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Early Childhood Education Commons

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Articles 1 - 12 of 12

Full-Text Articles in Early Childhood Education

Critical Pedagogy In Practice: Reflections Of A K-5 Educator, Kelly Gresalfi Sep 2018

Critical Pedagogy In Practice: Reflections Of A K-5 Educator, Kelly Gresalfi

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The author illuminates major theoretical concepts integral to critical pedagogy as they apply to grades k-5 through a selective review of the literature and reflection on how these principles intersect with her personal and teaching experiences. A candid analysis of the author's ongoing journey to put these ideas into practice, including ways in which she has felt successful and areas she continues to find challenging, is offered. Suggestions for ways in which elementary school educators can approach their teaching practices and classroom structures through the lens of critical pedagogy are included. Reactions to the thesis from several of the …


L’Dor Vador: Storytelling For The Holiday Cycle In A Jewish Early Childhood Setting, Krista Bogetich Jul 2018

L’Dor Vador: Storytelling For The Holiday Cycle In A Jewish Early Childhood Setting, Krista Bogetich

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Storytelling is an effective and appropriate method of engaging young children in complex concepts such as values and ethics. This paper provides rationale for using storytelling in an early childhood setting, background information on Jewish holidays, and highlights the values in the stories told during those holidays. It includes synopses of stories told through original storytelling, descriptions of activities incorporated in the experiences, as well as children’s responses and photographs of children’s work.


Facilitating A Block Program In Kindergarten And First Grade: A Manual For Kindergarten And First Grade Teachers, Hannah Rau May 2018

Facilitating A Block Program In Kindergarten And First Grade: A Manual For Kindergarten And First Grade Teachers, Hannah Rau

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Many preschool classroom have unit blocks. Unfortunately, not as many early primary classrooms incorporate blocks into their programs. This paper discusses the power of using unit blocks in a Kindergarten and first grade. The first three sections of the thesis focus on the importance of a unit block curriculum in early primary classrooms by discussing the developmentally-appropriate ways blocks invite problem solving and mathematical and scientific thinking. The final section is a teacher’s manual designed as a guidebook to support teachers who are starting a block program in their Kindergarten and first grade classroom. In this manual, critical components of …


Adult Adhd: An Explorative Inquiry Into Assessment, Executive Function, Qol, Comorbid Psychopathy, And Practical Application, Manuel Angel Ramirez Apr 2018

Adult Adhd: An Explorative Inquiry Into Assessment, Executive Function, Qol, Comorbid Psychopathy, And Practical Application, Manuel Angel Ramirez

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a pattern of behavior present in multiple settings that can result in performance issues in social, educational and work settings. Although ADHD is prevalent in children, research has proven that the disorder lasts into adulthood. The current body of literature has also suggested that ADHD symptoms are related to specific impairments with executive functions. This paper will introduce ADHD and provide background information on the disorder. It will also examine current literature on assessment, executive function (EF), feasibility of EF measures, quality of life (QoL) as it pertains to …


Process & Research Of Dyslexia? A Book On The Demystification Of Dyslexia For Students With Dyslexia, Anna Slavin Apr 2018

Process & Research Of Dyslexia? A Book On The Demystification Of Dyslexia For Students With Dyslexia, Anna Slavin

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper focuses on the ways in which the demystification of dyslexia for diagnosed or pre- diagnosed students alters their ability to self-advocate. It examines effective ways of demystification and, specifically, how literature can be used to directly teach children how to talk about their difference. This review of research highlights positive and negative effects of providing students with learning disability labels. It also notes that the majority of studies on the subject show that providing students with a label for their learning variations positively impacts self-esteem and academic engagement. However, it is noted that a dearth of children’s literature …


A Case For Child Life Specialists To Be Trauma-Informed, Kathleen Romano Apr 2018

