Education Commons^™

Differentiation For Gifted And Talented Elementary Students: What Teachers Know And Implement, Karyn Michelle Andrews

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this research was to measure the ways elementary school teachers are differentiating instruction for their gifted and talented students and to gauge their awareness of the need for implementing appropriate differentiation strategies they use in their classrooms. The study surveyed elementary teachers currently teaching in one large school district in Kentucky. Teachers responded to 38 survey items, indicating how often they use specific practices with their gifted students versus with their average-achieving students.

The results indicated that there is much work to be done to increase teacher awareness of the importance of differentiated instruction for gifted and …

Mindfulness And Social Emotional Learning: The Lived Experience Of Students Learning English As A Second Language, Lara Catherine Donnelly

Dissertations

In a phenomenological case study, the author sought to gain an awareness of the lived experiences of 4th and 5th grade ESL students, their parents, and their teachers who participated in the MindUp mindfulness curriculum. The author was interested in the relationship between the mindfulness curriculum and SEL based on the perspective of all three participant groups. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 3 students, at least one parent of each of those three students, and the two classroom teachers who conducted the MindUp lessons. Five main themes developed from coding of the raw data: (1) positive impact on students; (2) …

Wku International Student Teaching Program: Professional, Cultural, And Character Impacts On In-Service And Pre-Service Teachers, Meghan F. Althauser

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This project focuses on researching the effects of participation in WKU’s International Student Teaching Program on in-service and pre-service teachers. The program’s effect on teachers’ professional decisions made in the classroom and attitudes toward diversity in the classroom were the focus of this research. A mixed method approach of in-service teacher questionnaires and interviews, pre-service teachers interviews, and analysis of blogs/journals from in-service and pre-service teachers while they were abroad was used in this project. The results of the project have illustrated the benefits, as well as the professional, cultural, and character developments of participating in the WKU International Student …