Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Using Ipads To Increase Students’ Letters And Letter Sounds Knowledge, Jessica Isgett, Leslie Mann

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

This action research was carried out to determine if the use of an application named Phonics Island would help student knowledge of letters/letter sounds increase. The research was completed in a full day Primary Montessori classroom of 4k and 5k students. Data was gathered using teacher observation and teacher made checklists. Data on students’ feelings toward learning letters/letter sounds was also assessed to see if students’ thoughts about letters changed after incorporating technology. Students were given an iPad for approximately fifteen minutes per day. The letters were grouped in categories, and the researchers chose which group the student needed to …

The Effect Of Engaging In Food Prep On Willingness To Try New Food, Alyssa Stahl

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

This action research project sought to determine the effects implementing food prep activities in the Montessori primary classroom (ages 2.5-6) had on children’s willingness to try new food. Before the food prep activities were implemented, parent questionnaires and student conferences were used to better understand the children’s food preferences. During the intervention, tally sheets and observation forms were used to track student participation and their reactions to the foods. After the intervention, additional parent questionnaires were distributed and student conferences were conducted to determine current food preferences of the four foods that were included in the food prep activities. The …

What Effects Will Collaborative Art Have On Social Cohesion?, Nadine Clarke-Manning

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this project is to determine the effects of group art on social closeness in the early childhood Montessori classroom. The study had nineteen participants ranging in age from three years to six years old and their parents. The data was collected by means of parent pre and postproject questionnaires, student feedback forms, observations and tallies, and reflective teacher journals. The intervention spanned over a six-week period in an established Montessori school in a rural area of Ontario, Canada where social connection and bonding had not been reached. In small groups, students completed a cohesive group art project …

Children's Mental Health: Reimagining Teacher Preparation, Karolina Camacho

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Current research sheds light on the importance of the mental health of school-age children and researcher’s efforts continuously point out that there is need for more to be done to support children with mental health needs, in the context of the classroom, in the United States. Particularly focusing on children with internalizing behavior under Emotional Disturbance, this paper will provide reasoning as to why these children have a need for prevention and intervention services, the reality of the lack of general knowledge teachers have on children’s mental health, and the need for elementary school teachers to have children’s mental health …

Teachers’ Response To Infants’ Nonverbal Communication And Use Of Response To Facilitate A Dialogue, Stephanie Stephens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Beginning with birth, typically developing children use strategies to communicate, and the functions of their language change with maturation and interaction. Since communication cannot exist if both parties do not participate, it is important to not only study the ability of the child, but also the behavior of the adult. Numerous studies have examined the behavior of the parent or other domestic adult, but few have included the study of teacher behaviors.

This study investigated teachers’ response to four types of nonverbal communication attempts made by infants. The gestures included: deictic, affect signaling, object-related, and conventional. The type of response …

Montessori Family Education, Katharina Vidojevic

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

Montessori family education is a stepping stone in forming a bridge between school and home. This action research is focused on increasing familial attendance in Montessori education classes. Using quantitative and qualitative research methods are important tools in discovering the needs of the school community. Attendance, Likert scales and feedback questionnaires were useful tools in reaching out to the familial community. Implementing the changes based on the research results showed a drastic increase in attendance. With families leading busy lives, the school meeting them half way showed positive quantitative and qualitative results. This study had a maximum of 28 families …

Improving Teacher-Efficacy, Gillian K. Jones

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The study was designed to investigate the effects of daily readings on teacher-efficacy within a Montessori environment. This self-study used daily Montessori readings, recording of mastery experiences, scales of accomplishments, surveys of confidence and daily reflections as a way to increase teacher-efficacy over the course of five weeks. I conducted the research in two different Montessori schools. The study highlighted teacher-efficacy in working with children and in working to build a new school. Both schools were located in the Midwest. The first portion of the study was conducted in an established Montessori classroom with 28 children ranging from 2.5-6. The …

The Effects Of A Peer-Supported Mindfulness Practice On Teacher Stress Reduction, Dana Vitolo

