Education Commons^™

The Effect Of Professional Development On Middle School Teachers' Technology Integration: An Action Research Study, Kristen Collins Tyner

Theses and Dissertations

Equipping teachers with the appropriate knowledge and skills to integrate technology effectively into their practice is a key component of school-wide technology implementation. Technology is fast becoming ubiquitous in the realm of education. Teachers and schools struggle to keep abreast of changing technologies while preparing students for a 21st century workforce. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills defined four skills critical for success in the twenty-first century: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. School and district leaderships are tasked to provide relevant and meaningful technological professional development (PD) in order to prepare their teachers to integrate these skills into their …

Discovering Discourse: Utilizing Peer Mediation In Middle School To Achieve Literacy, Stephanie Van Hassel

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the impact of implementing a peer mediation program in a middle school setting through an action research framework, presented as a series of case studies. The group of students receiving the intervention are on one “team” in the middle school, sharing the same group of teachers. The team is on a lower academic track, and are marginalized due to this placement. The intervention’s impact on the participants’ Discourse will be explored.

Implementing A Rite Of Passage Intervention Through School-Based Extracurricular Activities: Instilling A Sense Of Belonging, Sharon Spry Dukes

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the impact implementing a rite of passage through school- based extracurricular activity has on a students’ sense of belonging. The students participating in the rite of passage are members of a school-based club known as the Orientation Team. The team consists of 24 students at an urban high school facing discipline challenges and a strained school climate. The intervention’s relationship with the theory of liminality will be explored.

The Impact Of Classroom Engagement In A College Civic Engagement Classroom: An Action Research Study, Kimberly Seibles

Theses and Dissertations

At Southern College (pseudonym), a liberal arts college in South Carolina, students were enrolled in an introductory civic engagement course. The purpose of this action research study was to examine how an introductory civic engagement course influenced students’ perspectives on civic engagement. Additionally, the research focused on how a civic engagement course prepared students to engage in service learning. The dissertation sought to explore how peer conversations, course readings, and direct instruction would impact students’ attitudes, beliefs, and perspectives toward civic engagement. The study was implemented over a 14-week period. The researcher collected and analyzed data using a mixed methods …

Case Study Of The Accommodation Readiness Spiral As An Evaluative Framework For Action Research Plans, Stephanie Mccutcheon, Erica Sponberg, Judith Mena Pazmiño, Kevin Murry, Socorro Herrera

Prairie Journal of Educational Research

This study utilized qualitative research to examine student work for evidence of language exemplifying the progressive levels of the Accommodation Readiness Spiral (ARS). The goal of this research is was to consider how the ARS could be utilized as a purposive framework for the assessment of professional, capacity building potential as related to a teacher’s readiness for the accommodation of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Thus, we intended to explore the question, what examples of text within ECM participants’ action research plans appear to correspond to levels of the ARS if used as a framework of evaluation for professional …

Shuffle Lit!: Using Ipod Shuffles To Encourage Literacy Experiences At Home, Ashlee B. Hover

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

A kindergarten teacher used action research to examine how literature, audio books, homework, and Apple iPod Shuffles can be combined to encourage and improve literacy at home. The research participants consisted of 16 kindergarten students in Middle Tennessee and their parents. The kindergarten students took home a tote bag with the following contents: an Apple iPod Shuffle loaded with many audio stories, six books, two types of headphones, and an iPod listening/reading log. The students took the project materials home for a week to enjoy with their parents and other family members. The parents or siblings recorded the students’ experiences …

Voices Of Notators: Approaches To Writing A Score--Special Issue, Teresa L. Heiland

Journal of Movement Arts Literacy Archive (2013-2019)

In this special issue of Voices of Notators: Approaches to Writing a Score, eight authors share their unique process of creating and implementing their approach to notating movement, and they describe how that process transforms them as researchers, analysts, dancers, choreographers, communicators, and teachers. These researchers discuss the need to capture, to form, to generate, and to communicate ideas using a written form of dance notation so that some past, present, or future experience can be better understood, directed, informed, and shared. They are organized roughly into themes motivated by relationships between them and their methodological similarities and differences. …

An Action Research Investigation Into An Early Childhood Digital, Storytelling-Based Solution, Jessica Smith

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The development of literacy skills prior to the classroom has been established as essential for future school and life successes. However, the present achievement gap between lower-socioeconomic neighborhoods and their higher-income counterparts illustrate vast dissimilarities in early childhood provisions for quality reading materials and instructional aides. In an effort to bridge the educational breach, a collaborative, storytelling-based program entitled Kid Forward was introduced to five nationwide families as a means of assistance for early childhood literacy development. Through the use of demographic surveys, interviews completed before and after the program implementation, and exit surveys, the action research study examined early …

