Education Commons^™

Combating Underachievement In Gifted Elementary Students Through Differentiation, Samantha Kluz

Culminating Experience Projects

Research within the field of gifted education has shown that underachievement is a pertinent problem that has affected gifted students for decades. While various factors have been suggested to lead to underachievement, this project focuses on the educator’s role to support the learning needs of gifted students to combat underachievement. Research has shown that differentiation is an effective solution to ensure gifted students’ needs are being met and they are able to reach their full achievement potential. Utilizing a five-part series on differentiation, teachers will participate in professional development focused on a background of differentiation for gifted students and three …

A Phenomenological Study Of High School Academic Subject Teachers’ Experiences Differentiating For English Language Learners, Valerie Jean Campbell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of core academic subject high school teachers with differentiating instruction and assessment for English language learners (ELLs) in central Virginia. Two theories provided the theoretical framework for this study including the socio-cultural theory by Lev Vygotsky (1978) and the social cognitive theory by Albert Bandura (1989). These two theories explain learning as an interaction of social and cultural experiences between teacher and student and address the role of efficacy in teacher expertise. The central research question that guided this study was “How do select high school academic content …

Home Literacy As A Way To Improve Students’ Academic Achievement And Motivation, Foster Strong Familial Relationships, And Bridge The Gap Between Home And School: A Framework For Custom Family Literacy Programs, Julia Marie Brown

Culminating Experience Projects

A child’s home environment is one of the greatest contributors to their social and cultural background, as it innately impacts their educational experiences and attitudes towards learning. Similarly, language development and literacy are deeply rooted in social, cultural, and historical experiences. Thus, the integration of literacy within home environments can strengthen families, contribute to overall academic success, and increase motivation and engagement amongst learners. While researchers and educators alike agree that fostering strong home literacy environments is beneficial for families as a whole and children as learners, many family literacy programs fail to bridge the gap between home and school …

Technology Use For Differentiation Of Instruction In Middle School: An Applied Research Study, Cecelia Denise Baggott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to improve the use of instructional technology in differentiated learning for students at XYZ Middle School and to formulate a solution that encouraged teachers to leverage the benefits associated with using technology to differentiate. In 2016 the school adopted a one-to-one initiative that provided each student with a Chromebook to use at school and home. Since that time, state-mandated testing scores had shown improvement; however, large disparities in those results among various subgroups exposed the need for using the provided technology to differentiate instruction. This research answered the question: How can educators improve the …

Investigating The Attitudes, Beliefs And Practices Of High School Chemistry Teachers Regarding The Differentiation Of Instruction, Anna Tyrina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Differentiation of instruction (DI) is a broad term used for a group of pedagogical tools that teachers use to individualize instruction for students of different abilities and needs. Differentiation of instruction is a practice that has been researched and characterized to have a variety of instructional benefits, some of which include increased student motivation and engagement (Tomlinson, 2001). This study sought to characterize the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of ten high school chemistry teachers in Maine regarding the differentiation of instruction. Through a phenomenological approach, interviews with these teachers were analyzed to understand how high school chemistry teachers define differentiated …

Improving Chinese Language Learning Through Collaborative Kahoot Mode, Hongmin Yu

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

This study used quantitative methods to assess students' Chinese language learning attitudes and learning habits on Kahoot, a game-based learning platform. Kahoot enables teachers to transform bland Chinese vocabulary memorization into exciting, game-like situations. It makes Chinese language learning fun and interactive. The study aims to compare Kahoot team play mode with individual play mode. Sixty-four fifth graders participated. In the experimental group, students grouped by themselves or teacher to compete with one another. They enjoyed working together to share what they knew and learned from each other. Students were tested prior to the course (pretest) and following the course …

Addressing The Needs Of All Learners: The Art Of Accommodation, Angelica Lynn Garnett

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Schools in Kentucky identify gifted students at a young age. Those students are labeled and should be provided with services based on their gifts throughout their educational career. It is the teacher’s duty to provide these services in their individual classrooms. This becomes progressively difficult as the student increases in grade level. Supporting teachers in their ability to recognize and manage the different levels in their classrooms does not always happen. The research question of this study focuses on how teachers meet the academic needs of gifted students in their classrooms in middle and secondary schools.

