Education Commons^™

Water Play, Jane E. Cline, Brandy A. Smith

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

The inclusion of activities to develop sensory awareness, spatial thinking, and physical dexterity, operationalized through hands-on science lessons such as water play, have long been part of early childhood education. This practical article addresses Next Generation Science Standards K-2 ETS1-3 and K-2 ETS1-2 by having four-year-old prekindergarten students direct the path of water on a vertical pegboard water table with strategically-placed, attached plastic cups with holes drilled into them that leak streams of water into each other. Students enhanced their retelling of the story of the Billy Goats Gruff by placing student-made watercolor artwork along the path of the water, …

Differentiating Instruction Through Math Stations And Literacy Centers, Olivia Bates

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

Differentiating instruction based on students’ readiness, interests, and learning profiles is essential for creating effective and meaningful learning activities. Identifying these characteristics allows teachers to meet students’ needs and engage them in learning. By differentiating instruction, educators target specific students’ strengths and challenges in developing lessons to support their understanding of content. Two useful strategies for differentiating math and literacy instruction include stations and centers. In stations and centers, students work on specific skills catered to their educational needs while rotating activities in flexible groups. This guide supports teachers in identifying strategies and understanding the benefits of differentiating math and …

What Instructional Strategies Are Effective For Increasing Vocabulary For English Language Learners In A Preschool Classroom?, Nicole Carter

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project is What Instructional Strategies are Effective for Increasing Vocabulary for English Language Learners in a Preschool Classroom? Teaching students who are limited in their understanding of the English language can be a daunting tasks; since students speak their native languages at home, making it difficult for teachers to communicate with them. This topic is significant because there has been a rapid increase in English language learners in the United States with the gap in achievement between ELLs and their English speaking peers. The purpose of the research is to find ways to increase …

How Can Science And Literacy Be Integrated In A Fifth Grade Cirriculum [Sic]?, Kathryn J. Hellen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this capstone was, How can science and literacy be integrated in a fifth grade curriculum? This capstone describes current research in science education, reading motivation and engagement, and the science and literacy connection. The goal of this capstone was to create a unit that would captivate students’ interests in science and use that interest as a catalyst to grow their literacy skills. This unit is designed to be used in a 5th grade Spanish immersion classroom centered on the themes of life science and non-fiction reading. The accompanying curriculum utilizes the Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) …

Best Practices For Co-Teaching Literacy In The Secondary Language Arts Classroom, Anne Robenhorst

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the best practices for co-teaching literacy in the secondary language arts classroom. Participants of the study included 34 tenth grade students in a co-taught English class who completed anonymous questionnaires, and two language arts teachers, one special education teacher and one assistant principal were interviewed. Qualitative data was gathered regarding academic grades and state testing scores in the area of reading. The student survey feedback indicated positive perceptions related to the co-taught environment, primarily increased writing skills. Teacher interviews highlighted the most effective co-teaching models and stressed the importance of strong administrative …

How Anchor Charts Can Engage Students In Interactive Read-Alouds, Christine Simmet

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question explored and answered in this project was, can anchor charts make readalouds more interactive and engaging? This project documents the exploration and creation of anchor charts in a read-aloud setting. In conjunction with the Journeys’ (2009) curriculum the researcher created four anchor charts with a goal to create more engagement and increase the interactive quality of read-alouds. The researcher utilizes different types of anchor charts to see student engagement responses. She details the literature surrounding anchor charts as well as giving some background regarding read- alouds and engagement strategies for young learners. The researcher then describes the …

Infographic: Australia’S Pisa Performance Over Time, Jo Earp

Teacher infographics

A report on the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results examines trends in Australia's average performance and the change in the percentages of students considered 'high' and 'low' performers.

Examining The Effects Of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's Read 180 Program On Reading Achievement And Self-Efficacy In Middle Schools, Amanda Michelle Cox

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if improving reading achievement through Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s (HMH) READ 180 program impacted a student’s reading self-efficacy. Of the students participating in this study, particular attention was placed on the factors of gender, ethnicity, and the length of time students were exposed to HMH’s READ 180 program.

The setting for this research was three middle schools in upstate South Carolina. The schools sampled were from a combination of urban, suburban, and rural populations. The study’s methodology was quantitative and correlational.

