Education Commons^™

Prekindergarten Policy And Politics: Discursive (Inter)Play On Readying The Ideal Learner, Angela Passero, Carrie Gentner, Vonzell Agosto

Vonzell Agosto

This study uses assemblage policy as the theoretical framework and is situated amid concerns about neoliberal influences on policy negotiations concerning prekindergarten/ers. Key, exemplary, and authoritative policy texts are analyzed using a form of CDA called critical rhetorical analysis. Analysis of key and exemplary texts illuminate terms around which the attempt to persuade was strong: high quality, age appropriate progress, readiness, and literacy. Authoritative texts and early childhood education literature provide insight into related political negotiations. Findings suggest contradictory interplay between policy documents including creation of the term age appropriate progress, conveyance of a narrow band of meaning and associated …

Facilitating A Transdisciplinary Approach In Teacher Education Through Multimodal Literacy And Cognitive Neuroscience, Margaret Billings Krause

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a compilation of research and theoretical papers based on the affordances of multimodal literacies for marginalized learners and for pre-service teachers’ developing conceptualizations of literacy. Through a transdisciplinary lens, the author considers complex issues presented in traditional, print-based learning environments that potentially marginalize learners in their developing abilities to become successful participants in the multiple literacies in the real world.

Three studies focus on pre-service teachers and their developing understanding of effective literacy-related classroom practices. Chapter Three explores potential affordances of a multimodal learning environment for pre-service teachers with self-identified reading difficulties. The phenomenological study highlights differing …

Student-Teacher Interaction Through Online Reflective Journals In A High School Science Classroom: What Have We Learned?, Megan Elizabeth Ehlers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Three challenges in current secondary school science classrooms are (a) meaningful integration of technology, (b) integration of reading and writing in content courses, and (c) differentiation of instruction to meet individual student needs in courses. This is an exploratory study of an urban, high school marine science course in which a teacher added communication with her students via asynchronous online journals. This intervention was intended to enable the teacher to understand how students were constructing knowledge and their understanding of marine science topics. Data included journal postings from all students and the teacher throughout the semester, as well as the …

Validity Testing Of A Preschool Reading Screening Device For Pediatricians, Erika Elaine Blue

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite efforts to improve access to early literacy intervention in the United States, there are still children entering kindergarten that are not adequately prepared for school and are unlikely to catch up to their peers (National Education Association, 2014). Preschool programs are actively involved in screening their students for potential literacy difficulties; however, there are children who do not attend preschool and may not have their literacy development assessed. One solution to this problem is to involve other individuals who routinely see preschool age children. Pediatricians are one such group as children come to them for their wellness visits and …