Participants included forty-four teachers …

An Evaluation Of One School's Reading Program To Support Struggling Readers Through The Use Of Data, Gabrielle Jones

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of one school’s reading intervention program, and its impact on struggling readers reading performance. Participants in this study included administrators, Grades 3 through 5instructional staff that directly impact student learning in reading through reading instruction. I collected survey data and analyzed it to determine teachers’ ability to instruct struggling readers with high expectations for student learning. As a result, this evaluation exhibit teachers require more quality planning time to prepare effective reading intervention lessons that includes strategies attained from strategically designed professional development structured to increase students’ reading ability. …

Differentiated Spelling: Using Small Group Instruction, Sara Broughton

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Spelling instruction is often overlooked by many teachers during reading and language arts. The purpose of this study was to implement a manageable differentiated word study instruction program, drawn from the Words Their Way (WTW) program, to determine how it affected students’ spelling accuracy and how the participants perceived its effect on students’ daily journal writing time in a fourth-grade self-contained classroom. Students were placed into small groups based on their spelling pre-test scores. Data was collected through field notes, student and teacher interviews, a pre- and post-test, and a survey. Qualitative data was analyzed using the constant …

The Effects Of Using An Online Reading Program To Improve Learning For Special Education Students, Ryan Scott Saxe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Modern day instructional tools, such as technology and digital learning programs, have been created to assist teachers in differentiating instruction for struggling students and catching students up who are not proficient in reading. The Coronavirus 2020 Global Pandemic forced schools and classrooms across the world to move to remote and virtual forms of learning which potentially exacerbates the achievement gap between all students and students with identified learning disabilities. The purpose of this casual-comparative quantitative research study was to determine the extent to which a digital learning program improves learning outcomes in reading for 4th grade special education students from …

The Effects Of Using Differentiated Math Stations On Students' Ability To Find Meaningful And Challenging Work In A First-Grade Classroom, Nicole Callahan

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

This study intended to determine the benefits of using differentiated math stations in a first-grade classroom. The goal was to learn if the levels of differentiated stations affected the first-grade students’ ability to select meaningful and challenging work. Six students from my first-grade class were selected as participants for a purposeful, stratified sample. All participants were volunteers. A research action design method was used to observe participants’ level selections and strategies. Participants interacted with three differentiated math stations in one rotation for a total of four rotations during three weeks of observations. An exit slip completed by students noted their …

Teaching The Lessons Of The Vietnam War And Applying Them To The War In Afghanistan: Lesson Plans For A Sophomore Us History Class, Zoe Bond

Honors Projects

This project is a series of lesson plans for a 10^th grade US History class detailing the lessons of the Vietnam War and how they have and haven’t been used by President Obama in his decisions during the War in Afghanistan. The lesson plan uses Differentiation and Universal Design for Learning to accommodate every student in the class. The goal of this project was to teach original research in a way that promotes inquiry even if there is no correct answer at that time.

Teaching So They Get It To “Got It!” - The Instructional Cha-Chas, Leann M. Nickelsen Mrs.

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Merging neuroscience, formative assessment process and differentiation, Instructional Cha-Chas are 4 steps (chunk/chew/check/change) for planning and implementing lessons that prevent and close gaps in all subject areas and grades. You will get templates, tools, and strategies for teaching content so it’s meaningful, for engaging students with high-impact thinking, and for examining and responding to daily student evidence so ALL students get it to “Got It!”

