Education Commons^™

Engaging Latinx Students: A Path To Life-Long Learning, Paola Mendizabal

The William & Mary Educational Review

Although the Latino ethnic group is the largest minority and the fastest growing subgroup in the United States, they are one of the most underserved groups in public schools. This is due to many systemic issues; however, this paper focuses on student engagement. Increasing student engagement decreases student dropout rates. If we can foster high levels of engagement with Latinx students in K-12, they are more likely to graduate high school possibly with aspirations to further their education. This conceptual paper aims to answer the following questions: What factors inhibit and/or contribute to Latinx students' engagement? How do we engage …

Bye Bye, Bycatch, Derek Jackson

Lesson Plans

Grade Level: 7th Grade Life Science

Using critical thinking skills to better understand how conservation engineering can improve sustainable fisheries.

Going Fishing In The Classroom!, Will Shoup

Lesson Plans

Grade Level: 4th Grade Life Science and General Science

The student will investigate and understand that organisms, including humans, interact with one another and with nonliving components in the ecosystem. Key ideas include that interrelationships exist in populations, communities, and ecosystems.

The Mystery Of The Oyster: What's In The Bag?, Julia Grenn

Lesson Plans

Grade level: 7th Grade Life Science and Biology

Students will use measurements and graphing to examine and assess how husbandry strategies and business decisions can impact the Eastern Oyster shape.

Hematodinium: A Blue Crab Parasite, Xuqing Chen

Lesson Plans

Grade Level: High School Biology

Students will use monthly survey data to measure percentage of infection, or "prevalence" of Hematodinium in adult and juvenile blue crabs and determine how prevalence changes through seasons.

The Case Of The Missing Penguins!, Claudia Moncada

Lesson Plans

Grade Level: 7th Grade Life Science

Students will gather and graph data to examine patterns in Adelie penguin populations in the Western Antarctic Peninsula and determine potential drivers for these patterns.

Cereal Killer: Diagnosing Oyster Diseases Using Pcr, Anna Poslednik

Lesson Plans

Grade Level: High School Biology

Understand the basis of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by constructing a model of the technique using cereal and pipe cleaners

Who's That Phytoplankton?, Savannah Mapes

Lesson Plans

Grade Level: High School Biology

Students will assess harmful algal bloom diagnosis.

Mapping A Terrapin Town, Anna Caputo

Lesson Plans

Grade Level: 7th Grade Life Science and Environmental Science

In small groups, students will explore diamondback terrapin habitat requirements, conservation, and how land use planning can affect their population.

Watching Seagrass Breathe, Alyson Hall

Lesson Plans

Grade Level: 7th Grade / High School Life Science and Biology

Students will investigate how seagrasses act as primary producers in the ocean, why we care about them, and how scientists measure their rates of primary production and respiration.

How Can Communities Be Engaged In Climate Change?, Yao Wang, Qiong Wang

Lesson Plans

Grade Level: Advanced High School, AP, IB

Students will use materials to practice how stakeholders engage in climate change adaptation planning to make decisions for Lynnhaven (the second largest watershed) in the City of Virginia Beach. Their Lynnhaven adaptation strategy project will demonstrate that they understand what community engagement for climate change adaptation planning is and how to conduct five phases of community engagement.

Where Land Meets The Sea, Kayla Cahoon

Lesson Plans

Grade Level: High School Earth Science and Oceanography

Students will use graphs of sediment cores to determine how coast lines change.

Teachers Building Trusting Relationships With Students In Elementary Schools And The Principals Who Support Them, Lindsay N. Kidd

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Trusting relationships between teachers and students is a cornerstone of success in the classroom. As a means for continuous professional growth, teachers should have an understanding of other teachers’ positive experiences with and accessible strategies for how to build these relationships. Current research is missing the narrative voices of elementary general education teachers in the discussion on trust in the classroom. In addition to how they can achieve trusting relationships, teachers need support from their principals. This study provides a phenomenological analysis of teachers’ perceptions of their responsibilities and actions that led to trusting relationships with students and the ways …

Teacher Conceptualization And Implementation Of Differentiated Instruction In The Elementary Reading Classroom, Kimberly Yulyn Davis

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Differentiated instruction (DI) is an approach to teaching that considers the individual needs of students based on readiness levels, interest, learning styles, and learning profiles. This pragmatic, exploratory, sequential mixed-methods study investigated the conceptualizations of teachers at high-performing elementary schools within Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) regarding DI, the degree of successful implementation, and the extent to which the degree of implementation correlates with student achievement in reading. Data were collected from 29 semi-structured teacher participant interviews, two 90-minute observations of each participant's reading instruction, and a comparison of i-Ready reading achievement data over two diagnostic assessments. The participants conceptualized …

