Elementary Education Commons^™

Maths Games: A Universal Design Approach To Mathematical Reasoning, Kelley E. Buchheister, Christa Jackson, Cynthia E. Taylor

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

By incorporating math games into the classroom, through the principles of Universal Design teachers are able to address mathematical content, reasoning and problem solving, as well as tailoring games to address students' individual needs.

Cultural Change In Rural Schools Through Enrichment And Intervention In A Quality After-School Program, Kimberly Stepp Mrs.

Projects

A review of the best practices and research literature resulted in the implementation and evaluation of an after-school program for a small rural school in Northern California. The program is designed to overcome some unique challenges for rural schools by offering after school instructional support, homework assistance, and enrichment opportunities that work together to create a rich and successful environment to support student growth. A program evaluation survey measured parents’/guardians’ satisfaction with the program demonstrating significant support after two years. Student achievement data as monitored by teachers and administrators, demonstrated the program’s academic effectiveness in supporting student growth. The included …

The Curriculum Development Of Experienced Teachers Who Are Inexperienced With History-Based Pedagogy, John Bickford

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Contemporary American education initiatives mandate half of all English language arts content is non-fiction. History topics, therefore, will increase within all elementary and English language arts middle level classrooms. The education initiatives have rigorous expectations for students’ close readings of, and written argumentation about, numerous texts representing multiple perspectives about the same historical event, era, or figure. Practicing English language arts teachers must adjust pedagogy accordingly. They cannot utilize a single, whole-class novel with comprehension questions as an assessment. With teaching experience but not formal training in history-based pedagogy, they are adaptive experts. This qualitative study explores how English language …

Using Disciplinary Literacy To Fill The Historical Gaps In Trade Books, John Bickford, Cynthia Rich

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Times} span.s1 {font: 6.5px Times} Many elementary and middle level teachers integrate historywith disciplinary literacy.1 Balancing fiction and non-fiction, orliterature and informational texts, provides space for teachersto link multiple, diverse texts.2 Pairing distinct texts positionsstudents to explore connections between secondary sources,like textbooks and trade books, and primary sources, likeletters and photographs. Scaffolding can assist close readings,text-based writing, historical thinking, and civic engagement.3Where textbooks introduce readers to history via specificterminology and short passages, trade books present historicaleras through relatable characters and engaging prose. For mosttopics, trade books are numerous enough for teachers to …

Academic Achievement In Schoolwide Title 1 Elementary Schools, Kelli K. Cronin

2017 Program & Posters

This nonexperimental quantitative study addressed whether Title 1 had an effect on low socioeconomic schools by determining if Schoolwide Title 1 elementary schools in South Dakota demonstrated significant student gains in math and reading over a 5- year time period as measured by state standardized assessments.

Conferring In The Café: One-To-One Reading Conferences In Two First Grade Classrooms, Bethanie Pletcher, Rosalynn Christensen

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to explore the teacher/student reading conferences in two first grade teachers’ classrooms in one primary school. Sixteen one-to-one reading conferences were recorded and transcribed over a two-month period and coded for content as related to the CAFÉ (Boushey & Moser, 2009) model of reading instruction, which the teachers used daily. We found that the two teachers placed heavy emphasis on students’ reading accuracy (the “A” in CAFÉ) and did not spend as much time working on comprehension, fluency, or expanding vocabulary (the C, F, and E in CAFÉ). We suggest teachers …

The Effectiveness Of Occupational Therapist Guided Remediation Through Handwriting Home Programs, Cindy W. Poole Mrs.

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of an occupational therapist guided, parent-taught home handwriting instruction program for alphabet letter mastery and as a potential school system service delivery model.

Methods: Sixteen teacher referred students participated in this two-group pre-test posttest design using the Test of Handwriting Skills-R and parent survey data to determine summer remediation program effectiveness.

