Elementary Education and Teaching Commons^™

How Culture Impacts Relational Aggression In Elementary School-Age Children, Janice Marie Erlewine

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to analyze whether cultural differences existed in forms of aggression and prosocial behaviors among 8 to 10 year old students in Ireland (N=145) and Puerto Rico (N=56) and if the prevalence of these forms of aggression differed between genders. Classroom teachers using the Children’s Social Behavior Scale – Teacher Form (Crick, 1996) rated all students in their classes on relational aggression, physical aggression, and prosocial behaviors. Three 2 (culture) by 2 (gender) analyses of variance were performed on each of the following dependent variables: relational aggression, physical aggression, and prosocial behavior.

Teachers reported greater …

Success In One High-Poverty, Urban Elementary School: A Case Study, Shavonna L. Holman

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the efforts implemented in a high-poverty, urban elementary school in order to increase academic achievement. The central research question was:

1. How do teachers and administrators in a high-poverty, urban school describe the strategies they use to achieve academic success?

The sub-questions were:

1. What are the aspects of the instructional program that assure student success for all students?
2. What changes occurred in the school to achieve its current status?
3. How have the changes been implemented to assure student success?
4. What resources have been instrumental to achieve student success in the school? …

Who Wants To Be A Physical Education Teacher? A Case Study Of A Non-Traditional Undergraduate Student In A Physical Education Teacher Education Program, Scott M. Ronspies

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Forty percent of undergraduate students are non-traditional students. The purpose of this study was to identify what attracted the participant to physical education, identify what situational/social factors facilitated the career choice, and the beliefs of the participant about what it meant to be a physical educator. The study consisted of one male non-traditional student. Artifacts, observation, and interview methods were employed to gain an understanding of why the participant wanted to become a physical educator and what were the beliefs of the participant about physical education teaching or teachers. Findings indicated the participant was attracted to physical education by his …

Who Wants To Be A Physical Education Teacher? A Case Study Of A Non-Traditional Undergraduate Student In A Physical Education Teacher Education Program, Scott Ronspies

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Forty percent of undergraduate students are non-traditional students. The purpose of this study was to identify what attracted the participant to physical education, identify what situational/social factors facilitated the career choice, and the beliefs of the participant about what it meant to be a physical educator. The study consisted of one male non-traditional student. Artifacts, observation, and interview methods were employed to gain an understanding of why the participant wanted to become a physical educator and what were the beliefs of the participant about physical education teaching or teachers. Findings indicated the participant was attracted to physical education by his …

What's New On Jane's Bookshelf?, Jane Leeth

Articles

When I’m not teaching, I’m scouring bookstores and websites for interesting new releases in children’s and young adult literature. My dogs don’t even bark anymore when the UPS man shows up at the front door with a box of books; he’s sort of become part of our family.

I’ve listed here a handful of books that recently piqued my interest—whether I was intrigued by the topic, the aesthetic post-modern appearance, and/or what I can do with the text in the classroom.

Guest Editors' Column: The Solo Librarian, Audrey Church, Frances Reeve

Education & Human Services Faculty Publications

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the guest editor discusses the various stories of solo school librarians in the U.S.

The Effects Of Problem-Based Learning In Math And Science On High Potential Elementary School Students, Tracy Ford Inman

Dissertations

This study explored the effects of problem-based learning (PBL) on growth in both math achievement and science process skills within a sample of high potential and high ability students in grades 3 through 6, particularly students from low socio-economic (SES) backgrounds. Six elementary schools were assigned to one of three treatment groups: (a) PBL instruction in math and science in ability-grouped target classes and one-day-a-week magnet program; (b) PBL instruction in math and science in ability-grouped target classes; and (c) non-PBL instruction in math and science as a control group. Stemming from data gathered in Project GEMS (Gifted Education in …

Designing An Effective Music Teacher Evaluation System (Part Two), Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

