Elementary Education Commons^™

Diverse Book Finders: Diversifying A Children’S Picture Book Collection By Integrating Acquisitions Into A Classroom Experience, Mitchell Scott, Melanie E. Hughes, Niyetta Williams-Hill, Cathy Johnson

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

Two recent trends in collection development include finding new ways to bring patron voices into collection development and developing strategies for increasing the diversity and representation within collections. Indiana University Southeast (IU Southeast) Library recently developed a project that combined these two strategic directions by embedding an acquisition experience that used students enrolled in a sophomore block elementary education course to use the Diverse Book Finder (DBF) to select diverse picture books for the IU Southeast collection. While diversification strategies and projects around children’s picture book collections in academic libraries are nothing new, IU Southeast’s project is unique in its …

Teacher Implementation Profiles: A Response To Top-Down Mandate Of Movement Integration, Zack Beddoes, Jeanne Barcelona, Darla Castelli

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

This study examined teacher implementation practices to meet a state mandate requiring 135 minutes of student physical activity (PA) weekly. Teachers were required to implement a video-based movement integration (MI) program. Using an embedded mixed-methods design, provider characteristics of 42 teachers and the organizational capacity of six schools were developed from interviews, surveys, observations, and artifacts. Data analysis revealed three teacher profiles (a) Dynamic Experientialists, (b) Coachable Constructivists, and (c) Cautious Behaviorists, and three school profiles (a) Whole Child Approach, (b) Grade Level Champions, and (c) Back to Basics. Findings suggest that school, teacher, …

The Effect Of An Instructional Strategy Based On The Writing Processes On Improving Some Writing Skills Of Ninth Grade Students فاعليّة إّستراتيجيةّ تّدريسيّة مّستندة إّلىّ عمليّات اّلتّعبير اّلكتابيّ فّي تّحسين بّعضّّ المهارت اّلكتابيّة لدى طلبة الصّف اّلتاسع اّلأساسيّّّ, عبد الكريم سليم الحداد

Association of Arab Universities Journal for Education and Psychology

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of using the writing processes on improving the performance of ninth grade students in some writing skills. To answer the questions of the study, a 175 ninth grade students was selected, A strategy based on writing processes approach, and a writing test were implemented. The results of the study indicated that, there was a significant difference in writing skills (p≤ 0.05) that can be attributed to the strategy based the writing process approach, and to the male students, no significant differences attributed to the interaction between the strategy used and …

The Effect Of Deep Learning Strategies On Strategic Thinking And Life Efficiency Skills, And The Desire To Learn Among Students Of The Fifth Scientific Students In Mathematic أثر استراتيجيات التعلم العميق في التفكير الاستراتيجي ومهارت فعالية الحياة والرغبة في التعلم عند طلاب الخامس العلمي في مادة الرياضيات, Salwa Mohsen Hamad

Association of Arab Universities Journal for Education and Psychology

The aim of the research is to know the effect of deep learning strategies on strategic thinking, life-effectiveness skills and the desire to learn among students of the fifth science in the subject of mathematics. To verify the goal of the research, three hypotheses were formulated. The research sample consisted of (64) students, randomly selected, and distributed to two groups (31) control students, (33) experimental groups, and equivalence between them was performed with a number of variables. The researcher prepared a strategic thinking test, a measure of life effectiveness skills, and the psychometric characteristics of the research tools were verified. …

Interactions With New-To-Teacher Language Resources: Supporting Translingual Composing In A Multilingual Elementary Classroom, Lindsey W. Rowe

Publications

Educators should support multilingual students’ translingual writing. However, it can be challenging for teachers to support students’ composing in languages that teachers do not speak. Drawing on a community translanguaging lens, this paper explores this issue by asking: How did teachers talk about and interact with language resources that were new to them while supporting translingual writing in an English-medium classroom? Data were collected using ethnographic and practitioner research methods across 1 year in one second-grade writing workshop in the U.S. Students spoke Spanish, Korean, French, Tagalog, or English, and classroom teachers spoke English and Spanish. Data analysis first involved …

