Elementary Education Commons^™

Inclusive Settings In Belizean Primary Schools: A Focus On Teacher Practices, Katherine A. Curry, Jentre Olsen, Ed Harris, Candy Garnett, Dian Danderson

Journal of Global Education and Research

Educators in Belize are charged with ensuring that all Belizeans are given an opportunity to acquire a quality education that promotes personal development and productive citizenship. Consequently, Belizean law now requires all children from ages five through fourteen to attend at least eight years of primary school. Students with special needs have historically not received accommodations in the education system, so many teachers struggle with meeting the needs of students with learning disabilities in these inclusive settings. This qualitative case study explored teaching strategies and contextual factors in inclusive primary classrooms in Belize and was conducted in the form of …

How Will Having A W.I.N Room For Our Emotional And Behavioral Disorder Students To Access When They Are Needing A Break Affects The Number Of Room-Clearing Behaviors In A Week?, Samantha Streed

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Having the power to create the behavior program from the ground up, starting a “What I Need” (W.I.N) room at the elementary school where the researcher works. This is a sensory type of room with different tools and strategies that the students can use to calm their bodies or as we say have a safe and calm body. This room will be run by the researcher along with a paraprofessional that will be in the room all day to help support the students. This paraprofessional will also supervise the W.I.N Room if the researcher needs to leave to handle a …

Students’ Perceived Benefits Of Chess: Differences Across Age And Gender, George Chitiyo, Marlana Lastres, Kinsey Simone, Lisa Zagumny

Journal of Global Education and Research

The purpose of this study was to determine differences in students’ perceived benefits of chess by gender and age after being exposed to chess during instruction for an entire academic year as part of a Chess in Schools initiative in a southeastern state of the United States. Data were collected during the 2017–201 8 academic year. The sample consisted of 1,286 students across elementary, middle, and high school levels. Data were collected using a retrospective pretest survey. Seven constructs of the students’ perceptions were generated (increased enjoyment of mathematics, improvement in academic self-efficacy, improvement in collaborative skills, improvement in organizational …

Parent Choice: Learning Pods Or Public Education During Covid-19 Pandemic, Shari Kinney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the decision-making process of K-12 parents living in the Appalachian Highlands who chose to remove their children from traditional public schools to join learning pods (sometimes referred to as pandemic pods) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to answer this overarching question, the researcher focused her study on two areas: first, what were the possible push factors that influenced parents to remove their children from public schools, and secondly, what were the pull factors that lead parents to choose learning pods over other school choice options. Through the data collected …

Photovoice As An Act Of Agency To Decenter Whiteness In P-12 Classrooms, Crystal V. Shelby-Caffey, Jinan Al-Hunayan

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Given the lack of diversity in the P–12 teaching force, we contend that white normativity is prevalent and remains mostly unchallenged in these settings. Acknowledging such inequities requires an intentional focus on equity in teacher education programs. The project described here facilitated in-service teachers’ growth in becoming culturally competent and critically conscious by using Photovoice in P–12 classrooms. Photovoice is a participatory action research method that uses photography to examine the lived experiences of participants. Photovoice was used to examine school-based practices that erased and silenced students while offering an inflection point from which the in-service teachers could develop and …

The Effectiveness Of A Steam-Based Learning Approach In Creative Thinking Among Eighth-Grade Students In Jordan, Rany M. Eitah Phd, Jawhara D. Abueita Phd

International Journal for Research in Education

This study aimed to identify the effect of a STEAM-based learning approach in teaching the subject of educational robots on creative thinking among eighth-grade students in Jordan. A purposive sample was selected and divided into two groups. An experimental group (n=33) studied in a STEAM-based learning approach, whereas the control group (n=31) studied in a traditional method. A pre-posttest of Torrance creative thinking was administered, and the data was analyzed using statistical methods to validate the study results, such as the MANCOVA test. The results showed statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups in creative thinking, favouring the …

Effects Of Using Constant Time Delay In Small Group Instruction To Teach Number Identification Skills To Students With Intellectual Disability, Suha M. Alqahtani, Norah Aldosiry Phd

International Journal for Research in Education

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of constant time delay (CTD) in a small group teaching arrangement implemented in distance learning on teaching identifying the names of numbers with two digits. A multiple probe design across subjects was used to assess the effect of CTD. Participants of the study were four elementary school students with intellectual disabilities. Maintenance and acquisition of non-target skills through observational learning was assessed. Results showed that all students acquired and maintained the target skills. Data of observational learning showed that students acquired some of the non-target skills.