Results: Parent survey support correlated to statistically significant intervention group THS-R mean change standard scores in alphabet letter formation from pre-test (M = 89.57, SD = 12.12) to posttest (M =101.4, SD = 10.39), t …

Literacy Teaching & Learning In A Nicaraguan Primary School, Kristin Arnold

Undergraduate Review

Nicaragua, the second poorest country in Latin America, has a population of approximately 5.8 million people that includes nearly 1.7 million school-age children and youth. According to UNESCO, Nicaragua has the highest dropout rate in Latin America with 52% of children leaving school without completing their primary education. As a result, 22% of Nicaragua’s population is illiterate. To gain a better understanding of the primary educational system in Nicaragua, I traveled to the fifth-largest city in Nicaragua with two other researchers and two mentors to observe primary school education in the country, concentrating on the nature of literacy instruction in …

Student Perspectives On Guided Math, Kristy N. Westrom

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this study is to determine the student perspectives of a guided math instructional method. Qualitative data was collected in the form of focus groups conducted with 4th grade students in my classroom at an elementary school in the upper Midwest. Transcripts from the focus groups were analyzed for themes. Findings suggest that students prefer an instructional format that is unlike traditional direct instruction. Findings also suggest that classrooms are in need of better support to differentiate for various types of learners. Recommendations include the expected continued development of teachers to ensure optimal learning environments for all levels …

Students Perspectives On Learning, Christma Groe Lange

Theses and Graduate Projects

How do children learn best? This study looks at what students themselves feel makes school fun, what type of environment helps them learn best, and what types of strategies help them persevere when things are hard. This study of fourth grade students-diverse in ethnic background, socio-economic status, mindset, and identified academic level-examines student perspectives on learning. Qualitative methods including journal reflections, interviews and descriptive analysis are used. It explores how students' mood and sense of belonging play a dynamic part in their readiness to learn. This research provides perspectives on how the learning environment as well as students' sense of …

Once Upon A Gender Role:Re-Envisioning The Strength Of Females In Fairy Tales, Itzel E. Garduno-Jaramillo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Education constantly promotes equality and diversity, however, if the literature we read our students is not doing so, is education doing its job? This question extends as far as females versus males and in fact, this thesis further pursued this issue by taking a look into common fairy tales that have been popularized in modern society that contain stereotypical gender roles and qualities of females that we try to steer away from yet have not.

After doing research into fairy tales and then analyzing Little Snow White, Little Briar Rose, and Cinderella by The Brothers Grimm, I was able to …

Exploring Teaching Methods Corresponding With The Theory Of Basic Human Values In Late Childhood And Early Adolescence Classrooms, Nicole Daly

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Recent research that indicates ten universal values are shared across cultures has developed into the Schwartz Value Systems Theory. This theory describes the ten basic human values that derive from different motivational forces such as social superiority, an inner desire in novelty, and loyalty to one’s group. The values and corresponding motivational forces guide an individual’s decisions. After the Schwartz Value Systems Theory had been developed, two surveys have been created in order to assess an individual’s value hierarchy. While both of these surveys accurately measure an adult’s values, further research has indicated children possess individual values similarly to adults. …

Missed School Days: A Correlational Study Between Children With Asthma And Presence Of School Nurses, Shea Brodeur, Caitlyn O’Connor, Rebekah Synowietz, Carrie Carson, Olubukola Goboze, Cierra Patterson

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

Currently, there is a lack of research on the relationship between full-time nurse presence in schools and absenteeism among school-aged children with asthma. The purpose of this paper is to determine the correlation between the amount of time school-aged children are absent and the amount of time a school nurse is absent. A nonexperimental quantitative descriptive correlational study will be conducted with 14 randomly selected participating schools in the Chesapeake public school district. Each school will receive a questionnaire inquiring about the number of asthmatic children enrolled in the school, number of absences of said children, weekly hours the school …

Comparison Of General And High Probability Motor Sequence Attentional Cues For Increasing Vocabulary Identification In Students With Autism, Ashleigh G. Obst

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The present study assessed if embedding high probability responding (high-p) into an attentional cue, versus a general attentional cue (GA), would result in students with moderate and severe disabilities displaying differential responding for grade level science vocabulary word identification. Using an adapted alternating treatments design, three students with autism spectrum disorder received an intervention involving a GA cue and one with a high-p to determine which is more efficient. Hypothesized results are that the attentional cue with a high-probability motor sequence would be more effective for teaching vocabulary word identification.

