Education Commons^™

Inquiry-Based Teaching In A Secondary English Classroom, Jennifer L. Norman

Theses and Dissertations

Teaching and learning need to move away from a transactional model found in a traditional classroom to support the growth of 21st century skills and abilities. Inquiry-based teaching is a model that places the student at the center of instruction and allows the teacher to facilitate and guide learning. The classroom fueled by inquiry is a classroom that (a) breaks free from the traditional and transactional model to promote connections to past knowledge and build new understandings, (b) allows students to direct their own learning, and (c) promotes moments of self-reflection and metacognition. The purpose of this study was to …

Culturally Responsive Classroom Libraries In Middle School And High School English Language Arts Classrooms, Brandy Coleman

Culminating Experience Projects

Research shows that the cultural makeup of students in classrooms today in the United States has changed from classrooms of the past. These changes demand teachers to create classroom libraries that are culturally responsive. Culturally responsive classroom libraries can increase student engagement, shape students’ reading identities, and provide opportunities for students to create meaning with a text. This project examines what research literature has studied regarding how culturally responsive pedagogy impacts student identities, engagement through choice, books as window, mirrors, and sliding glass doors (Bishop, 1990), and instructional practices. Using reader response theory, the project focuses on tools to identify …

Faculty Member Experiences When Identifying And Addressing Prohibited Speech In The Classroom, Scott Jeffrey Bye

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe faculty member experiences related to identifying and addressing prohibited speech in the classroom. The researcher studied faculty members at University of North Carolina (UNC) system institutions using a multiple case study research approach based on the constructivist paradigm. For the purposes of this study, prohibited speech was defined as behaviors that fall into any category deemed not protected or prohibited in case law by the Supreme Court of the United States. These prohibited behaviors included Harassment, Obscenity, Defamation/Libel, Incitement, and True Threats.

Researchers found that faculty members are unable to determine if …

Literature That Breaks Gender Stereotypes In A Primary Classroom, Alexis Wash

Education Masters Papers

How can literature that breaks gender stereotypes impact attitudes, interests, and interaction in a primary classroom? This action research was conducted in the researcher’s classroom with 16 first grade participants. The researcher observed participants’ disengagement towards literature that is traditionally stereotyped towards the opposite gender. This research was done to further understand how literature that breaks gender stereotypes can impact participants’ attitudes and interests towards traditional gender stereotypes with occupations, toys, colors, interaction, sports, and literature. A focus group of participants were exposed to several storybooks that broke gender stereotypes over the course of four weeks. Data collected suggests that …

Equitable Strategies: Broadening Opportunities For Students In Public Education, Anthony Ellis

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that public education is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms. Despite the ruling, the American education system is still not equitable for all students. Children of color (Black, Latino, Native Americans) or of lower income are more likely to jump over several hurdles to get to the finish line. Meanwhile, white and wealthy children will cross the finish line without going through a single hurdle. The hurdles begin at early childhood and the final hurdle is college graduation. Some of these disparities include racial bias, the burden of …

Improving Student Success And Engagement In Virtual And Hybrid Classrooms., Sydney Fogo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis examines virtual classes from the University of Louisville in the Fall 2020 semester to discover points of weakness relative to keeping students engaged in online courses. Three surveys were taken by a select group of participants over the course of the fall semester in order to collect student opinion on specific classes. Interviews were held with a subset of students from the group of participants and also with professors who taught the study’s participants in the fall of 2020. Their responses and conversations were used to determine possible areas of improvement for virtual classes. This information was …

Classroom Physical Activity Breaks Effect On Executive Function And Academic Achievement In Elementary School Students, Mark A. Bjornsen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Objectives: There were three aims in conducting this pilot study. First, determine the Plus Minus Task assessment's reliability to measure the executive function of shifting. Second, determine the feasibility and acceptability of CPAB by students and teachers. Finally, determine the preliminary dose-response of acute physical activity on shifting in elementary students. Methods: This was a pilot study of a classroom physical activity break intervention. Utilizing a withinsubject, cross-over design, students participated in a practice day and then all three treatment conditions: a 10-minute seated lesson (control condition) and 5 and 10 minutes (experimental conditions) of classroom physical activity breaks. A …

Adaptive Video Gaming In The Classroom, Lauren Ferrell, Daniela Mari Recinto, Desarae Finck-Fugazi, Christine Angela Manalang, Noémie Von Kaenel

Occupational Therapy | Graduate Capstone Projects

Background: Limited resources exist to support adaptive gaming in school programming using Microsoft® Xbox Adaptive Controller for children. On the other hand, there is abundant evidence supporting motor, cognitive, and social benefits to gaming in rehabilitation.

Objectives: The goal of this program development project was to create a virtual gaming toolkit to support the interdisciplinary team’s use of adaptive gaming during school programming.

Methods: Through our needs assessment and collaboration with our community partner, we discussed the parent and caregiver need for guidance in order to use the Microsoft® Xbox Adaptive Controller and facilitate gameplay with peers. Through an extensive …

Mandated To Move: Teacher Identified Barriers, Facilitators, And Recommendations To Implementing Daily Physical Activity, Lauren Martyn

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Ontario elementary school teachers are mandated to implement 20 minutes of physical activity into classroom instruction each day under the Ontario Daily Physical Activity policy but are experiencing barriers. Effective implementation is essential to school-aged children's daily physical activity recommendation and, ultimately, the physical, cognitive and emotional benefits that coincide. The present study engaged 13 teachers across Ontario who teach in elementary schools through small virtual focus groups. Discussion on the facilitators, barriers, and recommendations to incorporating physical activity in the classroom was explored through the social-cognitive and social-ecological frameworks. A thematic analysis revealed teachers most frequently identified barriers related …

A Case Study Exploring Student Engagement With Technology As Measured By The Arcs And Samr Models, Kyle Ashley Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

This action research case study describes how varying the levels and format of technology integration into high school social studies classroom lessons impact students’ motivation to learn and how the teacher’s effort to support student motivation through the integration of technology supports student achievement. This research study was grounded in the conceptual framework that motivating and engaging students in the classroom (with the introduction of technology) can be very difficult. This study seeks to determine the relationship between student engagement and motivation as classroom lessons are moved along the different levels of the SAMR model, which stands for substitution, augmentation, …

Barriers To Reducing The Assistive Technology Use For Students With Autism As Perceived By Special Education Teachers In Saudi Arabia, Othman Ahmed Alasmari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has indicated that assistive technology (AT) devices and services can improve the functional capability of students with autism, which includes multiple areas of student needs, such as communication, accessibility, organization, sound, sight, academic skills, mobility, and memory. Nevertheless, concerns persist as to how AT devices are being implemented in the classroom; this is because teachers are experiencing a variety of barriers to using AT (Hew & Brush, 2007). The purpose of this study is to explore the barriers affecting Saudi teachers’ use of AT for teaching children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study’s sample consists of 85 …