Teaching Place-Based Science In Kindergarten, Lucy Atkins

Capstones, Research Projects, and Curricula

This action research explores how kindergarten students learn about forces and motion through inquiry-based, place-based methods. The learning took place as part of an existing day spent learning outdoors, known as Forest Monday, that includes extended time for free play. The three sub-questions addressed 1) science content learning, 2) science practice application, and 3) the incorporation of science content and practices into free play time outdoors. It was a mixed-methods study, with science assessment data supporting observations and interviews. The participants were 12 kindergarten students in a rural elementary school. All students were assessed and interviewed but observations were focused …

Literacy-Based Action Research: Strategies For Improving Student Achievement, Anne Katz Ph.D., Deborah Jaudon, Danielle Russell, Jennifer Formby

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

The presentation will highlight literacy-based action research projects by three Reading Specialist M.Ed. graduate students. The topics of enhancing struggling readers’ vocabulary development using technology; effects of technology during summer school on student promotion; as well as infusion of dialogue and metacognitive strategies to promote self-efficacy and early reading success were explored. Tools for attendees to implement the process of action research in their own classroom will be outlined.

Collaborative Action Research To Implement Social-Emotional Learning In A Rural Elementary School: Helping Students Become "Little Kids With Big Words", Donna M. San Antonio Dr.

Faculty Scholarship

Research has shown that social and emotional learning (SEL) can benefit students in affective, interpersonal, communicative, and academic realms. However, teachers integrating SEL face a variety of logistical, pedagogical, and skill development challenges, including how to effectively facilitate classroom conversations on social justice and personal loss. This article draws from classroom observations, teacher conversations, interactive journals, and field notes to describe a seven-month-long university-school partnership to carry out an action research project in a high-poverty rural elementary school in the US. Teachers grappled with how to address race, immigration, and gender discrimination in a predominantly White community. Classroom vignettes, and …

Filling The Reading Void: Studying Reading Stamina In A Rural High School Through Action Research: A Companion Research Study, Meredith Eubanks Lynch

Education Dissertations and Projects

Experts agree best practice in elementary education allows students time for silent reading during school due to the benefits to students in vocabulary development and reading stamina. As students age, this practice typically declines in favor of activities meant to teach vocabulary, prepare for standardized tests, and study novels together as a class to explore and analyze literature, resulting in less reading and subsequently decreasing reading stamina.

Teachers at a high poverty South Carolina high school, recognizing reading stamina as an issue, implemented a protocol described by Penny Kittle (2013) in Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent …

Bridging A Training-Practice Gap In Army Combat Medics, Tracey Michelle Lyons

Theses and Dissertations

United States Army combat medics undergo training that emphasizes tactical medicine, but are postured inside primary care clinics. The tactical skills and knowledge gained from their training is not in alignment with the demands of their functions in the clinic. This action research study investigates the skills and knowledge that medics need to have to function in the primary care setting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain insight on the medics’ needs. Born of their responses are themes surrounding their needs which is discussed in this research study.

The Impact Of A Peer-Teaching Instructional Approach On A Student’S Self-Confidence, John Corral

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines a problem of practice stemming from students not given the same opportunities to use and develop self-confidence and take on higher levels of responsibility in the classroom as they prepare for the 21st century workforce in our society. Recognizing a problem of practice evident in our high school with low-selfesteem in students, this paper studies the effects of implementing a peer-teaching instructional approach to help develop students’ self-confidence and emerging leadership skills (Lockie & Van Lanen, 2008). The central research question addressed in this study is: what is the impact of implementing a peer-teaching instructional approach on …

The Impact Of A Formative Classroom Observation Tool On Teachers’ Reflective Process On Instructional Practices: An Action Research Study, Lisa C. Cassidy

Theses and Dissertations

This paper details a study focused on the impact of the utilization of a formative classroom observation tool on the teachers’ reflective process as it pertains to instructional practices. The study was developed from a noted problem of practice at a middle school where approximately half of the teachers did not agree that teacher evaluation at their school focused on instructional improvement. The ultimate goal of the research study is to gain meaningful understanding concerning how to improve teacher practices through classroom observation and instructional leadership. This action research study incorporates a qualitative research design. Data was gathered from participating …

The Effects Of A Gamified Curriculum On High-School Students, Joshua Kyle Bastean