Danielson & McGreal (2000) state that an effective teacher evaluation system must contain three elements: a) a coherent definition of the domain of teaching - "What," h) techniques for assessing all aspects of teaching-"How," and c) trained evaluators who can make consistent judgments about performance - "Who." In part one (which appeared in the previous issue of this journal) I examined some of the issues associated with these three areas. In part two below I designed a potential music teacher evaluation system that contains these elements for the school system in Ontario, Canada. On the whole, the proposed system is …

Designing An Effective Music Teacher Evaluation System (Part One), Amy Clements-Cortés

Music Faculty Publications

Danielson & McGreal (2000) state that an effective teacher evaluation system must contain three elements: ai) a coherent definition of the domain of teaching - "What," b2¡ techniques for assessing all aspects of teaching -"How," and c3) trained evaliiators who can make consistent judgments about performance - "Who." In part one I have examined some of the issues associated with these three areas and in part two which will appear in the next journal 1 designed present a potential music teacher evaluation system that contains these elements for the school system in Ontario, Canada. On the whole, the proposed system …

Julie's 5 Most Frequently Used Notebook Strategies, Julie Patterson

Articles

People always ask, “How do you come up with ideas for writing?” So I analyzed my writer’s notebook and identified my most frequently used strategies for recording, nurturing and thinking about story content.

Morality, Mathematics, & Music Class: A Case Study Of A First Grade Vietnamese Classroom, Emma James

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For a Vietnamese child, first grade is their introductory gateway to society. It is the first time they will be working within a large group of people their own age, learning how to become an effective and contributing citizen to the community they’re within. Much of the first grade curriculum focuses on how students should behave not only in the classroom, but outside the school walls. This case study was conducted in the Le Loi Primary School in Hue, Vietnam. My goal was to uncover the main moral values instilled at the first grade level. For two weeks I observed …

Do Teachers Learn In School Contexts? Some Perspectives From Pakistan, Ayesha Bashiruddin

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

Feeling, Experiencing, Learning: Environmental Education At Escola Vila, Isabelle Aida Heilman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Teaching children about the importance of the protecting environment is a key step in preparing future generations to solve environmental issues. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze how Escola Vila in Fortaleza, Brazil integrates environmental education into its curriculum to promote positive environmental actions later in the children’s lives. Classroom observations revealed how environmental education is incorporated into the curriculum in an interdisciplinary way. Students at Escola Vila learn about the environment through creative projects, experiential learning, sustainable practices on the campus and human rights education. Interviews with alumni showed that these four ways that Escola …

Teachers And Language Learning In Primary Schools: The Acquisition Of Additional Languages In The Early Years, Anna Dillon

Doctoral

This study set out to explore teachers’ attitudes towards home language maintenance among children acquiring English and Irish as additional languages in the early years of primary school and to explore the experiences of mainstream teachers who are working with these children. The study includes a consideration of the pedagogical issues involved in teaching young English and Irish language learners and an examination of the support that the whole school community provides for the teachers and the children. Data were gathered using a mixed methods approach, bearing in mind the rights of children to use their home languages and learn …

Serendipity And Persistence: A Journey Building A Rich Music-Making Culture In Public Schools, Constance Cook

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

I am a music teacher in the public schools. This synthesis project presents a Practitioner’s Portfolio to convey my efforts over the last decade and more in pursuit of a rich culture of music in public schools. Readers should see someone who persists when faced with personal, pedagogical, intellectual, and institutional challenges. Moreover, that persistence is conducive of the serendipity through which opportunities open up to be an agent of change. What is also evident to me as I assembled the Portfolio was that the Kodály model of artist, scholar, and pedagogue seems to have been the underpinning for much …

Disability Studies In Education: The Need For A Plurality Of Perspectives On Disability, Susan Baglieri, Jan W. Valle, David J. Connor, Deborah J. Gallagher

Department of Teaching and Learning Scholarship and Creative Works

This article asserts that the field of special education, historically founded on conceptions of disability originating within scientific, psychological, and medical frame works, will benefit from acknowledging broader understandings of disability. Although well intended, traditional understandings of disability in special education have inadvertently inhibited the development of theory,limited research methods, narrowed pedagogical practice, and determined largely segregated policies for educating students with disabilities. Since the passage of P.L. 94-142, along with the growth of the Disability Rights Movements, meanings of disability have expanded and evolved, no longer constrained to the deficit-based medical model. For many individuals, disability is primarily best …