Introspections Of An African American Preservice Teacher's Growth: An Autoethnography, Latasha S. Rawles

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This paper takes an autoethnographic approach in exploring the growth of an African American preservice teacher during internship. This research involved daily self-reflections from the preservice teacher and observations by the supervising teachers and university liaison in order to respond to the guiding questions of how the African American preservice teacher will find a need for her presence in the classroom. As a result of the procedure, the preservice teacher was able to make meaningful connections with all students but especially with African American students who benefit from having at least one African American teacher between grades three and five …

Third Grade Science Teachers' Perspectives On Implementing Sentence Frames And Word Banks During Science Lectures To Increase The Writing Levels Of English Language Learners, Mary-Margaret M. Shimada

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Each year, there is an increase of English Language Learners (ELLS) entering today's classrooms. A third grade teacher can be faced with having multiple ELLs in the classroom and still be required to teach them alongside native English speakers. Furthermore, third grade science teachers are also responsible for preparing all students in the classroom to comprehend and utilize scientific academic language based upon the Florida State Standards. Additionally, students are required on the FSA Florida Assessment to write about science content. Therefore, scaffolded instruction for ELLs, which will prepare them to write about science content is critical. This research study …

Treble In The Environment: Incorporating Music Into Environmental Education, Shinara Sunderlal

Pitzer Senior Theses

In this era where global sustainability is challenged, environmental education plays a vital role in building environmental awareness. Other roles of environmental education include the promotion of responsible citizenship and the fostering of environmental advocacy in children. As a way to strengthen these goals of environmental education, this thesis explores the dynamic uses of music to compound on the fields impact. I argue that the benefits of music outlined suggest music’s power to heighten environmental sensitivity from a young age. I use narratives from the environmental education, music, education, and psychology discourses to demonstrate the theoretical advantages of music in …

Physical Miseducation: How Public Schooling In The Us Is Harmful To Students’ Bodily Well-Being, Rachel Fredericks

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper explores the history of physical education in the United States, as well as a general look into how public schooling affects how kids learn about and come to view their bodies. Theory and research by Michel Foucault, Elias Norbert, and Katy Bowman form the theoretical framework for this essay, and accounts of visits to a local elementary school to observe PE also grounds the work in present-day experiences. The work concludes that public schools in the US improperly teach students about how to listen to and care for their bodies.

Cultural Studies In The Mandarin-English Dual Immersion Classroom: A Case Study, Vivian Zhang

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis uses a Mandarin-English dual immersion program at a Southern California public elementary school as a case study to examine how culture is taught and learned in the dual immersion setting. Based on classroom observations and interviews with students, staff, and parents, this thesis argues that concepts of “China” and “Chinese culture” are conveyed, constructed, and negotiated by students as well as teachers, both implicitly and explicitly.

An Examination Of Relational Bullying In Award Winning Newbery Books, 1996-2016, Kaysey N. Wann

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Relational bullying, although covert in nature and difficult for adults to notice and identify, is becoming increasingly prevalent among young children and teens. The success of bibliotherapy as preventative and intervention practices for bullying shows that portrayals of relational bullying in quality children’s literature would be effective in reducing and preventing it. However, relational bullying is rarely portrayed in children’s literature. My goal was to find quality children’s realistic fiction literature that portrays relational bullying in Newbery award-winning books, and to bring them to the attention of teachers.

After creating a table to determine what types of bullying, if any, …