Elementary Education Commons^™

Co-Creation With Youth: Teaching Artistry And Art Outreach Programs, Hallie Morrison

Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal

This article shares my process and reflection as a teaching artist on a specific project with the Chicago Opera Theater (COT). An extension of my personal and professional practices that aims to provide larger painting experiences for students than they are normally provided, this project takes place in Chicago public schools through a model of Arts Partnership in which COT brings in multidisciplinary arts education. Beyond being an educational program, this school-based artistic co-creation resulted in opportunities for professional learning, intracultural bonding, and empowering moments for youth. This article includes images of the art teaching process, arts integration program tools, …

Estimating School-Level Achievement In Belize, Betty Jean Usher-Tate

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation consists of five chapters: introduction, literature review, methodology, results, and discussion with final thoughts. The research design of this dissertation study attended to structures, cultures, and characteristics associated with, and specific to, the Belize education system. The processes for data collection and types of analyses were appropriate, yielded meaningful results, and served as a segue for national application. The Belize Educator Survey was developed to capture the educators’ voices and illuminate their relationship to educational achievement in Belize. The Belize Educator Survey was piloted and revised with direct input from educators and experts who work in the Belize …

The Importance Of Collaborative Design For Narrowing The Gender Gap In Engineering: An Analysis Of Engineering Identity Development In Elementary Students, Mandy Mclean, Jasmine M. Nation, Alexis Spina, Tyler Susko, Danielle Harlow, Julie Bianchini

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Research suggests that, to narrow the gender gap in engineering, we should focus on helping young girls identify with engineering both because gendered attitudes emerge around kindergarten and because identity is more predictive than performance on persistence in the field. This qualitative study sought to understand the impact of collaborative engineering design on the development of engineering identities in elementary-school students and compared the findings across gender. We focused on three tiers of collaboration embedded into the engineering design process: peer groups, role models, and shared goals. More specifically, the elementary students worked in small teams and partnered with undergraduate …

The Influence Of A Science Methods Course On Prospective Elementary Teachers’ Visions Of Science Teaching, Martha M. Canipe, Jessica Y. Coronado Verdugo

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Prospective elementary teachers may enter their teacher education program having experienced science more as a collection of definitions and facts than in ways that support rich engagement with scientific phenomena. As a result, their visions of themselves as science teachers may not align with the most recent understandings about how to teach science to support student learning. Science methods courses are settings that have the potential to shift prospective teachers’ visions of science teaching. We used an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach with collection of survey data followed by interviews with selected participants. We analyzed how prospective elementary teachers’ visions …

Are We Prepared?: A Quantitative Study Of Elementary School Counselors' Knowledge, Skills, And Dispositions To Working With Lgbtq Youth, Kristina D. Weiss

Theses and Dissertations

It is estimated that there are over three million lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in the United States. Based on their perceived or real sexual orientation and gender identity, these youth face multiple accounts of bias and discrimination in schools. As a source of solace, many LGBTQ students seek out adult supports in school, namely the school counselor. While extensive research exists about the interactions and capabilities of secondary school counselors to work with LGBTQ youth, there is a limited research surrounding elementary school counselor's competencies with this population. The purpose of this quantitative research was to …

“The Unnecessary Gendering Of Everything”: Gender Diverse Adults Speak Back To Their K-12 Schools, Katherine Lewis

Faculty Authored Books and Book Contributions

Across the globe, students are speaking up, walking out, and marching for social and ecological justice. Despite deficit discourses about students, youth are using their voice and agency to call forth a better world. Will educators respond to this call to stand with students in relational solidarity as co-constructors of a new tomorrow? What is possible when teachers and students engage together in new ways? Pedagogies of With-ness: Students, Teachers, Voice and Agency offers insight into the transformative possibilities of education when enacted as the art of being with. Driven by student voices and their experiences of marginalization, this …

The Mindful Child: Supporting Children's Development Through Mindfulness, Erica Flesher