Teacher Conceptualization And Implementation Of Differentiated Instruction In The Elementary Reading Classroom, Concepcion Cepero Santana

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Differentiated instruction (DI) is an approach to teaching that considers the individual needs of students based on readiness levels, interest, learning styles, and learning profiles. This pragmatic, exploratory, sequential mixed-methods study investigated the conceptualizations of teachers at high-performing elementary schools within Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) regarding DI, the degree of successful implementation, and the extent to which the degree of implementation correlates with student achievement in reading. Data were collected from 29 semi-structured teacher participant interviews, two 90-minute observations of each participant's reading instruction, and a comparison of i-Ready reading achievement data over two diagnostic assessments. The participants conceptualized …

The Mo(Ve)Ment To Prioritize Antiracist Mathematics: Planning For This And Every School Year, Maria Del Rosario Zavala, Ma Bernadette Andres-Salgarino, Zandra De Araujo, Amber G. Candela, Gladys Krause, Erin Sylves

School of Education Articles

"Dear Colleague,

TODOS: Mathematics for ALL is proud of its almost two decades of advocacy for equity and excellence for all children in mathematics education, specifically Latina/o children. Over the years, TODOS has delivered webinars, podcasts, blogs, conferences, and resources for educators, families, and children to address and provide tools to eliminate the harmful practices too many children and families experience in school and in life. This position statement, The Mo(ve)ment to Prioritize Antiracist Mathematics: Planning for This and Every School Year, and supporting commentaries, including one commentary in Spanish - place the essential actions of the 2016 NCSM - …

Teacher Conceptualization And Implementation Of Differentiated Instruction In The Elementary Reading Classroom, Felicia Kristina Joseph

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Differentiated instruction (DI) is an approach to teaching that considers the individual needs of students based on readiness levels, interest, learning styles, and learning profiles. This pragmatic, exploratory, sequential mixed-methods study investigated the conceptualizations of teachers at high-performing elementary schools within Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) regarding DI, the degree of successful implementation, and the extent to which the degree of implementation correlates with student achievement in reading. Data were collected from 29 semi-structured teacher participant interviews, two 90-minute observations of each participant's reading instruction, and a comparison of i-Ready reading achievement data over two diagnostic assessments. The participants conceptualized …

The Impact Of The Balanced Literacy Approach In Reading Instruction On Student Reading Motivation And Reading Competence, Jami Beth Clements

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the impact Balanced Literacy Reading Instruction had on student motivation to read and student reading competence in the elementary school of one public school district. This study analyzed extant student summative reading assessment data and extant teacher observation data. The study also administered the Self-Regulation Questionnaire-Reading Motivation to measure the reading motivation of students who had received Balanced Literacy Reading Instruction in the district from first grade through fifth grade. The study sought to determine the amount of reading time administered during reading instruction during the implementation, the current level of …

The Impact Of The Balanced Literacy Approach In Reading Instruction On Student Reading Motivation And Reading Competence, Jami Beth Clements

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the impact Balanced Literacy Reading Instruction had on student motivation to read and student reading competence in the elementary school of one public school district. This study analyzed extant student summative reading assessment data and extant teacher observation data. The study also administered the Self-Regulation Questionnaire-Reading Motivation to measure the reading motivation of students who had received Balanced Literacy Reading Instruction in the district from first grade through fifth grade. The study sought to determine the amount of reading time administered during reading instruction during the implementation, the current level of …

The Influences On K-2 Teachers' Approaches Towards Assessment And Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Leah K. Shy

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Kindergarten-second grade teachers often have to navigate conflicting paradigms as they attempt to honor the developmentally appropriate practices best suited for their young learners while working within the demands of the current educational paradigm of high-stakes testing and standardization. This challenge is acutely experienced in the assessment of young children, yet little research has been done to look at how teachers in the early elementary years approach or use assessment in developmentally appropriate ways. The purpose of this study was to use a constructivist grounded theory approach to address the overarching question: How do K-2 teachers come to their conceptualizations …

Exploring Kindergarten Teachers' Self-Perceptions Of Writing Instruction: An Appreciative Phenomenological Approach, Elizabeth Auguste

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Current data point to the need for more research on writing instruction. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results showed that 73% of students in Grade 8 and Grade 12 scored basic or below on writing assessments, a trend reflected in college students’ writing. These data co-exist with research that reported teachers’ low self-efficacy with writing instruction .The most effective way to address these troubling statistics is to take a proactive approach that looks at writing instruction from its genesis—kindergarten. This post-intentional phenomenological study (Vagle, 2014) explored two aspects of kindergarten teachers’ self-perceptions of writing instruction (SPWI)—self-efficacy and …

