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

The Lived Play Experiences Of Kindergarten Teachers: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Robin Terrell Holman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Following implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act and Common Core Standards, play experience opportunities by kindergarten students have been compromised. Prior research indicates that how teachers make sense of play is most likely reflected in educational practice. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis was to gather the lived experiences of 5 kindergarten teachers from northern New England on the nature of play through pre-reflective description and reflective interpretation. Guided by Vygotsky's social constructivist theory as the conceptual framework, the goal of this study was to describe lived play experiences of kindergarten teachers. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used …

Using Auditory Modalities To Develop Rhythmic Competency In Children's Fundamental Movement Skills, Sally Suzanne Severy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Physical education classrooms often have low levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity levels. This is a problem since many young elementary students are not building a foundation of fundamental movement skills necessary to be lifelong participants in physical activities. This study investigated how elementary physical education teachers used auditory modalities in their classrooms. The research question explored the emergence of rhythmic competency in fundamental movement skills to increase overall moderate to vigorous activity levels. This concurrent, mixed-methods, multiple case study used a constructivist paradigm using the schema and dynamic system theories as the underlying motor system theoretical framework. Two …

Successful Employee Retention Strategies In Childcare Centers, Ahmad Shaheen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Fifty percent of childcare employees leave their jobs by the close of their 5th year of experience. The purpose of this exploratory single case study was to explore what retention strategies some childcare center directors use to retain their employees in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. The research population consisted of 5 childcare center directors who successfully implemented retention strategies in 5 different childcare centers. The conceptual framework for this study was the Herzberg, Mausner, and Snyderman motivation-hygiene theory. Data were collected via semistructured interviews with the directors and from centers-handbooks and strategic plans. Coding, word frequency, and thematic analysis …

Predicting Pre-Kindergarteners’ Executive Function Skills: The Role Of The Classroom, Caitlin Daly

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Teachers' Attitudes And Their Effect On Placement Recommendations For Students With Cognitive Disabilities, Kathleen M. Everett

Doctor of Education in Special Education Dissertations

The implementation of Public Law 94-142 in 1974 guaranteed that students with disabilities had the right to be educated alongside their peers in the least restrictive environment. However, decades later, administrators, teachers, and parents continue to struggle to resolve the issue on how to include students with disabilities in general education classrooms, as well as how to recognize why students with cognitive disabilities were embodied more in self-contained classrooms than in comprehensive environments. In this study, I aimed to understand how special education teachers’ attitudes about inclusion, LRE, and students with cognitive disabilities influence placement recommendations. Through the qualitative thematic …

The Role Of Technology In Elementary Schools How Has Technology Taken Over?, Alyssa Kersey

University Honors Program

Starting in kindergarten, at the age of five, children are beginning to learn with technological gadgets such as iPads and computers. Society today continuously brings technology into as many aspects of life as possible, even in the elementary schools. Educators need to be aware of this rapidly changing culture to keep up with the times as well as their students. Teachers can integrate this technology into their curriculum to help enhance and differentiate learning for their students. Methodologies used in conducting research on this topic consisted of online journals, books, and a survey written up and handed out to actual …

Stepping Out With The Fop: Literacies Of Embodiment And Becoming In Youth Drama, Treavor Bogard

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Drawing upon perspectives of New Literacy Studies, characterization and gender performativity, this interpretive case study used Multimodal Inter(Action) Analysis and ethnographic methods to examine how a queer youth, Michael, embodied the fop character type as he acted in a youth theatre troupe. The study examines Michael’s embodiment of the fop as a composition process in drama that evoked discourses of queer masculinity and the performativity of selves becoming. Embodied composing of characterizations in the troupe, and specifically the fop, were multimodal designs that intertwined with Michael’s self-cultivation and self-efficacy as a queer youth.

Professional Learning Communities As A Professional Development Model Focusing On Instructional Practices Used To Teach Writing In Early Childhood, Jill T. Leonard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the implementation of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) as a professional development model effective in altering teachers‘ perceptions of their knowledge and skill in teaching developmental writing in grades K-3. This research is necessary to examine how offering teachers collaborative support needed for understanding and implementing research-based best practice approaches to teach developmental writing strengthens the quality of instructional practice necessary to meet rigorous standards being imparted from Common Core Standards. Through the development of a PLC, teachers have an opportunity for collaborating within the school building, which provides optimal …

Determining If Custodial Grandparents Of Pre-K - Third Grade Students Perceive Delivery Of Information And Services Offered As Effective In Decreasing Early Chronic Absence, Kimberly S. Cassidy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the delivery of information and services offered to grandparents who had become the primary caregivers of pre-k through third grade students to determine if the information and services were effective in decreasing chronic early absence as defined by Chang and Romero (2008). This mixed-method, multi-case study focused on the perceived needs of custodial grandparents and examined if the school system was meeting their needs through delivery of information and services. The researcher sought participation from 5 custodial grandparents who had grandchildren in pre-k, kindergarten, first, second, or third grades in a Northeast Tennessee school system and whose …

Exploring Teachers’ Perspectives Of Cooperative Learning To Create Music In Orff Schulwerk Classrooms, Nicole A. Chapman

