Elementary Education Commons^™

Key Benefits Of Small Group Instruction For Diverse Learners, Lydia Mcevoy

Master's Theses

Utilizing a mixed method approach this research study investigated the effects of small group instruction on the learning of diverse learners. Informed by a preliminary literature review that supports the use of small-group instruction, the researcher conducted a small-scale action research project to focus on three diverse learners in a 1st-grade classroom over four weeks. One of the findings of this project shows that small group instruction helps promote social and emotional skills as students feel more comfortable interacting with peers in a small group rather than in a whole group. Another finding indicates that students feel more encouraged by …

Benefits Of Dual Immersion Programs On Elementary School Students, Belle Sanchez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This senior capstone research project aims to share the benefits of dual immersion programs in elementary school years. Understanding what a dual immersion program is and knowing the different models within the program allow parents to select which program is best suited for their students. A key point in clarification is that a dual immersion program does not aim to replace an English, or standard, education program, but adds a target language to enhance the students learning. This study looks at the overall benefits that students can gain in elementary school, from kindergarten through fifth grade, sometimes through eighth grade. …

The Standards And Expectations Of The Speech-Language Pathology Field, Abbie Summers

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The goal of this project was to provide individuals interested in the field of speech-language pathology with relevant information from professionals in various positions in the field. These sources were to include speech-language pathologists in education, research, academia, and medicine. Interviews were conducted with these professionals covering various questions about their experiences, salary, education, professional development, interprofessional work, and on-the-job skills. From these interviews, data collection occurred based on responses to find commonalities to include in the write-up. The article provides information on personal experiences in the field, professional certification, professional growth and development, salary expectations according to work settings, …

The Literary Tarot, The Literary Classics Edition Guidebook, And Oracle's Atlas: A Companion To The Literary Tarot Classics Edition From The Brink Literacy Project, Emily E. Auger

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Review of The Literary Tarot, The Literary Tarot Classics Edition Guidebook, and Oracle's Atlas: A Companion to the Literary Tarot Classics Edition. © 2022 Brink Literacy Project. UPC 195893099603.

“Not A Stereotype”: A Teacher Framework For Evaluating Disability Representation In Children’S Picture Books, H. Emily Hayden, Angela M.T. Prince

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Researchers and educators have explored representations of people with marginalized identities in children’s picturebooks for over 30 years. Disability has not been widely acknowledged as a marginalized identity nor explored as an aspect of diversity prevalent in classrooms. In the United States, over seven million students are identified with a disability, and most will spend the majority of their school day in general education classrooms. Like other diverse students, they may not see their identities mirrored in classroom literature. Picturebooks featuring main characters with a disability are rare, and some still foreground medical models, limiting individuals with narrow, ableist notions …

Early Reading Instruction Methods: An Analysis On The Outcomes Of Whole Language Instruction And Phonics Instruction, Kaitlin Nims-Fournier

University Honors Theses

Many within the field of education struggle to meet common ground in regards to how we should teach children to read. Throughout the past several decades, educators have engaged in discussions around early reading interventions, specifically related to phonics instruction and whole language instruction. This review examines previous scholarship on these two instructional approaches and the effectiveness of various reading interventions. The findings reveal that each instructional approach targets different skills and that a balanced approach is recommended. The purpose of this review is to highlight each of the characteristics of phonics instruction and whole language instruction and to evaluate …

Yosoy. Language Education Through Culture: A Project For Spanish-English Bilingual Children And Families., Maria Luisa Parra, Marcela Fritzler

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language (Archived)

About one-third, 17.9 million, of the nation’s Latina/o/e population is younger than 18 (Krogstad & Gonzalez-Barrera 2018), being the majority bilingual (Krogstad & Gonzalez-Barrera, 2015), with no access to quality bilingual education to address their strengths and needs (García 2014). Questions about this group’s future capabilities to speak Spanish are central to current theoretical and pedagogical inquiries, efforts, and research. The linguistic dynamism between Spanish and other languages that characterizes this group also raises essential questions about the intergenerational continuity of Spanish and its meaning for young Latina/o/e identities (Valdés 2015).

