Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

The Effect Of An Orff-Based Curriculum On Social Emotional Competence Of Migrant Children In A Suburban Kindergarten In Shanghai, Yuanyang Yue

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research set in a kindergarten in a suburban school in Shanghai, China, was to determine the effect of an Orff-based music curriculum on migrant children’s social emotional competencies.

The quasi-experimental design included students in two kindergarten classes, where one class of 28 students was randomly assigned to receive the treatment while the other class of 28 served as the control group. The intervention was a 16-session Orff music curriculum over a period of eight weeks, aimed at improving children’s social competence. Data were collected from the two classroom teachers who provided ratings of their students’ social …

Collaborating With Teachers To Create Peer Observations As A Means Of Effective Professional Development, Angela K. Vincent

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological, action research study engaged a sample of teachers from a large middle school in northern South Carolina in developing a protocol and recommendations for the use of peer observations that would provide meaningful professional development for teachers at this school. Data collection methods consisted of interviews, focus groups and trial observations. The study addressed two key research questions, what factors do the teachers see as important when completing a peer observation, and do they perceive the peer observation method as meaningful professional development that promotes teacher growth. The findings confirmed that, among this sample of teachers, peer observation …

Factors Relating To The Multicultural Efficacy And Attitudes Of Teachers, Donna L. Strickland

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The study was conducted to examine the relationship between factors of professional development in diversity issues, teachers’ years of experience, and experiences with diversity with teachers’ multicultural attitudes and multicultural self-efficacy. The research was conducted using a sample population from southeast Georgia. A multiple regression was conducted using survey data (Multicultural Efficacy Scale (MES)) collected from Qualtrics. There were 209 responses. Demographic data and multiple regression results are discussed as well as recommendations for future research. Findings indicate no relationship between teachers’ multicultural efficacy and multicultural attitudes and their professional development in diversity issues, years of teaching experience and experiences …

Carving My Own Bench By The Road: Examining The Seats Of Power For Black Women Educators Through Playwriting, Dawn C. Whipple

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In my dissertation inquiry, I explore the seats of power held by Black women educators in secondary education public schools in Georgia. Theoretically building upon such works as Black feminist thought (Hill Collins, 2000, e.g., hooks, 1981;), womanism (Walker, 2004; Phillips, 2006), critical race theory (Bell, 1992; Delgado, 1989), and engaged pedagogy (hooks, 1994), I create a play explore the oppression experienced by Black women educators who empower themselves for the benefit of students, in some cases abdicate their power, and in a few instances use their power to oppress others (Freire, 1970). The play is crafted based upon government …

"I'M Done!" Stories Of Veteran Teachers Driven Out Of The Profession, Jill L. Stassie

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

My dissertation inquiry builds upon the works of Nancy Hoffman (1977/2003), Madeleine Grumet (1981, 1988) and Dana Goldstein (2014) to examine the enduring effects of the feminization of teaching on the profession. My research question asks, “How do former teachers describe the emotional, social-political conditions that contributed to their exit of their teaching in public schools?” Utilizing narrative inquiry as the methodology, I interviewed four teachers who recently left the profession. I also collected archival data to provide the history and context of teaching.

This study provides a detailed account of what teachers face daily in their classrooms and schools …

Descriptions Of Differentiated Instruction In Mathematics In A Title 1 School District, Sheril Bulley-Simpson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an urban Title 1 school district, the average number of Grade 3-5 students who scored proficient or advanced on the state standardized assessment was 37.3% below Grade 3-5 students countywide and 19.4% below Grade 3-5 students statewide. Low mathematics scores may indicate a gap in practice that affects student achievement. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to examine teachers' descriptions of instructional strategies implemented to mediate instruction for students who struggle in mathematics. This study was based on the conceptual framework of Tomlinson's differentiated instruction (DI), a means of accommodating the varied ways that students learn. The …

Perceived Factors That Influence Adult Learners' Persistence And Retention In Adult Basic Education, Evelyn Idoko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retaining students, particularly in the 16- to- 24-year-old category, is a constant challenge for adult basic education programs nationwide. Educators need to understand factors that affect adult learners' experiences, have a better understanding of ways to motivate adult students in a nontraditional school setting to enhance their engagement, and apply research-based techniques and targeted, practical strategies to improve student persistence. The primary objective of this case study was to investigate the perceived factors that students considered influential on their persistence and retention in adult basic education programs. Knowles's andragogy theory and Tinto's persistence theory were the theoretical frameworks for this …

The Importance Of Automaticity Development In Mathematics, Austin T. Baker, Josh Cuevas

Georgia Educational Researcher

This study examined whether students were reaching automaticity with single digit multiplication facts. A fourteen question interview was used to collect data. The first three questions asked the student basic information about themselves and their current math teacher. The next seven questions were math facts. The math facts chosen for the interview were a range of difficulty, starting with a simple problem like 1 x 9 and increasing in difficulty to 6 x 9. The last four questions were open-ended with the intent of gaining insight into whether the students were using strategies to complete the problems or if they …

Evaluation Of A Flipped Classroom On Student Achievement In A Low Income School District, Michael Yeoman

Graduate Research Papers

This purpose of this research is to determine whether using a flipped classroom is as effective for students in low-income schools as it is for students in wealthy school districts. A review of the literature is performed to determine what is the underlying philosophy of using a flipped classroom as well as determining barriers that may inhibit its effectiveness.

