Education Commons^™

Reinforcement Practicality For Middle School Students: A Meta-Analysis, Kelly C. Dreger Ed.D., Steve Downey Ph.D.

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The need for evolving support interventions that can help students in a wide range of settings is an ongoing requirement for middle schools today. Token reinforcement, which is a form of extrinsic motivation and incentivization, is studied within this meta-analysis to determine if significant treatment effects exist overall and if there are studies that show more gains than others. Most studies report significant positive gains individually, but the statistical significance is lost when the studies are reviewed as a whole. Variables such as sample size requirements, treatment effect variation, and session time all influence treatment effect size. Reinforcement has been …

Goal Setting In Kindergarten: Motivating Young Learners To Be Successful In Learning Sight Words, Ashley Brudvig, Taylor Anderson, Jarrett D. Moore

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of goal setting as a motivator for kindergarten students in learning grade-level sight words. This study was conducted over a 6-week period in two Midwestern kindergarten classrooms. The participants in the experimental group were trained in self-setting goals and participated in weekly check-ins and bi-weekly assessments. Themes in motivation were documented using a reflection survey and anecdotal notes. Student growth was tracked using sight word assessments and growth charts. Data suggested participants who set goals achieved higher gains than participants who did not set goals.

Learning While Building: Enhancing Opportunities For Teacher Candidate Development Within Professional Development Schools Through Programmatic Analysis, Valerie Widdall 7532451, Andrea Lachance, John M. Livermore

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of differing models of practicum placements on teacher candidates’ (TC’s) abilities to practice teaching skills and receive feedback on their teaching. Within the Professional Development School (PDS) model TCs were placed as cohorts in a single PDS site with at least one college faculty member assigned as a liaison, and within the Traditional model TCs were placed across a variety of schools without college faculty connected to the various school sites. Teacher candidates completed a survey with Likert scale and open-ended items to measure TCs’ perceptions of how much time they spent teaching lessons …

Inquiry-Based Learning: Student Teachers’ Challenges And Perceptions, Alain Petro Gholam Dr.

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a student-centered approach driven by students’ questions and their innate curiosity. IBL was introduced and effectively implemented in the general secondary teaching methods course at the American University in Dubai. The study made use of a mixed methods approach. It was guided by two research questions: 1). What factors hinder the implementation of IBL in the student teachers’ classrooms? 2). Why do student teachers favor the use of IBL in their classroom? Eight student teachers enrolled in the general secondary teaching methodology course at the American University in Dubai (Fall 2017) participated in the study. First, …

Using The Cornell Note-Taking System Can Help Eighth Grade Students Alleviate The Impact Of Interruptions While Reading At Home, Bradley Evans, Christopher Thomas Shively

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

A large group of eighth-grade social studies students (N=-101) received instruction and practice using the Cornell note-taking system and were assigned to one of three note-taking groups or one non-note-taking group. Students were asked to read an article about persuasion and use their assigned note-taking system to take notes at home. A 10-question multiple choice reading comprehension test and questionnaire were given. A one-way ANOVA found a significance in the group’s means and a Tukey HSD found significant differences between each note-taking group and the non-note-taking group. The students’ self-reported feelings of preparedness, their time spent reading and taking notes, …

Data Diving Into “Noticing Poetry”: An Analysis Of Student Engagement With The “I Notice” Method, Scot Slaby, Jordan Benedict

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This paper explores students’ engagement in reading poems, examining data on their self perceptions of their confidence and competence in reading poems before, during, and after using the “I Notice” methodology as adapted from The Academy of American Poets’ unit plan, “Noticing Poetry” (Slaby, 2017). The data was collected over the course of a month from January 9 through January 30, 2018 and involved five classes of one hundred general English tenth grade students across three teachers’ classrooms at Shanghai American School’s Puxi High School Campus. Data indicates that the “I Notice” method and the “Noticing Poetry” unit and its …

Visual Thinking Routines: A Mixed Methods Approach Applied To Student Teachers At The American University In Dubai, Alain Petro Gholam Dr.

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Visual thinking routines are principles based on several theories, approaches, and strategies. Such routines promote thinking skills, call for collaboration and sharing of ideas, and above all, make thinking and learning visible. Visual thinking routines were implemented in the teaching methodology graduate course at the American University in Dubai. The following study used mixed methods. It was guided by two research questions: 1). To what extent did visual thinking routines implemented in the Math/Science methodology course offered at the Graduate School of Education at the American University in Dubai inspire learning in the classroom and made time for students’ questions, …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Use Of Multicultural Literature, Salika A. Lawrence, Tabora Johnson, Mirna Baptiste, Asfa Caleb, Camille Sieunarine, Clorene Similien

