Education Commons^™

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogical Practices In Early Literacy Classrooms: A Qualitative Case Study Of Two Kindergarten Classrooms, Elizabeth Carlton Phd

Dissertations

Students who attend school possess their own “funds of knowledge” from their home life and prior experiences (Moll et al., 1992). Yet, learners from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds are not viewed from a strengths-based perspective but rather a deficit perspective. The deficit perspective perpetuates the oppression and marginalization of students of color and multilingual students. Using a qualitative comparative case study research design, the study is rooted in the tenets of Critical Pedagogy (Freire, 2000), Critical Literacy, and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy as it sought to uncover insights into asset-based instructional strategies that allow multilingual learners opportunities to participate equitably …

The Power Of Play: The Role Of Children’S Museums In Kindergarten Readiness, Catie Davis

All Dissertations

This study explores the transformative potential of play in preparing young children for Kindergarten, focusing on the intersection of children's museums, caregiver interactions, and school readiness. The study, conducted over an eight-week Pop-Up Classroom program at The Flowerfield Children's Museum, included 52 participants, primarily from low-income backgrounds. Through a mixed-methods approach, including participant observations and caregiver surveys, the research aimed to answer the fundamental question: What is the role of play in preparing children for Kindergarten?

Two significant findings emerged. Firstly, the study illuminated the pivotal role of play in nurturing social-emotional development and communication skills among children. Structured observations …

Boosting Confidence In Kindergarten Writing: How To Assist Kindergarten Emergent Writers Through Developmentally Appropriate Practices In Phonics And Writing, Amy Martin

Culminating Experience Projects

For a kindergarten student, writing can be exhausting and difficult. For a kindergarten student, writing can also be imaginative and fun. Kindergarten students have a lot of stories to tell and words to write, they just need tools in their toolbox in order to do so. Writing, especially in the younger grade levels, often takes a back seat to other subjects. Unfortunately, this leaves many words unwritten, skills unpracticed, and minds unimaginative. This project aims to create a resource for teachers to use within their designated writing time specifically focusing on developmentally appropriate practices and pulling from the intertwined skillset …

Stories In Motion: Integrating Creative Dance In A Language Arts Classroom, Amira Akam

Student Research Submissions

As learning gaps have widened in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased need for research-based strategies to improve student academic achievement and engagement. This study explored the integration of creative dance as a form of storytelling in a kindergarten language arts classroom. Students were introduced to an element of dance and used it to create short dance phrases in a unit on retelling. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected using pre/post tests and student interviews measuring students’ engagement and enjoyment. Students involved in this study showed significant growth in their ability to orally retell …

The Effects Of Early Identification And Intervention On Reading Scores At The Kindergarten Level, Cara Milby

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that reading fluently is the key to success: academically, economically, socially, as well as to a healthier lifestyle (Forrest, 2018; Wanzek et al., 2018). While research has shown that Response to Intervention (RTI) is a positive instructional program that will increase primary students’ academic abilities at grades 1 and 2 (Richards et al., 2007), there is a need for more research regarding RTI with kindergarten students. This quasi-experimental quantitative research study examined if early identification and intensive intervention through the addition of Response to Intervention (RTI) at the kindergarten level will lead to increased reading scores and better …

Self-Study Portfolio - Samantha Picone, Samantha Picone

Master of Education in Teacher Leadership Portfolios

No abstract provided.

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.

Movement In Math - Integrating Movement-Based Activities Into Kindergarten Math, Katelyn Belch

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Gross-motor movements have shown promising effects on student academic achievement and engagement especially in kindergarten classrooms. The purpose of this study was to examine what happens when movement-based mathematical activities are introduced into a kindergarten math curriculum and its implications on how kindergarteners engage during math time. Using surveys, observational and reflective data, and semi-structured interviews of students and my cooperating teacher, this study aimed to examine student and teacher perceptions of incorporating movement-activities. When movement activities were introduced into math time, the students were more engaged in math. The movement activities served as form of play-based learning and relied …

St Math Student Outcomes: Response To Goal-Setting And Mathematical Supports When Applied To The St Math Problem-Solving Process, Sara Klein