Many families experience interactions in Spanish with sentimientos encontrados …

Your Story, Your Life, Your Learning: Autobiography Reveals Basis For Supporting Personalized, Holistic Pedagogy, Michael Maser

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Each person ongoingly experiences the world uniquely through vital processes shaping their subjectivity, personhood and sense of self. Learning, an innate characteristic or modality of each human life, of living, likewise arises subjectively or idiosyncratically. In this paper, a phenomenological lens is applied to auto/biographical excerpts concerned with various learning experiences to help reveal essential, subjective characteristics of emergent learning. The insights help establish a basis for challenging the primacy of objectivist learning evaluations. The insights also confirm the importance of personalizing learning as a pedagogical gesture nurturing and enfranchising student learning in significant ways beyond conventional educational approaches …

“We Flourish”: The Role Of Bipoc Parents In Diversifying Children’S Literature, Kayla Neal

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Cross-Linguistic Awareness In 90/10 Two-Way Bilingual Immersion Programs, Patricia Mondragón-Doty

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify, describe, and recommend the specific cross-linguistic connection instructional strategies that teachers in TWBI 90/10 programs have found to be most effective for fostering language and literacy development.

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study explored how teachers of TWBI 90/10 programs perceived the use of specific cross-linguistic connection instructional strategies to better serve emergent bilingual learners (EBLs) and what implications cross-linguistic connections had on dual language instruction. To determine what best instructional strategies support bilingualism, biliteracy, academic achievement and cultural competence, in-depth semi structured interviews were conducted. Ten teachers were selected to …

Back To The Future: Looking At Nostalgic Practices To Conceptualize A More Inclusive Literacy Future (Part 1), Rebecca Witte, Darreth Rice

Michigan Reading Journal

In the first of two articles, the authors, two girls that “Just Want to Have Fun,” reminisce about educational literacy practices of the past, specifically one nostalgic writing practice, dialogue journaling. Using the analogy of a familiar toy from the 1980s, the View Master, they aim to revitalize an antiquated practice using modern theoretical frameworks (reels) that make current classroom practices more inclusive for today’s students. Looking to “reels” of academic (using current state standards), culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995), social emotional learning (Mussey, 2019), and humanizing instruction (Freire, 1968), we support current teachers in analyzing their practices to foster …

Understanding The Virginia Literacy Act, Candace Bechtold, Kimberly Bridges, David Naff, Joan A. Rhodes, Valerie Robnolt, Tara Davison, Suzanne Alexandre, Michael Crusco, Karli Johansen, Amber Butler, Allison Yandle, Jennifer Askue-Collins, Jean Samuel, Sharrie Merritte, Regina Frazier

MERC Publications

This research and policy brief from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC) offers an overview of the Virginia Literacy Act. It is structured to explore the following questions: 1) What are the recent trends in reading achievement in Virginia? 2) What are the policy implications of the VLA for Virginia school divisions? 3) What does the research say about Science of Reading (SoR)? 4) What core instructional programs are approved to meet the VLA? It concludes with a series of key takeaways and recommendations.

Click here to listen to our podcast episode on the Virginia Literacy Act and click here …

Home Of The Brave Book Study Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

Individuals lead storied lives, and everyone has a story to tell. Our stories can be shared orally and documented in print. Often, learners are exposed to stories through novels and other trade books. Teacher educators may benefit from using the stories in novels and trade books as case studies in preservice teacher preparation course. This assignment description outlines how to use the novel, Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate, as a case study to contextualize and understand the lived story of an individual learning a second language and living in a new country. Through the novel, preservice teachers experience …

Fish In A Tree Book Study Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

Individuals lead storied lives, and everyone has a story to tell. Our stories can be shared orally and documented in print. Often, learners are exposed to stories through novels and other trade books. Teacher educators may benefit from using the stories in novels and trade books as case studies in preservice teacher preparation course. This assignment description outlines how to use the novel, Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt, as a case study to contextualize and understand the lived story of an individual living and learning with dyslexia. Through the novel, preservice teachers experience the dilemmas faced and …

Understanding The Experiences Of A First Grade Class With Explicit Phonics Instruction: A Qualitative Case Study, Haley Fry

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The reading wars in American education have raged on with the most recent Science of Reading movement, with the discussion centered around phonics. This qualitative case study examined a real first-grade class as they experienced explicit phonics instruction within the context of a classroom environment in public elementary school in northeastern United States. Participants of this study included eight first-grade students and one first-grade teacher, in one first-grade class. Data collection was broken down into two phases that were rooted in Social Constructivism’s Zone of Proximal Development and Ehri’s Phases of Word Learning Theory. Phase I consisted of classroom observations …

The Interactive Read-Aloud: A Case Study Of Children With Intellectual Disabilities, Christine Cuozzo

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Interactive read-alouds engage children in active thinking while reading, with the overall purpose of helping them understand that text should make sense (Scanlon et al., 2017). During an interactive read-aloud, adult readers read books aloud to children and include comments and questions before, during, and after reading aloud to initiate conversations. Discussions and transactions with text can also occur spontaneously (Scanlon et al., 2017). A paucity of research exists on how children with intellectual disabilities (ID) experience interactive read-alouds. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to determine how children with ID experience interactive read-alouds delivered by a parent …

