Educational Methods Commons^™

Integrative Masters Project: Hold That Thought: An Original Picture Book, Jordana Blumberg

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Rooted in personal experience, this picture book follows a group of young children who each listen in their own unique way. The author drew from her own childhood memories of struggling to meet classroom expectations — particularly the challenge of holding back when she had something to say — to craft a story that validates the experiences of children who don't always fit the traditional mold of a "good listener."

Feelings Friends: A Social-Emotional Learning App In The Primary Grades, Ellie Barget

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper introduces Feelings Friends, a digital tool developed to promote emotional well-being and enhance social-emotional support in classroom environments. Designed to raise awareness of the importance of Social Emotional Learning (SEL), the tool aims to help educators integrate SEL practices more effectively into daily classroom routines.

The Storytelling Study: Understanding Ourselves And Others Through Storytelling, Georgia Moses

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Study on oral storytelling in early childhood education is ample. Study on oral storytelling in the elementary grades, however, is limited. This is likely due to the connection between storytelling and dramatic play, a creative and imaginative exercise that loses value in many classrooms as children grow. The emergent themes across the developmental stages of seven, eight, and nine year olds illustrate the need for and power of storytelling in second and third grade classrooms. The Storytelling Study is an interdisciplinary, multimodal curriculum in which children foster deeper understandings of themselves and others through the exploration of oral storytelling. The …

Loose Parts In The Outdoor Play Space, Samuel L. Shapiro

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Loose parts play is a play practice that prioritizes a child’s ability to self-direct and intrinsically motivate above all else. It does so by utilizing decontextualized items that are flexible in their usage and allow children to project their own ideas, imaginations, and usages onto the items, rather than by allowing the items to dictate usage to the children. The booklet that Sam Shapiro created, Loose Parts in the Outdoor Play Space, provides a tool that professionals can utilize in support of their own loose parts programs. It provides an overview of the state of play, an examination of what …

“Your Body Is For You”: Possibilities For Size Acceptance, Criticality, And Social-Emotional Wellness In Upper Elementary English Language Arts Education, Veronica B. Walton

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This Integrated Master’s Project explores how body image literature can be used in upper elementary classrooms (grades 3 to 5) to support critical literacy and psychosocial development, and vice-versa. Using the approaches Health at Every Size® (HAES), affect theory, and critical literacy, I propose a new analytical framework for thinking about weight stigma and children’s self-image through the lens of literature. There is a growing presence of fiction and nonfiction books that address weight stigma and center children’s experiences of their bodies, and incorporating these books into literacy/English Language Arts (ELA) curricula can help educators shape their classrooms into spaces …

What Makes A Best Book?, Zach Libresco

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Stories affect how people see the world and themselves. Stories matter. This is a study of what makes a “best” book. This study considers conversations that discussed and evaluated whether a book should be on a “best of the year” list, how evaluators thought about selecting books for children, and how the lens of looking at children’s literature has changed over time. The researcher conducted six interviews with members of the Children’s Book Committee, observed over fifty hours of Children’s Book Committee meetings, eight hours of awards committee meetings, and reviewed relevant literature. Three topics emerged as central to the …

Hangul Zoo: Alphabet Book On Korean Consonants, Alice Kang

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This independent study is focused around the development of an original alphabet picture book (Hangul Zoo) that aims to support Native English Speakers with their learning of Korean as a second language. Those who have prior experience and knowledge of the English alphabet will benefit from using this book as a tool for bilingual learning. This book will help bilinguals be able to differentiate the two unique alphabets (English and Korean), while still making cross connections. While most alphabet books are catered towards children of ages birth through 5 and are often used in early childhood settings (daycares and preschools) …

Progressive Virtual Learning For Our Youngest Learners, Erica B. Held

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This study addresses how teachers build a progressive curriculum online for our youngest learners.

Empowering Students Toward Empathy, Awareness, And Respect Through The Discussion Of High Quality Children’S Literature, Jesse Blumberg

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper explores the importance of utilizing high quality books with elementary-aged students to encourage their ability to recognize, appreciate, and celebrate similarities and differences in our society.

