Elementary Education Commons^™

21st Century Education: The Importance Of The Humanities In Primary Education In The Age Of Stem, Christine M. Reiter

Senior Theses

Taking into consideration the global shift towards innovation and technological development, the rapid changes in the global economy, and the United States Department of Education’s attempts to find a one-size-fits-all solution for America's education woes, our national focus has shifted towards the STEM subjects—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This shift to STEM-focused education has challenged the role of the Humanities in American education, introducing concerns that the overwhelming emphasis on STEM disciplines has pushed the arts, Humanities and human sciences off to the side or even completely out of the picture in American classrooms. In our everchanging technology-focused world, …

An Exploratory Study Of Fifth-Grade Students’ Reasoning About The Relationship Between Fractions And Decimals When Using Number Line-Based Virtual Manipulatives, Scott Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Understanding the relationship between fractions and decimals is an important step in developing an overall understanding of rational numbers. Research has demonstrated the feasibility of technology in the form of virtual manipulatives for facilitating students’ meaningful understanding of rational number concepts. This exploratory dissertation study was conducted for the two closely related purposes: first, to investigate a sample of fifth-grade students’ reasoning regarding the relationship between fractions and decimals for fractions with terminating decimal representations while using virtual manipulative incorporating parallel number lines; second, to investigate the affordances of the virtual manipulatives for supporting the students’ reasoning about the decimal-fraction …

The Phenomenon Of Teacher Burnout: Mitigating Its Influence On New Teachers, Kaila Sanford

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Burnout is a psychological condition with physical, emotional, and mental dimensions. Burnout often includes feelings of exhaustion, long-term fatigue, negative self-concept, despair or hopelessness, frustration, and a lack of productivity at work.

Teacher burnout is a well-known and researched field. It has been documented in the literature that teachers experience high levels of stress and emotional exhaustion, which leads to high levels of burnout and professional attrition. This study examined the incidence of burnout in new elementary school teachers and offered recommendations for changes to organizational structure that may reduce professional burnout.

For the purpose of this study five new …

Literacy Revolution: How The New Tools Of Communication Change The Stories We Tell, Molly Gamble

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The transmission of culture depends upon every generation reconsidering what it means to be literate. The way we consider ourselves to be a literate species is changing, which puts us at a unique turning point in human history. Verbal literacy, or the ability to read and write, is slowly being replaced by visual literacy as a primary tool for human communication. As a culture, we tend to underestimate the creative ferment of our increasingly visual world. The linear, structured pathways of traditional literacy are shifting towards a creative and participatory pursuit of unstructured information that emphasize dimensional thinking. The acceleration …

Becoming Co-Witnesses To The Fukushima Disaster In An Elementary Literacy Classroom, Kaoru Miyazawa

Education Faculty Publications

This study explores what challenges fifth and sixth graders in Pennsylvania encountered as they exchanged letters with children in Fukushima and read a testimony of the Fukushima disaster written by a child there. Trauma theory and seikatsu tsuzurikata, a Japanese traditional critical literacy approach, were used in designing the project and in interpreting children’s engagement with the project. The children demonstrated signs of emerging empathy for children in Fukushima. However, the unspeakable nature of the trauma experience, students’ discomfort, and a pressure to read and write in a structured manner to prepare for the statewide exam posed obstacles for their …

Elementary Teachers' Participation In Edmodo As A Community Of Practice: A Phenomenology, Cynthia Reasoner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the shared, lived experience of elementary teachers’ participation in Edmodo as a community of practice. The theoretical framework guiding this research included Lave and Wenger’s (1991) community of practice theory and Bandura’s social learning theory (1977, 1984) which explained how learning through participation and observation occurs among teachers involved in learning communities. Social constructivism (Bruner, 1996; Piaget, 1971; Vygotsky, 1978) and adult learning theories (Mezirow, 1991, 1995; Knowles, 1984) also provided understanding as to how adults learn and create knowledge. This study described the lived experience of 10 elementary teachers and …

Academic Achievement Of 6th Grade Students In A Social Studies Classroom Implementing Traditional Vs Project-Based Learning, Keith Bryan Overholt

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This study compared students taught with traditional teaching methods and those with project-based learning methods in a sixth-grade social studies classroom. Student assessments were examined to determine how students scored on lower-level thinking questions and higher-level thinking questions as defined by Bloom’s taxonomy of learning. Results indicated that students who were taught through traditional methods scored significantly higher on lower-level thinking questions than those taught through project-based learning. Conversely, students taught through project-based learning scored significantly higher on higher-level thinking questions than those taught through traditional methods.

Reading Workshop Conferences: Effect On First Grade Student Reading Ability, Samantha Everbeck

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Reading workshop is a way to structure a literacy block during the school day that allows for differentiation and a high level of student engagement in the process of learning to read. During reading workshop, students read independently and with partners at their independent reading levels while the teacher confers with students and leads small groups. During conferences, the teacher differentiates instruction and tailors lessons to individual student needs.

The purpose of this study is to examine the result of individualized lessons on word attack strategies on first grade students’ reading ability. Word attack strategies, as in strategies for decoding …

Implementation Of An Avid Elementary Program In A Technology-Rich Environment, Molly J. Large

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the innovations that occurred as the AVID Elementary program was implemented in a technology-rich school environment and the ways in which those innovations were communicated and adopted across the school. It examined how the AVID Elementary program functioned at the site and how teachers developed technology-enabled alternatives to traditional AVID strategies and materials.

