Educational Methods Commons^™

Breaking Traditions: Teaching Efl In The Dominican Republic, Farlin Paulino

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a compilation of the author’s beliefs in regard to effectively teaching English as a Foreign Language and Spanish as a Second language. This work was completed for the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University. All the work compiled in this portfolio centers on the teaching philosophy statement, which contains what the author believes to be the most important aspects of teaching a second language. In the first section of the portfolio, the author presents the experiences that made him pursue the profession of teaching languages, his personal philosophy of teaching shaped by …

Pre-Kindergarten And Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of The Student Growth Portfolio Model In Tennessee, Amanda Pickens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this quantitative study was to discover perceptions of pre-K and kindergarten teachers within public schools in Tennessee regarding the appropriateness of the student growth portfolio model. This study explored teachers’ perceptions of the appropriateness of the math standards, English language arts standards, and the scoring guide included within the SGPM. A quantitative survey was used to understand pre-K and kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of the appropriateness of the 2017-2018 student growth portfolio model. There were 16 pre-K teachers and 51 kindergarten teachers who participated in the survey. Single sample t-tests were used to analyze responses. Research indicated that …

School Climate: A Comparison Of Teachers, Students, And Parents, James A. Jacobs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the benefits of positive school climate and to measure the perceptions of school climate for intermediate grades in a Northeast Tennessee School district. An online school climate survey was used to collect responses from participants in intermediate grades and focused on the 3 major components of school climate: school engagement, school environment, and school safety. Data were collected for 2 consecutive years in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. Response totals included 1,955 student responses, 116 teacher responses, and 210 parent responses that were analyzed and used for this study. Of the student totals, some students that …

Practical Ways For Teaching Chinese Characters, Yuan Xu

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

This article gives a panorama view of the most common and functional digital tools for teaching writing Chinese Characters to non native speakers.

Review Of Think Big With Think Alouds: A Three-Step Planning Process That Develops Strategic Readers, Susan J. Chambre

The Language and Literacy Spectrum

In Think Big with Think Alouds: A Three-step Planning Process That Develops Strategic Readers (2017), Molly K. Ness provides classroom teachers with a detailed three-step process for developing think aloud procedures during classroom literacy instruction. The book assists teachers in identifying stopping points in narrative and expository text. Ness also includes multiple scripted think alouds with comprehensive explanations for both narrative and expository text. Additionally, practical tips for promoting student adoption of higher order thinking skills are provided in the form of sentence starters and strategy symbols. The procedures outline in Think Big with Think Alouds will empower classroom teachers …

Sharing Our Stories: A Personal Narrative Literacy Curriculum For Grades 3-5, Casey Adler

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This thesis began out of my curiosity about the ways to set up a classroom to best support growing readers and writers. As my exploration into literacy continued, I decided to create a personal narrative unit with several foundational literacy skills, strategies, and practices for students to develop. With variety, authenticity, and modeling as the key pillars in planning, alignment to skills and standards will be embedded in genuine literacy experiences. The choice to engage in a genre study of personal narrative was due to its developmental appropriateness, potential for community building, and opportunity to share a range of stories. …

The Stress Management Handbook: The High-Stakes Test Takers Of International Students, Shiying Sun

Master's Projects and Capstones

This article provides a brief overview of the current situation that high-stakes test takers are facing. A common problem the high-stakes test taker is experiencing is that they have to deal with tremendous pressure by themselves which could be caused by the test, the preparation process, the teachers and the parents. In results, their test performance could be affected, the decline of their mental health condition associated with the increasing stress level, and those issues could eventually escalate into suicide and physical violence. To shed light on those issues, the author developed a stress management handbook by choosing one of …

Effective Teaching Techniques And Study Strategies For English Language Learners In Esl Community College Classes, Dorothy M. Steiner

Master's Projects and Capstones

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this field project, Effective Teaching Techniques and Study Strategies for English Language Learners in ESL Community College Classes, is to provide guidance to the busy instructors who work with adult ESL students, particularly in non-credit programs. This field project can also be used by instructors of credit community college ESL classes, Adult schools, or (Community Based Organizations) CBOs. The handbook is designed to be a resource on the many areas that present common challenges in the ESL classroom such as diverse needs, low literacy levels, building academic rigor and vocabulary, communicative language teaching, increasing engagement and …

Self–Assessment In Efl Grammar Classroom: A Study Of Efl Learners At The Centre For Languages And Translation, Ibb University, Marwan Saeed Saif Moqbel

International Journal for Research in Education

The present study investigated the implementation of self-assessment in EFL grammar classroom to identify the attitudes of EFL learners at the Centre for Languages and Translation, Ibb University towards self-assessment, their perceptions of the advantages of self-assessment, and the problems or difficulties that EFL learners may face while carrying out self-assessment activities. To collect data, the researcher used three instruments: a questionnaire, a structured interview, and a focus group discussion. The questionnaire was administered to (85) EFL learners. Using the stratified sampling technique, the researcher selected randomly (14) learners for the interviews and (21) learners to participate in the focus …