Individuals Who Experienced Early Reading Difficulty: How Teacher Connections And Educational Practices Shape Motivation, Nicole Tinney

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Reading instruction is consistently controversial in education, whether it be the Reading Wars, a debate over the Science of Reading, or issues surrounding standardized reading testing. An often overlooked component in reading instruction is motivation. Why do some students struggle to learn to read while others sail seemingly effortlessly through reading benchmarks? How do some students overcome early reading difficulty while others struggle throughout their education? Students who have a difficult time reading in elementary school often lack motivation to read and continue to have low achievement on reading tests throughout schooling (Becker et al., 2010; Mcgeown et al., 2012). …

5e Instructional Model: A Constructivist Approach To Teaching & Learning, Munira Amirali, Javed Ahmad, Shella Asad, Sadam Hussain, Syed Sardar Hussain, Tahira Jabeen, Tajun Nisa, Wahid Murad

Books

I taught ‘Curriculum Teaching and Learning’ as one of the master-level courses that enables course participants to broaden their understanding of curriculum models, teaching, learning and assessment approaches. The assignment required participants to choose a topic in their subject area, review relevant literature, and identify challenges faced by teachers and students during teaching and learning that topic.
In addition, course participants were asked to list misconceptions students possess regarding the relevant topics and explore possible solutions and recommendations to address the identified challenges and misconceptions. Thus, the course participants developed learning resources (lesson plans) using the 5E model (Engage, Explore, …

Measuring The Impact: Teacher Self-Efficacy In Literacy Instruction Following Letrs Professional Development, Elizabeth Younger

Doctor of Education Dissertations

North Carolina passed legislation that required all elementary literacy teachers to be trained in the Science of Reading (SOR). The North Carolina Public Department of Education (NCDPI) partnered with Lexia Learning to provide training on the SOR to all public-school Pre-K-5 literacy teachers using the professional development (PD) program Language Essential for Teacher of Reading and Spelling (LETRS). This study looked at how teachers in one North Carolina school district perceive the LETRS program to have impacted their efficacy in literacy instruction. This study used a mixed-method design using an explanatory sequential design with two phases. The first stage included …

Unveiling Spanish Language Attitudes In A Los Angeles School And A Third-Generation Multigenerational Mexican-American Family, Eric Alvarez

International Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest

This chapter unearths some of the diverse attitudes towards Spanish of a third-generation child in Los Angeles (L.A.), California, her family members, and school personnel. L.A. is a tension-ridden contact zone (Pratt, 1991) where Spanish has traditionally been subjugated and is still a lesser-taught language (LTL) despite decades of research showing that bilingual education positively impacts student attitudes (Potowski & Muñoz-Basols, 2020). Lack of continuity (Caloi & Torregrossa, 2021) in formal instruction and inconsistent heritage Spanish use in the home may entail divergent attitudes towards Spanish, possibly hindering multigenerational transmission. Decades-long turbulent California language policies (CLP) (Macias, 2001) have consistently …

Bridging The Gap: An Analysis Of Elementary Literacy Instruction, And Proposed Solutions To Exponentiate Literacy Skills, Avery E. Gray

Honors College Theses

The reading achievement gap is generally identified as the increasing disparity between higher-level students and lower-level students within the same grade or school level. Student data presented in the form of secondary reading assessment scores were analyzed for the state of Georgia, as well as nationally, for student achievement regarding reading skills in public schools from grades 3-5. Interviews conducted with educational professionals were conducted to reveal anecdotal manifestations of what the presented data looks like in terms of student ability, and how the teaching practice has reacted to such manifestations. The evaluation of these consistencies and explanations given to …

Assessing The Needs Of Elementary School Students From Low Socioeconomic Environments Displaying Poor Performance In Reading, Reynaldo Flores

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation was designed to provide current information on the low reading level of students in Grade 4 who are from families of low socioeconomic status (SES). While it was known that SES is crucial to student learning which gave rise to initiates to address the problem, low SES students in elementary school continue to struggle to read at grade level. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is used to measure performance index framework in reading along with mathematics, writing, science, and social studies to address and correct deficiencies. The data for the ESSA was drawn from the State of …

‘Somos Bilingües’: Translanguaging Socialization Of Dlbe Teachers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Grace Jue Yeon Kim

Faculty Journal Articles

After the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the disruption of in-person schooling has significantly affected many students including emergent bilingual students. Designed as an ethnographic study, this research study examines two Spanish-English dual language bilingual education teachers’ implementation of translanguaging pedagogies and language socialization during the pandemic through the following research questions: (1) What adjustments did the teachers make to their teaching and curriculum to support the students as they navigated the pandemic times? (2) How did the teachers and students use languages in their interaction in blended learning environments? Findings from the 2^nd grade Spanish Language Arts and 4^{th …}