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This qualitative study examines how pre-service teachers in urban elementary classrooms develop student literacy with multicultural literature. By evaluating the action research reports of three pre-service teacher candidates, the authors determine how reading experiences with texts align to Bloom’s Taxonomy and expectations for Common Core State Standards. Findings indicate that multicultural literature engages students with authentic connections to learning. Results also show that teachers relied on guided questioning to measure reading comprehension, though the types of questions varied. The implications of this study for teachers to consider are: how to incorporate multicultural texts into the curriculum to encourage critical thinking, …

Reading With Understanding: A Global Expectation, Mary Shea, Maria Anne Ceprano

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Abstract:

This article outlines the complexity of reading with understanding, what is required for full and deep comprehension, the state of affairs with regard to reading comprehension in developed countries, possible etiologies for low performances, and suggestions for instruction in specific skills and strategies to improve students’ demonstrated achievement in daily lessons as well as on global assessments. Recognizing the commonality of this concern among nations, a need to examine universally accepted tenets for successful reading comprehension as well as local etiologies that impede it becomes increasingly important. Such tenets are skills and strategies that address all of Irwin’s micro …

Dialogic Ground: The Use Of 'Teaching Dilemmas' With Prospective Teachers, Heidi L. Hallman, Thompson Deufel

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This article describes a method of storytelling that can assist novice teachers in moving toward “re-seeing” their stories of teaching not just as narratives of experience, but as sites for work to be done. The assignment novice teachers undertook as part of a methods class in the teaching of English language arts has the potential to be a catalyst for problem solving and decision making as teachers. We argue that telling one’s teaching stories in such a fashion helps novice teachers discover the layered and context-specific nature of schools and classrooms, as well as assists them in moving toward envisioning …

John Dewey In The 21st Century, Morgan K. Williams

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

John Dewey was a pragmatist, progressivist, educator, philosopher, and social reformer (Gutek, 2014). Dewey’s various roles greatly impacted education and he was perhaps one of the most influential educational philosophers known to date (Theobald, 2009). Dewey’s impact on education was very evident in his theory about social learning; he believed that school should be representative of a social environment and that students learn best when in natural social settings (Flinders & Thornton, 2013). His ideas impacted education in another facet because he believed that students were all unique learners and he was a proponent of student interests driving teacher instruction …

Listening To The Voices Of Teacher Candidates To Design Content Area Literacy Courses, Ellen S. Friedland, Elizabeth G. Kuttesch, Susan E. Mcmillen, Pixita M. Del Prado Hill

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

While teacher candidates take courses which prepare them to deliver content in secondary content area classrooms, they often lack the knowledge necessary to help their future students learn discipline-specific information through the use of literacy strategies. In many cases, content area teacher candidates do not view themselves as literacy educators, believing instead that English teachers or elementary level educators are responsible for developing the reading and writing skills of students. However, development as teachers of literacy is possible. Through a content area literacy course taken as part of a teacher preparation program, secondary content area teacher candidates reported changes in …

Hoping To Teach Someday? Inquire Within: Examining Inquiry-Based Learning With First-Semester Undergrads, Erik Jon Byker, Heather Coffey, Susan Harden, Amy Good, Tina Lane Heafner, Kathrine Brown, Debra Holzberg

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Using case study method, this study examines the impact of an inquiry-based learning program among a cohort of first-semester undergraduates (n=104) at a large public university in the southeastern United States who are aspiring to become teachers. The Boyer Commission (1999) asserted that inquiry-based learning should be the foundation of higher education curricula. Even though inquiry pedagogies are emphasized in teacher education, many prospective teacher candidates have limited experience with inquiry as a constructivist practice from their K-12 settings. This study investigates the effects and first-semester undergraduates’ perceptions of an inquiry-based learning project. The research is grounded in Knowledge Building …

Levels Of Participation Of The School Stakeholders To The Different School-Initiated Activities And The Implementation Of School-Based Management, Jimmy Rey Opong Cabardo

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This study aimed to evaluate the levels of participation of the school stakeholders to the different school-initiated activities and the implementation of school-based management (SBM) in selected schools in the Division of Davao del Sur for the school year 2014-2015 using a descriptive-correlational survey research design.

A researcher-restructured questionnaire was answered by the 13 school heads, 56 teachers, and 50 stakeholders who formed part as respondents of this study. The data were statistically analyzed using mean, analysis of variance (F test), t-test for independent sample, Pearson r and t-test for the significance of r as statistical tools.

In terms of …

Fives: An Integrated Strategy For Comprehension And Vocabulary Learning, Mary Shea, Nancy Roberts

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This article describes a strategy that emphasizes the integration of all language and literacy skills for learning across content areas as well as the importance CCSS place on learners’ ability to ask questions about information, phenomena, or ideas encountered (Ciardiello, 2012/2013). FIVES is a strategy that meaningfully integrates research-based methodologies associated with reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing for differentiated disciplinary literacy instruction related to authentic texts and issues. The strategy described can be universally applied across disciplines to develop high levels of competence with literacy processes and content.