Keywords: Intellectual Disability، Constant Time Delay، …

Covid-19 And Learning Loss At Kalamazoo Public Schools, Randall W. Eberts

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

Early Exposure/Long-Term Gains: Encouraging Underrepresented Middle School Students To Pursue Stem Careers, Trinetia Respress, Owen Johnson, Londee Boyd, Twianie Roberts

The Journal of the Research Association of Minority Professors

Preparing middle school students in STEM for their transition to high school and ultimately for post-secondary endeavors requires early exposure to STEM subjects. This early exposure not only builds a foundation for the ever-changing skills that are needed for the workforce, but also boosts student achievement and test scores (STEM Education Works, 2021). The MUREP project focuses on increasing the number of underrepresented minority students interested in STEM fields. The purpose of this study is to examine underrepresented minority middle school students’ attitudes toward STEM and their expressed interest in STEM post-secondary subjects and careers after participation in the MUREP …

Digital Game-Based Learning Activities In Primary Grade Mathematics Achievement, Chris Anderson

Graduate Teacher Education

The research paper has gathered and analyzed research from online databases to find how digital game-based learning activities were used in mathematics and how it influences the affective domains of academic engagement, motivation, and academic self-perception. The paper aims to inform primary educators of the benefits and limitations of digital game-based activities in primary mathematics. Digital game-based learning has positively influenced students' academic engagement through interaction, play, and effort, which had a positive effect on their mathematical achievement. Increased motivation felt by students when doing digital game-based activities resulted in higher mathematical achievement and an increase in learning more mathematics …

One Font Doesn’T Fit All: The Influence Of Digital Text Personalization On Comprehension In Child And Adolescent Readers, Shannon M. Sheppard, Susanne L. Nobles, Anton Palma, Sophie Kajfez, Marjorie Jordan, Kathy Crowley, Sofie Beier

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Reading comprehension is an essential skill. It is unclear whether and to what degree typography and font personalization may impact reading comprehension in younger readers. With advancements in technology, it is now feasible to personalize digital reading formats in general technology tools, but this feature is not yet available for many educational tools. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of character width and inter-letter spacing on reading speed and comprehension. We enrolled 94 children (kindergarten–8th grade) and compared performance with six font variations on a word-level semantic decision task (Experiment 1) and a passage-level comprehension task (Experiment 2). …

Teachers’ Experiences With Providing Multi-Tiered Student Support For Students With Borderline Intellectual Functioning: A Qualitative Case Study, Teresa Davis Kelso

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the obstacles that rural public school teachers encounter while delivering Multi-Tiered Student Support interventions for students with borderline intellectual functioning. The central question guiding this study was: What are the experiences of rural South Carolina public school teachers tasked with providing Tier III interventions for students with borderline intellectual functioning? The theory guiding this study was Bandera’s self-efficacy theory in that teachers are more effective when they are confident in their ability to use appropriate strategies and materials. The setting for the qualitative study was in a small rural district …

Game-Based Learning In Elementary Mathematics, Sophia Greenfield

Graduate Teacher Education

This paper analyzed 15 primary, peer-reviewed research articles about how to integrate game-based learning in elementary mathematics to increase conceptual understanding. The purpose of this paper was to inform teachers about how to integrate digital and traditional games, including factors to enhance effective implementation, in a way that increased conceptual understanding. Key factors were gleaned from the articles that had a significant impact on the effectiveness of game-based learning. In Chapter Two, traditional and digital games were divided into two sections to analyze the benefits and drawbacks of each method. These benefits and drawbacks were compared in the Appendices to …

Culturally Diverse Literature And Social Inclusion In Elementary Classrooms, Amanda Works

The Kabod

This qualitative study explored the use of culturally diverse literature in correlation to social inclusion, which is crucial for students’ social, emotional, and academic well-being. The purpose was to identify if culturally diverse literature could effectively promote social inclusion in diverse classrooms.

