Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons^™

A Comparative Case Study Of Mentoring Practices By National Board Certified And Non-Certified Teacher Mentors, Bethany Mcclure

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As preservice teacher candidates engage in field experiences that shape their development of teacher identity, it is important to examine their perceptions of the mentoring process. This study explored how preservice teacher candidates construct their own knowledge about mentoring as a process, as well as explored the perceptions of mentor teachers, both National Board Certified, and non-National Board Certified, as they facilitated the learning and growth of their mentees. Many prior studies on the mentoring process exist, however, a gap in the literature that was identified and explored through this study included the impact that National Board Certified Teachers have …

He’S The Kid That No One Wanted: An Autoethnographic Examination Of Preschool Suspensions And Expulsions From A Mother’S Lens, Lisa M. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This autoethnographic research examines the personal and professional journey of advocating against preschool suspensions and expulsions through the lens of a Black mother. Titled He’s The Kid That No One Wanted: An Autoethnographic Examination of Preschool Suspensions and Expulsions from a Mother’s Lens, " it dives into the complicated challenges faced while confronting exclusionary disciplinary practices in early childhood education. This research aims to illuminate the societal and institutional roadblocks encountered when navigating systems of power and to explore the impact of these challenges on both personal identity and professional advocacy. Using a blend of social media artifacts and memory …

Ai‐Assisted Integration Of Computational Thinking: Pre‐Service Teachers’ Experiences In Early Childhood Mathematics Education, Hae Min Yu, Seung Kim, Hyeseong Lee

Education Department Faculty Articles

This study examined how pre-service teachers utilize artificial intelligence (AI) tools to integrate computational thinking (CT) in early childhood mathematics education. Through a qualitative case study guided by the TPACK framework, we examined 24 early childhood pre-service teachers enrolled in a mathematics methods course as they developed CT-integrated math lesson plans using AI assistance. Data sources included pre- and post-course open-ended questionnaires, CT exploration assignments, AI interaction documentation, lesson plans, and reflection papers. The findings revealed three patterns in how pre-service teachers leveraged AI as a scaffold: generating initial ideas for CT integration, refining these ideas for specific teaching contexts, …

Pinterest Can Help Teachers Cook A Casserole, But What About Lgbtqia+ Affirming Lesson Plans For Students Of Color?, Denise Villarrial Nealon

Deliberately Queer Journal

We have learned to be crafty homemakers, small space decorators, and even teachers through the eye-catching appeal of sites like Pinterest or Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT). The accessibility and ease of searching for a preset lesson saves time, and in a society where teachers are paid far less than what they are worth and asked to work longer hours than they are paid for, this makes sense. Using the theoretical frameworks of CRT, QueerCrit, and CRP, along with the concepts of intersectionality, can build learning tools for new teachers to disrupt previous exclusionary practices that prevent LGBTQIA+ students of Color …

Exploring Culturally Responsive Literacy Practices In Prekindergarten: A Multimodal Approach By Teachers, Deeksha Thonta Aradhya

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds are often expected to learn within different cultural contexts than those they have experienced in their families, homes, and communities. Some children are rarely exposed to the dominant culture and practices that are highly valued in schools before entering early education settings. When they start (pre)school, young children are often expected to immediately participate in cultural practices that may differ from those at home, which are considered indicative of being successful, ready, or capable. This research aimed to investigate the culturally responsive literacy practices used by teachers in a laboratory prekindergarten classroom. The …

An Interdisciplinary Early Intervention Learning Community For Undergraduate Students, Ciera M. Lorio, Hannah Rudkin, Christina Rauwolf, Luminita Hartle

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

There is currently a nationwide shortage of early intervention (EI) providers in the United States, and the number of families in need of EI services is much greater than the available service providers (CEC, 2019; Barton et al., 2012). One way to increase the number of qualified service providers is to offer better and earlier preservice training in EI at the university level. To meet this need, we designed and implemented the Early Intervention Learning Community (EILC), an extracurricular experience that focused on introducing students to EI and interprofessional practice. The primary components of the EILC included self-guided learning modules, …

Maybe It Really Is Those Damn Phones, Sarah F. Garvin

Honors Projects

Technology is an integral part of modern life and has extended into elementary classrooms where one-to-one device programs have become the norm. While technology can increase accessibility to education, its widespread integration in learning environments raises concerns about its long-term impact on students and teachers. This research critically examines gamified learning applications and technology use in elementary education, questioning whether they enhance learning, curiosity, and problem-solving skills. A qualitative methods approach was employed, using surveys and interviews conducted with educators in Seattle Public Schools to assess the effects of technology-driven instruction. The resulting data were analyzed through thematic analysis to …

Building Early Phonemic Awareness, Tessa K. Sutfin

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

Alphabet knowledge and phonemic awareness skills are strong predictors of later reading ability (Stanley and Finch, 2018). Therefore, phonemic awareness and letter-sound relationships are skills that Kindergarteners have a limited amount of time to master. As a result, educators must think critically about the strategies and forms of assessment implemented to ensure they are setting young readers up for lifelong success in reading. The purpose of my study was to determine if explicit instruction in phonemic awareness and letter-sound correspondence would increase student ability to isolate, segment, blend, and decode grade-level text. Strategies included kinesthetic movements of the hands and …

Enhancing Digital Accessibility For Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing Learners- Innovative Strategies For Inclusive Education, Felicia Rutledge Ph.D.

