Examining Reflective Practice Through Lesson Study, Amanda L. Wojcik

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine a team of elementary teachers’ reflective practice through lesson study. The study focused on how three first-grade teachers described their reflective practice during and after lesson study and how they reflected-in, -on, and -for-action during three lesson studies. The teachers each participated in four individual interviews, three stimulated recall interviews, and observations during the lesson studies when they taught research lessons and engaged in post-lesson discussions.

Data from the interviews and lesson study observations were analyzed using qualitative methods and through the lens of Schön’s theory of reflection. Ten sub-themes were …

Growth Mindset: A Key To Motivating Students In Reading, Jenny M. Reid

Masters Theses

If students believe the possibilities for attaining knowledge are boundless, they will be capable of reaching those heights. However, if students feel as though they are restricted by what nature and genetics have gifted them, their learning will remain within those boundaries. This is what stands as the difference between a growth and fixed mindset, which affects will be analyzed pertaining to student progress and motivation in literacy. A third-grade class was observed over six weeks to explore what the teacher believes about her students’ reading abilities as well as what the students believe about their reading abilities. These beliefs …

Construct Validity Of The Behavior Assessment System For Children-Third Edition Teacher Rating Scales (Basc-3 Trs): Comparisons With The Adjustment Scales For Children And Adolescents (Asca), Shannon Burback

Masters Theses

The Behavior Assessment Scale for Children-Third Edition Teacher Rating Scale Child Form (BASC-3 TRS-C) and the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA) are both teacher rating scales which may be used by school psychologist to assess youth behavior problems. The BASC, BASC-2, and BASC-3 have limited replicated research of the studies reported in their respective manuals. Therefore, it was important to empirically compare the BASC-3 TRS-C with the ASCA to examine construct validity (convergent, discriminant, and divergent) as there were, at present, no published studies replicating BASC-3 Manual research. The present study analyzed BASC-3 TRS-C and ACSA ratings which …

Developing Text-Based Writing And Working Through The Revision Process, Valerie Clark

Masters Theses

A narrative continuation is designed to assess a student’s ability to comprehend a text selection and use their own creativity to redesign the text’s conclusion. This study took a narrative continuation writing assessment and analyzed the process which 41 sixth grade students followed, specifically looking at the prewriting and revision procedures. The goal was to determine if the supports and resources provided were effective for the type of writing and student population. Throughout the process, students’ behaviors which indicated motivation levels were noted (participation in discussions, level of focus, attentiveness, and amount of redirection required). Student work was then reviewed …

Examining Diversity In The Monarch Award, Michele Mcdaniel

Masters Theses

This study explores the 2016 Monarch Award Master List as an educational resource for kindergarten through grade three teachers and librarians. It focuses this exploration by examining how diversity was represented in the text and illustrations of the books in the sample. The Monarch Award is Illinois’ K-3 Kids’ Choice award. Illinois’ children are increasingly diverse, and it is important that they have access to literature that reflects their diversity. The study revealed that diverse characters were portrayed with nuance and respect, but they were still underrepresented on the list. Additionally, diverse characters often had to display extraordinary characteristics to …

Effects Of Extreme Behaviors And Outbursts In Kindergarten Classrooms, Christine M. Ng

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study explored extreme behaviors and violent outburst in kindergarten classrooms and the affect they had on other students as observed by their teachers. A mixed methods study design was used, and included a survey and interviews. Quantitative data was collected to understand what teachers are experiencing as a group, and qualitative data expanded on those experiences. The data revealed the variety of extreme behaviors exhibited by some students, and the ways other students and staff both in the classroom and at the school site are affected by them. One of the primary findings is that a lot of time …

Plans To Pedagogy Activity Report 2019: What Impact Does ‘Innovative’ Furniture Have On Student Engagement And Teacher Practices?, Julia Morris, Wesley Imms

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Phase One of this project, conducted during the 2019 academic year, used an A-B-A withdrawal design to rotate (terms 2, 3 and 4) the furniture in five primary school classrooms1 from ‘innovative’ to ‘traditional’ furniture arrangements2. Three-weekly repeated measures were taken across the year of (1) student perceptions of their cognitive and behavioural engagement, (2) teacher actions in these classrooms, and (3) photographs by students of their preferred furniture, with annotations explaining this preference. Once-a-term measures included (4) teachers completing a Teacher Mind Frames survey, and (5) teachers participating in a structured interview with the researchers...

Leading Effective Inclusive Schools: How Principals Make The Difference, Megan Robinson Mcmillan

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In effective inclusive schools, school principals are the difference-makers. Principals of these schools possess a commitment to leading schools adept at delivering high academic achievement outcomes and providing an inclusive education for students with disabilities. This leadership is predicated upon their inclusive consciousness, or a dogged determination to provide ethical and meaningful educational experiences to all students, but especially those with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to understand how four elementary-level public school principals acquired, developed, and demonstrated an inclusive consciousness that guided their leadership of effective inclusive schools. Data were collected using a basic qualitative methodology and …

Inside Collaborative Communities: Teachers' Perceptions Of The Collaborative Process, Pamela Ann Evors

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand teachers’ perceptions of the collaborative process and how it affected their classroom practices. The research question was “What are the perceptions held by experienced public elementary-school teachers in a large urban school district in the southeastern United States regarding the collaborative process in their school settings?”

