Elementary Education Commons^™

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

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Phase Two of this project, conducted during the 2021 academic year, repeated an A-B-A withdrawal design to rotate (across terms 2, 3, and 4) the furniture in 4 primary school classrooms from innovative to traditional furniture arrangements.¹ A fifth classroom with innovative furniture was used as a control. Three-weekly repeated measures were taken across the terms of: (1) characteristics impact students’ engagement, namely creative thinking, peer support and risk taking, (2) teachers’ observed actions in their classrooms, and (3) photographs by students of their preferred furniture item/s, with annotations explaining this preference. Once-a-term measures included (4) structured teacher interviews …

A Next Generation Science Standards (Ngss) Aligned 3rd Grade Weather Unit, Jennifer Hageman

Graduate Research Papers

This unit is the culmination of work on taking the NGSS for weather and climate and creating an inclusive unit for third grade students. At the time this unit was started, many teachers were taking the NGSS and creating units for the classrooms. This unit integrates math, literacy, and social studies standards to help explore the NGSS for weather and climate.

After completion of this unit it was given to two reviewers in the field of teaching. They read the unit and provided feedback for improvement. After review of the feedback it was noted that adaptations for students need to …

Bibliography, Bruce Kessler

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Bibliography of publications by Bruce Kessler.

Elementary Teachers’ Experiences And Responses To Student Engagement While Teaching Eureka Math Virtually During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jamika D. Hill

Theses and Dissertations

The Covid-19 Pandemic shifted the structure of public education by forcing public schools in Georgia and across the world to shift from a traditional, face-to-face model to a virtual model. This study was conducted to explore elementary teachers’ experiences and responses to issues with student engagement in their virtual Eureka Math classrooms during the Covid-19 Pandemic. A qualitative research design was used to conduct a hermeneutic, phenomenological study that included a document analysis, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews using six elementary school teachers as participants. The resulting data was coded and triangulated using the thematic analysis of overarching themes, which …

Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Impact Of Poverty On Instruction And Support With Elementary Students Experiencing Rural Poverty In A Rural Title I Elementary School, Mitzi Mccann Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Nearly 30 million people in the United States live in households with an annual income of less than @25,962 for a family of four. To the United States Census Bureau, this income threshold constitutes a family (or individuals in a family) as being in poverty. Poverty is not solely about income thresholds; rather, how much income levels impact learning, education, and teachers is a greater area of concern. The purpose of this study was to explore how teachers’ perceptions of poverty impact how they instruct and support elementary students experiencing rural poverty, what differences exist in instruction and support between …

Communicating Emotions Through Art And Conversation, Paige E. Kayvan, Samantha R. Doyle, Payton Cannon, Traci Jolley

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

A Mixed Methods Study Of How Elementary Teachers Cope Mentally, Physically, And Spiritually While Teaching In A Pandemic, Chavon Tyrra Bryant

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine coping strategies for teachers in elementary schools who taught during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers experienced mental, physical, and spiritual challenges throughout the pandemic, and this study shared how teachers coped. Through this study, 48 teachers serving in three different elementary schools in North Carolina completed ten 4-point Likert scale response items. The survey tool's validity was established using the Lawshe content validation index. Interviews were conducted, in addition to a focus group session. Resilience theory, a framework for improving a teacher's ability to adapt successfully when under stress or adversity, …

Fall 2022 Project Intersect Learning Showcase Program, Jamey Burns

Project InTERSECT Materials

This program highlights the inquiry presentations of our Inservice and Preservice teachers. The teachers came together to celebrate their STEM+C learning and share lessons learned from implementation. This showcase was a partnership between University of North Florida and Duval County Public Schools.

Identidad, Ecocrítica E Interseccionalidad En La Obra De Miguel Delibes. Aplicación En El Aula Del Grado En Maestro/A De Educación Primaria, Santiago Sevilla-Vallejo, Elia Saneleuterio, Catalina Millán Scheiding

Faculty Works

El escritor español Miguel Delibes concibió el espacio natural como parte de un todo inseparable de la sociedad humana por ser el medio en el que se construye la identidad de los sujetos y de los colectivos. Su obra permite estudiar los ecosistemas sostenibles, donde el concepto del progreso que refleja se opone a la naturaleza. En este artículo se analizan algunos personajes de sus novelas y temas que enlazan con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de las Naciones Unidas: con la problemática del hambre (ODS 2), por ejemplo, enLas ratas; la igualdad de género (ODS 4), que se puede …

All Along The Ivory Tower: Black American Identity As Voiced By Poetic Youths, Jeremy D. Greene

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to help amplify and analyze Black American elementary student voice in a post-2020 world. Discussions and writings were conducted at the students’ charter school in spaces where students voiced what it meant to be a Black American youth through both verbal and written means. The current qualitative study focused on using discussions and creative writing to help participants make sense of their identity in their school, community, and the United States. This research provided students’ counternarratives regarding stereotypes associated with being Black American students and focused on how such spaces can positively impact …

Preservice Elementary Teachers Conceptions And Self-Efficacy For Integrated Stem, Deepika Menon, Deef A. A. Shorman, Derek Cox, Amanda Thomas

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Educational reform efforts have emphasized preparing highly competent and confident preservice teachers to deliver effective K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) instruction. Self-efficacy is a key variable that influences motivation and performance, and therefore it is necessary to support the development of preservice teachers’ integrated STEM teaching self-efficacy. This mixed-methods study investigates how preservice elementary teachers’ integrated STEM teaching self-efficacy is shaped during their participation in a newly redesigned STEM semester consisting of three concurrent methods courses (science and engineering, mathematics, and technology methods courses). The quantitative data sources included the Self-efficacy for Teaching Integrated STEM instrument administered as …

Examining Elementary Teacher Perceptions And Experiences Of Transitioning From Knowledge-Based To Inquiry-Based Social Studies Standards, Benjamin Stephen Pinnick

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Elementary educators are responsible for the earliest years of student learning in a public setting. The amount of content students are expected to master continues to grow in scope, and the methods that are utilized shift to align with educational research and social momentum. After a decade of Common Core policies, social studies education in elementary schools has become a deemphasized subject. Reading and math, as well as science, have taken a greater precedence in today’s classrooms.