Educators’ Perspectives Of Science Instruction In Title I Elementary Schools To Improve Achievement, Sidonye Maria Coaxum

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was that students in upper elementary at four Title I elementary schools did not meet district achievement standards in science for four consecutive years, which could impede their educational and employment futures. Little is known how teachers in these elementary grades taught science content to improve student achievement. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore five upper elementary educators’ perspectives of science instruction to improve achievement in Title I elementary schools in a southeastern state. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was a three-dimension concept of science, including scientific and …

An Examination Of The Influences Of Critical Thinking Tasks On Mathematics Instruction: A Qualitative Study, Glen E. Miller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study will be to understand the mathematics critical thinking process for teachers in primary education in northern Virginia. The theory guiding this study is Kolb’s experiential learning theory, which applies to critical thinking processes. The central research question will be: What are the experiences of primary mathematics teachers implementing critical thinking? This qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study aims to determine the influences of critical thinking tasks on planning and instruction. Using qualified participants from northern Virginia, this study will collect data through interviews, a focus group, and document analysis. After data collection, the data will be …

Developing Literacy Through Play, Molli Vanderjagt

Masters Projects

The loss of play in the classroom has had a significant impact on children’s foundational literacy skills. It has hindered children’s language development by reducing their verbal skills and language comprehension and decreasing vocabulary. Child development has not changed, and yet we continue to put more academic pressure on our youngest students. This project addresses the need for play in early education classrooms. It then provides research why play is important in developing foundational literacy skills, such as oral language and vocabulary, comprehension and recall and higher-level thinking, and possible classroom applications. The project concludes with a presentation for administrators, …

Research-Based Early Literacy Practices For Lower Elementary Educators, Erica Joy Austin

Masters Projects

Low literacy rates are a significant issue in the United States. Low literacy skills correlate with many notable societal issues including poverty, higher chances of unemployment and incarceration, and even poor health. There are many significant contributors to the issue of low literacy including but not limited to poverty, teacher attrition, chronic student absenteeism and tardiness, lack of literacy practices taking place in homes, and lack of research-based literacy practices taking place in elementary classrooms. Although all of these issues significantly affect the literacy rates in the United States, among all of these issues, teachers have the most control over …

Teacher's Experiences Of The Response To Intervention Model Implementation In State-Ranked New Jersey Schools: A Qualitative Case Study, Kimberly Myers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to discover and describe teachers’ experiences of RTI implementation for kindergarten through grade five general education teachers at state-ranked suburban New Jersey schools. The theory guiding this study is Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, as it applies to teachers’ experiences of the effectiveness of the RTI process. According to Bandura, self-efficacy is the perception of how well one can execute a task. Self-efficacy can connect to teacher efficacy through the feeling of understanding the job requirements and the intended goals. This case study assessed how teachers’ experiences of the RTI process impact the overall …

Five A Day, The Rainbow Way: A Nutrition Education Toolkit For Elementary School Aged Children, Sasha Menard

Department of Nutrition Student Projects

Learning Outcome: Develop a nutrition educational toolkit based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) for obesity prevention among elementary school-aged children by improving determinants of fruit and vegetable intake.

Background: Poor consumption of fruits and vegetables is a major contributing factor to childhood obesity, increasing the risk for chronic diseases later in life. There is a need for multicomponent nutrition educational tools to influence children to improve their eating behavior by increasing their awareness and self-efficacy. The current project describes the development of a 3-component toolkit for improving participants’ knowledge and values related to fruit and vegetable intake among 6-11-year-olds.

Methods: …

Ucf Pegasus Plan - Kindergarten - Importance Of Rules And Laws, Angelica F. Bryan, Juanita White

Pegasus Plans: Social Studies Unit Plans for Florida Teachers

During this unit, students will compare rules and laws, explore rules at school and home through role playing activities, and explore laws made for the community. Students will learn about the roles that individuals play in making or following rules and laws at school, home and in the community.