Investigating The Relationships Among Primary Teachers' Math Profile, Math Teaching Efficacy, And Math Content Pedagogical Knowledge, Theresa Marie Roettinger

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Kindergarten, first and second grade teachers play an important role in the development of a student's understanding of mathematics. Consequently, in order to improve student achievement in mathematics, it is important to investigate the relationships that may exist among primary teachers' math profile, math teaching efficacy, and math pedagogy and content knowledge. Participants completed an online survey that included the Math Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (MTEBI) and Math Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) items. Participants provided math profile data through academic demographic questions.;Two-hundred seven respondents completed the survey. Analysis of the data included descriptive statistics, chi-square test of independence, and Spearman …

Korean Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Of Giftedness And Support For Talent Development, Youngeun Son

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Successful Pedagogical Practices Of Elementary Teachers Of Homeless Students: A Case Study, Kimberly Owen Pickles

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The purpose of this research study is to examine the instructional practices of teachers who are currently teaching homeless students in their classroom. This study identified eight teachers in two suburban elementary schools that have students in their current classrooms that are experiencing homelessness. In addition, the research study explored the needs considered and strategies that teachers use to differentiate and accommodate their instructional practices to maximize achievement for these students. Qualitative data was collected by a study of teacher interviews through collective ethnographic case studies. Additionally, quantitative data was collected through evaluator observations of the selected classrooms to observe …

Math Talent Development Of Elementary School Students: The Relationship Of Gender, Math Motivation, And Goal Orientation To Math Achievement, Ann Haimburger Colorado

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Research has established that motivation is an important factor of student achievement. Many researchers in the field of gifted education consider motivation to be a crucial component of giftedness, yet the literature base for motivation and math talent development within gifted populations is scarce. This descriptive study used a within-group design to measure the math motivation, math achievement, and goal orientation of high-ability 5 th grade math students to elucidate the relationships among motivation, achievement, goal orientation, and gender. Findings indicated that math achievement, math motivation, and goal orientation were similar for both genders; students had high math achievement yet …

Fostering Parental Engagement In A Rural Title I Elementary School, Joyce R. Mcdowell

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The major purpose of this study was to find out how to encourage Title I family engagement as the school funds were decreasing in the next school year. I wanted to determine how to continue, as well as increase, parental engagement at a Title I elementary school in a rural setting.;The Title I program focuses on assisting students who are economically disadvantaged in order to raise their academic skills in the areas of reading and math. The parents of the children eligible for Title I reading services at the time of the study were the participants. I used the Appreciative …

An Evaluation Of The Implementation Fidelity And Outcomes Of The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program In Three Elementary Schools In Virginia, Barbara F. Wood

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Bullying continues to be a major concern in schools today. Many schools have implemented some type of bullying prevention program. The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is one of these programs. Evaluation of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is typically done through the administration of the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire to students and produces numerical data for its report. Results have been mixed, but often show some type of decrease in bullying activity.;This study evaluated the implementation fidelity and outcomes of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program in three elementary schools in Virginia. These schools were recommended as having a successful Olweus Bullying …

Dispositions And Practices That Promote Teacher-Student Relationships With African-American Male Elementary Students, Karyn Mitchell Yeldell

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This research study was focused on teacher dispositions and practices that create positive teacher-student relationships with African-American elementary male students. Robert Pianta's work on relationships between teachers and students, over the past decade, provided a conceptual framework for this specific study. A review of the literature on this topic evidenced practices that positively and negatively impact teacher-student relationships. Through classroom observations and interviews, the perceptions of elementary teachers were examined on how they actually create teacher-student relationships with their African-American male students. These perceptions were insightful and often supported in the research literature. Effective teachers understand the need for praise, …

Student Trust In Teachers And Its Relationship To Student Identification With School, Student Perceptions Of Academic Press, And Achievement, Regina A. Bankole

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Research has documented a plethora of evidence that children's perceptions of their relationships with caregivers, specifically teachers, impacts learning outcomes, including academic engagement and achievement (Furrer & Skinner, 2003; Owens & Johnson, in press; Stipek, 2002; Wentzel, 1997), identification with school (anderman, 2003; Bonich, 2007; Goodenow, 1993; McGannon, 2003; Meloro, 2006; Mitchell, 2004;) and academic press (Bonich, 2007; Lee & Smith, 1999; Middleton & Midgley, 2002). Yet the research base from the student perspective on the pertinent elements that influence meaningful relationships between students and teachers, namely trust, is largely missing.;The purpose of this study was to examine the construct …

Effective Reading Comprehension Teaching And Research: How Do They Relate, Lauri M. Leeper

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.