Elementary Education Commons^™

The Relationship Between Teacher Communication, And Teacher Credibility, Student Motivation, And Academic Achievement In India, Cyril Fernandes

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This study was conducted in India, where teachers use the lecture method of communication in the classroom. It is important for the teacher to establish credibility while communicating to motivate the students in the classroom. The study examined the relationship between teacher communication, and teacher credibility, student motivation, and academic achievement. The researcher visited 11 schools in India, and 519 ninth-grade students participated in the research. A questionnaire was prepared to collect data on teacher credibility and student motivation, and four English-subject examination grades of the participants were collected. The participants were also asked to evaluate their English teachers’ communication …

The Effects Of Student-Centered Coaching On The Reading Achievement Of Elementary Students And Teacher Instructional Practice, Merlette Frederick-Williams

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

With student achievement as the focus of educational reform, teachers in today’s classrooms are faced with meeting the needs of a diverse population. These teachers need to have the skill set to meet their students’ varied learning needs. This quantitative quasi-experimental study examined the impact of student-centered coaching on student learning and attitude toward reading using a comparative group (archival data, 2016–2017 school year, of students whose teachers did not receive coaching) and an experimental group (2017–2018 school year, students whose teachers received student-centered coaching). Three teachers and 276 students were taken from a Title I school in a suburban …

Exploring The Use Of Known Strategies For Achieving Fluency Of Multiplication And Division Facts In Third Grade., Alexandra Rubenstein

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

In order to complete higher level math tasks, fluency of multiplication and division is crucial. Based on state standards, third grade students are expected to become fluent with multiplication and division facts from 0-100 by the end of the year. Throughout history many educators have relied on timed tests to teach and assess math fact fluency. Best practices for helping students become fluent with math facts is now highly debated. The purpose of this teacher action research study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using math fact games and visual math cards as means of distributed practice in order to …

The Importance Of Collaboration Within Project-Based Learning In A Kindergarten Teacher Classroom, Moriah Weber

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research to is examine the impacts teaching collaboration tools within Project-based learning, in a Kindergarten classroom.  Data collection was taken by video recording two PBL projects, observing and reflecting on field notes, and recording students reflection how they collaborated during each project. This data collection compared two different half day Kindergarten classes with similar demographics. The AM class was taught collaboration by using different collaboration tools while the PM class was not.  Both classes did the same PBL projects with small groups and the data was collected on collaboration in comparison between the two groups. The …

Kindergarten Students' Interactions With Texts During Independent Reading, Tracy L. Schaper

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how emergent readers interact with texts during independent reading. Audio recordings of student talk, video taped observations, notes in a teacher research journal, a book selection chart, and concepts about print assessments were all analyzed to determine how emergent readers interact with texts. Findings were that students interact with familiar, unfamiliar, and leveled texts differently including varying levels of conventionality and prosody of language, the comprehension strategies and skills they use to make meaning, and the concepts about print they apply. Findings also included trends for the types of teacher support students …

Edifying The Spirit Of Love And Liberation In The Education Of Young Children: Lessons From Critical Pedagogy And Reggio Emilia Inspired Educators, Seyedeh Zahra Agha Seyed Yousef

LMU Theses and Dissertations

In an age of adultism in which children have been perceived as mere drains on society, schooling often has been viewed as a means to an end. Due to the fact that a capitalistic society requires future workers, children have been socialized in the necessary skills and knowledge required to fulfill their future job requirements. Consequently, schooling often has taken place in the form of the banking model in which students are treated as empty vessels to be filled up by the knowledgeable teachers, and then to regurgitate said knowledge on assessments to prove their understanding. I challenge this antiquated …

Examining Relationships Between The Wakids Gold Social-Emotional And Cognitive Subtests Of Executive Function And Kindergarten Reading Readiness, Amy J. Wright

Education Dissertations

Executive function skills, which are defined as a person’s ability to regulate behaviors such as attention, working memory, and inhibitory control, play a role in a child’s successful transition from preschool to kindergarten. The purpose of this study was to review and analyze the relationship between executive function in early childhood, as measured by the WaKIDS GOLD^TM social-emotional and cognitive subtests, and early reading readiness. The research design was both correlational and predictive (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2006). The target population is kindergarteners in a suburban Washington State school district. The study is based on data collected at the …

Choosing Advocacy

Occasional Paper Series

Two articles comprise this publication. In "Beyond the Story-Book Ending: Literature for Young Children About Parental Estrangement and Loss," Megan Matt analyzes over 30 books for young children on the topics of abandonment, estrangement, divorce, and foster care. She observes that this loss might appear as an event within the story or as a fear articulated by a young child. She states that, as an educator, she hopes that she can make the children realize that their own stories are "real" and legitimate, no matter what messages they might encounter or fail to encounter in the media. In "Walking the …

Missed Opportunities For Writing In The Kindergarten Classroom, Shalise Meadows

Spring Presentation of Undergraduate Research

Writing is a very important part of life. Students begin learning to write before or during kindergarten. While in a kindergarten classroom, I noticed that there was a lot of writing, but it was mostly independent with little to no instruction. There are a few reasons as to why teachers are not spending time on writing instruction; for example, lack of time. However, there are simple ways that teachers can implement writing instruction and the feeling of a community in the classroom.

