Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Education Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 16 of 16

Full-Text Articles in Education

Kagan Strategies In The Preschool Classroom And Their Effectiveness With Engagement And Academic Response, Megan Smith Dec 2018

Kagan Strategies In The Preschool Classroom And Their Effectiveness With Engagement And Academic Response, Megan Smith

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research was to determine the impact of Kagan cooperative learning practices on academic growth in a preschool classroom. Participants were four and five year olds in a half-day preschool program in an urban setting. Students were a mix of household incomes as well as students who are English language learners. Quantitative data was collected using the Get Set for School assessment. Data was collected after ten small group sessions for 50 sessions. For each group of sessions, a different Kagan engagement strategy was utilized and the Get Set for School assessment was given to track …


Video Self-Modeling, Reading Aloud, Or Silent Reading: Effects Of Strategies On Fluency, Rebekah J. Vande Kamp Dec 2018

Video Self-Modeling, Reading Aloud, Or Silent Reading: Effects Of Strategies On Fluency, Rebekah J. Vande Kamp

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research is to explore the most effective strategy for children to engage in during Read to Self to increase their fluency. Fluency is the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and expression; and is an important aspect of being a successful reader. In this study, three 2nd grade classes will engage in different Read to Self strategies. One class will be doing silent reading. Another class will be reading their books aloud to themselves. A third class will be using video self-modeling, which is recording themselves reading their books out loud on Chromebooks and watching …


Relationship Between Movement And Student Behaviors, Amy L. Ackerman Dec 2018

Relationship Between Movement And Student Behaviors, Amy L. Ackerman

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine the relationship between movement opportunities and student behaviors, specifically off-task behaviors. Participants were twenty-five, four and five-year-olds in a public, inclusive, half-day preschool setting. Data was collected through observation during a ten-minute end of the day large group meeting for six weeks. Various movement opportunities were provided ranging from no breaks, ten-minute in-classroom brain breaks, and fifteen-minute gross-motor recess breaks. Any reminders given to attend to the large group meeting were recorded and later analyzed to suggest that movement opportunities affect student behaviors in a positive manner.


The Effectiveness Of Project-Based Learning In The Science Classroom, Jordan Tegrootenhuis Aug 2018

The Effectiveness Of Project-Based Learning In The Science Classroom, Jordan Tegrootenhuis

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine the effect of project-based learning on middle school science students. A science classroom was taught with a traditional method for a unit and data was collected to be measured for growth. Then another class was taught with project-based learning on the same unit with data collected to measure their growth. Analysis of the data collected suggests that while both strategies are effective in providing growth of knowledge, project-based learning showed a greater growth within special education, at risk, and ESL students.


Effects Of Instruction On Basic Addition Fluency For Second Grade Students, Heidi Borton Aug 2018

Effects Of Instruction On Basic Addition Fluency For Second Grade Students, Heidi Borton

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research is to determine the effect of instruction on basic addition fluency. The Number Corner curriculum was used to instruct, supplement, and assess students’ ability to increase their addition facts per minute. A sample of 22 students participated in this action research study. There were several programs including Scout Them Out, Quick Facts, and other activities assigned by the curriculum, that helped make up the whole intervention. This took place in scheduled increments over a three-month period. The study gathers qualitative data which helped determine that the curriculum was successful in helping students increase their …


The Effects Of Second Step In A Prekindergarten Classroom, Victoria Brandenburg Aug 2018

The Effects Of Second Step In A Prekindergarten Classroom, Victoria Brandenburg

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research project was conducted to determine if using Second Step social emotional learning program would affect the frequency of negative behaviors in a preschool class. The lead teacher and associate were trained in Second Step social emotional learning. Second Step was implemented in the preschool class for three weeks. Qualitative data was collected from teacher interviews. Quantitative data was collected from behavior logs, behavior reports and researcher observations. The data was entered in a table and the data was used to determine if negative behavior decreased after implementing Second Step curriculum. After analyzing the data and teacher interviews, …


Love And Logic In The Classroom: Reshaping The Teacher-Student Culture, Erin Vande Kerk May 2018

Love And Logic In The Classroom: Reshaping The Teacher-Student Culture, Erin Vande Kerk

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine how the implementation of Love and Logic strategies, learned in the Parenting the Love and Logic Way seminars, impact the classroom culture. Five weekly Parenting the Love and Logic Way sessions were attended, where such strategies were learned and then utilized within the classroom setting. The findings generally suggest that implementing such did have a positive impact on the teacher-student connection and classroom culture. Overall, conducting such implementation allowed for reflection, growth, and an increased awareness of the connection between teacher-student interaction and the classroom culture.