Control and treatment groups were determined so that data could be compared between a “traditional” classroom and a “flipped” classroom. The students in the treatment group were given a Pre-Unit Survey to determine a baseline of their perceptions of flipped learning. …

Social Skills And Students With Moderate To Severe Disabilities: Can Community Based Instruction Help?, Carissa Hernandez, Saili S. Kulkarni

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research study was to determine how Community Based Instruction (CBI) affects the social skills of middle school students with moderate to severe disabilities. Existing literature is limited in findings related to the influence of CBI on middle school students with moderate to severe disabilities. This qualitative study was completed using interviews and observations. Participants included students, teachers, and paraprofessionals from a middle school in Southern California. The findings of this study are intended to support the use of CBI in middle school special education classrooms and to demonstrate how a functional program can improve the social …

The Inclusion Classroom: Implementing The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program© To Improve The Classroom Environment, Erika Lea Mooney Patterson

Theses and Dissertations

At White Rose Middle School (WRMS), in the lower Piedmont of South Carolina, students with individualized education plans (IEPs), behavioral intervention plans (BIPs), and 504 Plans were placed in the inclusion classroom setting resulting in repeated negative behavior patterns that drew the attention of their peers. Students assigned to the inclusion classroom included regular education students, students identified with a “learning disability,” and students identified as English language learners (ELL). The negative behaviors expressed in the inclusion classroom were categorized as bullying behaviors that disrupted the classroom environment. The purpose of the present action research study was to determine if …

The Impact Of A Peer-Tutoring Model On The Academic Performance Of Secondary Students, Bridgett Wolfe

Theses and Dissertations

The Impact of A Peer-Tutoring Model on the Academic Performance of Secondary Students describes the impact of a peer-tutoring model in a secondary introductory computer science classroom, Information Technology Foundations (ITF), at a Midlands High School (MHS) (pseudonym), a suburban high school located in the Midlands region of South Carolina. The course is required for graduation and student-participants in the study were diverse in their ages and learning abilities. Matching one peer-tutor with five or six peer-tutees enabled student-participants to work through a Google Drive unit that was designed by the teacher-researcher. The research question: What is the impact of …

First-Year Teachers Perceptions Of The Mentoring Component Of The New Teacher Induction Progra, Bonnie M. Belanger

Theses and Dissertations

The present action research study examines first-year teachers’ perceptions of the mentoring component of the New Teacher Induction Program (NTI Program) and specifically levels of helpfulness of their mentors in the Eastern Georgia School District (pseudonym). The Eastern Georgia School District (EGSD) lacked a comprehensive induction program; therefore, EGSD developed the NTI Program to assist first-year teachers as they transition into their professional careers. The data set comprises a survey and semi-structured interviews collected at the end of the 2016-2017 school year. Descriptive statistics and an inductive analysis allowed data to be analyzed and interpreted. Findings of the study indicate, …

The Impact Of Inquiry-Based Learning On Academic Achievement In Eighth-Grade Social Studies, Lindsey A. Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

The problem of practice described in this paper was identified by varying academic performances of students in a middle school located in South Carolina. The identified problem led the researcher to formulate a research question: What is the impact of inquiry-based learning on academic achievement for eighth-grade students in social studies? The purpose of this study is to determine if implementing inquiry-based learning will affect the academic achievement of students in social studies. Action research allows teachers to study their own classrooms to better understand them and to be able to improve their quality or effectiveness (Mertler, 2014). Action research …

Not-So-Compehensive Health Education: Teacher Attitudes Toward Heteronormative Sexuality Education, Sarah Elizabeth Burnham

Theses and Dissertations

Drawing upon queer theory, this study investigated health teachers’ interactions with the heteronormative sexuality education curriculum as prescribed by the 1988 South Carolina Comprehensive Health Education Act (SC CHEA). A survey composed of Likert-type and open-ended response items measured three constructs: the amount of preparation to teach health education, self-efficacy in teaching sexuality education, and teachers’ levels of alignment with, or rejection of, heteronormativity. A convenience sample of middle and high-school teachers in SC public schools responsible for teaching health education yielded 181 responses. Descriptive statistics of the respondents precedes non-parametric analyses of correlations between constructs and among constructs and …