Video Games And Virtual Reality As Classroom Literature: Thoughts, Experiences, And Learning With 8th Grade Middle School Students, Miles M. Harvey

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This qualitative study utilized video games and virtual reality in an eighth-grade public middle school media literacy elective classroom in which the head researcher was also the official teacher for the students in the study. The nineteen students and their teacher used video games in small groups for five consecutive weeks. The teacher and nineteen students recorded data about their thoughts, experiences, and learning as they played in the classroom. Students responded to open-ended reader-response questions about their experiences after playing video games each day for forty-five minutes. Students reflected about their experiences in a thought journal. The teacher responded …

And Then They Talked Back And Took Over: One Teacher’S Journey Towards Creating A Meaningful Read Aloud Practice, Alix Greenberger

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Read alouds are an important component of a balanced literacy curriculum, namely because of the opportunities they present for students to practice comprehension strategies such as making text to self connections, as well as finessing their speaking and listening skills while other students are voicing those connections. Despite this, read alouds were not occurring within my classroom. For this site based inquiry research, I delved into how I, as the teacher, could establish an effective read aloud practice within a busy classroom. I explored the teacher moves during read alouds, and monitored the students’ responses to gage how they were …

The Importance Of Teaching Young Children Academics Through Multi-Sensory Activities, Tiffany Schardt

Senior Theses

In this project, one will find information regarding the benefits of multi-sensory learning. Multi-sensory learning is a hands-on form of learning. One will find information on how technology is causing children to spend less time learning through their senses. The project is accompanied by information for parents and what they can do to promote multi-sensory learning at home. Along with this information, parents will find a guidebook that incorporates academic concepts with multi-sensory lessons. The project is organized so that one can find information on technology, importance of multi-sensory learning, proof, and guidebook contents. The project is easily laid out …

Language And Identity: How Music Affects Language And Communication, Hannah Helwig

Emerging Writers

First-place winner in the 2018 Emerging Writers Contest Academic Category. The essay examines the connections between music, language acquisition, and personal identity.

Supporting English Language Learners Inside The Mathematics Classroom: One Teacher’S Unique Perspective Working With Students During Their First Years In America, Amy Marie Fendrick

Research and Evaluation in Education, Technology, Art, and Design

Reflecting upon my personal experiences teaching mathematics to English Language Learners (ELL) in a public high school in Lincoln, Nebraska, this essay largely focuses on the time I spent as the only Accelerated Math teacher in my school building. From 2012 – 2017, I taught three different subjects at this high school: Advanced Algebra, Algebra, and Accelerated Math. This essay highlights why I chose to become a math and ELL teacher, as well as the challenges, issues, struggles, and successes I experienced during my time teaching. I focus on the challenges I faced teaching students who did not share my …

Video Composition, Creative Discourse, And Facilitated Freedom: A Teacher's Journey To Reveal Student Potential, Michael A. Brinkmeyer

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This research project was conducted in response to students’ lack of engagement in traditional modes of instruction and composition in a high school English Language Arts course. In order to better understand students as creative composers of knowledge, this research project asked students to engage in the video production process in collaborative groups. The research was conducted over the course of eight class periods in three different sections of Junior-level English Language Arts courses. Analysis of the data from this study reveals three important findings: 1) students respond well to creative and relevant performance assessments; 2) students’ collaborative conversations, or …

Impact Of Literacy On Student Readiness In Math And Science Classroom, Mackenzie Alexandra Rittner

Honors Projects

Lack of literacy, specifically disciplinary literacy, is an epidemic in education today. Here, I will illustrate how this problem presents itself in our student’s reading every day in every class. Within a literature review, many accounts are detailed about the impact literacy has on a student’s educational career. From the outset, literacy is a key factor in a student’s success in school. A research study was conducted that asked students to give varied definitions of the word ‘volume’ based on prior experience. These results showed that direct instruction in how a word can change based on its context had an …

Visual Literacy In Central Appalachian Community College Classrooms: A Guide To Image First Learning For Individualized Learning And Improved Outcomes, Natasha B. Watts

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the College of Education at Morehead State University by Natasha B. Watts on April 19, 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 …

Lumos Literacy: Utilizing Harry Potter As A Guide For English Language Learners, Kayla Punt

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This research paper and project looks at teaching literacy in a 9^th grade Standard English classroom with accommodations for high-level English Language Learners through JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It explores three schools of thought surrounding ESL education: transitional bilingual education, developmental bilingual education, and two-way immersion, and then uses this information to guide a full unit plan, complete with assessments, a lesson map for 20 days, and two appendixes of lesson plans. Drawing inspiration from Parker Palmer (1997), Lourdes Ortega (2013), and Kylene Beers (2003), the unit focuses on the engaging elements of Harry Potter …

Fostering Student Engagement, Skills, And Connections Through Peer Review/Critique Across Disciplines, Jesse W. Schoaf, Summer Clark, Liv Cummins, Lisa Spitz, Katarina Keown, Linda Pursley, John Mccormick