When reviewing the results of the study, the research indicated that there …

The Effects Of Implementing Close Reading In A Third, Fourth, And Fifth Grade Public School Setting To Improve Student Achievement, Cory Valentine

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this ex-post facto, causal-comparative study is to determine the effects of close reading on student achievement. Close reading is a strategy developed through literary criticism and the influences of I. A. Richards and the New Critics. This study analyzes close reading to determine the most efficient practice to help students develop critical reading, thinking, and written communication skills. The researcher examined 2013 to 2015 New York State English Language Arts Exam data from 10 school districts located in the Broome-Tioga BOCES Region. For the study, 6,040 student exams in Grades 3, 4, and 5 were analyzed. Using …

How Does The Development Of Early Literacy Skills And The Partnership Between A Child’S Home And School Promote Literacy Success?, Teri Greenstein

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this capstone was, How does the development of early literacy skills and the partnership between a child’s home and school promote literacy success? This capstone describes the foundational early literacy skills necessary for literacy success for students, and discusses ways that school and home can collaborate towards ensuring that students are effectively prepared for literacy learning as they begin their formal schooling. The goal of the capstone project was to provide families with tools and resources that can be used to help them develop more effective literacy learning for their children.

Infographic: Frequency And Enjoyment Of Writing And Reading, Jo Earp

Teacher infographics

The National Literacy Trust (UK) annual literacy survey asks eight- to 18-year-olds about writing frequency and their enjoyment of writing. Here are some of the results and comparisons with the Trust's data on reading.

How Vocabulary Word Selection, Instructional Strategies, And Assessments Affect Student Retention Of Newly Learned Words, Amber Rustand

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Vocabulary word selection and instruction is hard for educators to grasp, with so many methods to choose from. Focusing on the question of How does the selection of vocabulary words, instruction, and assessment affect the retention of newly learned vocabulary? leads us to our answer. The capstone study focusing around this question made it evident that educators need to select words from text, differ instruction throughout a two-week time frame, and assess on between eight and twelve words for every two-week period. Students need to be given time to connect and work with the words that are new to them. …

Poetry Is Powerful: High School Students And Pre-Service Teachers Develop Literacy Relationships Through Poetry, Susanne L. Nobles, Amy Price Azano

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Teaching poetry can serve as a roadblock for many English teachers who lack confidence with the genre. Likewise, high school students struggle reading poetry and creating their own poetic works. In an effort to provide an authentic learning experience for our students, we created a semester-long, collaborative poetry project between our high school and college students. This manuscript provides details about the goals, processes, and takeaways for both groups of participants. The high school students were two classes of freshman-level English students who practiced developing critical literacy skills while reading, reciting, and writing poetry. The college students were pre-service English …

What Effect Does Full Day Kindergarten Have On Student Achievement In Literacy?, Philip Lee Munkvold

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Kindergarten has undergone continuous change since its inception in 1837. Minnesota’s kindergarten program experienced a substantial transformation during the 2014-2015 academic year by offering full-day kindergarten at no cost. Students attending full-day kindergarten will receive twice the amount of instruction as years past, prompting a study on what effect this may have on student achievement. This capstone uses a combination of surveys, assessments, and interviews with to help answer the research question, What effect does full day kindergarten have on student achievement in literacy? Research concludes that full-day kindergarten has a positive impact on student achievement in literacy in kindergarten, …

When Theory Doesn't Necessarily Meet Practice. A Book Review Of Youth, Critical Literacies, And Civic Engagement: Arts, Media And Literacy In The Lives Of Adolescents, Matthew Goldwasser

Democracy and Education

A book review of Youth, Critical Literacies, and Civic Engagement by T. Rogers, K.-L. Winters, M. Perry, and A.M. LaMonde. In Youth, Critical Literacies, and Civic Engagement, the authors presented three analytic vignettes from field work at three sites where youth employed either writing and publishing, filmmaking, or theater performance to make critical claims about their everyday lives and social issues that directly affect them. The authors used critical theory to link their empirical data to larger enterprises of resistance and counter narratives about how society views youth. They further posited that these efforts are examples of civic engagement. …

Media Literacy As Mindful Practice For Democratic Education. A Response To “Transaction Circles With Digital Texts As A Foundation For Democratic Practices”, Theresa Redmond

