Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Universal Design For Learning (Udl) In Inclusive Preschool Science Classrooms, Marla J. Lohmann, Katrina A. Hovey, Ariane N. Gauvreau

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Science instruction is a critical aspect of early learning. Teachers can support young children’s learning about scientific concepts through the use of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, which is a proactive approach to instructional planning that helps ensure success for all learners. This teaching techniques article offers preschool teachers practical solutions for implementing in the UDL framework for science instruction in their classrooms.

Practical Strategies For School Leaders To Improve African American Males’ Reading Achievement, Faye C. Bradley

Journal of Research Initiatives

The study identified parental involvement activities that significantly influenced the reading achievement of the African American male learner. Teachers and administrators were surveyed using an instrument adapted from Epstein's School, Family, and Community Partnership Survey, The Virginia Standards of Learning reading and language arts assessments provided data for reading achievement of fourth-grade African American males. Significant differences were found between principals and teachers in their ratings of Teacher Reports of Total School Program to Involve Families. A correlation was found between teacher estimates of parents' involvement and the mean SOL English score for African American male fourth-grade students.

Shifting Educational Paradigms To Match Learners: Sustaining Cultures, Languages, And Paradigms Through Educational Sovereignty, Lona R. Running Wolf

The Montana English Journal

The U.S. system of education was developed by visionary forefathers that knew American democracy would be stable only through educated citizens. The system was developed to produce citizens that would carry on the new world's vision and values. The educational system was built within that paradigm. Simultaneously, Indigenous tribes in America were being stripped of their traditional educational systems whose purpose was also to develop productive citizens of their communities and carry on their values. Traditional educational systems among tribes developed children with positive self-identity carrying the pride of their culture, language, and paradigm. That is not the case for …

Explicit Instruction In A Second Grade Picturebook Author Study, Ted Kesler

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

Using the Learning by Design multiliteracies framework, writing workshop was transformed into composing workshop. The researcher worked with a team of four second grade teachers in an urban public elementary school to redesign their Kevin Henkes author study to equally value art and design, guiding their students in creating their own narrative picturebooks. The researcher addresses the following two research questions: 1. What explicit instructional practices did the teachers enact? 2. What influence did these explicit instructional practices have on the second graders’ composing work? The researcher applied cross-case analysis, first to create an inventory of explicit instructional practices, and …

The Impact Of Using Best Practices To Improve English Language Arts Standardized Test Scores In Rural Central Mississippi Schools, Caroline Greer Ferguson

Merge

In recent years, the Mississippi Department of Education has made several changes in curriculum and policy to improve students’ literacy rates on standardized test scores. As a result of these changes, teachers have been offered more professional development training to educate them on best literacy practices to implement in the classroom. This study aims to identify best practices that teachers use in third-grade classrooms to improve students’ standardized test scores on the Third Grade Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) for English Language Arts (ELA). Upon obtaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, the student researcher obtained approval from administrators to conduct …

Critical Reflections In Stem Education, Jessica R. Stephenson Reaves, Anna Maria Arias

KSU Distinguished Course Repository

The purpose of this course is to foster abilities to teach, assess, and critically reflect on STEM learning that supports authentic engagement in interdisciplinary design and inquiry. Students will engage in making connections to STEM research literature with learning and teaching practice. Field placement in a K-5 learning environment is required for this course, which is typically fulfilled through a candidate’s full time teaching position. Other arrangements are permitted but not provided. This placement is the responsibility of the candidate.

Difficulties Facing Teachers In Teaching Mathematics To Students With Learning Disabilities In Light Of Corona Pandemic And Proposed Solutions From The Teachers' Point Of View, Laial Mohammad Damrah

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Research in Higher Education (مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية (للبحوث في التعليم العالي

The study aimed to reveal the difficulties facing teaching students with learning disabilities in Mathematics in light of Corona pandemic and proposed solutions to them from the point of view of their teachers. To achieve this goal, the analytical descriptive approach was used, the study tool (questionnaire) was distributed randomly on a sample of 58 teachers was chosen out of 123 (47% of the study population) from all resource rooms in 5 directorates in Amman (26 male and 97 female teachers) for the academic year 2020/2021 to respond to a questionnaire items. The result showed that the most problems facing …

Why Not Sign? Classrooms As Sites Of D/Deaf And Multilingual Literacy Development, Dawnavyn James, Brianne R. Pitts

Michigan Reading Journal

While often, “bilingual” literacy instruction has overlooked the potential of incorporating ASL in classrooms (U.S.DPE, 2021), this article engages discussions of practice from a Missouri Kindergarten classroom to argue that teachers can improve student literacy outcomes by leveraging d/Deaf and hard of hearing multilingual learning (DML) strategies as a way of (re)imagining students’ multimodal literacy development. By engaging with a variety of strategies learned from DML students, readers may conceptualize DML inclusive classroom practices. Following a review of the literature and discussion, games, instructional strategies, and text recommendations for educators seeking DML inclusive literacy environments are provided.