The primary question for this study was “How is AVID Elementary implemented in a technology-rich environment?” A qualitative ethnographic case study methodology was appropriate for this study, and the study was conducted through an ethnographic lens that explored the …

A Predictive Study Of Pre-Service Teachers And Success In Final Student Internship, Karen M. Ingle

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Student teaching provides the final pre-service clinical teaching experience of an initial teacher preparation program. Research that specifically studies the pre-service student teacher and predictive factors of student teaching is limited. Identifying predictive factors that contribute to the success of student interns’ student teaching experience is a valuable tool for initial teacher preparation programs. The research represents a predictive study of 21 pre-service teachers who participated in student teaching. The study assessed grade point average (GPA) and emotional intelligence as predictive factors of student teaching success. The researcher analyzed data of GPAs and Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) scores of …

Blended Learning Versus The Traditional Classroom Model, Aaron M. Rozeboom

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine the effectiveness of blended learning in the classroom compared to the traditional, direct instruction approach. Two sections of sixth grade math went through the same unit with one section using the blended learning model and the other section participating in the direct instruction model. Data was collected quantitatively using a pre-assessment and post-assessment, as well as, qualitatively using informal questioning and observations. Analysis of the data suggested that students in the blended classroom increased their learning more than the direct instruction classroom. Also, students participating in blended learning were observed …

Differentiated Instruction For 1st Grade Advanced Learners In Mathematics, Patricia Cawley

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Differentiated instruction is student-aware teaching, in which the students not only develop content mastery, but also take ownership of their learning. This study examined the results differentiated instruction in mathematics had on advanced learners perceived competence, persistence, and intrinsic motivation. Differentiation was implemented in a classroom through various activities that challenged student thinking. Students enrolled in a first grade class in an all girl school setting served as study participants. Data were collected on a total of 21 students in the class, but analysis focused on a subgroup. Results indicated that the participants’ interest and engagement in math varied student …

Dance Education In An Urban Kindergarten Classroom, Anna M. Veelman

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Incorporating arts education can be a valuable intervention for students in an urban setting. Teaching through the arts can act as an initial, Tier One intervention, for students who exhibit disruptive behaviors in the classroom, due to trauma, as well as benefit the overall classroom culture. The arts curriculum has a restorative power that allows students to learn social-emotional regulation skills, bodily-awareness, and expression.

This study examines dance as an art form. Dance is a form of art that allows students to express their emotions and release energy to support positive behavior in the classroom. Data were collected on 25 …

Integrating Literacy And Science In An Elementary School Classroom, Morgan J. Dye

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study explored how the integration of science and literacy in an elementary school classroom impacted the conceptual learning and understanding of first grade students. This study was explored around two research questions 1) How do students respond to the weather activities after being exposed to scientific read-alouds? 2) How will the impact of center based science inquiry on students reading comprehension and conceptual understanding of science knowledge change when the teacher engages students in scientific inquiry through the use of centers? Data was collected over a three-day period when the teacher was conducting a weather unit. It was found …

Testing In Today's Education: Meeting Standards Or Falling Short?, Paige E. Mangione

Senior Honors Projects

“It’s time for the test,” is something that students throughout the nation hear quite often in school. Whether it’s a test for the classroom, the school, the district, or the whole nation, our students are frequently being tested on the information they’re learning. Since the No Child Left Behind Act was initiated in 2002, it has been a requirement that schools across the nation test their students in reading and math during grades 3-8 and high school. Each state was required to establish its own academic standards as well as a state testing system that met federal requirements. By the …

Of Lizards And Language, Bernadette Gongora

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Prevalence Of Communication Disorders In Children With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome On School Speech-Language Pathology Caseloads: A National Survey, Brittany V. Ratliff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is concern about the recently increasing number of infants born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), yet little is known about its long-term neurodevelopmental effects. School-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are in a unique position to comment on potential long-term consequences of NAS because their caseloads include children with a variety of communication disorders and comorbidities. School-based SLPs across the United States (N = 258) responded to a survey about the presence of children with NAS on their caseloads and their perceptions of the children’s communication disorders and comorbidities. Results revealed that children with NAS currently are being treated by …

Interview And Focus Groups Analysis Of Decreased Composite Benchmark Scores On Dynamic Indicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills Dibels From Kindergarten To First Grade Students, Loreen Flanary

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

School districts in the state of Utah are required to use Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS) as an assessment of reading ability for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The Logan City School District (LCSD) kindergarten end of year (EOY) Composite DIBELS data have been strong over the past 5 years with over 90% of students scoring at benchmark. In comparison, in each of those 5 years, first grade beginning of year (BOY) data drops considerably. LCSD is concerned with this trend because it is larger than the state trend of 13-14%, the trend is increasing, and this …

Math Technology: Assessing The Educational Value Of A Supplemental Practice Program, Shannon Tesch

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine if the use of a supplemental computerized math practice program increases student achievement in the fractions domain for fifth graders. Two fifth grade math classes received the same classroom instruction. However, one class also utilized a computerized program three times per week for 20-30 minutes over a six-week period. Data was collected through quantitative pre- and post-assessments, quantitative survey questions, and qualitative student responses. Analysis of the data collected suggests that using the supplemental computerized math program, Front Row Education, in addition to regular classroom instruction, increases student achievement in …

The Development Of English Learners As Writers Of Opinion Pieces, Auri Ann Squire

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The population of English learners (ELs) is growing rapidly across the U.S. Concurrently, elementary students throughout the country are being required to produce more sophisticated writing products than ever before as a result of the heavy emphasis on writing instruction in the recently adopted Common Core State Standards. This qualitative study examined how to best support ELs as they develop as writers. It also addressed the strong need to investigate the impact of students discussing ideas with a partner throughout the writing process.

In order to determine how ELs develop as writers, a multiple case study was conducted in a …