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

The Framework for 21st Century Learning identifies four learning and innovation skills to prepare students for a changing world. The 4Cs identified are critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity (Framework for 21st Century Learning, 2015). With the adoption of this new teaching framework, it is important that music educators evaluate their own teaching methods to meet the needs of their students in a changing society. The purpose of this study was to examine how cooperative group learning is currently integrated in the Orff-Schulwerk certified teachers’ elementary music classroom as part of the creative music process. In this qualitative study, I …

Deaf Children’S Science Content Learning In Direct Instruction Versus Interpreted Instruction, Kim B. Kurz, Brenda Schick, Peter C. Hauser

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This research study compared learning of 6-9th grade deaf students under two modes of educational delivery – interpreted vs. direct instruction using science lessons. Nineteen deaf students participated in the study in which they were taught six science lessons in American Sign Language. In one condition, the lessons were taught by a hearing teacher in English and were translated in ASL via a professional and certified interpreter. In the second condition, the lessons were taught to the students in ASL by a deaf teacher. All students saw three lessons delivered via an interpreter and three different lessons in direct ASL; …

What I Taught My Stem Instructor About Teaching: What A Deaf Student Hears That Others Cannot, Annemarie Ross, Randy K. Yerrick

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Overall, science teaching at the university level has remained in a relatively static state. There is much research and debate among university faculty regarding the most effective methods of teaching science. But it remains largely rhetoric. The traditional lecture model in STEM higher education is limping along in its march toward inclusion and equity. The NGSS and Common Core reform efforts do little to help university science teachers to change their orientation from largely lecture-driven practice with laboratory supplements. While it is impossible to address all diverse student groups, the need for accommodations tend to be overlooked. As a Deaf …

Modeling Alphabet Skills As Instructive Feedback Within A Phonological Awareness Curriculum, Arnold Olszewski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the use of instructive feedback for modeling early literacy skills. Instructive feedback is defined as the presentation of additional information during the positive feedback phase of learner trials. Thus, it is a way of modeling additional information when students respond to a trial correctly. Previous studies have demonstrated that instructive feedback can facilitate students’ observational learning of skills, such as sight words, numerals, and vocabulary. Instructive feedback has yet to be investigated when modeling early literacy skills.

A modified version of an evidence-based early literacy intervention, PAth to Literacy, was used. Studies examining the efficacy of …

Learning From Finland: A Book Review, John M. Winslade

Journal of Critical Issues in Educational Practice

A review of Pasi Sahlberg’s (2015) Finnish Lessons 2.0: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland (2^nd Edn.).

The Power Of Nature: Developing Prosocial Behavior Toward Nature And Peers Through Nature-Based Activities, Ibrahim H. Acar, Julia C. Torquati

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

An early childhood teacher nurtures children’s perspective taking and respect for another living thing. These interactions happen daily at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center (SANC) Preschool in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Experiences like this promote children’s development of prosocial behavior, consistent with the Early Childhood Environmental Education Programs: Guidelines for Excellence (NAAEE 2010). This article examines the research question, How can teachers nurture the development of prosocial behavior for preschool-aged children through nature-based play and activities? To address this question, five researchers (including the second author) conducted 74 running record observations of children’s behavior and social interactions over the course of two …

How Do We Know A Good Teacher (1948), Barbara Biber, Agnes Snyder

Bank Street Thinkers

In engagingly simple language, the authors illustrate the many facets of personality and knowledge that make up good teachers and good teaching. They also detail the many reasons why evaluating good teaching is so difficult.

What Is Bank Street? (1973), Barbara Biber

Bank Street Thinkers

Biber provides an overview of the Bank Street philosophy. She covers the following areas: the School for Children; the Graduate School's preparation of teachers; Bank Street College's broader role in the world of education through its programs for change; and its educational perspective.

The Insider Perspective: Insights On Diversity From Award-Winning Diverse Authors, Jackie Marshall Arnold, Mary-Kate Sableski

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

There is perhaps no better source to speak about diverse literature than the “insider” authors who have been writing it for years. We were fortunate to speak with three accomplished authors of diverse books for children who invite students into their books—Pat Mora, Kadir Nelson, and Janet Wong. Invited to participate in phone and e-mail interviews based on their reputation for publishing diverse books, each author shares his or her perspective on this timely topic.

Pondering Diversity, Mary-Kate Sableski

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

I heard a story on the radio recently about Misty Copeland and Brooklyn Mack, two African American ballet dancers who starred in a production of Swan Lake by the Washington Ballet. It was the first time ever two black dancers starred in the production, and its significance lay in the symbolism inherent in the story of the beautiful white swan that falls in love with the handsome prince.

The Impact Of Early Numeracy Intervention On Kindergarten Students, Jennifer L. Hill

EDL Sixth Year Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of early numeracy intervention with kindergarten students. In order to grow a stronger understanding of how providing mathematics intervention can benefit students, the intervention was provided to kindergarten students aimed to seek answers to how providing the earliest possible intervention can positively impact the achievement gap and a child’s understanding of number. This study explored the impact early numeracy intervention had on five kindergarten students and compared their growth to those of their peers not receiving intervention to determine the positive impact providing Response to Intervention had on kindergarten students. …