A Call For Digital Citizenship Curriculum In Early Childhood Education, Jenna K. Ladd, Joel J. Traver

Essays in Education

Accessibility of information (factual or fabricated), social interconnectedness, and more of our daily lives being lived in the digital world has created challenges and opportunities for children and families around the world. As a result, there exists an emerging need for families with children aged birth-to-five to receive education and support through standards-based digital citizenship curriculum to navigate living online. Several models of digital citizenship curriculum have been created for the K-12 education to provide education and guidance for teachers, administrators, and parents of older children. Thus, we call for the development and implementation of standards-based digital citizenship curriculum in …

Challenge-Based Learning & Steam Curriculum, Diana Lockwood

The STEAM Journal

STEAM education is being integrated into elementary schools as a way to engage more students in creativity, hands-on learning, and problem-based learning also referred to as Challenge-Based-Learning (CBL). This article focuses on elementary educators’ curriculum design for STEAM and presenting students with open-ended questions phrased as a challenge as a way to raise student interest and achievement (DeJarnette, 2018; Hunter-Doniger, 2018). When students received challenges to solve, they felt more open to sharing their ideas since there was more than one potential right answer (DeJarnette, 2018; Drake, 2012). When implementing CBL, teachers act as facilitators using a constructivist approach as …

Effects Of Diglossia On The Acquisition Of Underlying Reading Processes: Toward Pragmatic Solutions, Mohammed R. Jouhar Phd

International Journal for Research in Education

The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate how diglossia hinders the acquisition of underlying reading processes of Arabic-speaking students and recommend pragmatic solutions that would help Arabic teachers in developing their students’ reading abilities. Results of the included studies showed that Arabic-speaking students lack standard phonemes, phonological and morphological patterns, and letters missing from their local Arabic vernaculars, which in turn, affect their word reading abilities. Nevertheless, it takes six years of systematic exposure to standard Arabic to close the linguistic gap between students’ oral and written language in terms of phonemes, letters, and phonological and morphological patterns. …

Streaming With Butterflies: A Whole School Stream Project, Carey L. Averill, Janet M. Herrelko

Journal of Catholic Education

This study explores the commitment of a school faculty to use the pedagogical practices needed to employ a project-based unit of Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STREAM). The unit of study concentrated on environmental sustainability of butterflies through project-based learning (PBL). Teacher interviews were analyzed to reveal the similarities and differences, strengths and weaknesses in the teachers’ reactions to implementing a cross-curricula content unit designed for a pre-kindergarten (PK) to eighth grade school. Analysis of teacher data and classroom artifacts provided evidence of: content mastery at the student levels; implementation of scaffolding for developmental levels; and the need …

Book Review: Developing Digital Detectives: Essential Lessons For Discerning Fact From Fiction In The ‘Fake News’ Era, Ashley Cooksey

Journal of Media Literacy Education

No abstract provided.

A Glimpse Behind The Curtain: The Detailed Structure Of The May Literacy Center, A University-Based Literacy Clinic, Brian M. Flores, Amber Meyer

Journal of Research Initiatives

Literacy centers have existed in the United States since the 1920s and have seen many changes over their vast and essential history. Initially, clinics focused on remediation with a deficit view that positioned struggling readers as lazy and unmotivated. Over time, clinics shifted to a medical model, which also held a deficit view that involved pathologizing, testing, and diagnosing to "fix what was wrong" with the struggling reader. Today, university-based reading clinics focus on research-based literacy practices providing opportunities for undergraduate teacher candidates and graduate students to support struggling readers. Research on literacy clinics primarily focused on funding, student demographics, …

Goal Setting In Kindergarten: Motivating Young Learners To Be Successful In Learning Sight Words, Ashley Brudvig, Taylor Anderson, Jarrett D. Moore

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of goal setting as a motivator for kindergarten students in learning grade-level sight words. This study was conducted over a 6-week period in two Midwestern kindergarten classrooms. The participants in the experimental group were trained in self-setting goals and participated in weekly check-ins and bi-weekly assessments. Themes in motivation were documented using a reflection survey and anecdotal notes. Student growth was tracked using sight word assessments and growth charts. Data suggested participants who set goals achieved higher gains than participants who did not set goals.