The Effect Of School Choice On Multilingual Learners In New York City, Grace Bianchetti

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The New York City Department of Education has the responsibility of educating more than one million students from diverse backgrounds and various economic statuses. The department boasts school choice- allowing its public school students and their families to choose between magnet schools, charter schools, and their local neighborhood zoned schools. This paper uncovers how the multitude of school choices came to be in NYC, how it affects multilingual families, and potential solutions to the effects of school choice on multilingual families. This paper investigates why only 7% of charter school students are Multilingual Learners, while 15% of NYC Public School …

Look Again: Making Friends With Sensory Processing Disorder, Lauren Binder

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper explores the impact of sensory processing differences on the development of young children’s peer relationships in early childhood. Current children’s literature on Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is limited in addressing the ways in which SPD intersects with social interaction among students with disabilities and their nondisabled peers. By exploring social scenarios grounded in the lived experiences of one child with SPD, I aim to broaden what counts as acceptable approaches to connection and interaction among young children. I use the social model of disability, the tenets of the neurodiversity movement, and the guiding principles of Disability Critical Race …

A Guide For Teacher Sensitivity Of The Homeless Preschooler, Barbara Abdella

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper is intended to exhibit the effects of homelessness on preschool children and to provide anecdotes for the child’s social emotional growth and well-being. This paper provides a statistical analysis of the steady growth of homelessness among preschool children and families residing in New York City, lists some of the causes of homelessness, and identifies barriers that homeless children and their families must face daily, affecting their education and stability. Additionally, it is hoped that this paper will allow the reader to comprehend their ability to utilize their empathic reasoning skills and impartial reasoning in their association with homeless …

Metamorphic Journey Of A Single Story: Becoming A Globally Competent Teacher, Shareefah Pereira

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The purpose of this thesis is to dissect my lived experiences and transform them into knowledge that can be shared with other educators. This project explores transformative teaching by investigating my teaching experience in South Eastern Thailand through a critical autoethnographic lens as a way to reflect on transformative teaching in a global context. As a candidate in the Dual Language/Bilingual Childhood Special Education program I will be using theoretical frameworks and coursework to guide my critical, decolonial, and global approach to education.

As the world is becoming increasingly interconnected teachers are tasked with looking at the identity, cultural, enthic, …

Asian American: A Personal Exploration Of My Identities And Some Possible Implications For Teachers, Seung Youn (Danielle) Kim

Graduate Student Independent Studies

As the population of Asian Americans in the United States grows fast, so does the incidence of racist attacks on Asian Americans. The urgency for anti-racist educators to commit to learning how to best serve Asian American children, their families, and their communities in accordance with antiracist, counter hegemonic linguistic practices, and culturally sustaining principles grows exponentially. Through a deep reflection on my personal and often painful experience as a Korean immigrant in the United States, I use an interdisciplinary approach including Socio- and Racio-linguistics, Social Psychology, Anthropology, and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, to analyze some of the challenges that I …

Good Things: An Original Picture Book, Maryah Greene

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The research collected in this study aims to support students, teachers and parents on their journey of building a relationship with houseplants. Whether in a classroom, at home or in a work space, a relationship with a houseplant should be one that is intentional, personal and provides an opportunity for growth both physically and mentally. The following research aims to support this belief while also supporting students, teachers and parents through the creation of the original book material, Good Things.

Barrington Bunny: Case Of The Curious Clouds A Narrative Picture Book For Symbolic Play And Stem Curriculum, Claudia Chung

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Adults constantly use their imagination to help them visualize, problem-solve, enjoy a book, empathize, and think creatively. Therefore, using one's imagination is a critical cognitive skill that can be used throughout life. And it is crucial for educators to encourage imagination, creativity and original ideas in childhood through pretend play, story, picture books, and narrative make-believe if we want our students to be mindful and functioning adults in society. Pretend play is also known as "symbolic play" because it involves the use of symbols. This type of symbolic thought is also needed for language and reading, as our words are …

Technology In Education: The Ongoing Debate Of Access, Adequacy And Equity, Kristiana Roth

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Technology is intertwined in all aspects of our lives. Technology has evolved in ways that were once considered unimaginable. Yet, access to these advancements in technology are not adequate, especially throughout our education system. The purpose of this paper is to bring to light the significance technology can have on our education system today. This paper will reflect research which supports the integration of technology beginning in early childhood classrooms. This paper will also reflect on the injustices that exist in how educational technology is unequally distributed between socio-economic status. More is available to wealthy, white students. While people from …

The Adverse Effects Of Stereotyping And Bias On Health In Low Socioeconomic Communities, Stephanie Jurado

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Studies have shown that low socioeconomic status negatively affects health due to factors such as unstable access to secure environments, full-coverage healthcare, and quality of education. Members of these communities face further health adversities when confronting healthcare staff who are blind to these challenges, and more, that they experience. Several studies examined in this paper looked specifically at the intersects of low socioeconomic status and how they negatively affected the healthcare experience of individuals of these communities. Others demonstrate how having healthcare staff be knowledgeable of these adverse effects can lead to positive changes in the health of these community …

The Effects Of Parent-Toddler Movement Class On Attachment Patterns, Luke Muscat

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Parent-Toddler Movement Class (PTMC) is a structured dance curriculum that introduces movement to toddlers and caregivers by integrating singing, props, stories, music, and creative exploration with movement activities.

