Education Commons^™

The Effects Of A Collaborative Team On Early Intervention In A Preschool, Tiffany L. James

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

Abstract The purpose of this project was to see what effects collaboration had on early intervention in a preschool. Fourteen guides at a Montessori preschool in Texas were asked to complete a beginning survey, attend weekly collaborative meetings for seven weeks, attend a focus group and complete an ending survey. Data showed that collaboration helped the teachers feel more valued and supported when helping all kinds of different learners. For the purpose of this study, different learners included children with behavioral concerns, learning disabilities and support needs. Interventions ranged from activities or exercises for individual children to lessons given to …

The Effect Of Creativity In Nature, Jackie M. Ji

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this research was to determine the effects on children’s creativity by using natural materials. Children are sometimes lacking in creativity when performing a teacher directed art lesson or step by step crafts. This research, was instigated to observe how using natural materials will affect children’s creativity. In order to determine the effects that nature materials in a preschool classroom have on a student’s creativity, the children were provided with nature materials to use and few instructions to create their own artwork. Data was collected from five sources to measure preschooler’s creativity using nature materials. The data included …

Preschool Writing Instruction: Modeling The Writing Stages, Shelby Swant

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Writing is an essential component of language development and early literacy. With the growing focus on national and state education standards, the early foundation of writing and literacy skills proves to be an area of importance and concern; however, limited research has been conducted in the area of preschool writing instruction. This study investigated writing and other foundational literacy skills in preschoolers following three different instructional conditions. Preschoolers (n=85), who attended a preschool educational setting serving low-income families, were randomly assigned to classrooms in three research groups: control, comparison, and treatment. The control group participated in implicit writing …

Enhanced Alphabet Knowledge In Preschool Children, Ana Paz

South Florida Education Research Conference

Providing a child the opportunity to succeed in school is a main worry of parents and teachers. When children are able to connect letters with their corresponding sounds allows for literacy to grow. Using Enhanced Alphabet Knowledge (EAK) instruction will allow children to evolve their literacy skills by connecting.

Working It Out Together: Teaching The Steps Of Conflict Resolution To Preschoolers, Krista M. Macsata

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

This action research explores conflicts among preschoolers and strategies for teachers to develop children’s social problem-solving abilities, such as teaching the steps of conflict resolution. Research was conducted in a Montessori preschool setting with children ages 2.5 to 5 years of age. Data was collected on the number of conflicts, types of conflicts, how conflicts were resolved (independently or with teacher assistance), and types of solutions implemented by students. Methods used to collect data included observation, group discussions, and student journals. Results indicated when the steps of conflict resolution were taught to preschool children, the number of conflicts resolved without …

Enhance Alphabet Knowledge, Ana Paz

Ana Paz

Providing a child the opportunity to succeed in school is a main worry of parents and teachers. When children are able to connect letters with their corresponding sounds allows for literacy to grow. Using Enhanced Alphabet Knowledge (EAK) instruction will allow children to evolve their literacy skills by connecting. Connecting alphabet knowledge in four year old children can allow for pre-reading skills to emerge early. By focusing on daily enhanced alphabet knowledge lessons children will be able to connect upper case letters and lower case letters with their corresponding sounds. Children will also have the ability in identifying print-awareness.

Help Me Help Myself: The Role Of Helper Flags As Tools For Self-Regulation, Lara G. Bergman

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

Abstract The purpose of this action research was to determine if using flags, created as tools for signaling for help, was an effective way to develop persistence and encourage children to complete their chosen work. The study was conducted in a preschool classroom at a private Montessori school. Participants included 15 children aged three to five and three teachers. Data was collected in the form of student interviews, tallies, and observations made during the period of research. The results indicated that the helper flags increased the children’s persistence with their work and increased the likelihood they would complete their chosen …

Learning Together: A Case Study Of A Cooperative School’S Approach To Education, Ariana M. Ali

Master's Theses

This thesis is based on an in-depth case study of one cooperative pre-preschool and preschool in San Francisco. Qualitative research methods, such as observation and one-on-one interviews, were used to study the structure, culture, and community at the school. Cooperative schools have not been well researched or documented in academic literature and this study hoped to shed some light on this model of school organization. The parent-initiated and community-oriented nature of cooperative schools make them stand out as unique among the large, bureaucratically-run schools and daycares typically found in the United States. The results of this study highlighted four themes …

The Effect Of Preschool On Reaching Achievement Among Kindergarten Students, Reisha Monique Mckinney

Dissertations

As early childhood education continues to move to the forefront of public policy debate, more attention is being paid to early literacy. Strickland and Riley-Ayers (2006) indicated that early literacy and early learning opportunities play a vital role in academic achievement. This study invested whether there were statistically significant relationships between preschool attendance based on the reading and language arts scores from the Georgia Kindergarten Inventory Developing Skills test.

The study also determined if there were differences in the reading and language arts for those who attended preschool and those who did not based on free/reduced and full paid lunch. …

An Examination Of Socially Constructed Whole Group Storybook Reading In Three Pre Primary Classrooms, Anne Drabble

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examines the socially constructed context of whole group storybook reading in pre primary classrooms. The study is centred in the shared communications that occur between pre primary teachers and students before, during and after the storybook reading. In particular, insights are sought on the nature and extent of the pre primary teachers' and the pre primary students' communicative contributions and the opportunity provided for the inclusion of personal knowledge and personal experience in the communication. Whether there is a change in the nature of the contributions over time is also examined. The study seeks to extend current understanding …

Barbadian Teachers' Personal Practical Knowledge About Advocated Pedagogic Practices Used In The Education Of The Under-Fives, Sonja M. Anderson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigated the personal practical knowledge of twenty-one Barbadian teachers in relation to a range of pedagogic practices advocated for use in the education of children under five years of age. The investigation of this knowledge was based on an interpretative perspective. The conceptual underpinning was framed by Personal Construct Psychology (Kelly, 1995), and its methodology, the repertory grid technique. The grid was formulated and used in a sample of schools with under-fives. Findings were clarified, confirmed and elaborated by the use of in-depth interviews conducted with teachers in their classroom settings. The findings revealed that teachers construed pedagogic …

The Continuity Of Literacy Development: Kindergarten To Year 1, Lennie Barblett

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to investigate the continuity of strategies and provisions that teachers use to develop children's literacy in kindergarten and Year 1. In two metropolitan Ministry of Education districts, 27 kindergarten and 25 Year 1 teachers completed a questionnaire concerning issues relating to literacy development in these two educational settings. From this population four teachers were interviewed to investigate areas of interest that arose from the questionnaire. The results showed that kindergarten and Year 1 teachers differed in the selection of strategies and provisions to promote literacy in young children. There was a clear delineation between …

A Project Designed To Identify And Assist Potential Slow Learners At The Pre-Kindergarten Level, Anita Louise Rakoz

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this paper is to research students who have continuous academic problems in school. Data is collected to identify the needs and problems of these children. Solutions are presented to meet identified needs. Behavior testing and an adult training program, which involves the services and funds of various existing social services agencies, are introduced as methods for meeting the student problems.

The Relative Effectiveness Of An Eight-Week Summer Training Program For Culturally Deprived Preschool Children, Jim L. Weems

All Master's Theses

It was the purpose of this investigation to measure and interpret the effects of preschool experiential training on a sample of culturally deprived pre-first grade children in Yakima, Washington, in the areas of intellectual ability, visual perceptual development, and social maturity. It was felt that organized data regarding the effects of this training would be helpful in making a determination as to the value of the training itself, and in providing information which would be of use in developing similar programs in the future.