A Case For Child Life Specialists To Be Trauma-Informed, Kathleen Romano

Graduate Student Independent Studies

According to The National Child Traumatic Stress Network [NCTSN] (2003), “trauma occurs when a child experiences an intense event that threatens or causes harm to his or her emotional and physical well-being”. Roughly one in four children will experience a traumatic event before the age of sixteen. Due to the prevalence of traumatic events, it is necessary for healthcare professionals to know and understand the implications these experiences may have for children and their families. Child life specialists, who are a part of the interdisciplinary team in hospitals, provide a unique perspective with their knowledge of child development and coping. …


From Page To Place: Wordless Picture Books And Field Trips For A 21st Century Curriculum, Margaret Stein Apr 2018

From Page To Place: Wordless Picture Books And Field Trips For A 21st Century Curriculum, Margaret Stein

Graduate Student Independent Studies

With the purpose of education being to produce successful world citizens, the educational system must grow with the changing economic and social climate. Operating in a creative and knowledge-based economy, students educated in the 21st Century must be in an environment that fosters creativity, critical thinking, and recognition of complex patterns in order to thrive in the new economic structures. Proposing a curricular sequence using wordless picture books and field trips to develop and strengthen these skills, this paper focuses on the growth of literacy in all forms as the strongest foundation for creating curious and life-long learners. Utilizing the …


The Meal Gap: A Food Activist Curriculum, Kameshia L. Shepherd Apr 2018

The Meal Gap: A Food Activist Curriculum, Kameshia L. Shepherd

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The Meal Gap: A Food Activist Curriculum is a series of fifty-four lessons for fourth grade students that introduces them to the topic of food insecurity. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations initiated the World Food Summit in 1996 to discuss and call attention to the “widespread undernutrition and growing concern about the capacity of agriculture to meet future food needs” (Food and Agriculture Organization, n.d.). The June 2006 Policy Brief of the FAO reaffirmed the 1996 definition of food security, which states that “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and …


Lucy Takes The Stage: A Story For Children With Anxiety, Rachel Beckman Apr 2018

Lucy Takes The Stage: A Story For Children With Anxiety, Rachel Beckman

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Childhood anxiety is explored through the lens of child development as well as children’s literature. The book written for this integrated masters project was created to help engage children around age 5, recognizing that it could be for ages 5-7, in thinking about anxiety. Anxiety disorders in children can take many different forms, but the major distinction between a disorder and normal worries is that it causes stress that disrupts normal functioning. Additionally, read-alouds are a common and beneficial way to introduce children to literature in schools. Young children can learn to read, take another’s perspective, as well as gain …


A Case For The Inclusion Of Graphic Novels In The Classroom, Brittany Rosenberg Apr 2018

A Case For The Inclusion Of Graphic Novels In The Classroom, Brittany Rosenberg

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper will explore the use of graphic novels in the context of the classroom, ultimately arguing that graphic novels not only deserve a place in elementary through high school classrooms, but are an effective and successful learning tool. The paper is divided into four central arguments utilizing a review of relevant literature to support each section’s argument. It will begin with an examination of the motivation for the paper’s creation, detailing the circumstance unto which the author of this paper decided to write it. The paper will then move into the four central parts. Part one will examine research …


Pizza Bagel Sundays, Kate D'Auria Apr 2018

Pizza Bagel Sundays, Kate D'Auria

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Kate D’Auria worked on an independent study where she created her own children’s book. The book is called Pizza Bagel Sundays and was illustrated by Yan Gabriella Peropat. Pizza Bagel Sundays is a memoir about her childhood and how she grew up in a single parent household. Though single parenting is one of the focuses of the book, it does have other themes such as family, love and how we spend time together. Research was done to see what other types of children’s literature is out there and see where the book fit in. Look at the literature that was …


Childhood Anxiety, Julia Post Apr 2018

Childhood Anxiety, Julia Post

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The following paper closely examines anxiety in school-aged children, especially those predisposed through environmental and biological factors. While there are many typical worries and fears in children, atypical signs that point to an anxiety disorder include severity and high frequency of worry and avoidance behavior. Anxiety disorders affect roughly a third of children ages six through eleven, and early intervention and cognitive strategies are extremely effective in giving children coping skills for their separation, social, or generalized anxiety. Some of the treatment plans examined in this paper include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Narrative Therapy and …