaching efficacy. Tschannen-Morgan & Woolfolk-Hoy's (2001) Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale questionnaire was sent to 221 teacher candidates enrolled in one of five teaching license paths in a large metropolitan university in the eastern part of the United States. Seventy-seven percent of the questionnaires were returned. Questionnaires were analyzed to determine the degree the number of hours of elementary teacher candidates' field experiences influence their perceptions of their teaching efficacy. The questionnaires were also used to compare the …