Reading Emotions: Designing Digital Tools To Strengthen The “Social Brain” Of Young Children With Autism, Kirsten M. Benjamin

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Autism (ASD) is characterized by impaired development in social interaction and communication. This can affect the ability to develop relationships with peers and family. Being limited in this area leads those with Autism unable to translate their own emotions and the emotions of others. As technology develops, so do methods of teaching facial emotion recognition. Building these skills can increase the social communication abilities of those struggling with Autism. This paper will explore the effectiveness of various educational applications (apps).

Taking the lessons gained from previous iPhone application designs I will attempt to create a new application that incorporates the …

Imagine: A Picture Book About Imaginary Play In New York City, Natasha Peña

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper describes the process of researching, creating, sharing, and reflecting on a picture book that features two New York City siblings engaging in imaginary play at the playground.

Elements At Play: Influences Of Gender On Play In Single-Sex Settings, Elizabeth "Lily" Geiger

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This thesis will examine the ways that gender impacts dramatic play in early childhood classrooms by analyzing experiences in two single-sex school environments. The paper will review past and present literature as it pertains to the general topics of play and gender and pose insights about the role that both play in single-sex classrooms. It will also take into consideration the various gendered elements of our world and the impact of our social environments. The aim of the paper is not to propose next steps for gender education, but to examine current work through descriptions and observations in two classroom …

Exploring Learning Differences: A Social Emotional Curriculum For Second Grade, Sophie Paci

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Exploring Learning Differences is a four-week social emotional learning curriculum designed for second grade students by Sophie Paci. The purpose of the curriculum is to encourage students to reflect on themselves as learners and to promote awareness about different learning needs in a community. Students explore this theme through class discussions, interactive read-alouds, group activities, art projects, and independent writing. As a literature-based curriculum, each lesson utilizes a children’s book to engage students in dialogue about learning differences. The literature collection features eight “core books” that are used in interactive read-alouds and ten supporting books students can read independently. The …

How To : An Original Picture Book For Children, Morgan Wright

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This independent study was focused on the creation of an original, social-emotionally oriented “how to” picture and poetry book for children ages five through seven. A wide variety of books for children, from old classics to recent publications, deal with themes relevant to children’s social-emotional lives. However, many of these books are written in narrative fiction form, or are framed using a logical, adult-centered lens. The goal of this book project was to create poetry and illustrations which authentically conveyed the unique emotional textures and roundabout logic of childhood associated with everyday experiences. Child development research included cognitive and emotional …

Curiosity Over Kindness: Discovering The Importance Of Student Assets, Dana Wolfson

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This research explores the argument that it is important to know students well through understanding the assets students bring with them to school. I aim to explore the kinds of assets students bring with them to their experiences at school, why it is important for teachers to get to know and make use of students’ assets, and the methods teachers can use to get to know student assets. Undergirding this exploration of the importance of student assets in school is the through line that the racial, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds of both teacher and student deeply impact the ways that …

Eight Weeks And A Poetry Slam: A Poetry Curriculum For Second-Graders, Kate Hest

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper presents a rationale and an eight-week poetry reading and writing curriculum designed for second-grade students. At the heart of the curriculum is Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, used as a mentor text to guide students’ exploration of poetry. This central text is complemented by a diverse selection of poems and picture books.

Engaging Struggling Readers: The Significance Of The Aesthetic Response For Comprehension, Amy Won

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This research explores the relationship between aesthetic (emotional) responses to literature and reading comprehension. Bridging theory and practice, it presents a pedagogical approach that integrates comprehension strategies to support and deepen students' emotional engagement with texts.

Shades Of Black: Topics Of Self-Love And Appreciation, Natasha Harris

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This Integrative Master’s Project presents a curriculum designed to support the development of student-led affinity groups for African American or Black students attending predominantly White schools.

Lena And Gus: Gleaning Facts From Fiction In A Story Of Self-Awareness, Christina Unhoch Mason

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Lena and Gus: Gleaning facts from fiction in a story of self-awareness, an independent study by Christina Unhoch Mason, demonstrates how academic and experiential learning has informed and expanded a story idea first conceived of over a decade ago about a seal and a fish that live in Lake Baikal.

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. …