Elementary Education Commons^™

Teaching Euclidean Geometry Using Proof And Dynamic Geometry Software, Cheryl Stoddard

Mathematics Graduate Theses

This paper examines incorporating proofs and dynamic geometry software when teaching Euclidean geometry to produce deeper understanding of geometric relationships for middle and secondary level students. The utilization of technology through classroom investigations and activities has shown to have an impact on the achievement scores on posttests and in the development of mathematical proof.

A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Development Of Mandarin Chinese In Fourth Grade Chinese Immersion, Robin E. Harvey

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Many studies have confirmed the benefits of dual language immersion programs. Research into reading and writing development in these programs, and particularly in Chinese immersion, is less common. In this dissertation, an attempt is made to address this gap in research by exploring the literacy development of fourth grade Chinese immersion students. Participants were 70 students, the entire fourth grade of an urban Chinese immersion school in the northeastern U.S. The school had recently made several curricular changes. They were adopting a practice of freewriting, or independent writing. In freewriting, students are encouraged to write as much as they can …

A Study Of The Implementation Of Multi-Tiered System Of Supports In One School, Ranya Elhady

Dissertations

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is designed to help schools identify struggling students. This study aimed to determine the perception of MTSS through the lens of kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers and teacher leaders who participate in the school-wide MTSS process. The context of this inquiry was one elementary school in a large urban district where teachers had implemented MTSS for several years. I used a mixed methods research design. A survey of classroom teachers with Likert scale items and open-ended questions and data from a focus group interview of teacher leaders provided quantitative and qualitative data. I found a disconnect …

A Qualitative Study Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Teachers Of Color In Predominately White K–12 Environments, Torine S. Champion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the lived experiences of teachers of color and identify commonalities within the lived experiences of teachers of color employed in predominately White K–12 schools. This study utilized interpretive phenomenological analysis as viewed through the White racial frame lens. There were 15 participants that were included in this research study. Participants were teachers of color with at least 5 years of teaching experience in predominately White K–12 environments. Data collection procedures included confidential virtual, semistructured interviews that included specific information the researcher wanted to explore. Six themes were revealed: (a) cultural advocacy, …

Parent Survey 2022, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Charlene A. Reid

Arkansas Education Reports

In late 2021, the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas administered a survey about education topics to a representative sample of 500 Arkansas parents of school-aged children. The students of these parents attended traditional public schools (66%), public charter schools (10%), public magnet schools (4%), and private schools (7%). Eleven percent of parents reported that their child was homeschooled, and 2% reported that their child attended school through a virtual platform.

Arkansas Parent Survey 2022, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

The Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas administered a survey on education topics to a representative sample of 500 Arkansas parents of school-aged children in late 2021 and addressed a variety of education-related topics.

Public Charter And District Public Schools In The Mountain West, 2019-2021, Zachary Billot, Kristian Thymianos, Vanessa Booth, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

K-12 Education

This fact sheet explores data from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) report, “Voting With Their Feet: A State-Level Analysis of Public Charter School and District Public School Trends.” Specifically, we examine enrollment trends for district public schools and public charter schools in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years.

What Can We Learn From The Different Understandings Of Mathematical Literacy?, Svein Arne Sikko

Numeracy

Mathematical literacy, quantitative literacy, numeracy, matheracy, disciplinary literacy, and content-area literacy are among a plethora of terms used to link mathematics and literacy. In addition to this abundance of terms, the content of the terms is not precise, and in some cases the terms are used interchangeably. I delve into this landscape and dissect the meaning of each of them. From such an analysis of mathematical literacy, numeracy, and quantitative literacy, we learn about the importance of quantitative practices and elementary mathematics in society, including both how mathematics is necessary for everyday life but also how it can be used …

Girls In Stem! Elementary Afterschool Six-Week Curriculum, Jess Li, Samavi Rafique

Honors Program: Expanded Learning Clubs

No abstract provided.

Building Racial Literacy Through Relational Trust, Teacher Solidarity, And Antiracist Praxis, Tanya E. Friedman

Theses and Dissertations

Schools in the United States continue to dramatically under-educate students with marginalized identities. Although professional development for teachers regularly fails to develop the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and commitment needed to interrupt educational inequities and ensure all students thrive, scholarship on teacher learning has identified promising practices such as critical inquiry groups for social justice which can foster teachers’ capacity to interrupt inequitable instructional practices and school policies. (Gorski & Dalton, 2020; Manfra, 2019; Peters, 2016). The three manuscripts in this dissertation explore the experience of a CIG comprised of seven teachers working in an urban elementary school that serves multiply …

Restorative Pedagogies In Primary And Secondary Education: A Review Of Selected Literature, Gwynn Alexander

School of Leadership and Education Sciences: Student Scholarship

Purpose

Restorative justice is a philosophy and set of practices aimed toward centering student well-being and positive social relationships in the classroom. Restorative pedagogies offer an approach to teaching/learning that seeks to remedy persistent patterns of punitive and exclusionary school-based practices.