Utilizing Counter Narratives To Develop Culturally Sustaining, Critically Conscious Preservice Teacher Practitioners, David Wolff

Essays in Education

The content areas that get most attention in an elementary classroom include mathematics and English/Language Arts (ELA), and little time is devoted to other content areas like social studies. Preservice elementary teachers can learn to maximize instructional time by integrating social studies content in the ELA block. Using counternarratives, preservice teachers can learn to use children’s literature to teach multiple perspectives to the dominant narrative in the textbooks. This article shares strategies to present counternarratives and examples of children’s literature that can be used in an elementary classroom.

From Writer To Teacher: The Gradual Release Of Responsibility In An Early Childhood Education Writing Course For Pre-Service Teachers, Denise N. Morgan, Danielle G. Gruhler, Kristen I. Evans

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Teaching students to become confident, capable writers is imperative in today’s world. Growing attention has been paid to the amount and kinds of writing students are experiencing in schools with an urgent plea for more time and attention given to writing instruction (Nagin, 2003; National Commission on Writing, 2003). Yet, few teachers feel well prepared to teach writing.

In this special issue on writing methods courses, we discuss the evolution of our writing methods course for early childhood preservice teachers (PK-5). Specifically, we examine the current pedagogical practices within the course to support preservice teachers’ experiential learning. This piece examines …

Kindergarten Children’S Assessment Through Noor System And Ways To Improve It From Kindergarten Teacher’S Perspective In Riyadh City, Najla Albaiz Phd, Ghadah Saleh Alsedrani Phd

International Journal for Research in Education

This study aimed to explore the opinions of kindergarten teachers in public kindergartens in the city of Riyadh in relation to their experience in assessing kindergarteners through the Noor system, approved by the Ministry of Education, and the obstacles of assessment and improvement suggestions. Also, a related purpose was to identify statistically significant differences among teachers about the reality of applying the assessment due to the educational qualification, number of years of experience, and the number of training courses through the Noor system. The study adopted the descriptive approach using a survey developed by the researchers. A total of 326 …

Australian Teachers’ Perceptions And Experiences Of Food And Nutrition Education In Primary Schools: A Qualitative Study, Gozde Aydin, Claire Margerison, Anthony Worsley, Alison Booth

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher delivered food and nutrition education (FNE) can be effective in improving children’s food literacy and eating habits. However, teachers are known to face some barriers to the delivery of FNE globally. To obtain a deeper understanding of Australian primary school teachers’ experiences and views, 17 teachers were interviewed. The results of the thematic analysis showed that teachers acknowledged the importance of FNE and were willing to include more FNE content into their teaching. We also identified the FNE topics taught, resources used, their teaching partners, and barriers encountered. The discussion presents strategies to overcome these barriers.

A Structured Literacy Approach To Support Striving Readers In Secondary Grades: Meaningful Transactions Through Morphological Awareness And Fluency Building, Samantha Bart-Addison, Robert A. Griffin

Georgia Journal of Literacy

A high school English teacher and a university literacy professor provide secondary teachers with structured literacy strategies to support striving readers in the middle and high school grades. The authors present strategies that can be utilized with diverse texts across learning contexts. As a structured literacy approach, morphological awareness and prosodic fluency are emphasized to foster deeper, more meaningful transactions between students and texts. An example of a full structured literacy lesson is also provided that includes multiple strategies and is based on a gradual release model with guided and independent reading cycles. Applicable strategies for delivery of these skills …

Connecting A Community Through A Family Literacy Project And Virtual Writing Collaboration: University Students Facilitate Access To Literature During The Pandemic, Anne Katz Ph.D., Alexandria Sledge-Tollerson B.A. In Early Childhood Education

Georgia Journal of Literacy

The importance of accessing and sharing children’s literature took on new meaning as educators pivoted to remote and online learning models over the course of the past school year. In light of the pandemic, College of Education pre-service educators enrolled in a Fall 2020 Language and Literacy Development course (which is usually scheduled to meet face-to-face twice a week) was re-structured as hybrid, where a group of students were scheduled to meet partially face-to-face and partially online on a weekly basis. I planned to adapt my family literacy project collaboration with a local community center, an academic service learning assignment …

Culturally Relevant Teaching For The 21st Century: The Success And Challenges Of Pre-Service Teachers When Using Technology In Critical Ways, Virginie Jackson, Stacy Delacruz, Dominique Harry