Democracy and Education

This essay is a response to Brown’s (2015) article describing her strategy of transaction circles as a student-centered, culturally responsive, and democratic literacy practice. In my response, I provide further evidence from the field of media literacy education (MLE) that serves to enhance Brown’s argument for using transaction circles in order to promote democratic discourse, specifically augmenting her ideas by connecting the purposes and processes of transaction circles with key implications of media literacy pedagogy. I invite Brown to consider how her concept of transaction circles may be extended in three ways: (a) through acknowledging the indispensable role of the …

The Common Core And Democratic Education: Examining Potential Costs And Benefits To Public And Private Autonomy, Benjamin J. Bindewald, Rory P. Tannebaum, Patrick Womac

Democracy and Education

This conceptual paper assesses prevalent critiques of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and analyzes content from the CCSS in language arts and literacy to determine whether the standards are likely to support or undermine key democratic aims of education. The authors conclude that critiques of the CCSS have some merit but are generally overstated and misdirected, and the standards give inadequate attention to the development of public autonomy but an ideal amount of attention to development of private autonomy.

The Effects Of Orton Gillingham Instructional Techniques During Small Group Instruction, Kathleen Tiver

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of leveled literacy through guiding reading and leveled literacy reading in conjunction with supplemental small group instruction utilizing Orton Gillingham techniques. This study was completed in a first grade inclusive classroom. This study was created by results from beginning of the year (September) independent reading assessments. Students who were incorporated into this study as part of the instructional group read at least three grade below excepted level, and were not classified students. Students were monitored and formally assessed at each marking period of the school year to measure successes. Students …

Accessing Academe, Disabling The Curriculum: Institutional Locations Of Dis/Ability In Public Higher Education, Andrew J. Lucchesi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The field of Disability Studies has long committed itself to the project of making American colleges and universities more accessible places for disabled faculty, staff, and students. Indeed, many of the field of early ideological roots of the discipline of Disability Studies (DS) emerged from campus-based activist movements. This influence has impacted the ways DS scholars continue to frame their intellectual labor as a progressive public good. In recent years, composition/rhetoric scholars have begun applying DS approaches to questions of pedagogical and professional access as well. These critiques have drawn attention the ways teaching practice, administrative policy, and other aspects …

A Quantitative And Qualitative Investigation Of Content-Area Literacy Instruction Integrated Into Social Studies Content For Kindergarten - 4th Grade Students, Jennifer E. Lee

Master of Education Research Theses

The objective of this study was to research the impact of short term intensive instruction of content-area literacy strategies on students’ academic success, students’ reading attitudes, and teachers’ perceptions of literacy integration into content-area learning of social studies with Kindergarten through 4th grade students at a private, Christian school. The experimental group of students did not show any statistically significant improvement over the control group of students. However, there was a trend in the experimental Kindergarten and 1st grade groups in which their content-area knowledge post-test scores slightly increased (5% and 10% increase in post-test scores, respectively) with additional literacy …

The Intersection Of Collaboration, Critical Thinking And Technology: Implications For Adult Esl Learners Using An Inquiry Approach, Mary Elizabeth Zamacona

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the types and critical thinking skills used by adult ESL students as they learned technology skills through an inquiry approach. The results are based on the types of critical thinking skills that were utilized by adult students working collaboratively on an Excel computer project. Critical thinking was measured by coding audio recordings using the Transitions Integration Framework’s critical thinking skills category. Data were quantified by frequency of occurrence for each sub skill of critical thinking. Results show the most prominent critical thinking skills used by students in this study are problem-solving …

Using Literacy Centers To Support A Balanced Literacy Program In A Pre-K Classroom, Jacquelin Ann Rowan

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The question addressed in this research project was, how can using literacy centers support a balanced literacy approach in a Pre-K classroom? The author’s motivation for completeing this capstone was to learn more about balanced literacy and how the use of balanced literacy could support her student’s learning. This capstone describes, in detail, what balanced literacy is, what literacy centers are , and how to use both to create an engaging learning environment for Pre-K students. It also provides guidelines for how to manage literacy centers both in organization of materials and the literacy center time block. Finally, the capstone …

The Story In The Standards: Creating Counter-Narratives In The Common Core State Standards, Jarret Alexander Smith

