Education Commons^™

The Examination Of A Teacher Mentorship Intervention On Junior Teachers' Stress And Self-Efficacy, Cagla Cobek

Master's Theses

This study examined a daily Check-In/Check-Out mentorship intervention for junior teachers. Changes in junior teachers’ stress level and their sense of self-efficacy were measured. Researchers collected data from three junior teachers and mentor dyads in a Southeastern school district. A Multiple Baseline Design across three teachers was used in this study to examine the impact of the daily mentorship intervention. The results suggested that daily Check-Ins and Check-Outs with mentor teachers decreased all three junior teachers’ daily stress. The intervention did not impact significantly on junior teachers’ perceived stress and their sense of self-efficacy. Overall, this study supports a promising …

Preparing To Engage Migrant-Origin Students Through Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Handbook For Teachers, Grayson E. Briggs

Master's Theses

Students of migrant-origin currently represent approximately 25% of the total student population in the United States. As immigration to the U.S. continues, the proportion of migrant-origin students in public schools is only expected to grow. Despite the growing representation of migrant-origin youth amongst the K-12 student population, current schooling approaches have not expanded to address the diversifying needs of the student population. Because public school systems are struggling to adapt to the needs of migrant-origin students, these students’ educational attainment is suffering. The presence of implicit bias, microaggressions, and stereotypes in all aspects of schooling is a significant factor that …

The Importance Of The Process: Recommendations And Thoughts For A Colombian Teacher Training Plan Framed In Global Citizenship, Human Rights, And Peace Education, Edwin Mauricio Martínez Callejas Sj

Master's Theses

The Importance of the Process states that Global Citizenship Education, Human Rights Education, and Peace Education can significantly change the normalized violent context in Colombia. The change should start with a teacher training process. So, Teachers will go to their classrooms to educate their students with dialogue and reflection about processes and actions to move the country to a culture of peace. Thus, after reviewing current literature and interviewing educators, the research shows how it is not enough to have information and content but also to have an active, participatory, and sustainable work plan in which the importance of the …

The Impacts Of Cooperative Learning In Classrooms On Student Social Skills, Joseph Larson

Master's Theses

This mixed-methods action research study investigates potential effects of cooperative learning strategies on observed and self-reported student social skills in a fourth grade classroom. Baseline data is collected at a time when the classroom is predominantly whole-group and is then compared to ensuing data collected during and after cooperative learning interventions. Opportunities for students to work in interdependent partnerships and small groups ramps up gradually and culminates in a 3-week period which includes 3 different jigsaw-style lesson activities. Data suggests that students who are unaccustomed to working with peers may struggle to exhibit required social skills that make cooperative learning …

The Influence Of Short-Term Goal Setting On Student Performance And Motivation, Amber Lefever

Master's Theses

Student goal setting is one powerful tool that can influence students' attitudes and achievements. This mixed-methods study examines the effects of short-term goal setting on the performance and motivation of students in a fifth-grade classroom. Students set weekly goals and tracked their performance through daily self-reflection. The goal-setting intervention provided students an opportunity to gain success through intrinsic rewards and strengthen their self-efficacy skills. Data were collected and analyzed over a three-week time frame. This presentation provides details on the effectiveness of goal setting in the classroom and procedures for structuring goal-setting interventions for upper elementary students.

Social Emotional Learning In An Elementary School, Abigail Cook

Master's Theses

This action-research study used a mixed-methods approach to help determine and observe the benefits of social emotional journaling in the classroom, specifically its impact on a students ability to recognize their personal emotions and self-concept. Data was collected both quantitively [sic] and qualitatively in a fifth-grade classroom to note the changes before implementing social emotional learning and after implementing it. This study discusses the term “social emotional learning” and provides a discussion on the impact of journaling for the students and any other implications observed. Although the results are mostly positive, the research discovered during the study concluded …

Exploring The Benefits Of Peer Tutoring On Elementary Students' Academic Outcomes, Jacqueline Gardner

Master's Theses

This action research study was created to determine if students’ motivation plays an important role in their academic outcomes in a sixth-grade classroom. Peer tutoring was implemented as an intervention throughout a six-week duration to promote students’ intrinsic motivation and to identify any associated student academic outcomes. Preliminary findings showed that students liked to connect with academic content, and they liked to work with their peers. This presentation will provide information about the positive effects of students having or gaining intrinsic motivation, and it will have recommendations about different classroom tools that can have a positive impact on elementary students’ …

Use Of Encouragement In The Classroom To Help Students Succeed [2022], Erin Fieldhouse

Master's Theses

This case study is based on a one student study that used a mixed methods approach seeing the effects of encouragement in the classroom and how it might help a student socially and emotionally. Data was collected throughout a 12-week period based around the findings of field notes and a survey that was implemented into the classroom. Preliminary findings are inconclusive based on students having more difficulties that affect them in different ways. This paper will provided [sic] information about how to use encouragement in the classroom.