Theses and Dissertations

One of the emerging trends in education is gamification, a concept that has been applied in other fields, such as business and advertising, with great success. Gamification can be defined as adding game elements to non-game constructs. This study followed a high-school Algebra II teacher and 10 of her students in an attempt to document the effects of gamification on student academic engagement. Multiple methods of data collection were used to gather data from students and teachers. After analysis, the data showed that gamification had a positive effect on student academic engagement. The results were used to create an action …

Taking The Lead: Enhancing Student Learning And Professional Collaboration Through Action Research, Meredith Lynch, Lindsey Weycker

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

The purpose of this module is:

To empower teachers in leadership development and leadership roles

To foster mutual respect and communication between adults working together

To encourage action research as a daily classroom practice

View professional learning module.

What Are The Effects Of Curriculum Compacting On Students’ Ability To Use Higher Order Thinking?, Anthony L. James

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study was a presentation of a problem of practice involving a perceived underdevelopment of higher-order thinking skills of gifted (GT) children. I identified a weakness in the previous current third-grade math curriculum that appeared to hinder the development of higher-order thinking skills. This observation led to the development of an intervention that included alternate teaching materials and strategies. The intervention aimed to address the effect of curricular modifications using a different teaching approach called curriculum compacting. Curriculum compacting (Reis, Burns, & Renzulli, 1993; Renzulli & Reis, 1994) is an instructional strategy that has been used to streamline …

First-Year Teachers Perceptions Of The Mentoring Component Of The New Teacher Induction Progra, Bonnie M. Belanger

Theses and Dissertations

The present action research study examines first-year teachers’ perceptions of the mentoring component of the New Teacher Induction Program (NTI Program) and specifically levels of helpfulness of their mentors in the Eastern Georgia School District (pseudonym). The Eastern Georgia School District (EGSD) lacked a comprehensive induction program; therefore, EGSD developed the NTI Program to assist first-year teachers as they transition into their professional careers. The data set comprises a survey and semi-structured interviews collected at the end of the 2016-2017 school year. Descriptive statistics and an inductive analysis allowed data to be analyzed and interpreted. Findings of the study indicate, …

The Impact Of A Forest School Model And An Interdisciplinary Curriculum In A Third-Grade Classroom: An Action Research Study, Valerie Hoyt-Parrish

Theses and Dissertations

New policy at LHP (pseudonym) requires all teachers to implement the Danish Forest School approach and integrate the natural outdoor areas surrounding the campus in their curriculum and pedagogy. The purposes of the present study are to identify the cognitive, affective and psychomotor impact of the Danish Forest School approach on students and to design a professional development plan for teachers that enables them to combine this approach within an interdisciplinary framework that will include the State Standards that are required of all third-grade students in this southern, private, parochial school. Action research methods were used to collect observational data …

The Impact Of Structured Play On Early Literacy Skills In A Kindergarten Classroom, Lauren B. Adams

Theses and Dissertations

The present action research study of kindergarten students, in a suburban public school classroom located in the midlands region of South Carolina, describes the ways in which a teacher-researcher developed a Structured Play Unit in her classroom that was designed to answer the following research question: How does the implementation of a Structured Play Unit impact early literacy skills (rhyming) on kindergarten students? Implemented in the Fall of 2017, data was collected over a four-week period. A verbal pre-test was given to the teacher-researcher’s kindergarten class which required students to identify pictures of rhyming words and point to their response, …

The Impact Of Problem-Based Learning In An Eighth-Grade Earth Science Classroom: An Action Research Study, Caroline Lucinda Moon

Theses and Dissertations

The present dissertation in practice (DiP) proposal delineates an action research study designed to evaluate the use of problem-based learning (PBL) in an eighth-grade earth science class to assess the impact of PBL on student achievement. I have observed that students often struggle with developing an understanding of how the motions of the sun, earth, and moon (SEM) cause observed phenomenon on the earth. In addition, I have observed the unintentional marginalization of cisgender female students within the science classroom. The identification of the problem of practice (PoP) led to the development of the following two research questions: How does …

Historical Inquiry And Student Perceptions Of Cultural Groups In A Social Studies Classroom, Michelle Pope

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addresses a problem of practice stemming from the accountability movement and its emphasis on high-stakes testing in the social studies classroom. An examination of the problem of practice led to the research question: How does the use of the scientifically based method of historical inquiry affect student perceptions of cultures other than their own? The purpose of this action research study was to examine the use of historical inquiry as a means of combating the lack of depth in a formal curriculum focused on high-stakes testing and a hidden curriculum that promotes a “top-down,” Eurocentric approach to history …

