Educational Methods Commons^™

The Effect Of Gamification On Elementary Students’ Spanish Language Achievement And Academic Self-Efficacy, Jason Rachels

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, non-equivalent control group design was used to examine the effect of gamification on third and fourth grade students’ Spanish language achievement and student academic self-efficacy. In this study, the primary means of incorporating gamification into the experimental group’s Spanish language instruction was through the use of Duolingo®, a computer and mobile app that uses gamification and adaptive learning technology to teach foreign languages. Students in the control group received their regularly scheduled English L1/Spanish L2 class learning activities. The study was 12 weeks in duration. Students were assessed with a 50 question, multiple-choice English to Spanish and …

The Effect Of Gamification On Elementary Students’ Spanish Language Achievement And Academic Self-Efficacy, Jason Rachels

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, non-equivalent control group design was used to examine the effect of gamification on third and fourth grade students’ Spanish language achievement and student academic self-efficacy. In this study, the primary means of incorporating gamification into the experimental group’s Spanish language instruction was through the use of Duolingo®, a computer and mobile app that uses gamification and adaptive learning technology to teach foreign languages. Students in the control group received their regularly scheduled English L1/Spanish L2 class learning activities. The study was 12 weeks in duration. Students were assessed with a 50 question, multiple-choice English to Spanish and …

Project-Based Science Instruction For General-Education Undergraduates And Seventh Graders: Practices, Proficiency, And Pitfalls, Walter S. Borowski, Malcolm P. Frisbie

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

For three semesters we conducted a general-education course designed for both undergraduates and seventh-graders in which students investigated contaminant sources and water quality of a local stream. The middle school students attend a local, county school that draws its students from disadvantaged areas of the town of Richmond, Kentucky. Undergraduates were general-education honors students with little predilection toward science. The instructors guided undergraduates through the project, and our honors students then mentored the middle-schoolers in their scientific endeavors.

Both sets of students serially investigated the chemical and biological properties of a typical upland stream (Tates Creek, Madison County, Kentucky) impacted …

Can Library Research Be Fun? Using Games For Information Literacy Instruction In Higher Education, Jennifer Young

Georgia Library Quarterly

Collectively, the world's population spends about 3 billion hours a week playing video games. To reach game-playing audiences of all ages, educators, including library instructors, are embracing game-based learning to engage and motivate students the same way that games do. In looking at the collective wisdom on what makes a good game, and providing concrete examples of library gaming projects, this paper discusses the best practices for creating virtual and virtual-reality hybrid games for bibliographic instruction. The author explores the literature on gamification and games used for teaching information literacy in higher education, and provides recommendations gleaned from existing research …

Mapping New Routes To Composition: Allowing Access Through Universal Design For Learning, M. Lynn Dill

All Student Theses and Dissertations

Looking at multimodal composition through the perspective of disability studies, this thesis explores the links between multiple intelligences and multimodality to discover the rhetorical skills students report learning as a result of this method of teaching. The exploration of this topic includes a study involving students enrolled at a small Midwestern university. A qualitative approach was used, with the author directly interviewing students about their experiences with multimodal composition to determine the skills developed as a result of this approach. Prior to the interview, the student volunteers took a test based on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. This test …

Using Visually Disfluent Fonts For Cueing And Increased Reading, Nena Barley

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Research has shown that using hard-to-read fonts in a reading assignment is an external way to manipulate text to slow down the learner’s task completion time, giving more time on task and improving the learner’s ability to comprehend and retain the content (Alter & Oppenheimer, 2009b). This novelty effect interferes with the legibility of the reading material, but not the readability. This study is focused on using hard-to-read fonts, also referred to as disfluent fonts, to cue the learner to important information that may lead to more cognitive engagement and processing. Facing the visual challenge of a disfluent font, the …

Time For A Paradigm Shift: Recognizing The Critical Role Of Pictures Within Literacy Learning, Beth Olshansky

Occasional Paper Series

Broadens the definition of literacy with the help of children’s drawings and conversations. The author shows how the social practices of literacy are enacted in and through the visual.

Theorising Through Visual & Verbal Metaphors: Challenging Narrow Depictions Of Children And Learning, Sophie Rudolph

Occasional Paper Series

Through a rich description of how young children use drawing to express their emerging understandings of the world, Rudolph disrupts narrow definitions of the child as learner.