Identifying Quality Hispanic Children’S Literature For Use In Kindergarten Through Second Grade, (2000-2024), Alexandra Isabel Serrato

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study focuses on identifying quality Hispanic children's literature suitable for use in kindergarten through second grade from 2000 to 2024. It aims to explore key characteristics that define high-quality literature in this genre, considering cultural relevance, educational value, linguistic accuracy, and representation of diverse Hispanic experiences. By reviewing books published during this period, the research evaluates how these works support language development, multicultural understanding, and early literacy skills among young readers. The study also highlights the importance of selecting books that reflect authentic Hispanic voices and experiences, promoting inclusivity and diversity in early childhood education.

Application Of Multicultural Literature In The Early Childhood Classroom, Deborah Wheeler, Jennifer Hill

Journal of English Learner Education

Culture equates to identity; therefore, the implementation of multicultural literature in the early childhood curriculum is an essential method for securing children’s concept of self and cultural identity. This qualitative study explored the implementation of multicultural literature in early childhood classrooms, and the research included questions pertaining to multicultural literature training, instructional methods, and barriers encountered. The purpose of the study was to answer questions regarding teachers use of multicultural literature in the classroom, how often teachers read multicultural literature and how teachers integrated multicultural literature into instruction. An additional question inquired about what multicultural books titles were teachers reading …

Best Practices For English Learners With Disabilities In Us Schools – A Systematic Review, Samiratu Bashiru, Jennifer E. Smith

Journal of English Learner Education

This systematic review investigated best practices for enhancing academic achievement among English Learners with Disabilities (ELDs) in US schools. By examining 17 peer-reviewed articles and comparing them to the CEC 2014 Quality Indicators, the study identifies significant practices, including culturally responsive methods, technology integration, evidence-based strategies, addressing service delivery challenges, and improving assessment tools. This review has limitations related to inconsistent terminology and highlights the need for standardized language and continued research. It recommends integrating culturally responsive practices, leveraging technology, and refining inclusive assessment tools. This review provides educators, policymakers, and researchers insights, emphasizing ongoing teacher development and policy alignment …

Asset-Based Teaching; Uncover, Cultivate, And Empower Students’ Uniqueness, Stephanie K. Knight, Marjaneh Gilpatrick, Tracy Vasquez

Journal of English Learner Education

As instructors who are in tune with their learners learning and communication styles as well as their family and cultural backgrounds, it makes sense that they view their students’ skills and abilities from an asset-based lens. This article provides the readers with some tactics on how to develop and nurture that growth mindset.

When we consider the assets students bring to individual classrooms, the teaching becomes more personalized and relevant to their learning needs. By implementing these teaching practices, instructors are uncovering, cultivating, and empowering their students’ unique abilities. Ultimately students are able to apply their knowledge, skills, and abilities …

A Study Of Preservice Teachers' Preparedness To Teach Reading, Kelli Williams-Page

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Only 35% of fourth graders in the United States can read at the proficient level, and only 34% of eighth graders can read proficiently (National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP], 2022). The purpose of this study was to determine how preservice teachers (PSTs) describe their experience of the methodology of teaching reading in their literacy courses. In addition, what specific strategies for teaching reading do PSTs describe as the focus for their teaching reading preparation, and how do PSTs describe the potential of the strategies learned in their coursework to help them teach reading in their future positions? This study …

Decodable Readers Versus Leveled Text, Taylor Leitch

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

A student’s ability to read fluently is an extremely vital skill, necessary to allow them to succeed both in an academic setting and in everyday life. To guide those developing readers in increasing their independent reading fluency, abilities educators must have the correct instructional methods and tools that are developmentally appropriate to provide meaningful instruction. This quantitative action research project explores the use of decodable readers versus leveled text for students who are still developing the phonemic skills and recognition needed to read fluently. A decodable reader allows a student to explicitly practice one phonemic skill to mastery before adding …

Teaching Phonics Mastery Through The Use Of Differentiated And Instructional Strategies, Ashley Honeyman

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

This capstone reports the effectiveness of using differentiated instructional and assessment strategies to improve student understanding in phonics mastery. Based on pretest data that analyzed understanding of short u consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words, phonics instruction was implemented to meet the needs of students in whole-group and small-group settings. This unit consisted of five whole-group lessons over short u blending and segmentation. In addition to the whole group learning, specific students were pulled for small-group intervention. The unit concluded with a post-assessment that tested student understanding on real and nonsense CVC words; these assessments were implemented to assess if the integration of …