Teachers are always trying to find new methods to help their students. …

The Effects Of Incorporating Kinesthetic Learning On Learning Outcomes And On-Task Behavior, Katherine Sauro

Master's Theses

This action research study used a mixed methods design to examine the effects of kinesthetic learning on student learning outcomes, and on task behavior in a sixth-grade social studies classroom. Data was collected during a three-week period. The treatment group was presented with kinesthetic lessons, purposeful movement, and brain breaks. The control group remained stationary during their lessons. Findings suggested an increase in both on-task behavior, and learning outcomes. In addition to examining learning outcomes and on task behavior, student's perceptions were also considered through the students’ completion of weekly surveys. These surveys suggested that providing movement to students positively …

Professionalism In Early Childhood Education, Kimberly R. Thai

Master's Theses

This grounded theory analysis uses participant interviews and document analysis to further understand the lived experiences of teachers and leaders in Early Child Education. The thesis was set out to explore the following research questions: How do ECE leaders and teachers understand teacher professionalism? What is the role of whiteness and gender in teacher professionalism? and What is the relationship between the ideas of professionalism and the local context in ECE? The study finds that insiders have strong notions of professional conduct but that exploring professionalism was a site of contention for the participants. Two responses to issues of professionalism …

The Role Of Aesthetics In Classroom Design: Implications For Engagement And Equity, Giuliana Barraza

Master's Theses

The desire for achieving greater equity in education has been a prevalent topic of research, with many studies indicating that the current education system in this country is designed in a way that exacerbates initial inequities and has a negative impact on student motivation and engagement (EOCD, 2012). While existing scholarship mostly discusses equity and engagement through the lens of curriculum and instruction, the power of physical classroom environments and aesthetic elements present in those environments is less explored. With student populations becoming more diverse, there is a greater need for new tools for teachers to utilize in pursuit of …

Our Stories, Our Voices: The Lived Experiences Of Black Families With Young Children During Covid-19, Devalin Jackson

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of Black families raising young children during shelter in place orders and distance learning due to Covid-19. The study was conducted virtually through Zoom and Google form due to county shelter in place orders. Participants were recruited from the school in which the researcher worked. Through the use of virtual interviews, the five participants highlighted themes of reconnections, isolations, empowerment, family values and conversations. The families shared experiences of resilience and hope and brought thoughts of how these experiences could be highlighted in instructional and curriculum designs; especially during …

Centering Community Voices Through Children's Literature: Co-Authoring An #Ownvoices Picture Book For The Maine Migrant Education Program, Melanie Shelton

Master's Theses

Since its inception, the field of migrant education has been characterized by a tension between honoring the subjectivity of migrant families and positioning them as victims. This same tension exists in the analysis of children’s picture books that depict the daily lives of migrant farmworkers. In response to Eve Tuck’s (2009) call for a moratorium on damage-centered research in the field of education, this report describes the collaboration process between a representative of the Maine Migrant Education Program and a migrant

farmworker and her family to write, illustrate, and present an autobiographical picture book. Las aventuras, travesuras, y peligros del …

Supporting Parents In Title I Schools: A Qualitative Study Of Parent Engagement, Vanessa Sanchez

Master's Theses

This qualitative study focuses on how to improve parent engagement in Title I schools from parents’ point of view. The purpose of this project is to understand parent involvement in a Northern California school and how to improve it. This paper offers insights from parents’ perspectives how parents view the education process. The focus is on their experiences and how to support all parents. The lenses of the study is viewed through a critical pedagogy and social cognitive theory. All five of the parents being interviewed had suggestions on how to improve parent engagement in Title I Schools. The three …

Perceptions On The Effectiveness Of Diversity And Inclusion Hiring: Are We Really Getting Ahead? [2019], Deidre D. Pierson

Master's Theses

Diversity and inclusion hiring in NCAA Division III athletic departments has seen some improvement over the last two decades, but questions remain on whether we are really getting ahead. There continues to be a lack of diversity, particularly in private Northeast institutions. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived effectiveness of hiring practices and initiatives utilized by athletics departments. The study utilized tenants of critical theory which supported the in-depth questioning and centering of the lived experiences of participants. This study used semi-structured interviews of nine Division III female head coaches of women’s sports to examine their …

Combating White Resistance: What We Can Learn About White Educators Who Lean Into Anti-Racist Training, Erin Parr

Master's Theses

This work attempts to understand and describe why some white teachers lean into anti-racist training and racial literacy development when many resist it. A qualitative case study with three white female educators explores what initially drew the participants into racial literacy work, how they have transformed their professional values and educational practices because of such work, and what aspects of the work they found to be most valuable in meaningfully engaging them. It describes the ways in which they embraced critical anti-racist work, specifically in regards to education and teaching practices. The findings may be valuable for future teacher educators …

Opportunities Beyond High School: An Eld Unit For Newcomer Students, Karen Toepp

Master's Theses

As an English Language Development (ELD) teacher, I noticed the junior newcomer students at my high school in the Bay Area of California were not being prepared for jobs or careers after their graduation. As newcomers, they are working through trauma, reuniting with their families, learning a new language and adapting to a new culture. Though many arrived with high expectations for school, students stopped connecting graduating high school with having access to higher education, which meant more job training and better employment opportunities. A lack of motivation and unskilled teachers contributed to students struggling in school and leading to …

