Education Commons^™

Building Confidence Of Academic Library Staff In The Selection Of Culturally Authentic Native American Picture Books, Cassondra Leeport

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study aimed to explore the confidence and ability of library staff to select and identify culturally authentic Native American picture books. The researcher, a self-identified Native American, developed a tool designed to assist in library staff in identifying key elements of a picture book that lend themselves to a work being culturally authentic. Assisting patrons in selecting materials is a key element in the library profession. The setting of this research is a university with a large Professional Education Program as well as a documented dedication to serving Native students and surrounding tribal communities and the participants of the …

The Effect Of Direct Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Instruction And Small Group Literacy Interventions On Kindergarten Students’ Reading Growth, Brianna Elizabeth Wierschke

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study focuses on the impact of the implementation of Heggerty Phonemic Awareness and Literacy Footprints guided reading system curriculum in a kindergarten classroom. Adding these interventions are to determine if a focus on phonemic awareness skills is essential for students to learn when beginning to learn how to read. Students were tested at the beginning of the school year for a base score, then tracked at every month, and then a final benchmarking in December. The study took place in a North Dakota elementary school, 23 kindergarten students was monitored for data purposes. The data and results demonstrate a …

Preschool Whole Group Circle Time: Does More Comfortable Seating Give Rise To Preschooler Engagement?, Roberta Kopel

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Flexible and alternative seating in the classroom has been a topic of research and implementation in the classroom in recent years. At this time, much of the research discovered looked at inflatable cushions, therapy balls, or even low tables using pillows as seats. It has been observed in practice by this researcher that many times what is sometimes labeled as flexible seating is just something that is “cute” and not a regular chair with a back and legs or flexible seating as noted in research findings such as a therapy ball. Thus far, it has been difficult to determine the …

Yoga As A Positive Behavior Intervention, Kristen Kadrie

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This study explored teaching preschool age students how to use yoga strategies to calm their bodies, reducing the number of times a student demonstrates negative behavior. The fifteen participants were three through five year olds from one of the preschool classrooms at the Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) Early Learning Center. Baseline data was collected for five days, resulting in a determination that four of the students would be considered the subjects for the study, one who received special education services. Additional baseline data was collected for these students for ten days. All fifteen participants and the classroom teachers were …

Strategies For Teaching Based On Autism Research (Star Program) Curriculum Review And Implementation, Cassidy Harrington

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is becoming more prevalent in school systems. Researchers began tracking the prevalence of ASD in the year 2000. It is estimated that 1 in 68 children have ASD in the United States of America (1 in 42 prevalence for boys and 1 in 189 prevalence for girls) (Landa, 2018). Medically a child can be diagnosed with ASD but school systems themselves are not able to formally diagnose ASD in children. (ECTA, 2012). ASD can be hard to diagnose as some cases are more severe than others and the earlier that a child is found to have …

Routines-Based Home Strategies For Families Receiving Early Intervention Support, Hallie Zander

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Early Intervention refers to the services and support in which young children with, or at risk for, developmental delays have access; this includes home visits and collaboration between families and service providers. In order to create a positive working relationship, home visitors and service providers must ensure families feel supported. Not only are they welcoming visitors into their home and personal space, they are continually collaborating with providers to build their toolbox of skills to support their young child. Therefore, it is essential for service providers to honor each family’s beliefs and culture (Harry, 2002).

The purpose of routines-based early …

Assistive Technology In Early Childhood, Ciarah Thoreson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This capstone will be focusing on assistive technology in early childhood special education as it relates to students with physical health disabilities. This project is important because there seems to be a lack of information about supporting early childhood students with physical health disabilities in home and school settings. As an early childhood special education teacher, it can be difficult to determine what assistive technologies would be appropriate for each individual student. This project focuses on exploring assistive technology within early childhood to promote inclusion.

Assistive technology is any product or tool that helps individuals with disabilities learn, work, and …

All About The Special Education Process: A Handbook For Parents, Mikayla Reinke

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Until 1976 and the passing of P.L. 94-482 parents or caregivers of children with disabilities were not significantly involved in the education of their children. Even after this, many parents have felt they were in unknown territory regarding the field of special education. With different types of meetings, definitions, and processes that are not explained in a form that those who have not studied special education would understand, how could there not be unknown territory? Parents are provided with the Parent’s Guide to Special Education (2018) and the Parental Rights for Public School Students Receiving Special Education Services: Notice of …

Coaching As A Framework For Early Intervention Service Delivery, Rebecca Walzak

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) has set forth a list of high leverage practices that have significant impact on children with special needs from birth through early childhood. One of these impactful strategies is building family capacity, which can be effectively addressed using a coaching framework for service delivery. Research in the field has not yet clearly defined coaching terms, definitions or characteristics, which impacts the fidelity of the practice and requires research and consensus moving forward. This body of work seeks to look at current research around the topic of coaching and it’s effectiveness in meeting student …

Increasing Family Collaboration And Engagement In Early Childhood Special Education Using A Family-Centered Approach, Sam Van Gorp

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The Division of Early Childhood (DEC) has recognized family-centered practice as the recommended model of service delivery for early intervention. A key component of family-centered practice involves collaboration with families. It is critical for families and early childhood special education teachers to work together to increase student outcomes, while keeping the needs of the family in mind (Hile, Santos, and Hughes, 2016). Themes discovered in the literature include: building relationships with families (Odom & Wolery, 2003), family engagement opportunities (Kelty & Wakabayashi, 2020), and providing families with resources (Summers et al., 2007). To increase family collaboration and engagement for the …

Effects Of Play-Based Learning On Phonemic Awareness And Phonics Skills, Kristen Heidecker

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of play-based learning on phonemic awareness and phonics skills in kindergarten. This study aimed to determine whether or not play-based learning materials such as letter tiles, cards, timers, and literacy-based games were an effective way for kindergarten students to acquire skills such as segmenting, letter sounds, and sight word recognition. A pre-assessment was given using FastBridge to determine which skills the students were working towards mastering. Play-based learning materials were then offered to small groups of students during our regular literacy time, and data was collected using FastBridge after two …

Implementation Of Social Emotional Skills To Students With A Developmental Delays During A Pandemic, Monica Beier

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

With increasing pressure on preschool programs and families to ensure students are ready for kindergarten, teaching pre-academic skills have gained increased attention. However, mastery of social-emotional skills is also imperative to kindergarten readiness. As with all skill areas, students enroll in preschool programs with a varying degree of competence in their social-emotional skill level. Programs must adapt their approaches to teaching social-emotional skills and responding to problem behaviors in order to reach all learners. However, not all early childhood staff are prepared to address these growing areas of need. A large portion of research supports the implementation of evidence-based interventions …

Coaching And Embedding In Early Childhood, Danielle Tagtmeier

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Coaching and embedding has become an increasingly popular service delivery model in early childhood and has led to higher developmental outcomes for children and increased caregiver confidence and competence in working with their children with delays or disabilities. Coaching and embedding is an evidence based practice and considered a recommended practice by the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children as a service delivery model for early intervention. Coaching involves many strategies and can be delivered through a variety of modalities including in-person or virtual services. This project includes a review of literature on coaching and embedding …