The Effect Of 7e Model Inquiry-Based Labs On Student Achievement In Advanced Placement Physics: An Action Research Study, Vaughn C. Vick

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation involved an action research study of the effects of 7E Model inquiry labs in Advanced Placement (AP) Physics on students’ performance on AP exam inquiry lab-based questions. The study, which is described in detail, employed a one-group, pretest-posttest design to answer the research question regarding the effects of the inquiry-based AP Physics labs on students’ achievement on AP exam inquiry lab questions as measured by unit assessments. Data collection and analysis strategies are also discussed. Sources of data included a pretest, lab reports, and a posttest. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, specifically a t-test comparison of …

Towards A ‘Pedagogy Of Hybrid Masculinities’: The Effects Of Teacher-Selected Vs. Student-Selected Informational Texts On The Literacy Achievement And Masculine Identities Of Middle-Level Males, Elizabeth Coen Welch

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether teacher-selected informational texts or student-selected informational texts best contribute to literacy achievement and engagement for middle-level males and to examine middle-level males’ perception of the relationship between masculine performance and literacy practice. For the purposes of this study, literacy achievement was measured using pre-test/post-test comparison on an assessment which measured participants’ ability to determine the central idea of an informational text while engagement and the relationship between masculine expression and literacy achievement were analyzed using observational field notes and semi-structured focus group interviews. Over a nine-week period during the first nine-week …

The Effects Of Peer-Revision On Student Writing Performance In A Middle School Ela Classroom, Charles Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation in practice outlines an action research project that attempted to answer the research question: what impact does peer-revision have on students' writing performance? This question is predicated on the idea that writing instruction in middle school English-Language Arts (ELA) classrooms is not always adequate. Writing often suffers due to many reasons, and out of all aspects of writing, it is often the instruction and practice of revision that suffers the most. This research project followed Mertler’s (2014) four-phase action research process, with phases being broken down further into nine steps: identifying the topic, gathering information, reviewing the related …

The Response Of Middle School Special Education Students To Differentiation Of Reading Instruction Based On Student Choice And Interest In The Seventh Grade Academic Enrichment Classroom, Autumn M. Hudson

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study describes the influence of differentiation of reading instruction based on student choice and interest on the reading growth of seventh-grade special education students in the academic enrichment classroom. This research was grounded in the theoretical framework that involves differentiation of instruction (Tomlinson, 2001), special education students (Bender, 2012), and middle school reading instruction (Robb, 2010). This action research study implemented a parallel mixed methods design to explore the following research question: What influence does differentiation of reading instruction based on student choice and interest have on the reading growth of seventh-grade, special education students in the …

The Effects Of A Flipped Classroom On Student Comprehension And Perception Among Second Language Learners In A Bachelor Of Social Work Course, Beverly Wagner

Theses and Dissertations

This two phased action research study first explored obstacles to learning among second-language learners in a UAE undergraduate, social work course. This knowledge was then used in the modification of a flipped class approach to understand how this approach could influence student engagement and comprehension. This study was grounded in a sociocultural and student-centered learning theoretical framework, through first exploring the sociocultural influences and obstacles within a specific cultural context and modifying a student-centered learning approach based on this knowledge. Both phases were studied using a qualitative, ethnographic design.

Phase I sought to answer the following research questions: What are …

The Impact Of Collaborative Strategic Reading On Students’ Comprehension Of Secondary Social Studies Texts, Kaitlyn Mathews

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study evaluates the impact of the literacy intervention, Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), on students’ comprehension of social studies texts in secondary classrooms at a high school in East Tennessee, and their perceptions of the intervention as an activity for learning. The identified problem of practice this study sought to explore is whether explicit, collaborative literacy instruction would impact students’ comprehension of grade-level appropriate social studies texts, and to evaluate students’ responses to such literacy instruction. Pre- and post-tests assessing students’ comprehension of informational articles pertaining to eras of United States history, and semi-structured interviews with students, provided …

Implementation Of A Response To Intervention Block, Amy Roberts Mcglohorn

Theses and Dissertations

The location of this study is Bulldog Elementary School (BES) (pseudonym) in Suburban School District (SSD) (pseudonym). According to the Read to Succeed Act (2016), students must read on grade level by the end of third grade. Therefore, the students reading achievement level is the problem of practice. This action research study describes the impact of the Response to Intervention (RtI) model within an instructional framework for English Language Arts (ELA) in an elementary level classroom and its impact on student growth in reading by reviewing student universal screening assessment data and progress monitoring using a pre-test/post-test model as well …

South Carolina Preschool Teachers’ Perceptions And Experiences Implementing Critical Literacy In The Preschool Classroom, Rebecca Weissman