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research study was to identify the impacts of goal setting and the use of mathematical tools on student performance while engaged in ST Math. The study was conducted in eight Kindergarten classrooms across eleven elementary schools in Northeast Iowa. Quantitative data was collected to monitor the following indicators: number of puzzles completed, average student velocity, and average percent journey completion at weekly intervals throughout the collection period. Those results were then analyzed to determine impacts based on the presence of the goal setting and mathematical tools innovations within individual classrooms compared to those that did …

Predicting Language Performance From Narrative Language Samples, Kimberly A. Murphy, Alisha P. Springle, Mollee J. Sultani, Autumn Mcilraith, Language And Reading Research Consortium (Larrc)

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Purpose: Analysis of narrative language samples is a recommended clinical practice in the assessment of children’s language skills, but we know little about how results from such analyses relate to overall oral language ability across the early school years. We examined the relations between language sample metrics from a short narrative retell, collected in kindergarten, and an oral language factor in grades kindergarten through 3. Our specific questions were to determine the extent to which metrics from narrative language sample analysis are concurrently related to language in kindergarten and predict language through Grade 3. Method: Participants were a sample …

To What Extent Are At-Risk Preschoolers Effectively Prepared For Kindergarten?, Eliza Santos Lopez

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent Kinder Hearts School’s at-risk preschoolers are effectively prepared with readiness skills for kindergarten academic success. Based on schoolwide assessments, program mandates, and policy changes, an evaluation of this specific program in a Midwest school could determine whether the instructional model used was indeed effective. This study consisted of analyzing data from three student categories: children who attended private preschool programming, children who attended the school’s at-risk program, and children who had no schooling. The data collected was used to determine professional development needed, grant funding allocation, and program delivery …

Improving Writing Skills With Kindergarten Students Using Embedded Learning Opportunities In Dramatic Play, Samantha Tabor

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

How do kindergarten teachers meet the required instructional mins, get students to reach mastery of common core standards, and embed learning opportunities in play? Teachers will need to focus on creating environments that foster creativity, problem-solving, and will help their individual students grow academically, socially, and emotionally (Cress & Holm, 2017). There are very few studies that discuss embedding learning opportunities for kindergarten students using kindergarten common core standards. There are no current studies that address kindergarten teachers using embedded learning opportunities to increase kindergarten writing skills as outlined by common core standards. This study focused on just that: Do …

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 …

A Fundamental Part Of Learning: Employing Play-Based Learning In Marin County, Ca Kindergartens, Spencer Gapinski

Literary and Intercultural Studies | Senior Theses

Play occupies a fundamental part of learning as a human being yet is often not used in an educational setting. Public Schools across California have increased the academic demand of students as early as Kindergarten with the intent to increase learning. While academic learning has seen moderate increases in past decades, the result has seen a decrease in play in the classroom. This essay assesses the benefits of using a Play-Based Learning method as well as describes the next steps needed to incorporate Play-Based Learning into Marin County Kindergarten classrooms.

Incorporating Physical Activity Breaks Before Math Improves Students Overall On-Task Behavior, Larissa Surprenant

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research study will focus on incorporating physical activity before math into a Kindergarten classroom, to help improve on-task behavior. The study was conducted over a four-week period in one Kindergarten classroom. Data was collected to determine if physical activity or brain breaks help improve students' on-task behavior during the math mini-lesson. Two weeks consisted of the students not receiving the brain break/physical activity intervention and the next two weeks consisted of implementing the brain break/physical activity intervention. After the four-week trial, students showed increased on-task behavior after completing the brain break/physical activity. The conclusion stated …

Academic Advantages Of Increased Classroom Movement In Kindergarten, Elizabeth Hill

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Modern kindergarten classrooms are academically rigorous learning environments with high expectations placed on young learners. Oftentimes, these students still receive an education based on traditional instructional strategies that no longer benefit and challenge young learners appropriately. This literature review examines the academic benefits of intentional classroom movement, kinesthetic learning, brain breaks and the impact they have on learning in the kindergarten setting. This literature review presents peer reviewed research studies conducted within the last ten years that investigate the most advantageous methods of movement incorporation in the classroom. The findings of this literature review conclude that, by increasing classroom movement, …