Art Education At Bank Street College, Then And Now, Edith Gwathmey, Ann Marie Mott

Occasional Paper Series

Takes readers through the history of art education at Bank Street College to show the innovative and child-centered approaches that continue to challenge dominant educational thinking.

Seeing Meaning, Barry Goldberg

Occasional Paper Series

Artist Barry Goldberg narrates his personal experiences working with young children, exposes the limitations of words and suggests the possibility of a responsiveness from adults that serves to open and sustain creative thinking.

You can see detailed methodology and images of children's art in the accompanying materials in the College Partner Collection.

The Affective Flows Of Art-Making, Bronwyn Davies

Occasional Paper Series

Invites readers to consider the transient and surprising things that occur for both adult and child within the rhythmic flows of art making.

Entering The Secret Hideout: Fostering Newness And Space For Art And Play, Shana Cinquemani

Occasional Paper Series

Describes the transformative nature of negotiated spaces between the school and children’s self-initiated drawings.

Introduction: Art & Early Childhood - Personal Narratives And Social Practices, Kristine Sunday, Marissa Mcclure, Christopher Schulte

Occasional Paper Series

In this issue of Bank Street’s Occasional Paper Series, we explore the nature of childhood by offering selections that re/imagine the idea of the child as art maker, inquire about the relationships between children and adults when they are making art, and investigate how physical space influences our approaches to art instruction. We invite readers to join a dialogue that questions long-standing traditions of early childhood art—traditions grounded in a modernist view of children’s art as a romantic expression of inner emotional and/or developmental trajectories. We have also selected essays that create liminal spaces for reflection, dialogue, and critique of …

Straight Outta K-1: An Authoethnographic Analysis Of A Black Male Teacher's Experience Employing Hip Hop In A Kindergarten-First Grade Classroom, Anthony Broughton

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed the learning outcomes of a Black male kindergarten-first grade teacher’s usage of Hip Hop as an instructional approach using autoethnography as a method. The primary research question that guided this work was, “What can I learn from an examination of the experiences of Black male kindergarten/first grade teacher and students from a retroactive examination of the use of Hip Hop Pedagogy in a kindergarten/first grade classroom of African American children? Data sources for this study included of artifacts (electronic classroom portfolios, videos of classroom instruction, archived teaching evaluations, parents’ e-mails, student assessments, correspondence from administrators, lesson plans …

Informational Texts And Vocabulary For Young Children, Gwen R. Marra

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Informational texts are encouraged in the primary grade classroom. Why are they important? How can they be used effectively?

Preparing Teachers For Place-Based Teaching, Amy Vinlove

Occasional Paper Series

This paper begins by offering two portraits of recent teacher education graduates providing place-based teaching in their classrooms, followed by a description of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions teachers (new or seasoned) must possess to effectively teach in a place-based manner. Next is a short discussion of the importance of experience and application of these tenets. Finally, there are three examples of activities and assignments my colleagues and I have developed for our teacher preparation program. We aim for these experiences to help inspire and prepare our graduates to integrate their local communities and places into their own classrooms, whether …

Nature Preschools: Putting Nature At The Heart Of Early Childhood Education, Ken Finch, Patti Bailie

Occasional Paper Series

Describes nature preschools as places that go beyond the typical preschool teachings within the classroom. Activities at nature preschools may include child-centered outdoor investigations, unstructured play and exploration in rich outdoor settings, large, natural areas to explore, and special programs that might include making maple syrup or apple cider, meeting live animals, and discovering pond life.

Learning Naturally: An Inquiry Study Of Streams In Hawaii, Becca Kesler

Occasional Paper Series

Describes a teacher-guided, place-based inquiry curriculum.

"I anticipated that it would give my students opportunities for exploration, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and collaboration, while developing a relationship with the natural world. This is the story I would like to share. My hope is that it will provide other teachers with the inspiration to consider the rich learning opportunities available in their local environments." -- Author

Discovering Place-Based Education In The Foothills Of The Himalayas, Monimalika Day, Doug Hernandez

Occasional Paper Series

The central feature of this paper is a portrait of a teacher conducting lessons near a pond in a remote village in the foothills of the Himalayas. It describes how the teacher provides opportunities for her young students to explore their natural environment and helps them to connect with their place. It is essential to note that her story represents the efforts of many other preschool teachers working with Prakriti.

Place-Based Education: (Re)Integrating Ecology & Economy, Mark T. Kissling, Angela M. Calabrese Barton

Occasional Paper Series

Describes the relationship between ecology and economy in place-based education.