Education Commons^™

A Letter From The Ate-K President, Gary Andersen

The Advocate

This is an introductory letter from Gary Andersen, Ph.D. the current President of ATE_K and Co-Editor of The Advocate.

Editorial Information For The Advocate

The Advocate

Editorial Information for The Advocate

A Phenomenological Study Of Contributing Factors And Common Trends Related To Teacher Attrition In Western North Carolina, Preston Clarke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A phenomenological approach was used to identify contributing factors and common trends related teacher attrition by conducting interviews with teachers who decided to exit a North Carolina School District located in Western North Carolina. A qualitative approach allowed the researcher to gain valuable insight into the decision-making process of the 15 research participants. Data collection involved conducting one on one telephone interviews with participants by asking a series of open-ended questions that allowed for probing and follow-up questions. Analysis of researcher notes, evaluation of textual data produced by interviews, and observations allowed the qualitative investigator to identify emerging themes and …

A Framework For Coaching In Early Childhood Settings: Drawing On Bank Street College Of Education’S Developmental-Interaction Approach (Dia), Virginia Casper, Milenis Gonzalez, Tarima Levine, Emily Sharrock, Annie Schaeffing

Bank Street Education Center

Coaching helps teachers activate and better articulate their previous knowledge, skills, values, and belief systems, along with new concepts, to construct and continually refine an approach that is meaningful in their everyday work. This framework captures some commonalities of a positive coaching stance across contexts while allowing enough flexibility to make use of these ideas in ways that will serve that setting and teachers best.

Effectiveness Of Music-Infused Aba Strategies On Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Josephine A. Sodano

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Given the nationwide increase in the diagnosis of autism, particularly in the pediatric population, there is obvious value in examining the effectiveness of intervention methods. This research sought to examine the effectiveness of a music-infused approach combined with Applied Behavioral Analysis methodology. The exploratory mixed method design pilot study examined and comprehended the narratives of special education early childhood teachers assigned and trained to deliver a music-infused intervention program within a natural self-contained Applied Behavioral Analysis program, five days a week, 20 minutes a day, for a duration of 6 weeks to a population of ten preschool students, ages 3-5, …

The Effects Of Coaching Provided Via Video-Conferencing To Caregivers Of Children With Asd, Kendra L. Antill

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The ability to communicate effectively to others is a pivotal skill necessary to get one’s needs and wants met; however, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have significant delays in communication skills. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices provide an alternative means for children with complex communication needs to express their needs and wants. Communication interventions involving AAC have been largely conducted in school and clinical settings, despite young children spending a significant amount of their time at home and in the community. Family involvement plays a critical role in improved outcomes for young children with disabilities. Recent shifts …

Virtual Literacy Coaching: A Response To Time, Space, And Resources, Kimberly Peters

Michigan Reading Journal

Athletes use video all the time to carefully breakdown their physical performance while also selecting areas to improve based on video footage. Why should teachers be any less engaged in their instructional performance? Applying these same principles in education has potential to create an awareness in a teacher’s literacy instructional performance. Virtual literacy coaching is a job embedded professional learning model and it was one rural educational district's answer to time, space, and resources.

The Magic Of The Morning Message: Literacy Strategies Used In Preschool Classrooms, Jill B. Claxton, Tomoko Wakabayashi, Katherine Homant, Beth Hardin, Shun Takai

Michigan Reading Journal

Monthly in-depth, dynamic, ethnographic video recordings of preschool teaching practices were gathered in state-funded preschool programs in Michigan. We identified and coded teaching practices used by lead teachers during three parts of the daily routine using the Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy - Prekindergarten (MAISA-GELN, 2016). Using a mixed methods approach, the findings indicate that morning message time may be one of the most literacy rich times of the day. Preschool teachers engaged in literacy promoting strategies more during morning message time than even during small group time or read alouds. Co-occurrences of literacy strategies were also found most …

Overview Of The Proceedings Of The 2021 Inclusion In Science, Learning A New Direction, Conference On Disability (Island), Cary Supalo, Jasodhara Bhattacharya, Daniel Steinberg

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Remote Learning - The Future Of Education: Effective Instructional Strategies Used By Parent Educators And Recommendations For Building Capacity, Raelene Ferguson Haugen

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods Delphi study was to identify the remote learning instructional strategies used by expert Southern California parent educators for implementing the anticipatory set, modeling, checking for understanding, and guided practice elements of Madeline Cheek Hunter’s Instructional Theory Into Practice (ITIP) framework. The study sought to identify how expert Southern California parent educators rated the effectiveness of the remote learning instructional strategies in the aforementioned elements of Hunter’s ITIP framework. Additionally, the purpose was to generate recommendations from expert Southern California parent educators to build capacity in the identified effective instructional strategies.