Yet, expectations for the creation of knowledgeable and participatory citizens continue to serve as a goal in elementary schools. Conceptualization of citizenship form …

A “Post” Pandemic(S) Village Check-In: Pulse Checks And Recommendations For A Hard Re-Set In Education, Jarvais J. Jackson, Alesia Mickle Moldavan, Anne Valauri

Elementary & Special Education: Faculty Publications

Utilizing the lens of the “pandemic as portal” (Roy, 2020; Souto-Manning, 2021) and the need for a “hard re-set” (Ladson-Billings, 2021) of our current education system, this literature synthesis engages with head, health, and home to consider what a new normal could look like as we take a “village check-in” of each area. For head, we consider the systemic barriers to equitable academic achievement that have long been in place for Black and Brown students. When considering health, we look at the impact of the pandemic on teacher well-being and how this may impact their ability to teach effectively and …

Role Play: Actualizing The Iep Meeting For Pre-Service Teachers, Courtney A. Toledo

Elementary & Special Education: Faculty Publications

Teacher preparation programs provide numerous teaching and learning opportunities for pre-service teachers; however, participating in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting is not an experience that can be guaranteed. Leading and participating in IEP meetings are a responsibility that all special education teachers will be held accountable for, but many pre-service teachers will never be able to observe a real IEP meeting before entering the field. In this qualitative case study, the researcher utilizes a simulated IEP meeting to provide pre-service teachers with experience in participating in an IEP meeting prior to entering the profession. The case study method is …

A Scientific Approach To Sight Word Acquisition In Early Childhood, Emma J. Powers

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Teachers have commonly taught sight words through viewing the word as a whole unit and committing it to memory through repetition, but this practice bears little connection to phonics. While this method may work for some, for many students, especially those with specific learning disabilities (SLDs), it is not enough. Through this honors project, the teacher candidate will research new instructional methods based in the Science of Reading, which utilize orthographic mapping, or letter-sound connections, to chunk sight words into recognizable and phonetically regular spelling patterns (Ehri, 2014). To do so, she will investigate a body of evidence from relevant …

How Rocks Rock: The Processes That Shape Our World, Jennifer Harrison

Lesson Plans

Have you ever thought about how the rocks in your driveway formed? Or the sand on your beach? How about the diamond in a ring or the charcoal in a grill?

All earthen material is subject to forces that impact its properties, from where we find it, how its structure is made and how it behaves under external pressures. Rocks are defined as any inorganic material found in the natural world (meaning not living material). There are 3 types of rock, and where and how they form is important in their classifications. They are subject to geological processes as well …

The Impact Of Teacher Student Relationship On The Academic, Behavioral And Socioemotional Growth And Development Of Students Aged Pre-K To 12, Graciella Arrascue

Education Theses

Fostering strong relationships with students is a pedagogical approach which can benefit both students and teachers. This research analyzed the application of this methodology in classrooms with students aged pre-k to 12. Based on this research, teacher student relationships can positively benefit student outcomes in academic, behavioral, and social emotional areas. The findings show how to establish these strong relationships, how relationships are a tool for classroom management and how relationships affect student motivation.

Art-Based Social And Emotional Learning Curriculum In The K-6 Classroom: A Mixed Methods Study, Michelle Fegeley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Preparing elementary school students to succeed in a learning environment that was significantly transformed by a global pandemic will require a major investment in new curricula that focuses more on social and emotional learning and less on standards that primarily emphasize just knowing and doing. This research investigates how the implementation of social emotional learning and SEL-based art activities in the art classroom can help to lower student stress levels in the elementary school art classroom. By providing learners with an opportunity to grow socially and emotionally, teachers may help students understand their feelings and use artmaking as a way …

Depersonalizing Troubles In Institutional Interaction: Routinizing In Parent-Teacher Conferences, Danielle M. Pillet-Shore

Faculty Publications

This article advances our understanding of institutional interaction by showing when and how it can be advantageous for professionals to treat addressed-recipients as non-unique. Examining how teachers talk about children-as-students during parent-teacher conferences, this investigation illuminates several specific interactional methods that teachers use to depersonalize the focal student’s trouble, delineating as among these the novel practice of “routinizing”—citing firsthand experience with other similar cases. Analysis demonstrates how teachers use routinizing to enact their expertise, both responsively as a vehicle for attenuating and credentialing their advice-giving to parents/caregivers, and proactively to preempt parent/caregiver resistance to their student-assessments/evaluations. This research …

Student With Twice-Exceptionalities Iep Meeting Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

General education teachers should remember that all students are general education students, first. We need to be prepared to work with students of all abilities in our classrooms. As general education teachers, we have an active role on a child’s IEP team and an active role during the IEP meeting. This assignment asked preservice teachers to develop a script of what they would say at an IEP meeting of one character from four different novels that would be considered a child with twice-exceptionalities.