The Impact Of Teaching Growth Mindset On Archery Skill Achievement: An Action Research Study, Phillip Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Although setbacks and failure are common in school, especially in outdoor adventure physical education classes, the ways in which students handle those setbacks and failure impact their academic achievement and performance. This dissertation describes a problem of practice based on observations of how the researcher’s students handle setbacks and failure in his outdoor adventure education class, specifically how these setbacks and failure affect the students’ archery performance. This study examined how teaching noncognitive skills using the computer program Brainology impacts student skill performance in archery and the students’ perceptions of this impact. This study used a concurrent mixed methods action …

Blended Learning And Its Effect On Student Achievement: An Action Research Study, Christopher Michael Turpin

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study seeks to determine the effects of blended learning on student achievement in a social studies classroom. The research focus is centered on the idea that students are not reaching their full potential on assessments, and a question about how to most effectively assist them in realizing their potential through a new teaching method. This action research study follows Mertler’s (2014) action research framework to find an answer to the research question. The participants of this study were a group of 10th grade students enrolled in an Honors World History course. Students were taught using a blended …

The Impact Of Collaborative Strategic Reading On Students’ Comprehension Of Secondary Social Studies Texts, Kaitlyn Mathews

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study evaluates the impact of the literacy intervention, Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), on students’ comprehension of social studies texts in secondary classrooms at a high school in East Tennessee, and their perceptions of the intervention as an activity for learning. The identified problem of practice this study sought to explore is whether explicit, collaborative literacy instruction would impact students’ comprehension of grade-level appropriate social studies texts, and to evaluate students’ responses to such literacy instruction. Pre- and post-tests assessing students’ comprehension of informational articles pertaining to eras of United States history, and semi-structured interviews with students, provided …

The Effect Of Mindful Practices On The Independent Learning Process Of Third-Grade Montessori Students, E. Simone Mori

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact mindfulness practices would have on the independent learning processes of third-grade students in a Montessori setting. For the purpose of the study, independent learning processes were measured using three parameters: (a) self-reports of perceived learning on-task and off-task behaviors, (b) students’ ability to effectively use mindfulness practices autonomously as a self-regulating behavior when off-task, and (c) teacher-researcher’s observations, along with teacher-participant’s and instructional assistant’s reporting, of improved autonomous learning behaviors and students’ autonomous use of mindfulness practices as a self-regulating behavior. The study occurred over a five-week period during the …

The Effect Of The Functional Linguistics Of Mathematics Instruction (Flmi) Model On Quadratic Application Skills In Algebra, Susan Ray Burnett

Theses and Dissertations

This paper addresses a need for change in instructional practices to improve student performance in transferring of mathematical concepts to mathematical applications in Algebra 2 classes at Burdine High School (BHS) in South Carolina. The teacher-researcher has created a mathematics literacy instructional model, the Functional Linguistics of Mathematics Instruction model, which was implemented during an instructional unit on quadratic functions. A mixed methods design with an action research approach was utilized to determine the effects of this model on students’ performance on an application-based assessment. Preliminary findings suggest initial success with the model as a remedy for applied mathematics shortcomings …

Impact Of An Intervention To Improve Self-Regulation Skills Among Students In The Introductory Biology Course At A Southern Technical College, Jessica Burr Lea

Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes a problem of practice centered on Introductory Biology students’ at a southern technical college’s struggle for course success due to an insufficient ability to self-regulate. It is the concern of the researcher that many students do not experience course success because of their poor time management skills, lack of self-reflective behaviors, and failure to correct unsuccessful habits. Wilde and Hardaker (1997) refer to the need for college students to self-regulate as a form of educational “autonomy” which places a larger portion of the learning in the hands of the student rather that solely at the hands of …

The Impact Of A Peer-Tutoring Model On The Academic Performance Of Secondary Students, Bridgett Wolfe

Theses and Dissertations

The Impact of A Peer-Tutoring Model on the Academic Performance of Secondary Students describes the impact of a peer-tutoring model in a secondary introductory computer science classroom, Information Technology Foundations (ITF), at a Midlands High School (MHS) (pseudonym), a suburban high school located in the Midlands region of South Carolina. The course is required for graduation and student-participants in the study were diverse in their ages and learning abilities. Matching one peer-tutor with five or six peer-tutees enabled student-participants to work through a Google Drive unit that was designed by the teacher-researcher. The research question: What is the impact of …