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this action research project was to measure the effects of daily mindfulness practice with peer-support on teacher stress reduction. Nine female Montessori teachers participated in study and taught at private Montessori schools in suburban or rural settings. The participating teachers practiced a short mindfulness activity daily such as the body scan, sitting meditation, yoga, or mandala coloring and wrote reflections in their daily journal for four weeks. The teachers also participated in a weekly peer support group for community building and wrote reflections in their weekly journal. The teachers participated in a pre- and post- intervention stress …

Kindergarten Teacher Autonomy In High And Low Socioeconomic Environments, Allison Catherine Mcdonald

MSU Graduate Theses

Kindergarten teachers are immersed in a high stakes educational environment and this environment has altered how kindergarten teachers must teach. Exploring the different distribution of autonomy in high and low-income groups contributes to the research about educational equity. This study examined the relationship between income level of teaching environment and kindergarten teachers’ levels of self-perceived autonomy. The research question that guided this study was: do kindergarten teachers in higher income schools experience greater levels of self-perceived autonomy than kindergarten teachers in low-income schools? The Teaching Autonomy Scale developed by Pearson & Hall (1993) was used to survey 91 kindergarten teacher …

Building A Supportive Professional Learning Community, Jen Jackson, Andrea Nolan, Stephen Lamb

Dr Jen Jackson

An Examination Of California Home-Based Early Childhood Educators’ Self-Determination To Attain A Higher Education Degree, Shirley Collins

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine, identify, and describe the perceived impact of the self-determination attributes of autonomy, competence, and relatedness on the persistence and retention of California licensed home-based early childhood educators who attended higher education degree programs.

Methodology: This study utilized a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods approach to gain an understanding of the impact of self-determination on California licensed home-based early childhood educators’ persistence and retention in college. Three hundred members of the San Diego County Family Child Care Association and/or the California Family Child Care Network were invited to participate in this …

Conquering Imposter Syndrome, Irene Tiefenthaler

University of Montana Journal of Early Childhood Scholarship and Innovative Practice

No abstract provided.

Teacher Turnover In Maine: Analysis Of Staffing Patterns 2005-06 To 2016-17, Lisa Morris, Amy Johnson

Maine Education Policy Research Institute

There have long been anecdotal reports that some Maine districts have difficulty filling vacancies and retaining teachers. This is a common lament for schools in rural areas, and for schools across the state in hiring teachers for certain subject areas-namely math, science, special education, and foreign languages. Current policy initiatives in Maine such as the push for proficiency-based high school diplomas are raising the stakes for schools to employ high-quality teachers in all content areas. There is a concern that schools facing persistent teacher shortages may struggle to provide a comprehensive educational program, resulting in inequitable learning opportunities for their …

A Review Of Standardized Testing Practices And Perceptions In Maine, Janet C. Fairman, Amy Johnson, Ian M. Mette, Garry Wickerd, Sharon Labrie

Maine Education Policy Research Institute

The Maine Legislature requested the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) to conduct an assessment of standardized testing in Maine schools to understand the amount, cost, and usefulness of it. This report summarizes the resulting effort, which included a literature scan, document analysis, and surveys of two groups of school practitioners (testing administrators and teachers) to analyze the amount of time Maine students spend on testing, the types of tests administered, and whether the results are perceived as useful for school practitioners. The scope of the study did not include viewpoints from policymakers who use test results for accountability purposes, …

Stem Storytelling: Using Picture Books To Integrate Mathematics - "Dare To Tinker", Lindsey Herlehy, Karen Togliatti

Publications & Research

This series of activities invites students to engage in a design challenge that elicits mathematical and scientific thinking. In the first activity, the picture book The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires will be used as a catalyst to discuss the engineering design process as experienced by the protagonist, a little girl. Suggested questioning techniques and inferential reasoning strategies will focus on the trials and tribulations, frustrations, and successes achieved by the little girl. Additionally, discussion prompts are included to provide students an opportunity to reflect on the little girl as a mathematician and scientist as she takes action and …