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

The process of peer review/critique in the college classroom is rife with challenges which may stem from a lack of commitment on the part of students and instructors alike, despite a significant body of literature which suggests peer review/critique can be an important learning tool. Studies demonstrate, when students are committed to the process, peer review can improve myriad skills, including written work (Topping, 1998, Mulder et al, 2014) and collaborative and communication skills (Topping, 2000, Topping, 2009, Mulder, R., Pearce, J., & Baik, C., 2014, Nicol, 2010), among many others. Our action research study documents how four undergraduate professors …

Alternating Treatments For Idiom Interpretation By Children With Specific Language Impairments, Monique S. Kaye

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of two idiom interventions by students with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Idioms are linguistic expressions that have figurative meanings other than their literal interpretation. There is a strong correlation between idiom interpretation and academic success (Nippold & Martin, 1989). Students are exposed to idioms in media, in school, literature, and in daily interactions with peers and adults (Nippold, Moran, & Schwarz, 2001).Method: Three school-aged students (n=3) with SLI ages 11;9–13;8 (mean age = 12;8) were provided a language intervention for idioms embedded in stories with pictures (n=10) …

Teacher Interculturality In An English As A Second Language Elementary Pull-Out Program: Teacher As Broker In The School’S Community Of Practice, Carmen Durham

The Qualitative Report

This case study investigated how one teacher, Lidia (a pseudonym), used her own cross-cultural experiences to socially and academically assist elementary school students who were crossing cultural boundaries of their own. This study used ethnographic interviews and classroom observations to explore Lidia’s experiences and struggles as she crossed cultural boundaries and built intercultural competence and how those experiences related to her teaching methods. Lidia used stories, multicultural images, and the students’ home languages so that her students could become confident in their multicultural and multilingual identities instead of solely assimilating. Teaching interculturally for Lidia meant empowering students to balance their …

Literacy For Life: Daily Reading Effectively Promotes Success (Reps), Karen Washington, Terecia Gill

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Literacy is at the heart of basic education and essential for eradicating poverty, achieving equality, and ensuring that all students have the opportunity for lifelong success. Administrators, instructional coaches, and teachers will be fascinated by the simple, but effective strategy for improving the literacy skills of students at risk through authentic, highly-engaging daily “REPS” activities in every class.

Literacy Connection: An Examination Of The Instructional Practices Of Fourth Grade Reading Teachers In The Dougherty County School System For Struggling Readers, Jamaul Rashard Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations

Societal expectations center upon the belief that children in grade four should be competent in terms of literacy skills and having acquired the necessary foundational skills to be successful in grade four. Instructional practices, reading programs and resources are linked to reading achievement and literacy acquisition of students. In Southwest Georgia, teachers’ instructional practices from twelve schools in urban Dougherty County were examined. The researcher examined the instructional practices of fourth grade reading teachers in the Dougherty County School System to determine the perceived impact on reading achievement and literacy acquisition of struggling fourth grade readers. The fourth grade reading …

Four Years Vs. One Semester: Music Information Literacy Delivered In Different Time Frames, Taylor Greene

Library Presentations, Posters, and Audiovisual Materials

How much does the time elapsed between instruction sessions affect retention of music information literacy concepts? This poster will demonstrate the two methods of delivering the Music Information Literacy course at Chapman University and discuss the benefits and pitfalls of each model. Starting in 2014, music students have been required to take four courses in Music Information Literacy which were delivered in 90-minute sessions over the course of four academic years. The Performing Arts Librarian, who has taught the course since its inception, noticed a lack of retention from some students and hypothesized that the timespan of delivery was a …

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.

Filling The Reading Void: Studying Reading Stamina In A Suburban High School Through Action Research: A Companion Research Study, Lindsey Weycker

Education Dissertations and Projects

A common practice in elementary schools is to allow students silent reading time during school. Experts agree this is best practice due to the benefits to students, especially in vocabulary development and reading stamina. As students age, however, this practice tends to decline in favor of activities that are meant to teach vocabulary in isolation and test preparation skills. In addition to these activities, English language arts classes typically read and study novels together as a class for the purpose of studying literary devices and literary analysis. Because of these practices, secondary students tend to read less, which in turn …

The Use Of Response To Intervention With English Learners, Anna Burnley

ECTESOL Review

RTIs assist teachers in adjusting instruction to support ELs in acquiring English and content-area knowledge and learning behaviors. The use of RTIs with ELs can supplement support for ELs as an integrated concept of the sheltered instruction (SI) commonly provided for this student population.

Connecting North And South: Engaging Latin American English Learners, Kenyan Intercultural Communications And American Undergraduate Students Through Reciprocal Service Learning, Laureen Fregeau, Ukaiko A. Bitrus-Ojiambo, Suhana Chikatla, William Cornejo

ECTESOL Review

Reciprocal Service Learning through videoconferencing is an efficient tool for connecting native English speakers of various world Englishes and ELs in other nations for the benefit of all. The authors of this study recognize the reciprocal nature of teaching and learning and the social justice of equalizing power structures through the inclusion of participants and researchers from both North and South as members of a project and research team. Through participant observation and document review the authors examine the experiences of educators and learners in the phenomenon of reciprocal service learning through videoconferencing focused on cultural competence and English language …