The Status Of Students With Special Needs In The Instrumental Musical Ensemble And The Effect Of Selected Educator And Institutional Variables On Rates Of Inclusion, Edward C. Hoffman Iii

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Creative Work, and Performance

The purpose of this study was to describe the current status of students with special needs in the instrumental musical ensemble and to examine the effect of selected educator and institutional variables on rates of inclusion. An online survey was designed by the researcher and distributed electronically to 600 practicing K-12 instrumental music educators in the states of Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. While 13.6% of the total school-aged population nationwide received special education services, demographic data provided by respondents revealed that students with special needs accounted for 6.8% of all students participating in bands, orchestras, …

Pre-Conference: Curriculum Materials Centers, Gregory A. Martin

Library Faculty Presentations

This pre-conference for the Association of Christian Librarians focused on the development and maintenance of Curriculum Materials Centers.

Silence = Bullying And Death, Conversation = Relationships And Life, Amy E. Ryken

All Faculty Scholarship

Keynote address examining schools' responses to bullying and the kinds of questions young children pose about identity given by Amy E. Ryken at the Lavender Graduates Celebration on May 13, 2011 at the University of Puget Sound.

The Relation Between Speech And Reading, Erin St. Jacques

Honors Projects

An analysis is made of the connection between speech and reading, and language and reading, and how both are related to a Speech-Language Pathologist's job in a school setting, working with struggling readers. Research about the process of learning how to read and how and SLP can be brought in at different stages is examined. This research paper looks at how a child learns to read; programs were executed involving young readers with reading disabilities. It also examines the different stages of learning to read and how an SLP can try to hep. The tactics were examined more closely as …

The Relationship Between Professional Development And Teacher Change In The Implementation Of Instructional Strategies That Support Elementary Students' Science Textbook Reading, Virginia J. Laughridge

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study examined the relationship between a series of professional development workshops and change in three rural elementary teachers’ science textbook reading instructional strategies. The analysis of the qualitative data indicates the degree of teacher change was related to several inner-related factors: (a) teaching experience, (b) teacher perceptions of self, (c) mode of content delivery, and (d) teacher beliefs. Two teachers with the greatest longevity of teaching experience had previously established instructional strategies and modes of content delivery which did not emphasize student textbook reading skills. Their modes of content delivery were related to their self- perceptions as “science teachers” …

Growth Rates Of Curriculum-Based Measurement-Written Expression At The Elementary School Level, Amanda Tadatada

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This project appears to be the first to determine growth rates for writing using Curriculum-Based Measurement-Written Expression (CBM-WE). Growth rates, or the amount of change over time, help educators track how much progress can be expected given typical instruction. CBM-WE probes were administered to a sample of 1,004 students in first through fifth grades within a school district. The writing probes were scored using production-dependent variables: Total Words Written (TWW), Words Spelled Correctly (WSC), and Correct Word Sequence (CWS). Data were analyzed by grade level and gender. Results are presented as weekly growth rates. Growth rates were calculated from fall …

Does A Co-Learner Delivery Model In A Mathematics Methods Course Affect Pre-Service Teacher Candidates’ Self-Efficacy In Teaching Mathematics?,, John J. Ribeiro, Denise Demagistris

Teacher Education

This study is related to a previous study (Ribeiro, 2009) that examined teachers’ perceptions of teaching self-efficacy. In the first study the sample consisted of two groups of teachers that took the same professional development course in mathematics. The comparison group took the course in their school district with other teachers and the experimental group took the course with pre-service teachers in a university classroom. After completing the course, both groups were measured in three dimensions of teaching self-efficacy: student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom climate. Findings indicated that although both groups had significant gains in self-efficacy toward teaching mathematics …

Program Evaluation Of Universal Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports In Kentucky, Kelly S. Davis