The Effect Of Classroom Context On Head Start Teacher Feedback, Jasmine Renee Ernst

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS, LaParo, Pianta, & Stuhlman, 2004) assesses quality of teacher social and instructional interactions with children, and classroom management and productivity. Prior research indicated low quality of feedback scores in programs serving low-income children (Early et al., 2005). The purpose of this study was to compare the quantity and quality of managing interaction utterances (i.e. a type of feedback) provided by Head Start teachers (N = 8) in two classroom contexts. Video-recorded book-reading and 20-minute center-time sessions in the fall and spring of a school year were used to assess managing interaction utterances in structured …

Linguistic Interactions Of Spanish Speaking Mexican American Families, Adelfio J. Garcia

Dissertations

This study explored the bilingual linguistic interactions in Mexican families and their impact on children’s language and literacy development. This qualitative study gathered data using different methods, namely, interviews, direct observations, participant observation, and physical artifacts to examine parents’ perceptions of their own educational path in comparison to their children’s educational path in an American school system, together with their daily linguistic interactions in various social contexts, and the features, themes and roles of linguistic interactions participants. Study results assisted in gaining deeper understanding of daily conversations happening in different social contexts and their impact on the language and literacy …

Learning To Teach: Observing And Reflecting, Nancy Nager

All Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations

This video series, “Learning to Teach,” provides a platform for professional development in early childhood education. It introduces viewers to compelling early childhood classroom footage accompanied by facilitated discussions about observations and teaching practices. You will get a hands-on look at how beginning teachers learn to closely observe children and engage in reflective conversations about children, materials, the classroom environment and themselves.

Sidewalk Math: An Innovative Approach For Engaging All Children In Mathematical Learning, Martha Barry Mckenna, Siobhan Dennis, Maureen Loony, Merideth Ekwall

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

In kindergarten classrooms in six schools across Massachusetts young children are developing numbersense by walking, hopping, jumping, and skipping through colorful mathematical designs on carpets and sidewalks. The patterns and accompanying counting activities provide teachers with tools to engage young children in learning mathematics through movement and observation activities on colorful floor designs.

Lesley University’s Creativity Commons partnered with 20 kindergarten teachers and their 6 principals to form the Early Childhood Math Collaborative Inquiry Project in Fall 2017 to study the impact of the use of Sidewalk Math carpet patterns on children’s development of numbersense. Teachers from 3 urban schools …

A Review Of Survey Data Collected On The Use Of Applied Behavior Analytic (Aba) Based Instructional Strategies By Educators In Pennsylvania Schools, Eric J. Bieniek, Mike Monfore, Matthew Erickson, Ashlea Rineer-Hershey, Richael Barger-Anderson

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This survey was initiated to explore the perceptions and daily practices of Applied behavior Analytic ABA) by educators supporting exceptional learners in public and private school settings in Pennsylvania. This survey explores the degree to which educators are trained, feel confident in and actually carry out a range evidenced based practices following an ABA approach. Results are also presented in regards to barriers that educators feel limit the delivery of ABA based approaches and undermine the fidelity of interventions once introduced in their professional settings.

Mobility In Maine Schools: Impact On Student Performance And Proficiency, Craig A. Mason, Shihfen Tu

Maine Education Policy Research Institute

No abstract provided.

Proficiency-Based High School Diploma Systems In Maine: Getting To Graduation, Erika K. Stump, Bernadette Doykos, Maria Rios Branche

Maine Education Policy Research Institute

In the 127th Maine State Legislative Session, "An Act to Implement Certain Recommendations of the Maine Proficiency Education Council" (S.P. 660 -- L.D. 1627) was passed into law as Chapter 489. This amended the chaptered law passed in 2012, "An Act to Prepare Maine People for the Future Economy" (S.P.439 -- L.D.1422), requiring public school districts to implement proficiency-based high school diploma requirements and standards-based education systems. Beginning in 2012, the Maine Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs has annually requested that the Maine Education Policy Research Institute's (MEPRI) work plan include empirical research studies designed to …

Study Of A Regional Approach For Delivering Special Education Programs And Services In Maine, Janet C. Fairman, Mary Ellen Seymour

Maine Education Policy Research Institute

No abstract provided.