Class Exploration To A Campus Library Curriculum Center To Develop Book-Building Capacity For Teacher Candidates, Camille M. Russello Ph.D., Julie J. Henry

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The purpose of this pilot was to examine the effectiveness of the practice of providing opportunities for undergraduate elementary education teacher candidates to explore the campus library curriculum center as a group regularly during class time. During their visits, teacher candidates were guided in selecting and analyzing children’s literature for their future teaching. The research was focused on how these visits impacted teacher candidates’ understanding of children’s literature and literacy development. Data were collected through a survey administered at the conclusion of the course and responses were probed further during one-on-one interviews. Candidates described these visits as beneficial in …

Literacy Co-Teaching With Multi-Level Texts In An Inclusive Middle Grade Humanities Class: A Teacher-Researcher Collaboration, Kelly Chandler-Olcott, Kathleen A. Hinchman

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This article reports on a middle school literacy intervention implemented during a yearlong teacher-researcher collaboration. The purpose of this collaboration was to combine and adjust commonly recommended pedagogical approaches to address the literacy needs of a heterogeneous group of seventh graders attending an urban school. University researchers designed and implemented the intervention with an interdisciplinary team of three teachers. The intervention drew on sociocultural theories of language and learning. It had three main features: integration of English and social studies, multi-level texts, and co-teaching of heterogeneous groups. Qualitative data included field notes from classroom observations and planning meetings, transcripts from …

Little By Little The Bird Builds Its Nest: First Steps In Cross Cultural Curriculum Training, Helene Arbouet Harte, Melissa M. Jones, Francis Wray

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

With the goal of raising awareness of child slavery and devastation of the natural environment in Haiti, while simultaneously supporting active teaching strategies, a team of educators collaborated to develop The Respecting Haiti curriculum. Following curriculum development representatives from the team facilitated training of the curriculum in Haiti. The process continues to evolve as participants work to build on strengths and use individual expertise to enhance our collective knowledge and develop an effective and authentic curriculum. This paper provides a brief overview of the development of the draft of a curriculum, and the experiences and lessons learned from the team …

How Does The Use Of Blogs Impact Student Motivation For Literature Discussions, Pamela Pane Mrs.

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This study sought to determine the impact of blogs on student motivation to discuss literature. The participants were 11 male and 12 female fourth grade students ranging from eight to ten years of age. All of the students were instructed in one classroom located in a suburban school setting. All students had access to computers fitted with high speed internet in their classroom. Most of the students had access to the internet at home as well. Semi-structured interviews and survey instruments were administered over a six week period. The response data were analyzed to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of …

Examining Elementary Teachers' Sense Of Efficacy In Three Settings In The Southeast, Steven Page, Beth Pendergraft, Judi Wilson

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This study was conducted to investigate if teachers at urban, rural and suburban elementary schools differ significantly in their sense of self efficacy. The schools utilized for this research are located in the southeastern United States. Along with being in different geographic areas the schools are also different in their socioeconomic make-up and status. The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy (TSES) created by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy, was utilized. The authors found that, overall, the teachers at the urban elementary school displayed significantly lower scores on the TSES than did the suburban and rural schools. The implications for further research are …

Curriculum, Marginalization, And The Professoriate, William L. White

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The author exposes the subtext on which education and particularly curriculum making is based by focusing on the notion that the professoriate has been marginalized within curriculum planning by an educational hegemony that utilizes the sorting and classification mechanisms present in schooling to co-opt the development of educational plans.

Right From The Start: A Kindergarten Program That Helps Prevent Reading Failure, Mary E. Shea D., Ardith D. Cole

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This article describes a study conducted with kindergarten classrooms in a suburban elementary school with a relatively diverse population. The researchers were the building literacy specialist and a college instructor teaching a Foundations of Reading course for pre-service teachers on-site at the school. The traditional curriculum in these kindergarten classrooms was infused with developmentally appropriate reading and writing experiences that had a significant impact on children’s literacy achievement as well as teachers’ beliefs on what constitutes appropriate kindergarten literacy activities, instruction, and classroom resources.

In Pursuit Of Democratic Practice: Self-Study As A Democratic Approach To Teaching Social Studies, Andrew L. Hostetler

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

Dewey (1916/2009) viewed democracy as a “path or journey”. This suggests that there is no mutually agreed upon end. Similarly, in teaching and teacher education, if viewed as a learning problem, the end is the process according to Ritter (2010) “[t]eaching others how to teach for democratic citizenship represents a process that righteously lacks a conclusion” (p. 90). Without a definitive conclusion there are many potentially valuable conceptions and enactments of democratic living and learning.

Discussing these strong connections between democracy in social studies and self-study, Powell (2010) argues “when social studies teachers engage in ‘reflectively pragmatic’ study of their …