Methodology: The classical …

Trauma-Informed Practices In Early Childhood Education, Michelle King

Graduate Teacher Education

Young children who have experienced trauma risk falling behind peers academically, and socially, and may have lifelong mental and physical impairments (Bartlett, 2021). Half of the young children in the United States have been victims of early childhood trauma (Bartlett, et al., 2017). Findings analyzed for this paper show that trauma-informed care (TIC) can increase children’s chance of recovering and thriving, despite trauma (Bartlett, 2021). The following studies showed how early childhood teachers can best prepare themselves for students of trauma in their classrooms. Preparation included TIC that focused on strong social-emotional development (SED), helping build resilience, and preparing for …

How Can A Play-Based Curriculum Foster Social And Emotional Self-Regulation Skills In Early Childhood Classrooms?, Kalei Stephens

Graduate Teacher Education

Play is an essential aspect in the early childhood years, especially during the years of preschool and kindergarten when children’s social and emotional skills are developing rapidly (Denham et al., 2012; Kangas et al., 2015; Kroll, 2017). Even though play is an essential part, allowing children to partake in pretend play during school hours has decreased tremendously due to the push of academics within the school (Aras, 2015). With the rising importance of play as part of the curriculum, there have been previous studies and research explaining the why and the benefits of play and how play has allowed children …

Pre‑K Teachers’ Professional Identity Development At Community‑Based Organizations During Universal Pre‑K Expansion In New York City, Sanae Akaba, Lacey E. Peters, Eva Liang, Sherryl B. Graves

Publications and Research

This study examines how policy directives and recommendations implemented during a massive universal Pre-Kindergarten expansion in New York City has impacted teachers’ professional identity. We adapted the critical ecologies of the early childhood profession by Dalli et al. (Early childhood grows up: Towards a critical ecology of the profession. In Early childhood grows up, Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 3–19, 2012) and utilized data from in-depth interviews with teachers at community-based organizations in Pre-K programs. Our thematic analysis of transcripts revealed three themes in relation to teachers’ professional identity: becoming a teacher who can play multiple roles to meet administration’s expectations is …

7 Hands-On Strategies For Struggling Readers, Elise Murray, Stacey Murray

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Struggling readers are found in almost every classroom across the world. With differing learning styles and abilities, teachers are encouraged now, more than ever, to be innovative when teaching foundational reading strategies. Within this article, readers are provided with a literature review of research and educational literature that discusses how multisensory, hands-on activities promote engagement and active learning for all students. The recommended seven hands-on learning strategies that can promote learning and support for struggling readers during literacy instruction include Build the Words, Feel the Words, Whole Body Letters, Five Finger Retell, Sight Word BINGO, …

De Bono's Six Hats Thinking Strategy For All Content Areas, Jamie Mahoney, Lynn Patterson, Carol Hall

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

Problem-solving and collaboration require people to compromise, negotiate, and brainstorm to understand, create, manage, judge, and be intuitive and remain positive and calm while working as a team to address problems. Teachers can teach students to collaborate and problem-solve in any content area using de Bono's Six Thinking Hats Strategy. Using de Bono's strategy, university students in this study explored learning hats and ways to apply learning hat properties to collaborate and problem solve in group activities. Researchers employed a mixed-method study enlisting both general education and special education pre-service undergraduate and in-service graduate teachers to discover personal thinking hat …

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions And Knowledge Of Response To Intervention/Multitiered Systems Of Support, Alexandra J. Taylor, Tommy Wells, Amy E. Lein