Presented at the National Collegiate Research Conference at Harvard University, January 2023.

See Senior Honors Thesis.

Preparing For Pandemics: Lesson Plan Design For Children In Elementary School, Daniella Rivera, Enkhtsogt (Steve) Sainbayar, Saleem Choudry, Brittany Vaughn Pierce, Roxana Nouri-Nikbakht, Joy H. Lewis D.O., Phd

Intellectus

Context: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated distance learning to attenuate the spread of the virus, and school-aged children were particularly affected by this change. Because of their age and education level, children generally lacked understanding about the pandemic and the preventive measures necessary to prevent the spread of this and other infectious diseases. It is unknown how many schools nationwide incorporated disease-prevention education in their curriculums during the pandemic. Therefore, developing distance learning interventions that convey these topics at their level of understanding is important to improve health literacy and raise their awareness of factors that positively influence health.

Objective: To …

Systemic Abuse Of Black Educational Leaders In K-12 Schools, Bianca Parris

The Organizational Improvement Plan at Western University

Anti-Black racism (ABR) is race-based discrimination experienced by Black educational leaders in the Ontario education system. Since the police officers murdered George Floyd, it has ignited the global Black Lives Matters movement. This has translated into K-12 Ontario schools with a more pronounced emphasis on addressing ABR and systemic racism to provide an environment that is rooted in equity. Despite this global action and ministry requirement, ABR continues to prevail and affects Black educational leaders’ ability to lead effectively. Black educational leaders are navigating a system that is unjust and rooted in colonialism which puts them at a disadvantage. Critical …

The Impact Of Repeated Reading Intervention On Oral Reading Fluency For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd) In Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Al Naji

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence rate of learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen concurrently with their inclusion into public schools in Saudi Arabia. Being in schools, they face academic challenges, particularly in reading. This increased rate evokes the importance of implementing valuable strategies to keep up the academic skills of those students. These students require Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs), which have been demonstrated crucial for their reading development. Nevertheless, limited research has been done on examining the efficacy of EBPs used to enhance the reading skills of learners with ASD, especially their Oral Reading Fluency (ORF). This study used an effective approach …

For The Love Of Teaching: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experience Of Moral Education, Anne Marie Foley Ruiz

Doctoral Dissertations

Moral aspects of teaching arise each and every day, yet we lack information about how prepared teachers feel about this critical aspect of teaching. This multi-case study explores perceptions of five pre-service teachers in an elementary teacher education program in Western Massachusetts. A series of interviews explore their histories prior to the program and their experiences in the program as related to the pre-service teachers’ orientations to the moral work of teaching. Research questions address the awareness and self-efficacy of student teachers in implementing the moral aspects of teaching. Using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006), this study explores beliefs …

The Relationship Between Discipline-Specific Subject Matter Knowledge And Discipline-Specific Science Teaching Efficacy Of Elementary Teachers, Douglas Ball

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Because a teacher's confidence in their ability to teach science is associated with instructional methods and their persistence in the face of challenges, improving science teaching confidence becomes critical for improving science teaching of young children. Science teaching confidence also varies by discipline for elementary teachers: physical science teaching confidence tends to measure lower than life science. This discrepancy leads to elementary teachers engaging in less effective science teaching practices with physical science than life science. A teacher's subject matter knowledge influences their confidence in their ability to teach that subject. Subject matter knowledge impacts science teaching confidence because when …

Transforming Educators' Trauma-Informed Knowledge And Skillset: Exploring The Impact Of A Trauma-Informed Intervention On Educators' Attitudes, Knowledge, And Understanding Of Trauma, Ashley Favello

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

The dissertation followed an improvement science framework to address a specific problem of practice using a mixed methods convergent design. The dissertation in practice investigated the effects of training on teachers’ proficiency in trauma-informed practice and teachers’ perspectives on training and support for students who have experienced trauma. The intervention was conducted across seven elementary schools and consisted of four professional development sessions and observation opportunities with an individual coach. This action research and mixed methods explanatory sequential design included quantitative data assessing teacher knowledge and self-efficacy pre- and post-intervention. It also included teachers’ application of strategies in the classroom …