Dissertations

The research question guiding this study is: How might educators create counter-narratives, particularly related to the diversity of texts, experiences and knowledge bases represented in the CCSS? The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy on the engagement in literacy acquisition of African American students in middle and high school. The basic framework for this study is situated within and informed by Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP). The study focuses on creating counter-narratives for African American students in spite of the silence of the Common Core State Standards on cultural …

How Reference With Demonstratives Creates Cohesion In A Physical Science Textbook, Amy Marie Petersen Sagrado

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project is How are demonstratives used as reference in a 10th grade physical science textbook? The purpose was to inform the instruction of English learners when using a grade level text through a text analysis by understanding how demonstratives are used, whether as a determiner or pronoun, the direction the demonstrative points, the distance to the referent, whether the referent is a noun phrase, clause or inference and the clarity of the referent. Among the findings, it was concluded that demonstrative determiners are used more frequently in text than demonstrative pronouns and tend to …

How Does Culturally Responsive Curriculum Impact African American Student’S Literacy Development In The Primary Grades?, Kaylan Louise Carlson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this capstone was: How does culturally responsive curriculum impact African American student’s literacy development in the primary grades? The work explores common classroom practice, culturally responsive teaching, multicultural education and the implications for a literacy curriculum that is culturally responsive. It documents an educator’s creation of a unit using the tenets of Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998) and involving elements of culturally responsive teaching through multicultural education, in addition to resources and text sets. The lesson plans and resources were created for use in the primary level but may be altered for use …

The Impact Of Environmental Education On Environmental Literacy And Motivation In Urban Communities, Amber Huston

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed is does environmental education increase environmental literacy and motivation in urban communities in the United States? The motivating factor for this capstone was from evidence that environmental education can not only improve motivation and literacy, but also help improve academic achievement. This capstone details both historical and current data to support full integration of structured environmental education programs into urban academics. The author documents the results of a survey based on observations made by various academic instructors of both their personal experiences, as well as their view of their students’ experiences, both inside and outside the …

Using Evidence-Based Spelling Instruction To Support Elementary Students: A Self-Study, Brigid Ayn Berger

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Teachers have been slow to adopt research-based best practices for spelling instruction. The purpose of this project was to identify effective spelling practices and reflect on the practical implementation of those practices in a first grade classroom. The research question was, how can teachers use research-based strategies to support elementary students as they develop spelling skills? This paper provides a review of English orthography and developmental spelling instruction before contrasting effective and ineffective instructional strategies. The author, a first grade teacher, conducts a self-study in which she implements formative assessments into her spelling routines and reflects upon the process of …

How Graphic Novels Affect Reading Comprehension And Memory Recall Of Story Elements For Language Learners, Stephen Jerome Meuer

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

English Language Learners can experience a range of issues in regards to reading and comprehending text due to their language interference, and therefore require an arsenal of tools, scaffolds, and differentiation to be employed by EL and content teachers alike. A possible tool includes graphic novels, as both a visual aid and literary text, in terms of reading comprehension and memory recall of the plot elements read. My research attempted to measure differences between scores on student written retells of each chapter of a class novel read, with some chapters being independently read by the student in the traditional novel …

Thematic Learning And English Learners: Integrating Authentic Literacy In An Experience-Based Summer Program For English Learners, Miranda Michelle Gamayunov

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that the most successful summer programs and after school experiences do not simply mimic the school year but rather complement it. The purpose of this capstone was to create a stronger connection between the district’s school year literacy curriculum and its summer program for English Learners while maintaining the experience-based nature of the program. The research question explored: How can I best integrate authentic reading and writing into a hands-on, experience-based summer program for English Learners resulted in a series of six lessons complementing the program’s varied experiences and the district’s units of study thereby allowing for an …

Influence Of Language Arts Instructional Practices On Early Adolescents’ Motivation To Read: Measuring Student And Teacher Perceptions, Sarah E. Pennington

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Early adolescence is a critical time for examining academic motivation, specifically motivation to read (Hervey, 2013). In order to support self-determined motivation to read, students’ needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness must be met within the classroom context (Miller & Faircloth, 2014). Since classroom instructional practices are a key component of adolescents’ daily experiences in the classroom, research which investigates the influence of these practices on students’ self-determined motivation to read is needed. In addition, the perceptions of students and teachers regarding the degree to which classroom instructional practices meet students’ needs as well as the influence of classroom instructional …