Comparison Of Play-Based Learning Versus Worksheets In English Language Arts Growth, Erin Wiskus

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research is to compare the data of kindergarten student’s growth in ELA (English Language Arts) through the use of play-based learning strategies against students who utilize worksheets as part of their instruction in order to determine if one instructional method is more effective than the other in demonstrating academic growth in English Language Arts. One group of students participated in play-based learning strategies while the other group utilized worksheets as an extension of learning. Both groups were given weekly pretests and posttests in the areas of: letter identification, CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words, digraphs, and …

How Social Interaction Opportunities And Emotional Skills Instruction Affect Kindergarteners’ Self-Efficacy And Mental Health Within The Distance Learning Model Of School, Sarah Taraba

Education Masters Papers

This study was designed to investigate how implementing social interaction opportunities and emotional skill instruction could improve the overall mental health and self-efficacy levels of students in a kindergarten distance learning classroom. Due to the worldwide pandemic, COVID- 19, students were forced to participate in a distance learning format. This meant that students utilized a technological device to participate in schooling through online meetings with teachers and classmates. The research that was conducted focused on kindergarten students as the participants to see what could be done to improve their overall mental health; increasing levels of positive emotions such as happiness, …

Evidence-Based Best Practices For Kindergarten Reading, Rachel Dolehanty

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This literature review aims to highlight evidence-based best practices for kindergarten reading instruction. Popular reading curriculums and instructional cueing strategies are discussed in relation to their effectiveness for kindergarten reading success. Meaning-emphasis versus code- emphasis reading curriculum philosophies are explored, and specific curriculums that fall into these categories are discussed. Metacognition strategies and their relation to successful reading instruction are underscored. Interventions are examined in the areas of kindergarten phonological awareness, phonics, comprehension, and writing. Successful interventions in each of these areas of literacy instruction are highlighted through current research.

Effectiveness Of Collaborative Handwriting Curriculum: Handwriting Without Tears And Orton-Gillingham, In Kindergarten Classroom Setting., Merry G. Harper

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: Formal handwriting instruction, using evidence-based, developmentally appropriate handwriting programming, in school based occupational therapy is necessary to support the role of a student. Handwriting is an occupation of children in the school environment. Without formal handwriting instruction in place there is evidence to support occupational therapy intervention providing a handwriting program can improve handwriting success.

Purpose: The purpose of this research study is to determine the clinical efficacy of a hybrid approach to handwriting instruction pairing the Handwriting Without Tears and Orton-Gillingham instructional programming for prewriting and handwriting skills in the kindergarten population. The research question addressed is: Will …

Midline Movement: The Positive Effects On Student Behavior In A Kindergarten Classroom, Ashley Ludlow

Education | Master's Theses

Educators are realizing the unrealistic expectations on students to be quiet and sit still for extended periods of their day (Donnelly & Lambourne, 2011). Some educational advocates have been reintroducing movement into the school day in response to research that indicates the importance of extracurricular activities on developing the whole child (Hannaford, 1995). Movement, connection, touch, play, and creative endeavors have been shown to be critical components to teaching students to be well-rounded individuals (Hannaford, 1995). This study explores how movements and activities that cross the midline affect a student's focus and ability to learn in the classroom. Cultivating an …

Preparing Incoming Kindergarteners And Parents For The Transition Into Kindergarten, Jessica Kempema

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The move into kindergarten is a critical transition for kindergarten students and their parents as the transition can impact the child’s academics journey through school. It is essential that preschool and elementary schools prepare families for the transition. This action research project studies the question: how can schools make the transition into kindergarten smoother for both incoming kindergarteners and their parents? The researcher reviewed data from the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment of 26 kindergarten students and also conducted a parent survey to determine how schools can better prepare students and parents during the move into kindergarten. The study found the transition …

K-2 Assessments And Later Student Outcomes, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee

Policy Briefs

In this brief we examine the characteristics of the districts that selected the various assessments and consider student outcomes both before and after the K-2 vendor selection to see what relationship, if any, exists between which assessment vendor was selected and students academic proficiency and growth.