The research design used semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a specific group of public elementary-school teachers who had extensive professional development and experience with the collaborative process, either in co-teaching settings or in frequent collaboration with colleagues. Using the process of educational criticism (Eisner, 1998) …

Factors In Agency Development: A Supervisory Teaching Perspective, Paul Crowhurst, Linley Cornish

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Promoting student agency is an emerging priority in education. Supervisory teaching is a potentially useful approach for supporting agency development. This approach includes two characteristics, namely, tutorial learning conversations between the teacher and a group of one to four students, and students learning independently for extended periods of time. Supervisory teaching lessons in three primary-school classrooms were observed over a period of five months and teachers were interviewed as part of the data collection process. Five key factors were found to support students to have more agency in their learning: independence and ownership, scaffolding, students as teachers, joyfulness, and reflection. …

Implicit Theories Of Learning As Reflected In One Upper Elementary Teacher's Talk, Laura May, Diane Truscott, R. D. Fremeau

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Strong empirical evidence exists indicating language can influence students’ beliefs about ability. Professional literature for teachers offers practical advice on how to adjust their classroom-based talk to support student achievement by orienting students toward an incremental theory of ability. Yet, little empirical work has been done to investigate how teacher talk plays out moment-to-moment within the classroom context. This study reports on a qualitative analysis of one upper elementary teacher's talk with regard to implicit theories of learning. Findings suggest teacher talk is dynamic and overlapping, operating along a continuum from entity-oriented talk to incremental-oriented talk across varied classroom situations. …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Transition To Retirement Of P-20 Educators In The State Of Kentucky, Chanel M. Schwenck

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological research study explored the physical, mental, social, emotional, and financial experiences of P-20 educators in their transition from teaching into retirement. A grand tour question and three research questions guided this study. Data collected from interviews with retired educators provided a thorough understanding of the issues experienced during the transition into retirement from the Kentucky public school system. The experiences of recently retired P-20 educators showed that stress was a motivating factor for retirement but not chronic illness, disease, or other serious physical health concerns. Public educators in Kentucky may retire after 27 years of service, and many …

Three Cases Of Makerspace Integration In School Library Programs In Conjunction With District Initiatives: Steam, Design Thinking, And Literacy, Lisa Tegels

Graduate Research Papers

Note: This study refers to three co-researchers who each collected data in their respective schools and collaborated in reviewing that data, but each separately authored a paper using that data; the co-researchers are Kris Baldwin and Sara Pflughaupt.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine whether makerspace or STEAM activities can support inquiry learning and meet specific American Association of School Library (AASL), Next Generation Science (NGSS) and Common Core Literacy (CCSS ELA) Standards. For purposes of this study, the three co-researchers were also focused on how this type of learning activity can support district initiatives in …

A Correlation Study Of Parental Involvement And Student Outcomes In A Georgia School District, Courtney T. Flournoy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a statistically significant association existed between the responses of parents of middle school students in a Georgia public school district on a parental involvement survey and three variables: eligibility of students to receive free or reduced-price lunch parental marital status, and parental education level.

This study was initiated because of a persistent problem of low academic achievement of the middle school students. There is extensive research related to the importance of parental involvement and the effect of this involvement on student achievement. However, prior to the implementation of this study little …