Theses and Dissertations

Critical literacy situated within a critical theoretical and pedagogical paradigm focuses specifically on exploring the sociopolitical implications of texts and challenging information rather than taking it at face value. The present study constitutes a case study that describes the perceptions and experiences of seven preschool teachers who employ critical literacy in their early childhood classroom and how their pedagogy fits within the existing themes seen in the early childhood literature. Specifically, this case study is an instrumental collective study, consisting of in-depth interviews. Through qualitative analysis of these interviews a variety of specific pedagogical methods for implementing critical literacy are …

Counseling Program Intervention For Improving African American Students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Dual Enrollment Participation, Sonja L. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

African Americans are underrepresented at all points in the STEM pipeline from K-12 coursework into professional careers. The reasons for this underrepresentation are varied and reflect a myriad of contributing factors based on early academic experiences, sociocultural influences, and the effects of standardized testing. The three-fold purpose of this study was to implement a counseling program to inform nine African American study participants about the dual enrollment opportunity at their high school, to gain perspective about the factors which shaped their STEM disposition, and to determine the effect of the program on their attitudes about dual enrollment participation. The study …

Movement Break Effects On Second Graders: An Action Research Study, Windy K. Sizemore

Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes an action research study regarding the amount of time elementary school children have to engage in movement and play during the school day. The teacher-researcher focused on using transitional movement breaks before math whole group instruction in an effort to answer the question: How do various types of movement breaks during instructional transitions impact off-task behaviors among second grade students during classroom instruction? The data results showed that physical activity related to students’ abilities to stay on-task during instruction when regularly scheduled movement breaks have been implemented as transitions. Student off-task behaviors decreased after using a physical …

The Impact Of A Forest School Model And An Interdisciplinary Curriculum In A Third-Grade Classroom: An Action Research Study, Valerie Hoyt-Parrish

Theses and Dissertations

New policy at LHP (pseudonym) requires all teachers to implement the Danish Forest School approach and integrate the natural outdoor areas surrounding the campus in their curriculum and pedagogy. The purposes of the present study are to identify the cognitive, affective and psychomotor impact of the Danish Forest School approach on students and to design a professional development plan for teachers that enables them to combine this approach within an interdisciplinary framework that will include the State Standards that are required of all third-grade students in this southern, private, parochial school. Action research methods were used to collect observational data …

The Impact Of Project-Based Learning On Student Learning Perspectives And Achievement In A Social Studies Classroom, Jason Brisini

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the possible impact of project-based learning on student learning perspective and achievement in a social studies classroom. American schools are in an era of standardized testing based on standards-driven curricula that only teaches basic recall and recognition. School curriculum should be focused on providing students with the skills necessary for them to be successful after high school graduation. Higher-level thinking skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, and self-direction are not easily learned with traditional, essentialist teaching methods. Students can quickly look up facts with ready access to the internet, so they need …

Historical Thinking At Historical Sites And Museums: An Action Research Study, Timothy Edward Hicks

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study examined the impact of the Historical Thinking Method (HTM) on how students interacted with actual and virtual historical sites and museums. From September 2017 to May 2018, students engaged in analysis and evaluation of online exhibits and actual sites in the Washington, DC, and Columbia, South Carolina, areas using the 32 prompt HTM guide. The HTM was designed to develop not only students’ analytical abilities but also consideration of social justice issues such as racism and sexism in the exhibition and memorialization of history. Using qualitative data from student HTM guides, papers, teacher observations, and written …

Breaking The Mold: Personalized Learning’S Impact On The Development Of Higher-Order Thinking Skills, Mark Jon Hladek

Theses and Dissertations

Personalized learning (PL) is a pedagogical model designed to focus on meeting students where they are in the learning process, tailoring an individual instruction plan, varying the learning experience to prepare students for life beyond school, and creating a flexible environment that allows for student ownership and voice in the learning process (Rickabaugh, 2016). A PL model is designed to better address 21st century competencies and higher-order thinking skills as well as the inclusion of agency and self-efficacy development deemed necessary for success in the modern society (United States Department of Education [USDE], 2010). The purpose of this action research …

Examining The Impact Of The Lucy Calkins Teacher-Student Conference Tool In Collaboration With Accelerated Reader On Reading Comprehension Of 5th-Grade Students At A Suburban Elementary School: An Action Research Study, Laura Elizabeth Clawson

Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes a problem of practice arising from a concern that students are not continuously making reading comprehension gains. Focusing on the problem of practice, the researcher developed a triangulation action research study involving a convenience sampling population in a fifth grade elementary school classroom to examine the impact of the teacher-student conferencing tool from Lucy Calkins’s reader’s workshop model in collaboration with the Accelerated Reader program and comprehension to answer the following research question: What impact do the student-teacher conferences from the Lucy Calkins workshop have on reading comprehension as measured by the AR program? The eight-week study …