The Effects Of A Coaching Cycle On Student Achievement In Math, Darci Palsma May 2018

The Effects Of A Coaching Cycle On Student Achievement In Math, Darci Palsma

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This research study explored the effects a mathematics coach had on student achievement in math. The study analyzed the various interventions done by the math coach and teacher researcher in a second grade classroom and how those impacted students' learning as well as the test results. Data collection included a posttest from a previous unit compared to a post test of the current unit which used the implementation of the math coach. The data and analysis show that there was a slight increase in the average of student's test scores, but no change in the amount of students proficient when …


Toilet Training A Child Diagnosed With Autism, Lori Queck May 2018

Toilet Training A Child Diagnosed With Autism, Lori Queck

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The focus of this action research project was to determine if interventions were effective when toilet training a five-year-old boy diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Evidence based interventions were implemented over a six week period. Qualitative data were collected through observations, surveys, interviews, and journal notes. Quantitative data were collected by recording successful urinations in the toilet, accidents in the child’s pants, and compliance in using the bathroom. Analysis of the data collected suggests that the interventions were effective in toilet training a child with autism.


The Effects Of Teacher Read Audiobooks On Kindergarten Students’ Motivation And Desire To Read At Choice Time, Marissa De Boer May 2018

The Effects Of Teacher Read Audiobooks On Kindergarten Students’ Motivation And Desire To Read At Choice Time, Marissa De Boer

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine if incorporating audiobooks read by teachers and school workers would increase students' desire and motivation to read. Twelve audiobooks read by teachers and school workers were introduced to students in a three week time period. For three weeks, the researcher introduced four audiobooks read by teachers and school workers at the beginning of the week. Students had the option to listen to these audiobooks on iPads during choice time. Data was collected through a qualitative survey and quantitative collection of the number of times students visited the reading corner. Analysis …


Effects Of Implementing The Swis System In A Pbis School, Courtney Hawkins May 2018

Effects Of Implementing The Swis System In A Pbis School, Courtney Hawkins

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This action research project was conducted to determine if using the School Wide Information System (SWIS) data management system would affect the number of office discipline referrals (ODR’s) students identified as tier 2 students using the PBIS model received. Information from an office referral form was entered into the system and data was gathered from reports generated from that system to determine if the number of ODR’s decreased after implementing the SWIS system. After analyzing the data, it was determined that simply inputting information did not decrease ODR’s, however, putting this information in the hands of educators on a regular …


Is Intrinsic Or Extrinsic Motivation More Effective With Elementary Students?, Jayme Rozeboom May 2018

Is Intrinsic Or Extrinsic Motivation More Effective With Elementary Students?, Jayme Rozeboom

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine what motivational strategy was more effective with elementary students between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Students in a special education setting were taught a motivational strategy for a month prior to it being implemented and data collected. Then the data was collected through qualitative observations and quantitative scores based off the students specific disruptions. Analysis of the data collected suggests that while both strategies are an effective way to promote positive behavior, intrinsic motivation is the more effective form of motivation used in the classroom.


Formative Assessment And The Impact On Student Learning, Michael Huisman May 2018

Formative Assessment And The Impact On Student Learning, Michael Huisman

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The objective of this action research project was to examine the impact that formative assessment has on student learning. These formative assessment techniques were used in a general education environment with eighty-nine students. Data collection took place over the course of a three-month time period with both quantitative and qualitative techniques. These techniques were summative assessment scores as well as a student survey. Analysis of the overall data shows that formative assessment methods that are used in the classroom positively impacts student learning.


The Impact Of Social And Emotional Learning On A Kindergarten Classroom, Rachel Mooy May 2018

The Impact Of Social And Emotional Learning On A Kindergarten Classroom, Rachel Mooy

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research was to determine the impact of social and emotional learning on the behavior of kindergarten students. Participants were fifteen five and six-year-olds in a private school in a rural setting. Qualitative data was collected through observation in a pre and post intervention setting. Six weeks of social and emotional learning lessons were implemented between observations. The results of this study suggest that social and emotional learning does affect students' behavior in a positive manner.


Does Co-Teaching Increase Student Engagement, Tiffany Morey May 2018

Does Co-Teaching Increase Student Engagement, Tiffany Morey

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research is to determine if students will be more engaged in learning whole group interventions if co-taught. In the first two weeks students were observed with only the classroom teacher teaching the intervention. The next three weeks the classroom teacher and the instructional coach co-taught the whole group intervention, and students were observed to see if engagement had increased. Pre-survey and post survey questions were administered to the students for quantitative data. Qualitative data was gathered through observations and journal notes.


The Impact Of Technology Selection On Student Literacy Achievement, Elizabeth Daggett May 2018

The Impact Of Technology Selection On Student Literacy Achievement, Elizabeth Daggett

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to determine if prekindergarten students could increase literacy achievement and motivation when the educator selects the technology based on learning goals and the Iowa Early Learning Standards. High quality technology applications were provided during whole group, small group, and learning centers. Data was collected through quantitative means using Teaching Strategies GOLD and the Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDI) test scores. Analysis of the data collected suggests that the prekindergarten student’s GOLD and IGDI scores increased as specific technology integration was implemented in the classroom.