Undocumented Students’ Access To Higher Education In San Francisco, Bay Area, Sandra Miklosic

Master's Theses

This paper will explore the question: “in what ways does DACA status influence undocumented students’ ability to access higher education in San Francisco and Bay Area, California?” Even though DACA does not encompass any direct policies regarding access to education, there is a very strong correlation between having DACA status and accessing higher education for the undocumented students. In this research, I highlight the voices of undocumented students through the method of testimonio. Each participant reflects on their personal experiences with DACA while accessing postsecondary education. In this research, I explore how testimonio, as a methodology and a theoretical framework, …

Understanding How Intentionally Unplugging From Cell Phones Shapes Interpersonal Relationships And The Undergraduate College Experience, Jadelin P. Felipe

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of what motivated college students—the Unplugged Students—to intentionally use their cell phones less and how they understood the impact that unplugging had on their interpersonal relationships and college experience. Nine undergraduate college students from four private schools were interviewed in one-on-one semi- structured interviews. These students, considered non-users, provided a particularly useful perspective as these students made a conscious choice to counteract social norms and experienced both being plugged in and unplugged. Cell phones and the act of unplugging proved to make up a complex and more nuanced topic than …

Supporting Emerging Multilingual Newcomer Students And Their Teachers In California Public High Schools, Rosa Lea V. Ojeda

Master's Theses

This study focuses supporting emerging multilingual newcomer students and their teachers. The study examines research regarding deficit mindset that has led to student labels that perpetuate negative school and teacher views of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Additional research used for this study includes studies on what has been determined to benefit emerging multilingual students, as well as studies about the role of globalization and politics in the education of emerging multilingual and other culturally and linguistically diverse students. The study seeks to further the research on what changes in practice and mindset need to take place in the system …

The Integration Of Kinesthetic Learning Through The Math & Movement Program: Pilot Study 2015, Benjamin Ferder

Master's Theses

Purpose: The primary purpose of this pilot study was to verify that the use of kinesthetic learning (Math & Movement Program) in the classroom increases retention of multiplication facts at a greater rate than traditional drill and practice. The Math & Movement Program uses a kinesthetic learning-based approach for practicing, learning, and memorizing mathematics through the incorporation of bodily movement(s). Participants: The directors of the research project for the participating school district selected the sample of convenience. The population size of this study included 213 third and fourth grade students during the second half of the 2011-2012 school years. Data …

Opportunities Preschool Teachers Use To Offer High Quality Instruction: Investigating Experiences Of Professional Development, Hannah B. Mudrick

Master's Theses

This study identified the professional development opportunities Connecticut pre-kindergarten teachers found helpful for improving their teaching and how this information was related to their personal characteristics and their level of high quality instruction and supports for early literacy. Participants were 16 female teachers from eight different centers across central and eastern Connecticut. High quality instruction and supports for early literacy were assessed observationally, and teachers’ ideas about professional development and their personal characteristics were assessed through semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that although teachers did mention multiple different professional development opportunities, discussion was overwhelmingly identified as the most helpful opportunity. …

A Pilot Study Examining High School Physical Education Teachers' Understanding And Use Of Mosston's Style(S) Of Teaching, Greg L. Pierce

Master's Theses

The purpose of this project was to develop a questionnaire that could lend insight to physical educations teachers’ perceptions and use of Mosston's Teaching Styles. The researcher designed a pilot study in which he distributed the questionnaire to six teachers from three Santa Barbara District High Schools. Results show that the six teachers were familiar with all Mosston’s Styles. However, citing circumstances such as class time and class sizes, the participants in this study did not use all of Mosston’s Styles. These results may be useful for physical education teacher educators to help them understand teachers’ knowledge of Mosston’s Styles, …

A Regional Study Of First Year Teachers As A Means Of Interpreting Certain Elements Of Job Preparation Leading To Continuation In The Teaching Profession, Mills Arnold March

Master's Theses

One of the problems facing modern education and particularly the school administrator is that of staffing the classrooms with good teachers. In the selection of and employment of teachers the question of the nature of appropriate preparation for a teacher's responsibilities is of great significance. In fact a teacher's preparation for his responsibilities determines to a large extent his success as a beginner and may affect his decision about remaining in the teaching profession.

A Study Of The Certification Of Elementary Teachers In The Forty-Eight States, Grace Bales Ramos

Master's Theses

The problem ot certifying a sufficient number of well qualified elementary teachers is yet to be solved. One of the aims of this paper is to consider the situation that exists and to show that improvement is needed.

This study contains information given in the state certification rules and regulations, (published by almost all of the state departments or education or other offices of certification) written and oral communication from state certification officials, information compiled by the Council of State Governments, reports from the NEA Commission on Teacher Education and Professional Standards, and statistics from the NEA Research Division and …