Proficiency-Based High School Diploma Systems In Maine: Getting To Graduation, Erika Stump, Bernadette Doykos, Maria Rios Brache

Maine Education Policy Research Institute

No abstract provided.

A Program For Teacher Induction, Patricia Lager 7701725, Katherine Bertolini

Empowering Research for Educators

Even though many novice teachers are prepared academically to deal with subject matter, many of them enter the teaching field unprepared for many of the other aspects of teaching such as dealing with grading programs, insurance claims, inventory and various other matters that differ from school-to-school. Often these new teachers feel isolated and unsupported and possibly do not realize what they do not know or the proper questions to ask. This results in nearly 29% of them leaving the field within their first three years and around 39% leaving within their first five years. This project proposes creating a teacher …

The Purpose Of Education: What Should An American 21st Century Education Value?, Krista Shilvock

Empowering Research for Educators

A survey taken by 511 respondents dealt with such issues as past and current educational practice preparation, educational purposes in America, core class subjects, and soft skill teachings. Its results revealed a public opinion believing the primary goal of education as teaching students to adapt to any situation they find themselves in. Other results include a lack of preparation in current practices for life beyond education, although workforce preparation is adequate. Also, soft skills ought to see a curriculum of their own and taught explicitly to students in education instead of implicitly enforced, hoping parents alone taught these skills previously. …

Development Of One’S Teaching Philosophy: The Three “R’S” Of Relationships, Relevancy, And Rigor, Mary Bowne

Empowering Research for Educators

A common practice for educators is to develop a teaching philosophy which helps them become reflective practitioners on various teaching and learning strategies. This narrative will address how one faculty member identified common themes within her online and face-to-face classes that held students accountable, yet eager to come to class and learn the important content and develop the unique traits mentioned. Through the use of various data methods and current literature and research available, the author identified three common themes within her teaching and classroom environment. Those themes are identified as the 3 “R’s”: Relationships, Relevancy, and Rigor.

Exploring Teacher Factors That Influence Teacher-Child Relationships In Head Start: : A Grounded Theory, Shiyi Chen, Beth Phillips

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper was to explore factors that influence teacher-child relationships in Head Start. Three Head Start teachers from three centers were recruited for this study. Interview and observation data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach by using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo. Two coders completed the coding process. Inter-coder reliability and other triangulation techniques were employed to ensure the credibility of this study. The analysis revealed factors that teachers perceived as beneficial or harmful to their relationships with children. Three main themes emerged: professionalism (i.e., teacher beliefs, education, and work experience), teacher self-efficacy (i.e., teacher …

Scoring Reliability By Early Childhood Educators On A Curriculum Based Assessment, Brigid S. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate if early childhood educators could reliably score items using a new scoring system for the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children (AEPS; Bricker, 2002). The participants were university students completing their certification in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (IECE) at the University of Kentucky (UK). The six participants completed training on implementing the AEPS and administered the AEPS to measure child outcomes. The results of this study validated the new scoring system for the AEPS by illustrating that the participants could reliably score a curriculum based assessment.

The Effects Of Picture Activity Schedules On Transition Times In An Inclusive Preschool Classroom, Elizabeth A. Reis

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

This study determined the effectiveness of using picture activity schedules with preschoolers who exhibited disruptive behaviors in an inclusive setting during transition times in a public preschool. The participants in this study were three male and one female student, ages 3 years to 5 years, who were enrolled in an inclusive public preschool. All children are Caucasian. Three of the children had an individualized education plan including goals for speech and social-emotional concerns. One child was typically developing and did not have an individualized education plan. The study method used a single-subject withdrawal design (ABAB). The results confirmed that the …