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Early Childhood Education Commons

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Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Early Childhood Education

Building Peer Independence Among Children, Sienna D. Kuhn May 2017

Building Peer Independence Among Children, Sienna D. Kuhn

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The research was conducted to determine if grace and courtesy lessons could increase the peer to peer reliance in a new community of 12 children ranging in age from thirty-three months to four years old at a private Montessori school in a metropolitan area. It is rare to experience starting a new community and only having 12 children of the same relative age in a Montessori school. The study was conducted with grace and courtesy lessons, given an average of three times a week, on how to ask other peers for help and how to offer help to others. Data …


How Acts Of Kindness Facilitate Prosocial Behaviors In An Early Childhood Montessori Classroom, April L. Malley May 2017

How Acts Of Kindness Facilitate Prosocial Behaviors In An Early Childhood Montessori Classroom, April L. Malley

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

This action research project examined how the implementation of Kindness Guidelines affected prosocial behavior among Early Childhood students. The setting was a private Montessori school, with 18 children ages two to five-years-old. Guidelines were developed using child-generated ideas on how to be kind to themselves, others, and the environment, along with teacher-made materials that illustrated acts of kindness and emotional awareness. Implementation of the intervention lasted six weeks with 20 days of data collected during two 15-20 minute observations per day. Positive and negative behaviors were recorded using tally sheets and an observation journal. Use of teacher-made materials was tracked …


The Effects Of Montessori’S “Walking On The Line” Activity On Student Engagement And Concentration, Emily S. Leutgeb May 2017

The Effects Of Montessori’S “Walking On The Line” Activity On Student Engagement And Concentration, Emily S. Leutgeb

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

This paper investigates whether and to what degree Montessori’s “Walking on the Line” activity affected student engagement and concentration. This study took place in a private Montessori classroom serving twenty students, aged 33 months through five years. Data was collected using four tools on line usage, engagement, and concentration: a tally of how many times students walked the line, a tally measuring how engaged students appeared while working in the classroom, how long students concentrated following a lesson, and a professional journal. All but the line usage tool gathered baseline data five days before the intervention. Results were inconclusive. While …


The Effects Of Music And Visual Cues On Transition Time In A Multi-Aged 3-5 Year Old Montessori Classroom, Jessica S. Brock May 2017

The Effects Of Music And Visual Cues On Transition Time In A Multi-Aged 3-5 Year Old Montessori Classroom, Jessica S. Brock

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this action research project was to investigate the effects of music and visual cues on transition times. This research took place in a Primary Montessori classroom with children ranging from 3-5 years of age in a public, partial magnet, urban K3-8th school. Data was collected for four weeks using a transition time log, behavior tally sheets, teacher journal, and student attitude scales. The results of the study showed a slight decrease in transition times, and a larger decrease in disruptive behaviors using both music and visual cues. Although the transition time decreases were less than expected, …


Grace And Courtesy In Living With Conflict In The Montessori Children’S House, Katie J. Gregoire May 2017

Grace And Courtesy In Living With Conflict In The Montessori Children’S House, Katie J. Gregoire

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this research was to determine in what ways increased role-play lessons of grace and courtesy affected conflict resolution in an early childhood classroom. This research study was conducted at a private Montessori school in a midwestern metropolitan area. The sixweek study was completed in a classroom with 29 children, ranging in age from thirty-three months to six years old. During the study, data was collected on the number of conflicts and grace and courtesy lessons. Data was also collected on levels of cooperation and use of respectful language among children, as observed and reflected on, by the …


Supporting Conflict Resolution In An Early Childhood Montessori Environment, Megan C. Andrews May 2017

Supporting Conflict Resolution In An Early Childhood Montessori Environment, Megan C. Andrews

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The study aimed to determine in what way daily grace and courtesy lessons and more thoughtful, consistent adult intervention would affect children’s responses to conflict in an early childhood Montessori environment. There were 17 participants between the ages of three and six in an independent Montessori school in Northern Michigan. The researcher gave the children daily lessons on aspects of conflict resolution, used a scripted intervention strategy during conflict, and implemented three guided discussions throughout the course of the study. The researcher collected data by tallying number of conflicts, recording responses during guided discussions, recording details and language of each …


The Affects Of Nature Based Learning On Children’S Eco-Centric Attitudes, Nicolette A. Bidell Apr 2017

The Affects Of Nature Based Learning On Children’S Eco-Centric Attitudes, Nicolette A. Bidell

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this action research study was to discover if exposure to nature-based education would increase student’s eco-centric views of the environment. The intervention took place over a four week period at a private Montessori school in France. 11 students and their parents participated in the study. Students ranged in age from 2 to 3 years. Qualitative and quantitative data were both collected via a parent questionnaire, pre and post student surveys, daily observations, and a teacher reflection journal. Analysis of the data revealed that the more days a child participated in the nature-based lessons and activities, the more …


Goal Setting And Choice On Student Motivation, Donna K. Dodge Apr 2017

Goal Setting And Choice On Student Motivation, Donna K. Dodge

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this research is to determine what effect weekly conferences and goal setting opportunities have on the motivation of kindergarten children, in a multi-age (3-6 year-old) Montessori early childhood classroom in the Midwest. The goal was for children to become selfmotivated to choose and practice independent work that is developmentally appropriate. Data was collected before, during, and after the project using an observational checklist to determine the effectiveness of implementing goal setting and conferences with students. The research showed that writing goals in a journal was helpful for the majority of students. The students involved in the study …