Simplified But Not The Same: Tracing Numeracy Events Through Manually Simplified Newsela Articles, Ellen C. Agnello

Numeracy

New York-based education startup Newsela has quickly gained popularity with K-12 educators in the six years since its launch. Its website boasts that it serves 90% of schools in the United States including the 1.5 million teachers they employ and their 20 million students. But what makes it so popular? Teachers are drawn to its Common Core-aligned informational texts which facilitate content-area connections while exposing students to important current events. Likely the most appealing aspect of the platform is its compatibility with differentiation, as it makes available five iterations of each article at varying levels of complexity or Lexile which …

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of Ixl Math Online Software On Student Achievement In An Urban Middle School, Shawn M. Donnelly,

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of IXL Math online software in raising student achievement on the New York State Math exam, with special focus on effects by student gender, ethnicity and disability status. The study includes an analysis of the relationship between scale scores and time spent using the IXL system, number of problems attempted, and skills mastered. This study is significant because national, state and local measures indicate no measurable improvement in math achievement with an alarming percentage of students scoring below proficient levels. Further, past studies examined teacher perception or student motivation regarding …

Perceptions Of Novice Teachers Applying Differentiated Instruction In Heterogeneous Elementary Classrooms, Jessica Ann Meadows

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Differentiated instruction (DI) is an effective approach to maximize students' academic success in diverse elementary classrooms. But a current concern in educational research is an insufficient understanding of how novice elementary teachers perceive and apply DI to support student success, especially as student diversity continues to increase, creating challenges to meeting students' needs. Novice teachers are expected to positively influence student learning through their teaching methods at the same level as experienced teachers. Yet, it is unclear how they use DI to do so. The purpose of this study was to provide a deep understanding of how novice teachers perceive …

Strategies Advanced Placement High School Teachers Use To Teach Diverse Learners, Patti J. Tate

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since Advanced Placement (AP) College Board’s 2002 implementation of the Equity and Access Policy, the number of students enrolled in AP courses has increased, but student success on passing AP exams has dropped. This signifies that the new populations of AP students are not well prepared with the skillsets necessary to succeed on AP exams. This qualitative exploratory case study focused on how high school AP teachers in one southeastern school district provided differentiated instruction (DI) through content and strategies to diverse learners. Data on the use of DI with AP students were collected through interviews of AP teachers at …

Conversations With Australian Teachers And School Leaders About Using Differentiated Instruction In A Mainstream Secondary School, Kathryn Gibbs, Wendi Beamish

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Circumstances in today’s schools are requiring a rethinking of pedagogical approaches so that equitable learning opportunities are provided to all students. This small-scale, qualitative Australian study reports how some teachers and school leaders viewed differentiated instruction (DI) being applied in their secondary campus to address diverse abilities and needs. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted using Zoom. The analysis of data identified three themes related to DI: understandings, practices, and concerns. Findings showed that all participants understood many of the important elements of DI. Teachers reported using several well-known DI strategies, with experienced teachers applying a more considered approach. Teachers raised …

Competitive Edge Teaching: A Comparison Of Differentiated Reading Instruction In The K-3 Elementary Classroom To The Sports Psychology Behind High School Athletic Coaching Methods, Lindsay W. Lee

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This study explored the similarities between the philosophies and techniques used by select high school athletic coaches and select elementary reading teachers. The study shows parallels between the psychology behind coaching methodology within high school athletics and differentiated instruction within the elementary reading classroom. The purpose of this research was to develop a pathway to influence the increased implementation of differentiated instruction in elementary schools by determining and highlighting these parallels. The design of the study is a triangular analysis of interview questions conducted in a face-to-face interview format, document analysis, and surveys to show the parallels between the planning …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Differentiation And The Struggle For Consistent Implementation, Felicia Dawn Fordyce

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A problem at three elementary schools in an Appalachian state was that some or all instructors were struggling to implement differentiated instruction in the classroom. Because differentiation is a research-based best practice, teachers should be consistently using this strategy to meet the varying needs found within the inclusive classroom. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of third- and fourth-grade teachers on their knowledge, implementation, and self-assessment of using differentiated instruction in classrooms in three elementary schools. A qualitative case study methodology was used with the interpretation of differentiation as the conceptual framework. The two research questions …