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

There has been considerable research that establishes the need to improve teachers’ knowledge of and ability to effectively implement response to intervention (RtI)/multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and there is a scarcity of research examining interventions addressing these concerns. In a mixed methods study, we examined the perceptions and knowledge of the RtI/MTSS frameworks of undergraduate preservice teaching candidates enrolled in a dual certification program at a small, private Catholic university in Kentucky, before and after participating in a semester-long, experiential learning project. The project involved monitoring both the reading and mathematics progress of struggling elementary or middle school-aged students …

Teacher Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy Before And After Engaging In Hevruta Or Psychodrama-Based Online Workshops, Merav Berger

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

Teacher self-efficacy is a construct that continues to be extensively researched. With the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, the learning environment has shifted dramatically and has had an impact on Jewish educators’ sense of efficacy. This study examined the pre- and post-test scores for self-efficacy of Jewish educators who engaged in either an online psychodrama-based professional development workshop, a hevruta-based workshop, or an integrated session using both psychodrama and hevruta study. The participants were 28 Jewish educators from around the United States who were split into one of six groups. Two psychodrama-based groups and two integrated groups met online for …

The Role Of Family Members Or Caregivers And Their Involvement In A Loved One’S Usage Of Augmentative And Alternative Communication In The Preschool Setting From The Perspective Of An Slp, Megan Hintz

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) can be used by an individual to supplement or support communication modalities when there is difficulty with verbal communication. ASHA, n.d.a delves further into the true meaning of AAC and defines the terminology of augmentative as adding to a person’s spoken language and alternative as other methods used to produce verbal communication. The purpose of this research study was to explore the perceptions of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) concerning the involvement and/or role of caregivers or family members when their loved one is utilizing an AAC device for communication across the preschool setting. Four semi-structured interviews …

Teaching Specials Teachers To Use Behavior Specific Praise In Elementary School, Elizabeth Rich

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Behavior-specific praise (BSP) has been shown to be an effective intervention across age groups for improving behavior in the school setting, including increasing on-task behavior, increasing engaged behavior, and reducing disruptive behavior. Following a review of the literature, the researcher selected tactile prompting paired with a visual prompt to increase specials teachers’ use of BSP. Using a multiple probe across participants design with an add-in component, this study investigated the effects of a visual prompt and a tactile prompt paired with a visual prompt to increase BSP use for two elementary school music teachers. Researchers also examined whether increasing BSP …

Trauma Healing With The Neurosequential Model Of Therapy And Bal-A-Vis-X, Becky Johnston

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Stigma related to childhood trauma is shifting with the help of advancements in the understanding of neurobiology and interventions that are proving to be effective for healing. There are immense costs and consequences for survivors of childhood trauma and their loved ones that were not so long ago considered irrelevant and the notion that kids bounce back from adversity was previously popular in the psychological community (Perry & Szalavitz, 2017). The broad strokes of Dr. Bruce Perry’s clinical intervention model, The Neurosequential Model of Therapy (NMT) describes a trauma-sensitive, sequential approach to changing the stress response within mental health counseling. …

An Examination Of Early Childhood Teachers’ Perceptions Of Discussing Race With Children, Sarah Elizabeth Kubly

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines early childhood teachers’ perceptions and practices with regard to talking to young children about race. Through an online survey and an individual interview with two early childhood teachers, I uncovered three findings: a) teachers’ understandings of their students’ racial awareness, b) teachers’ current classroom practices regarding race, culture, ethnicity, and c) challenges teachers faced in talking about race with their students along with possible sources of support. Based on these findings, I concluded that teachers made the decision not to directly confront the issue of race with their students due to feelings of fear and discomfort. …

Transformative White Identity As A Teacher Educator: A Poetic Narrative Autoethnography, Scott E. Jenkinson

Doctoral Dissertations

Whiteness, white privilege, and white supremacy are oppressive power structures that invisibly condition educational relationships among all students, teachers, and teacher educators. To undermine this destructive pattern, white teacher educators must actively commit to an ongoing and life-long process of white identity (re)formation that informs antiracist pedagogical praxis and models self -reflective practices for their pre-service teachers. The purpose of this poetic narrative evocative autoethnography is to show but one example of how a white teacher educator might begin this emotionally forward transformative experience.