Effects Of Extreme Behaviors And Outbursts In Kindergarten Classrooms, Christine M. Ng

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study explored extreme behaviors and violent outburst in kindergarten classrooms and the affect they had on other students as observed by their teachers. A mixed methods study design was used, and included a survey and interviews. Quantitative data was collected to understand what teachers are experiencing as a group, and qualitative data expanded on those experiences. The data revealed the variety of extreme behaviors exhibited by some students, and the ways other students and staff both in the classroom and at the school site are affected by them. One of the primary findings is that a lot of time …

The Effect Of Teacher-Child Interaction Training (Tcit) On Kindergarten Student's Classroom Behavior And Student-Teacher Relationships, Madison G. Walker

Scripps Senior Theses

Teachers and researchers alike have long debated the most effective strategy for managing children’s classroom behavior. While many methods exist, the most common, and yet most debated, approach in the U.S. remains to be exclusionary discipline, such as suspension and expulsion. However, research has consistently shown this method to be ineffective and even harmful for both students and teachers, as well as incredibly inequitable (Emmer et al., 2015; American Psychological Association, 2008; Tobin et al., 1996 as cited in Emmer et al., 2015). These clear detriments highlight the need for different, more effective classroom management strategies. The current proposed study …

The Convergence Of Negotiated Imaginative Play, Literacy Learning And Kindergarten Common Core English Language Arts Standards, Grace Salinas-Casper

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The implementation of strict academic requirements is replacing play as a previously widely accepted developmentally appropriate practice in kindergarten classrooms around the United States, resulting in an imbalance in cultivating the whole child. Research focused on the importance of play in children’s cognitive, linguistic, physical, moral, creative, emotional and artistic development exists. Couched in Vygotsky’s social development theory and the Reggio Emilia principle this ethnographic case study investigates how kindergarteners demonstrate literacy learning, practice and mastery of Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CC.ELA) through imaginative play in a negotiated environment. Research outcomes suggested that negotiated play appears to provide …

Improving Kindergartener’S Initiative To Problem Solve Through Integrated Stem, Jessica Walston

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Many teachers are familiar with students who are scared to try to solve a problem and instead look to adults for specific answers. Students need to be prepared to solve problems independently and collaboratively. One of the necessary skills to solve a problem is to first try, or take initiative. The purpose of this action research was to identify Kindergarten students’ initial initiative to problem solve by formal evaluation of student learning-related skills, taken from the Cooper-Farran Behavioral Rating Scale (1991). In this study, students were provided opportunities to take the initiative to problem solve through a series of integrated …

A Case Study Of Home Visits Conducted By Kindergarten Teachers In A Low-Income Elementary School, Sheena Brannock Green

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this single case study was to develop an in-depth description of the practice of home visits conducted by kindergarten teachers with students at the beginning of the school year in a suburban, low-income elementary school in North Carolina. The theory guiding this study was Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory of human development, as it states that important child development occurs in all environments where children interact. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews, mock letters of advice, and a focus group. The purposive sample included kindergarten teachers who conducted home visits, parents of kindergarteners who had a home …

Benefits Of Play For The Social And Emotional Development Of Children In Kindergarten, Chelsea Andrade

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

There is an increasing push to focus on academics at a young age and take play out of learning. Research shows that play is beneficial for the social and emotional development of children. Play helps children to learn self-control, emotion-regulation, communication, conflict resolution, and so much more. This senior capstone project explored how play is beneficial for the social and emotional development of children in kindergarten. Through a literature review and surveys conducted with fourteen kindergarten teachers in Monterey County, results showed how beneficial play is for kindergarten students. The results from surveys also revealed how teachers in Monterey County …

The Importance Of Collaboration Within Project-Based Learning In A Kindergarten Teacher Classroom, Moriah Weber

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research to is examine the impacts teaching collaboration tools within Project-based learning, in a Kindergarten classroom.  Data collection was taken by video recording two PBL projects, observing and reflecting on field notes, and recording students reflection how they collaborated during each project. This data collection compared two different half day Kindergarten classes with similar demographics. The AM class was taught collaboration by using different collaboration tools while the PM class was not.  Both classes did the same PBL projects with small groups and the data was collected on collaboration in comparison between the two groups. The …