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This study is about mindfulness and its impact on the development of children in early adolescence. The three developmental categories this thesis will be addressing are cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development. These developmental domains will be supported by the following mindful-based practices; mindful movement in the form of Qigong, meditation, and mindful communication. Mindfulness is an important practice to incorporate into the lives of children because it can be used in various forms and fashions as a tool towards developmentally targeting and supporting the whole child in early adolescence. My findings are that incorporating mindfulness activities and practices into the …

Science Teachers’ Infusion Of Peer Assessment In Primary School, Usha Nair Tangaraju

Student Works (2020-2029)

Infusing peer assessment strategies into science lessons have the potential to enhance learner autonomy. Learner autonomy is an important attribute as an educational outcome. Nevertheless, research indicates that teachers do not infuse peer assessment strategies that teachers perceive as challenges. Thus, this study examines how primary science teachers infuse peer assessment strategies and to investigate the challenges these teachers face when infusing these strategies. The exploratory qualitative research design was utilized. The sample of this study were three primary school science teachers. These teachers were chosen because of their willingness to participate in the study. Data collection techniques employed were …

Effectiveness Of Using Scratch® In Enhancing Word Problem Solving Achievement In Basic Arithmetic Among Year Two Pupils, Usha Thangamani

Student Works (2020-2029)

Teaching and learning of primary and secondary Mathematics in Malaysia wields problem solving as the central theme and fundamental emphasis in the curriculum content. However, problem solving which allows pupils to think critically, analytically and logically often viewed as complex mathematics area since it obliges knowledge of number sense and basic arithmetic operations and language skill. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of using Scratch in enhancing word problem solving achievement in basic arithmetic among year two pupils. A total of 60 year two mixed ability pupils from a government primary school in Bangsar district were …

Unit #2: Water - Remote Learning Activities, Lindsey Herlehy, Cassandra Armstrong

Little STEAMers: Early Learning Program

No abstract provided.

A Spiritual Vision For Catholic Educator Prep In A Time Of Disruption: A Reflective Essay, Angela T. Moret, Ronald R. O'Dwyer S.J.

Journal of Catholic Education

This essay reflects on the spiritual lessons learned as a Catholic graduate-level teacher prep program guided novice teachers through the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We observed the importance of articulating a clear spiritual vision rooted in scripture, history, and personal experience. The guiding spiritual lens has been the Emmaus story which helps us look to the past and to the future as we form and support early-career educators in Catholic schools.

The Impact Of Reading Intervention On Retained Elementary-Age Students, Elizabeth Lazar

Dissertations

Due to historically high rates of retained students, one low-performing school needed to fix the endless cycle of student failure. After implementation of a close reading program, participating students made growth on the state reading test. My main goal was to examine which key elements of this program supported retained third grade students resulting in learning gains. My data showed t-test findings with a statistically significant difference in both scale scores and achievement levels on the state reading assessment.

My recommended policy change provides elementary students with a district-wide close reading program to teach comprehension strategies. Through policy measures, I …

The Predictive Relationship Between School Climate And Self-Perceived Stress Levels Among Fourth- And Fifth-Grade Teachers, Andrea Wood Eason

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Educational research continues to show that teachers are leaving the field of education in large numbers for a variety of reasons. One documented reason for teacher attrition is job-related stress. This correlational, predictive study examined the relationships between the predictor variables of school climate (collaboration, decision-making, instructional innovation, school resources, and student relations) with the criterion variable of teacher stress among fourth- and fifth-grade public school teachers from across the United States. A convenience sample of 68 teachers participated in the study by completing the Revised School Level Environment Questionnaire (R-SLEQ), which measured school climate, and the Teacher Stress Inventory …

The Relationship Among Children Born With A Congenital Heart Defect, Effects Of General Anesthesia, And Special Academic Needs, Lorilynn Bowie

