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

Examining The Integration Of Technology In The Early Childhood Classroom, Kerri Lynn Willmann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Reading achievement scores in the United States are low and educators need more strategies to support young students in literacy. It is important to identify the technologies and implementation strategies that educators find beneficial for literacy instruction. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate perspectives on instructional technology and literacy strategies intended to promote student-centered learning opportunities. The conceptual framework was Bloom's mastery learning, Bransford's anchored instruction, and Piaget's constructivist theory. Each theorist encouraged exploration and hands-on interactive learning opportunities. The research questions addressed how teachers perceive the implementation of technology tools to enhance literary performance and engagement …

Teacher Perceptions Of Head Start Preschool Programs In An Urban Public School, Salvador Perez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An initiative to coordinate early learning programs across a major city in the Midwestern United States was undertaken in 2013. The opinions of teachers regarding effects on instruction and children were not included in the development and implementation of the program. This omission is important because multiple scholars have pointed to the benefits and need of including stakeholders' perspectives in program development. The purpose of this study was to explore preschool teachers' experiences and perspectives of this initiative using a qualitative bounded instrumental case study design. Fullan's theory of educational change served as the framework of this study. Nine preschool …

A Study Of Fourth-Grade Students' Perceptions On Homework Environment And Academic Motivation In Mathematics, Stefanie Harmon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem at an elementary school is teachers' lack of knowledge and information on the perceptions and motivation of students to complete independent mathematics homework. The purpose of this study was to identify students' perceptions regarding their homework environment and academic motivation in mathematics. The study's conceptual framework, attribution theory, supported the examination of drivers of motivation for participants related to homework completion. Guiding research questions, supported by Keller's ARCS model, focused on the identification of students' perceptions of homework attention, relevance, curiosity, satisfaction, and their preferred homework environment. This qualitative research study obtained data from semistructured interviews with 44 …

Effect Of Public And Private Preschool Attendance On Kindergarten Literacy, Matthew Garofolo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students who enter kindergarten lacking readiness skills often struggle to meet literacy benchmarks and to successfully complete school. The problem to be investigated by this study is the low literacy scores on the standardized Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment test at 2 public New Jersey elementary schools. While some students attended public or private preschools, others did not attend any preschool prior to starting kindergarten. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the difference in kindergarten literacy gain scores among students who attended public, private, and no preschool. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and emergent literacy theory served as the …

Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide To Lecturing, Presenting, And Engaging Students, Norman Eng

Publications and Research

Your students aren’t reading. They aren’t engaged in class. Getting them to talk is like pulling teeth. Whatever the situation, your reality is not meeting your expectations. Change is needed. But who’s got the time? Or maybe you’re just starting out, and you want to get it right the first time.

If so, Teaching College: The Ultimate Guide to Lecturing, Presenting, and Engaging Students is the blueprint. Written for early career instructors, this easy-to-implement guide teaches you to:

• Think like advertisers to understand your target audience—your students
• Adopt the active learning approach of the best K-12 teachers
• Write a syllabus …

Perceived Social-Ecological Barriers Of Generalist Pre-Service Teachers Towards Teaching Physical Education: Findings From The Get-Pe Study, Brendon P. Hyndman

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Identifying and understanding the perceptions of pre-service teachers (PSTs) is vital to informing teaching practices. The purpose of the ‘Generalist Entry into Teaching Physical Education’ (GET-PE) study was to investigate Australian generalist PSTs' perceptions of the barriers to teaching physical education (PE) classes. A social-ecological model framework (SEM) was uniquely applied as the conceptual framework for the GET-PE study to analyse, explore and understand the multiple levels of barriers perceived by the generalist PSTs. A myriad of SEM level barriers were perceived by the generalist PSTs (n=71) at the intrapersonal level (knowledge gaps, physical abilities, reduced confidence), interpersonal level (community …

The Complexity Of Practicum Assessment In Teacher Education: An Examination Of Four New Zealand Case Studies., Karyn M. Aspden

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Practicum is a key element of initial teacher education (ITE) programmes, designed to support the professional growth of student teachers. Practicum is also a key point of assessment, leading to a determination of the student’s professional growth and their readiness to teach and enter the teaching profession. This study sought to understand the way in which the assessment of practicum was enacted and experienced within New Zealand early childhood ITE programmes. Case study methodology was used to explore the experiences of practicum triads from four participating institutions. Data included recordings of triadic assessment meetings, post-assessment interviews with the student teachers, …

Preservice Teachers’ Identity Development During The Teaching Internship, Tran Le Huu Nghia, Huynh Ngoc Tai

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article reports the analysis of two preservice teachers’ narratives to highlight the process of teacher identity development during their teaching internship. The analysis showed that their teacher identities had been shaped before they entered the teacher education program where it continued to be shaped by educational experts. In that way, they formed expectations or imaginations of their professional roles and responsibilities prior to the teaching internships. When entering the teaching internships, these pre-existing expectations or imaginations were challenged by the reality they faced. Their engagement with the internship, resilience and negotiations of professional practices were found to be significant …

International Students Experience In Teacher Education: Creating Context Through Play Workshops, Dawn Joseph, Elizabeth Rouse

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Higher education in Australia attracts many international students. Universities are challenged to prepare them with the necessary understandings, knowledge and skills to effectively participate in their study. For international students, understanding Early Childhood contexts in Australia is a new way of viewing teaching and learning from their own cultural perspective. This paper situates itself as part of a wider study “Improving work placement for international students, their mentors and other stakeholders”. A pilot program was run at Deakin University for the Master of Teaching Early Childhood students to undertake play workshops before commencing placement. Questionnaires were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological …

Using Differentiated Instructional Strategies To Improve Early Elementary Comprehension Skills, Deborah S. Cirincione

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide information to educators about teaching strategies used in the classroom. The researcher opened up a survey to Early Elementary Reading teachers so
they can provide their input in an anonymous manner so as to get as much information as possible so others can find this narrative, qualitative research useful in their careers. The writer researched scholarly and peer-reviewed journals, as well as, commonly used resources such as government websites to acquire and report recent practices of early elementary reading strategies used in classrooms. The study was of qualitative nature, and the survey was …

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Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

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Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities (JSESD)

The Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities is a multi-disciplinary, peer-reviewed journal with an international focus on providing information on science education for students with varying types and levels of disabilities. We aspire to publish the best of theoretical research and practical application and we review articles by both special and general educators. Interesting topics have included innovative curricular ideas, instructional adaptations, research-based modifications, best practices, and management issues in science education.