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

This research-to-practice brief explores innovative strategies to enhance digital accessibility for Deaf or Hard of Hearing (D/HH) learners, focusing on practical applications for inclusive K-12 education. Despite advances in digital learning, D/HH learners face unique barriers due to auditory-centered designs. Accessibility legislation such as the ADA, Section 504, and IDEA mandate educational inclusion for these learners. Key strategies include the integration of assistive technologies (e.g., captioning, ASL video interpretation), the application of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) 3.0 guidelines, and adherence to WCAG 2.1 principles for accessible content design. The research-to-practice brief provides actionable insights for educators, administrators, and …

Administrators’ And Teachers’ Perceived Importance Of The Holistic Framework For Professional Development Elements: Survey Research, Adrianna Cate

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study researched the six elements of the Holistic Framework for Professional Development (HFPD) to understand administrators’ and teachers’ perceived importance and how demographic variables impacted those perceptions. This was done to contribute to the current gap in the literature regarding how to design and carry out effective professional development. The quantitative survey research utilized exponential, non-discriminative snowball sampling to recruit participants. Fifteen administrators, 64 teachers, and six participants working in ‘other’ roles in their school participated. These participants were citizens of fifteen different countries and worked across eleven countries worldwide. Even given this diverse sample, the results of this …

‘I Don’T Know Which Fire To Put Out’: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of First Year Teachers In Title I Schools, Crystal P. Glover, Erin Hamel, Koti Hubbard

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

For many early childhood and elementary educators, the early years of their professional career can prove to be the most challenging. Not surprisingly, approximately 30% of teachers leave the classroom within the first five years (Sutcher, Darling-Hammond & Carver-Thomas, 2019). That rate is even higher (~50%) for teachers in Title I schools (Miller, 2018). Despite a plethora of research regarding the causes of teacher attrition, very little has been done to specifically investigate the experiences of beginning teachers in Title I schools. This study seeks to identify and document the factors that positively and negatively affect those experiences.

Call For Manuscripts, Michele J. Koomen, Thomastine Sarchet-Maher, Jessica Williams

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Call For Manuscripts, Michele J. Koomen, Thomastine Sarchet-Maher, Jessica Williams

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

From The Editors, Michele J. Koomen, Thomastine Sarchet-Maher, Jessica Williams

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

JSESD remains a venue for the dissemination of research and practice related to the education of students with disabilities in the science classroom and laboratory since 1998. Volumes #1 through 11 were published in a print format. Starting with Volume #12, the journal has been published online and Open Access. Having JSESD in the Open Access format maximizes access for readers and authors and allows the journal to remain economically sustainable.

Copyright, Michele J. Koomen, Thomastine Sarchet-Maher, Jessica Williams

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Increased Use Of Technology In Early Years Of Child Development, Candy Guadalupe Pena Romero

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This senior capstone research project examines how the increased use of technology in early years can have a significant effect on child development, both positive and negative. In this research project, besides conducting an extensive literature review, interviews with three teachers from an early childhood education center and an administrator were interviewed and parent surveys were conducted. The result findings revealed that the increased use of technology in early years affects children’s development. The project also suggests that finding a way to balance technology with traditional play and face-to-face interactions could be a good way to promote healthy development in …

Reading Between The Lines: A Mixed Methods Investigation Of Teachers’ Understanding And Implementation Of The Science Of Reading, Karen L. Dumas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the nation, the science of reading (SoR) is sweeping through schools, realigning instructional practices, altering curricula, and causing a shift in educators’ ideologies. Therefore, exploring teachers’ understanding of the science of reading and the classroom implementation may offer valuable insights for school leaders, policymakers, and educators during this period of transition. This explanatory sequential mixed methods investigation researched SoR knowledge and implementation of K-3 general education teachers in Pennsylvania.

This study took place in two phases: quantitative followed by qualitative. During the quantitative phase, 141 K-3 teachers in Pennsylvania participated in the Teacher Understanding of Literacy Constructs and Evidence-Based …

The Importance Of The Relationship Between General And Special Education Co-Teachers In Inclusive Preschool Programs, Ruth Copeland, Ruth B. Copeland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative case study was designed to examine the importance of the relationship between general and special education co-teachers in inclusive preschool programs. The holistic strengths-based portraiture method will be used to study the positive aspects of the relationships of two co-teaching teams. In-depth interviews with individual teachers, co-teaching teams, and administrators combined with a questionnaire and classroom environmental rating scales were used to examine the culture and community that build positive relationships between general educators and special educators who co-teach in an inclusive preschool setting. The main goal of this research was to identify critical elements that contribute to …

Supporting Multilingualism In Early Childhood Education: The Vital Role Of Teacher Development, Ebeny Salazar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The expansion of multilingualism, the ability to speak and understand more than one language, has added to a culturally diverse world today. With these abilities, those who are multilingual from diverse backgrounds are often met with resistance against the dominant Westernized culture. Currently, there is not adequate training in the United States for teachers to be able to implement a multilingual curriculum in early childhood settings and classrooms. There are many benefits to providing a diverse classroom environment, which can have a positive impact on the young learners present. The importance of supporting multilingual children, specifically in early childhood, is …

The Quest For Kindergarten Readiness: A Study Of One District’S Early Implementation Of The Pyramid Model For Promoting Social-Emotional Competence, Ginny L. Gast

All Dissertations

Participation in high-quality preschool programs can help prepare young children for Kindergarten, and children demonstrating Kindergarten readiness are more likely to achieve positive outcomes later in life. With this in mind, Oakwood School District (OSD) set a strategic goal to improve the Kindergarten readiness levels of students participating in its 4K programs from 18% in 2021 to 70% by 2025. With research suggesting that school readiness outcomes are dependent on preschool program quality variables such as student-teacher relationships and emotional competencies, the Pyramid Model for Promoting Social-Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children was implemented in OSD’s 4K program sites …