Dissertations

Abstract

I initiated this study due to experience in the public education system in one state in the United States. I noted a lack of understanding among educators on how to meet the educational needs of children born with a congenital heart defect (CHD) who had undergone general anesthesia related to their CHD. A lack of communication between the medical sector and the educational world led to extensive delays in children receiving the educational support they needed to be successful academically. There were two primary exploratory questions that drove my study: 1.) Is there a relationship between children born with …

A Case Study Of Academic Performance In A K-8 School Model, Jamie North

Dissertations

The historical and current dispute on how to educate middle grade students continues to puzzle today’s leaders of school systems nationwide. As a result of conflicting research on academically high performing schools, scholars and school decision makers continue the discussion on the influence of grade span configurations on academic performance. The purpose of my mixed method case study was to explore how teachers and school principals perceive the role of collective efficacy as influencing academic performance for grade eight students in the school under study. My study obtained input from school principals, district leaders, and teachers guided by the following …

Exploring Cold War Religious Persecution Using The Rank-Order Approach, Jeffrey M. Byford, Brian K. Horn, John Grant, Cort Casey, Sherrie Hopper

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This lesson explores religious persecution in East Germany. Students must decide plausible actions to take against the Protestant Church to diminish power. Acting as a member of The East German Secret Police, students, evaluate, rank, and justify decisions to minimalize Christianity in an atheist society.

Facilitating Experiential Learning Experiences Through A Class Pioneer Day, Ronald Vaughan Morris

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Students experience a reenactment of life on the frontier created by the interaction of their teachers and community volunteers. Students in elementary social studies learn content, skills, values, and dispositions through engaging in experiential learning. The classroom environment is described through a case study of one classroom of fourth grade students with an experienced teacher with deep roots in the community. Teachers develop skills in negotiation with volunteers to accomplish tasks that support student learning. Descriptions of student and teacher preparations in addition to budgetary constraints describe how to replicate the experience. Examples and assessments are provided as well as …

Music Interventions For A Child With Developmental Disabilities, Zishan Xiong

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone thesis project explores a musical intervention (Development Interaction Through Music, DITM) for a 9-year-old girl with neurodevelopmental disorders in a school setting. Although there was research on the application of music therapy in different populations, there are relatively few documentations on music therapy in the field of special education. Some case studies have found that music therapy has a positive effect on people with developmental disorders (Thompson & McFerran, 2015). Clinicians need to engage in more clinical practice and collect case data as strong evidence. Music therapists who work with children with severe disabilities are recommended to build …

Supporting Science Learning For English Language Learners, Judith Morrison, Yuliya Ardasheva, Sarah Newcomer, Lindsay Lightner, Gisela Ernst-Slavit, Kira Carbonneau

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This study focused on two fourth-grade science classrooms with English learners (ELs), exploring how teachers supported students’ science and language/literacy learning in different language contexts. Three a priori research-based practices recommended for supporting science learning framed our exploration: (a) negotiation, opportunities for individual and social construction and critique of knowledge; (b) embedded language, opportunities for language and literacy learning as a natural aspect of science; and (c) non-threatening learning environments, opportunities for social apprenticeship and interaction. We provide insights into how science instructional practices supported ELs’ science and language learning. One key implication is that enacting these three principles of …

Star Stuff: Romantic Understanding Of Elementary Science And Mathematics Through Imaginative Steam Learning, Richard Cox

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) is an avenue through which engagement in elementary science and mathematics can deepen in line with reform documents (Bush & Cook, 2018; Bush & Cook, 2019; Quigley & Herro, 2016). This formative and design experimental (Reinking & Bradley, 2008) study explored how, in a STEAM Lab context, curriculum intentionally made more imaginative through the use of a set of cognitive tools (Hadzigeorgiou, Klassen & Klassen, 2011) might result in Romantic Understanding of elementary science and mathematics content. Three research questions guided the research: 1) In what ways does STEAM curriculum connect …