Copyright Statement

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Publication rights to works is granted to Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities, however, full copyright for works published in this journal is retained by the author(s). The author(s) may post their works online in an institutional repository, on their University departmental website, or on their own personal websites

Tutor In A Bag: Reaching Struggling Readers, Lillian Hoskinson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Tutor in a Bag is a tutoring program designed to match novice adult tutors with struggling early readers. The program trains tutors with varied backgrounds to work with struggling readers using evidence-based instructional strategies and data collection methods. Tutors attended an initial training session to receive materials, practice each component of the lesson plan, and to receive fundamental training on use of reading games and strategies supporting solid reading instruction at a brisk pace. Each designated struggling reader was paired with a tutor for 10 weekly, thirty-minute sessions driven by each student’s individual needs. Support for the tutors was provided …

Strategies To Support Families Experiencing Difficult Circumstances, Carol M. Trivette

ETSU Faculty Works

One of the most challenging tasks for many early childhood providers is how to support families who are facing tough, difficult issues like death of a parent, PTSD, abuse, and neglect. Not only do these issues impact the family’s overall functioning and well being and the quality of parents’ interactions with their young children but they also affect the relationship between the family and the early childhood providers (e.g., missed appointments and adversarial interactions). Dr. Carol Trivette will cap her yearlong webinar series sharing resources and discussing evidence-based practices that providers can implement when they are working with military families …

Music And Words: Connecting The Love Of Music With Language, Eileen P. Kennedy, Raymond Torres- Santos

Publications and Research

Children from different cultures have a natural affinity for rhymes, rhythm and music. Imagine if students were able, from the beginning of their education and experiences with academic writing and literacy, to access their unconscious and original selves from which to create their writing. The study of music can help to access this aware, inventive side that can enhance anyone’s writing. As an early childhood writing teacher and a composition teacher, we draw on our experiences with young children with words and music. We examine the relationship between music and words in an effort to bring the primitive drive of …

Importance Of Accommodating Elementary School Students With Learning Disabilities, Angelica R. Rivera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This senior capstone examines the rationale why it is important to accommodate the students with learning disabilities at the elementary schools. Mainstreaming students with disabilities with those in regular general education classrooms remains a very important issue for principals and teachers. Through the use of literature review and interviews with a principal and a teacher from their respective schools in the Monterey County area, the results show that there is a gap between the services provided to students with learning disabilities.

Professional Learning Communities (Plcs) For Early Childhood Science Education, Jungwon Eum

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study explored the content, processes, and dynamics of Professional Learning Community (PLC) sessions. This study also investigated changes in preschool teachers’ attitudes and beliefs toward science teaching after they participated in two different forms of PLCs including workshop and face-to-face PLC as well as workshop and online PLC. Multiple sources of data were collected for this study including participant artifacts and facilitator field notes during the PLC sessions.

The participants in this study were eight teachers from NAEYC-accredited child care centers serving 3- to 5-year-old children in an urban Midwest city. All teachers participated in a workshop entitled, “Ramps …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Intensive Professional Development On The Daily Five™ In Literacy Instruction: A Multiple Case Study Exploration, Lori A. Hamilton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This multiple case, qualitative study explored the experiences of six early childhood teachers as they implemented a structured, differentiated literacy framework (The Daily Five™) in a rural northeast Tennessee school system. This study investigated teachers’ perceptions of professional development, specifically the professional development components of coaching including ongoing online discussion, collaboration, and reflective journaling, on changing their literacy planning and instruction. Data were collected through interviews, journal entries, and transcribed meeting conversations. Findings revealed that teachers perceived coaching and collaboration as instrumental professional development components that directly contributed to changing their literacy planning and instruction. Both coaching and collaboration offered …

Perceptions Of School Readiness, Developmentally Appropriate Practices, And The Role Of Professionalism, Brittany Kristine Mcallister

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Research supports the knowledge that there exist many models on and definitions of school readiness within early education. Additionally, research shows that utilizing developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) produces positive short and long term results for students; indicating the effectiveness and necessity for DAP in the classroom. The study sought to inform teachers via presentation on the subjects of school readiness and DAP; as well as gain insight on the barriers teachers face in utilizing their school readiness and DAP knowledge base in the classroom. To accomplish this, the study used a pre-survey, presentation with discussion, and a post-survey to collect …

A Study Of The Perceptions Of Racial Equity In One Early Childhood Education Program, Dawn M. Meskil

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although public education in the United States has had remarkable growth and improvement since its beginning, significant inadequacies concerning racial equity continue to cast a shadow on the system. Despite desegregation efforts and specific attention to providing integrated school settings there has been little progress in establishing educational justice. The purpose of this case study was to uncover perceptions about racial inequity within Asheville City Schools as well as potential facilitators of equity. A qualitative case study using 10 guiding research questions was conducted to evaluate the perceptions of parents as well as educators at Asheville City Schools Preschool regarding …