Design, Methodology, and Approach

In this literature review, I employ a constructivist grounded theory approach to first define restorative pedagogies, then offer key themes that emerged across the body of literature. I introduce key foundational texts with a focus on the proliferation of research in the last decade. Lastly, I present critiques and limitations in the body of literature …

The Effects Of Critical Literacy Theory On Listening Comprehension And Student Engagement, Jay Girvan

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The purpose of conducting this study is to better understand and assess the current critical literacy practices of classroom teachers and to gain a better understanding of how well these strategies increase engagement and reading comprehension of texts, especially those that address social justice issues. As outlined by the principles of critical literacy theory, teachers are encouraged to help readers understand the author’s intent. By comparing read-alouds not using critical literacy strategies and others with the preferred approach, researchers will be able to examine the differences in both student engagement and listening comprehension. Alongside anecdotal records and post reading comprehension …

Black History In The Early Childhood And Elementary Classrooms: Teacher Beliefs And Practices, Shannon Mccormack

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Educators across the United States have struggled with meaningfully yet appropriately addressing race within History and Social Studies lessons at the Early Childhood and Elementary level. Previous research has revealed the importance of these conversations and the benefits that learning accurate history has for students of all racial backgrounds. The literature has also revealed the discomfort and apprehensiveness that educators may feel while confronting and teaching about our nation’s complex and often grim history. The purpose of this research was to analyze teachers’ beliefs and comfortability regarding addressing race in the classroom and how that translates to their teaching practices. …

The Importance Of Regional Music To Music Education: The 1927 Bristol Sessions, Valerie E. Pickard

Masters Theses

It is widely accepted that the culture in which one lives is important to his/her understanding of self. Likewise, it has been shown that a working knowledge of cultural music aids in developing one’s musical identity. Although research indicates that there appears to be a gap in cultural music education, there has been little written as to how that gap can be filled, especially with respect to Appalachian cultural music. The Southern Appalachian Mountains are rich in musical diversity. In addition to the already present Native Americans, settlers came from Ireland, Germany, Africa, and other European countries and brought with …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of Parents As They Choose The Appropriate Classroom For Their Child With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder, Lorie Michele Mick

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the experiences and challenges of parents as they choose an appropriate classroom setting for their child with highfunctioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) at an elementary school. Parents of students with HFASD must grapple with this decision each year at their child’s annual IEP review meeting. The theory guiding this study is Knowles’ adult learning theory. Adult learning theory states that adults use both their personal experiences and intrinsic motivation to discover information that they need to make a decision. Ten parents of elementary-aged children diagnosed with HFASD were selected as …

Utilizing Counter Narratives To Develop Culturally Sustaining, Critically Conscious Preservice Teacher Practitioners, David Wolff

Essays in Education

The content areas that get most attention in an elementary classroom include mathematics and English/Language Arts (ELA), and little time is devoted to other content areas like social studies. Preservice elementary teachers can learn to maximize instructional time by integrating social studies content in the ELA block. Using counternarratives, preservice teachers can learn to use children’s literature to teach multiple perspectives to the dominant narrative in the textbooks. This article shares strategies to present counternarratives and examples of children’s literature that can be used in an elementary classroom.

Implementing The Steam Concept Through Project-Based Learning At An Intermediate School: A Case Study, Grace Ann Petersen

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact the project-based learning model had on student learning and engagement by examining the perceptions of parents, teachers, school administration, and district patrons of the project-based learning methods implemented at an intermediate STEAM school. The findings should serve to improve the implementation of project-based learning in the public school setting. The mixed-methods case study approach was utilized to gather data on stakeholder perceptions of the project-based learning methods at the STEAM school. A survey instrument was distributed to parents, teachers, administrators and district patrons involved in the STEAM school to elicit …

Contextual Factors Impacting School And Pastoralist Family Communication In Rural Mongolia: A Partial Ecological Model, Batdulam Sukhbaatar Dr, Klara Tarko Dr

The Qualitative Report

This study developed a partial ecological model of contextual factors impacting school and pastoralist family communication at the primary school level in rural Mongolia based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model. To develop the model, we interviewed 10 classroom teachers and 10 pastoralist parents from two remote county schools in eastern Mongolia. During our interpretative phenomenological analysis based on semi-structured interviews, we found eight contextual factors impacting rural school and pastoralist family communication located at the exosystem and the macrosystem levels. The partial ecological model can be used in teacher education programs providing a greater insight into the contexts of school-family communication …

Creating Effective Parent-Teacher Partnerships To Positively Impact Student Reading, Ashley A. Durack

Masters Projects

Research has proven that when families and educators work together the student benefits immensely and they are more prepared to reach greater academic success. Students today need more support than ever in many academic areas, especially literacy, that is why the creation of parent-teacher partnerships is crucial. When families and educators form strong parent-teacher partnerships they are able to communicate more openly and are able to effectively address the reading difficulties that students may encounter through a variety of different strategies. It’s important for educators to keep an open mind during the creation of these partnerships. It’s essential for teachers …

Orthographic Mapping: A Tool For Success In Reading, Vocabulary Word Knowledge, Meaning, And Self Teaching In The Primary Grades, Lauren Eisnor

Masters Projects

High frequency words are words that appear often within text. These words often contain unfamiliar letter/sound patterns. In the past, educators have encouraged students to learn high frequency words beyond their level of decoding skill by techniques such as memorization, chants and mnemonics. Research is showing that students are capable of decoding words with unfamiliar letter/sound patterns; when they use phonic skills to do this work the words are stored in their memories. Orthographic mapping provides a structure by which students are able to practice listening for sounds, and determining corresponding letter patterns. Students are capable of decoding challenging letter/sound …