The researcher, a white teacher educator at a southeastern United States public 4-year institution, developed a …

The Nebraska Covid-19 Early Care And Education Provider Survey Iii: “Holding It Together—And Hanging By A Thread” May 2022, Alexandra Daro, Kathleen C. Gallagher, Kristen M. Cunningham

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

In February 2022, the Buffett Early Childhood Institute conducted the Nebraska COVID-19 Early Care and Education Survey III, in collaboration with state agencies, University of Nebraska faculty, and organization partners. This third survey examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nebraska’s child care professionals and its implications for practice and policy. Results from the previous surveys, released in April and August 2020, indicated that early care and education professionals in Nebraska, who were already vulnerable prior to the pandemic, have been negatively impacted from the start of the pandemic. The first survey elevated providers’ immediate needs, including funding relief, …

Increasing The Prevalence Of Risky Play In Preschool And Kindergarten Classrooms In The United States, Kelsey Stark Zuiderveen

Culminating Experience Projects

Risky play is a thrilling form of play that has the potential for some injury and is a biologically innate need within all children that provides a variety of physical, mental, and emotional benefits to children. Currently however, preschool and kindergarten classrooms in the United States offer little to no opportunities for risky play in early childhood settings. The main factor that influences the amount of risky play happening in early childhood classrooms is teacher attitudes related to risky play; if teachers have a negative attitude about risky play, less risky play is allowed in their classroom setting. This project …

Embracing A Pedagogy Of Care In The Infant And Toddler Classroom, Paige D. Wernick

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Care is a universal concept which connects us all as humans. Everyone comes into this world needing care and most of us will exit this world in need of care. Care is necessary throughout the span of our lives and should be considered a human right. Everyone is entitled to quality care, no matter their age or social status. The U.S. society has been entrenched in a decades long division between education and care which has historically prioritized education over care. This division has contributed to care being hidden and undervalued within the context of early childhood (EC) as a …

Reliability Evidence For The Nc Teacher Evaluation Process Using A Variety Of Indicators Of Inter-Rater Agreement, T. Scott Holcomb, Richard Lambert, Bryndle L. Bottoms

Journal of Educational Supervision

In this study, various statistical indexes of agreement were calculated using empirical data from a group of evaluators (n = 45) of early childhood teachers. The group of evaluators rated ten fictitious teacher profiles using the North Carolina Teacher Evaluation Process (NCTEP) rubric. The exact and adjacent agreement percentages were calculated for the group of evaluators. Kappa, weighted Kappa, Gwet’s AC1, Gwet’s AC2, and ICCs were used to interpret the level of agreement between the group of raters and a panel of expert raters. Similar to previous studies, Kappa statistics were low in the presence of high levels of …

From The Editors..., Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Teaching And Integrating Women’S Studies Into The Classroom: Perspectives Of Elementary Teachers, Thomas Lucey

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Women’s studies represent an underappreciated aspect of elementary education. Whether or how classrooms and their resources portray, present, and value women role-models informs both boys and girls about what passes for acceptable communication, treatment, and conduct towards women. Indeed, the extent to which and the basis that a young citizenry is taught to appreciate others informs the nature of the conversations engaged.

This paper describes the results of a research study that interpreted elementary teachers’ perspectives of women’s studies in elementary settings. The online survey was administered as part of the registration for two workshops that prepared teachers in the …

Designing A Tool And Cooperative Learning: A Macos Inspired Activity, Jeffrey Byford, Jennifer Cordero, Alisha Milam, Kate Chambers, Presley Shilling

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This simulation activity presents how elements of Man: A Course of Study (MACOS) can be implemented into the social studies classroom. Inspired by the Tool-Making Activity found in MACOS, this modified simulation activity prompts students to design an instrument to peel an orange as they discuss life and daily tasks related to the Great Plains settlement.

The Wheels On The Bus Go Round And Round: Rethinking The St. Louis Busing Program, Tango Walker, Ketosha Harris

Dissertations

This autoethnography shares our personal experiences and counter-narratives in the St. Louis busing program. Through our mission we expound on experiences and real-life situations as seen through our lens as a student and a mother in the St. Louis busing program. Critical race theory (CRT) was used as an essential framework allowing us to focus on the following four tenets: counter-stories, permanence of racism, whiteness as property, interest convergence. (Anderson, et al., 2017). Critical race theory (CRT) is the framework in social sciences that examines society and culture as it relates to categorization of race, law and power (Lynn & …