ผลของการจัดการเรียนรู้แบบสืบสอบในรายวิชาเพิ่มเติมภูมิปัญญาไทย ที่มีต่อผลสัมฤทธิ์การเรียนรู้และความตระหนักรู้คุณค่างานฝีมือไทยในราชสำนักของนักเรียนชั้นประถมศึกษา, อัญญารัตน์ นิติศักดิ์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การวิจัยครั้งนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์ เพื่อเปรียบเทียบผลสัมฤทธิ์ทางการเรียนรู้ก่อนเรียนและหลังเรียนของนักเรียนชั้นประถมศึกษาปีที่ 5 ที่ได้รับการจัดการเรียนรู้แบบสืบสอบในรายวิชาเพิ่มเติมภูมิปัญญาไทย และเพื่อเปรียบเทียบความตระหนักรู้คุณค่างานฝีมือไทยในราชสำนักก่อนเรียนและหลังเรียนของนักเรียนชั้นประถมศึกษาปีที่ 5 ที่ได้รับการจัดการเรียนรู้แบบสืบสอบในรายวิชาเพิ่มเติมภูมิปัญญาไทย ตัวอย่างที่ใช้ในการวิจัย คือ นักเรียนชั้นประถมศึกษาปีที่ 5/3 ภาคเรียนที่ 2 ปีการศึกษา 2563 โรงเรียนพระตำหนักสวนกุหลาบ เขตพระนคร จังหวัดกรุงเทพมหานคร จำนวน 27 คน ได้มาโดยวิธีการสุ่มแบบกลุ่ม โดยการจับสลากห้องเรียน เครื่องมือที่ใช้ในการวิจัยได้แก่ แผนการจัดการเรียนรู้รายวิชาเพิ่มเติม ภูมิปัญญาไทย โดยใช้การจัดการเรียนรู้แบบสืบสอบ จำนวน 7 แผนการเรียนรู้ 20 ชั่วโมง แบบทดสอบวัดผลสัมฤทธิ์ทางการเรียนรู้ก่อนเรียนและหลังเรียนรายวิชาเพิ่มเติมภูมิปัญญาไทยของนักเรียนชั้นประถมศึกษาปีที่ 5 และแบบวัดความตระหนักรู้คุณค่างานฝีมือไทยในราชสำนักของนักเรียนชั้นประถมศึกษาปีที่ 5 ก่อนเรียนและหลังเรียน สถิติที่ใช้ในวิเคราะห์ข้อมูล ได้แก่ ร้อยละ ค่าเฉลี่ย ส่วนเบี่ยงเบนมาตรฐานและการทดสอบค่าที ผลการวิจัยพบว่า 1) ผลสัมฤทธิ์ทางการเรียนรู้หลังเรียนของนักเรียนชั้นประถมศึกษาปีที่ 5 ที่ได้รับการจัดการเรียนรู้แบบสืบสอบในรายวิชาเพิ่มเติมภูมิปัญญาไทย สูงกว่าก่อนเรียนอย่างมีนัยสำคัญทางสถิติที่ระดับ .05 และ 2) ความตระหนักรู้คุณค่างานฝีมือไทยในราชสำนักหลังเรียนของนักเรียนชั้นประถมศึกษาปีที่ 5 ที่ได้รับการจัดการเรียนรู้แบบสืบสอบในรายวิชาเพิ่มเติมภูมิปัญญาไทย ค่าเฉลี่ยคะแนนสูงกว่าก่อนเรียน อยู่ในระดับมากที่สุด

Language-Supportive Strategies And Their Associations With Child Language Outcomes During Instructional Time, Erin S. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I conducted a correlational study that examined the frequency of educator-delivered language-supportive strategies during instructional time in public Kindergarten classrooms. Additionally, I explored the association between educators’ use of language-supportive strategies and child language outcomes. To index child language, I assessed a sample of 96 children from 10 different classrooms on standardized measures of expressive and receptive language. I recruited 10 educators to participate in the present study and assessed their use of language-supportive strategies during instructional time in the classroom through transcription and coding of audio recordings. The educators completed demographic forms for themselves as well …

Digital Storytelling As An Astronomy Disciplinary Literacy Enhancement Approach For Adolescent Kyrgyzstani Efl Students, Nadezhda Chubko

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research explored the impact of a digital storytelling (DST) video-making intervention in an astronomy course (STEM-A) on EFL students’ STEM-A disciplinary literacy acquisition in English. The research was motivated by the increased significance of English as an international language of STEM instruction and addressed the transition between discourses encountered by students learning STEM in a foreign language.

The study was designed and implemented as a mixed methods four-cycle action research with multiple Case Study, multiple-probe quasi-experimental design. In the first cycle, the researcher transitioned from a teacher of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) to a teacher of …

Receiving By Giving: The Impacts Of Immersive Service-Learning For Primary School-Age Students, Kimberley Luinstra

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Immersive service-learning (ISL) tours provide opportunities for students to deepen their academic and social learning as they provide services to others in an environment different to their home. Research on the effects of ISL tours has been conducted with secondary, tertiary, and graduate school level students, but little research exists on the effects for primary school-age students. This may be in part because of the scarcity of ISL programs available for primary school-age students.

This case study research explores the impacts of an ISL service-learning experience on its primary school-age participants. The community of the metropolitan suburban school at the …

Intercultural Communication Competence In Upper Primary Students: International Collaboration Case Studies Using Web 2.0 Technologies, Rebecca Louise Duyckers

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Globalisation has seen our world become increasingly interconnected through the rapid expansion of digital technologies. Intercultural communication competence is a key aspect of global competence for young people to develop their skills, values and behaviours as global citizens. The rapid expansion of the social web (Web 2.0) enables teachers to create rich authentic learning experiences that foster the development of students’ intercultural communication competence through synchronous and asynchronous web tools. The inclusion of these learning experiences engage students beyond the traditional classroom, enabling them to improve and advance 21st Century skills of collaboration, critical and creative thinking, perseverance, interpretation and …

Alannah, Bree And Cassie: The Abc Of Girls On The Autism Spectrum In Early Years Classrooms, Jillian Stansfield

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The prevalence of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in classrooms is an increasingly common phenomenon in schools in Australia and in many other countries. While there is increasingly growing literature on how autistic boys manage and are managed in schools, little is known about the learning needs of girls on the autism spectrum. One reason offered for this imbalance of literature is that fewer girls are diagnosed than boys, as their presentations may differ. As girls on the autism spectrum are an underdiagnosed phenotype, it is little wonder that teachers do not have adequate knowledge or strategies to support …