Dissertations

The current study was undertaken to examine the impact of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation on schools in Kentucky. Research questions evaluated (a) whether schools in Kentucky implemented PBIS with fidelity and (b) how PBIS implementation impacted student outcomes. Results of the study indicated that elementary, middle, and high schools implemented PBIS with fidelity. Associations were noted between PBIS implementation and decreases in office discipline referrals, out-of-school suspensions, dropout rate, and student retention rate. Results suggested that the PBIS model of training and technical assistance used in Kentucky demonstrates a reliable model for schools to follow to implement …

Getting The Girls To School: The Community Schools Project In Gilgit-Baltistan Of Pakistan, Mola Dad Shafa

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

This paper reviews a ten-year, two-phase educational project that, amongst its main aims, attempted to increase significantly the enrolment of girls in schools. After discussing the constraints on the lives of females in the region, the paper analyses the effects of the project on enrolment. Although girls’ enrolment doubled, a large proportion of girls remained out of school and the drop-out rate of girls was significantly higher than that of boys. The paper examines the reasons for these trends and suggests that, contrary to some expectations, many parents are willing to send their girls to school, but only under strictly …

Teaching Statistics To Elementary Children: Using A Problem-Solving Approach To Enhance Learning, Kayla Lee Botelho

Honors Projects

When teaching statistics (or data analysis) to elementary children, it is beneficial to use a problem-solving approach that incorporates meaningful tasks to enhance the students' learning. This was determined through a careful review of literature, observations of elementary teachers, and the creation and instruction of data analysis unit. The unit required the students to collect data on heights, organize the data in charts, and display the data in line plots. In addition, the students analyzed the data to recalculate the average and other measures of central tendency and to answer questions that arose through the implementation of the lessons. In …

The Effect Of Positive Behavioral Intervention And Supports (Pbts) On Elementary School Student Academic Performance And Behaviors, Michelle Leblanc

Honors Projects

Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) is a school-wide management program designed to improve student academic performance by providing a positive behavioral environment. Research was conducted to determine if there were any direct correlation between proper and consistent implementation of the PBIS framework and an overall increased student achievement on assessments such as the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP). Test results were examined and 12 interviews were conducted with principals, teachers, and PBIS coordinators from six different Rhode Island public schools. The results demonstrated that a majority of the schools have improved over the last few years on the …

Counting Cailloux, Multiplying Mambos: An Analysis Of Mathematics Education In Cameroonian Primary Schools, Rachel Elzinga

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper summarizes the results of a four-week study of mathematics education in Cameroonian primary schools. In order to fully understand the topic, the research included not only mathematics curriculum, but also methods of instruction, the system for teacher preparation, and an evaluation of community perceptions. Data collection integrated participant observations in two francophone primary schools in Dschang, interviews with primary school teachers, interviews with ministry of education officials, and survey data from teachers and community members in Yaoundé, Ngaoundéré and Dschang. Overall, three conclusions were drawn from the data collected. First, that mathematics is perceived as important by the …

“Los Esfuerzos Escolares En España Y El Papel De La Escuelita” - The Scholar Challenges In Spain And The Role Of “La Escuelita”, Adriana Barriga

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

I began volunteering in La Escuelita in March, and during my time there, I helped a class of children from La Paz with their homework and also played with them at the end of the day. After a few weeks, I developed an interest in the educational system in Spain, specifically related to children in primary education. I wanted to know more about some of the problems with the education in poor neighborhoods and how La Escuelita functions to help the children who are at a socioeconomic disadvantage to equalize their opportunity for educational success. In this paper, I address …

Promoting Resiliency Among First-Generation College Students, Jessica C. Fentress, Rachel M. B. Collopy

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

On a momentous day in May, six unlikely students walked across the graduation stage of a competitive, private university to receive their bachelor’s degrees. All six were participants in our study of successful first-generation college (FGC) students. Extensive research investigated the high attrition rates of FGC students and enumerated obstacles that led them to drop out.

Our research took a different approach. Through in-depth interviews, we explored the way resilient FGC students navigated around obstacles and what supported their success. By definition, resilient individuals succeed despite characteristics that predict their failure. Stories from this study offer practical implications for advisers …