Georgia Journal of Literacy

This case study examined pre-service teachers' use of technology as they implemented culturally relevant literacy lessons while tutoring elementary students in their field placement sites. As we enter a new decade, we want our students to be future-ready with technology skills. Here, we present an examination of how pre-service teachers integrated culturally relevant teaching with technology along with a discussion of the tools and devices their students used. Findings provided evidence that as pre-service teachers experienced authentic and engaging learning experiences within a supportive space, they emerged equipped to teach in culturally responsive ways that supported student learning and deeper …

Building Family Partnerships In A Catholic School By Connecting After-School And Home With Mathematics, Bilge Cerezci

Journal of Catholic Education

Parents need guidance, support, and motivation to learn how to support their young children’s mathematical development in ways that are more foundational and effective. In Addition After School Math Program serves twenty-four students in grades 3, 4, and 5 and their parents in an urban neighborhood at a Catholic elementary school. In In-Addition After School Math Program, we see families as partners and build our after-school program around supporting mathematics thinking and discoveries by engaging the whole family.

Brilla: Shining On Through A Pandemic, Tracey R. Jones, Erica Silva

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This article highlights the community partnership between a primary school Dual Language program and university Spanish students. In this submission related to personal experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of classroom teachers within the BRILLA (Bilingual Readiness through Interaction, Language, Literacy and Alliances) program is explored. Teachers are the light bearers who make human connection and authentic learning happen in-person and over screens; pandemic, or no pandemic, they shine.

Moving Into A New Realm Of Education And Parenting, Katherine Rodriguez-Agüero

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Fighting For Justice In Education: How Schools Can Lead The Change Towards A More Equitable World, Tara Kirton

Occasional Paper Series

“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine the world anew. This one is no different” (Roy, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has had tremendous implications for every aspect of life. School, work, celebrations and everyday social interactions have all felt the repercussions of the pandemic. While the shutdown called for an immediate pivot from our everyday ways of being, it has also provided opportunities for stillness and deep reflection. This moment of pause has provided an opportunity to think, speak and act differently. As a parent my hope is that educators will lead the change.

An Invitation To Imagine Education Otherwise, Grasilel Esperanza Diaz

Occasional Paper Series

This article presents an invitation to imagine education otherwise, what education could be if we took a restorative justice approach and make immediate changes. It focuses on the changes needed to make this vision a reality. Covid-19 has exposed many of the inequalities that exist in education and how these inequalities have negative effects on the neediest students. You are invited to imagine schools as sites of justice and freedom, to think of teaching that is centered on children, caring, and building relationships with families.

Taking Flight: Giving Up The Things That Weigh Me Down, Karina Malik

Occasional Paper Series

From the perspective of a Latinx, dual-language, special education, public school teacher, I explore and detail what an equitable and just education could look like in our future. I begin by envisioning a future that:

• Values collaboration in teaching and learning

• Allows for spaces of ongoing teacher learning where we teachers decide where we want to grow and how we want to learn.

• Invests in our growth and development as educators.

• Consists of a solid understanding that there is more expertise across communities than in any one person.

I continue by explaining that in order for this to be a …

Telling Tales For Justice And Equity: Storytelling As Public Nepantla Pedagogy, Ayesha Rabadi-Raol

Occasional Paper Series

As the COVID-19 pandemic led to schools moving to online platforms, I launched Tell-a-Tale, a livestreamed, biweekly read-aloud program for children. I designed and implemented each episode to include diverse children’s literature, followed by an artistic response, and finally a discussion about issues of equity and justice. Applying public pedagogy as a theoretical construct, I used this platform to create a space of “public intellectualism and social activism” (Sandlin, O’Malley, Burdick, 2011, p. 338). In this paper I will describe how I used “the pandemic as a portal” (Roy, 2020) to make space for historically marginalized stories and voices take …

Advances In Global Education And Research: Volume 4, Waynne B. James, Cihan Cobanoglu, Muhittin Cavusoglu

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the fourth volume of the Advances in Global Education and Research Book Series. This volume has the following parts:

• Part 1: Adult Education
• Part 2: Curriculum and Instruction Development
• Part 3: Educational Technology
• Part 4: Education in Other Specialties
• Part 5: English as a Second Language
• Part 6: Global Competence
• Part 7: Higher Education and Educational Leadership
• Part 8: Inclusive Education
• Part 9: International Education
• Part 10: PreK-12
• Part 11: Research Methods in Education

ISBN: 978-1-955833-04-2

Adult Education

• Teaching for knowledge transfer: Best practices from a graduate-level educational psychology distance learning program
  • Bobby Hoffman
• A study on the …