Ucf Pegasus Plan - 1st Grade - Goods And Services, Michaela Botelho, Dan Churchill, Gigi Ashi

Pegasus Plans: Social Studies Unit Plans for Florida Teachers

During this unit, students will review needs and wants and explore goods, services, consumers, and producers through a portfolio based summative assessment and collective class market simulation at the conclusion of the unit. Students will also learn about opportunity cost with an introduction to supply and demand. Students will practice applying their knowledge about goods, services, consumers, and producers with the creation and oral presentation of vocabulary based posters, small group research on examples of producers, and create a narrative writing piece in alignment with the class guest speaker.

Ucf Pegasus Plan - 1st Grade - National Holidays, Samantha Johnson, Branyel Anderson, Riley Madden

Pegasus Plans: Social Studies Unit Plans for Florida Teachers

This unit is complete with a daily Instructional Guide for teachers, turnkey student-facing materials, lists of or links to any necessary resources not created by the authors, and a post-assessment.

Coaching And Developing Non-Certified Instructional Staff In Key Literacy Practices, Holly Nicole Bigos

Masters Projects

Paraprofessionals are vital staff members of elementary schools that often provide small group instruction for struggling students to develop key literacy skills. Despite the critical contribution paraprofessionals can provide, schools often neglect to adequately train and develop these staff members to support students’ instructional literacy needs. This project explores the relevant history of paraprofessional staff in schools and the current need for increased development and support of these staff members. Additionally, modern sustainable solutions are explored to develop paraprofessional literacy knowledge and instructional skills for these vital staff members. Programming recommendations are grounded in adult learning theory, feedback and coaching, …

Ucf Pegasus Plan - 4th Grade - The Roaring 20s And How It Led To The Great Depression, Meagan Thibodeau, Brianna Hall, Gabrielle Hines

Pegasus Plans: Social Studies Unit Plans for Florida Teachers

During this unit, students will explore The Roaring 20s and The Great Depression. Students will also explore the culture, women's rights, transportation, and Florida tourism in the 1920s. They will learn about Florida's Land Boom and Bust, life during the Great Depression, and Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.

An Examination Of Positive Impacts On Students' Math Success, Lauren E. Bisher

Masters Projects

In today’s classrooms, some students struggle to achieve at high levels in math. Yet, recent research describing the neuroplasticity of the brain means that, with a mathematical mindset, all students can achieve in math at the highest levels in school. Unfortunately, some capable students disengage from the subject due to a fixed mindset or holding beliefs in math myths, such as only some people are born with a math brain or math is about speed. Achievement in math can open more opportunities in a student’s future. Entrance into college and various careers that require mathematical skills become possible when students …

Ucf Pegasus Plan - 5th Grade - Structure And Function Of Government, Cheryl Johnson

Pegasus Plans: Social Studies Unit Plans for Florida Teachers

During this unit, students will demonstrate an understanding of the Structure and Function of the Three Branches of Government. Students will explore and compare each level and Branch of Government including but not limited to Checks and Balances, History of the Constitution and Purpose of Government.

Effective Reading Intervention In The Intermediate Grades, Cassandra Baas

Masters Projects

Reading proficiency among intermediate-grade students remains below expected grade level, necessitating a comprehensive approach to teaching reading intervention. Research indicates that students struggling with reading often exhibit difficulties in both foundational skills and comprehension. To address these challenges, a multicomponent intervention combining explicit skill instruction with engaging comprehension practice is needed. A cognitive science framework, emphasizing active learning, metacognition, and the role of automatic decoding in freeing working memory for comprehension, is essential. Additionally, a reader-response perspective is beneficial, as it encourages deep engagement and critical thinking, helping to foster a lifelong love of reading.

Effective intervention requires a deep …

Reading Comprehension Interventions For Students With Autism, Mary Andrews

Dissertations

Research focused on reading comprehension interventions for students with autism is limited. Available research focuses primarily on the impact of single intervention methods, whether teacher-led or technology-based. Research on intervention methods paired with technology is limited. The researcher conducted a survey of 51 special education teachers to identify what interventions, whether teacher-led or technology-based, are most frequently and effectively utilized within the classroom, as well as what methods teachers prefer to utilize within the classroom. The researcher also interviewed a sample of 5 teachers and conducted a thematic analysis to identify factors that teachers identify as most important in teaching …