Yoga In My Public-School Classroom, Hannah Sumich

Honors Projects

This paper discusses the pre-established research on implementing a yoga program in an urban, public classroom setting. Then, results of a yoga practice in the urban, public classroom are presented and discussed. Yoga in this urban, public school classroom, had mixed responses, with some students flourishing and enjoying the practice whole-heartedly, and some students were pained and disliked the practice strongly. The majority of participants enjoyed the practice, and would opt to continue participating if the program continued.

Harmonizing Social Emotional Learning For Students With Special Needs, Deema Shihadih

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Students with intellectual disabilities (ID) typically face difficulties with social emotional skill sets, yet many classrooms for students with ID do not incorporate social emotional learning in the curriculum. Modifying SEL programs to fit the needs of students may be an improved solution, however, little research exists exploring the effects of modifying various SEL programs to fit the needs of students with intellectual disabilities (ID). This research explores the benefits of modifying multiple social emotional learning (SEL) programs to best fit the needs of students with intellectual disabilities. Qualitative methods were used in order to investigate how SEL programs and …

Language Interventions And Social-Emotional Learning Helps Students Who Are Emotionally Disturbed, Megan Walsh

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Students who are classified as being Emotionally Disturbed (ED) often struggle in the general education classroom setting because they do not receive the proper support to be the most successful. Many teachers do not understand how to work with these students due to a lack of training and understanding of the disability. Additionally, these students who typically have behavioral issues will continue to act out without forming interpersonal relationships with their teacher. Although research has demonstrated some understanding of working with these students, few studies have explored the use of language interventions and social-emotional learning to promote positive student-teacher relationships. …

Life Skills For Life-Long Learners: Teaching Functional Skills To Elementary Students With Special Needs, Emily H. Derecat

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

Though extensive studies exist regarding teaching life skills at the middle school and high school level in special education to support transition, a comparable amount of research is still needed to support the need for the use of life skills-based programs in elementary special education programs. The purpose of this study was to investigate how a six-week intervention using research-based practices to target specific life skills impacted 2nd - 5th grade students with moderate to severe disabilities. The skill areas that were targeted: hygiene (hand-washing), social skills (appropriate greetings) and money skills (collecting money). The life skills were worked on …

Failing To Support Our Struggling Readers, Hannah Reilly

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

There is an increasing number of students scoring below grade level proficiency in reading/language arts. There are many benefits to using educational technology to support students struggling with reading, although the teachers at this school aren’t integrating technology into the reading curriculum. While there are many prior studies that address the benefits that educational technology has with students struggling with reading and perceptions of teachers, there is not substantial research on why teachers fail to integrate educational technology into the reading curriculum. The research focuses on the problem of teachers failing to integrate educational technology into reading curriculum in order …

Voices From The Field: Regarding Elementary Teachers, Traci Christine Dorsett

Undergraduate Research Conference

Purpose-to explore what the most important advice new teachers will want to know before entering the field of elementary education.

Research questions: (1) What is the most reoccurring advice given from the teachers surveyed? (2) What were similarities and differences that occurred between teacher candidates and teachers?

The Effects Of Poverty: Children And Education, Elizabeth Hamilton

Undergraduate Research Conference

At the Boys and Girls Club of Nacogdoches, it is obvious that poverty is well known to the children, as this program aims to help low-income families. The concept addressed in the following presentation is the affect poverty has on a child and their education. Through academic literature and personal experience, the author was able to explain how poverty can affect a child’s development, academic performance, and behavior. Lastly, recommendations will be made on how the Boys and Girls Club can improve parent and school involvement, as well as improve the volunteer experience.

Elementary Teacher Professional Development For Computer Science And Digital Game-Based Learning, Christopher Levy

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study research is to understand the professional development needed for elementary school (Grades K–6) educators to effectively teach computer science as part of the Computer Science for All initiative. Two research statements guided this study: Professional development training is needed for Florida elementary school educators to effectively teach the topics in the Computer Science for All initiative; Florida elementary school educators use digital game-based learning to effectively teach the topics in the Computer Science for All initiative. The sample was a purposeful sample consisting of 15 elementary school teachers at an elementary school in …

Evaluation Of The Socio Emotional Learning (Sel) Activities On Self-Regulation Skills Among Primary School Children, Kerem Coskun

The Qualitative Report

I seek the experience of the primary school children who participated in the SEL Activities instructing self-regulation skill. I designed the SEL Activities and conducted them with the participant students’ classroom teacher. I used phenomenological methods (Moustakas, 1994) to collect data through semi-structured interviews with primary school children who are 10-years-old and analysed the data by identifying significant statements and then clustering the significant statements into themes, writing textural and structural descriptions, before finally arriving at a composite description. Findings demonstrate that through the SEL Activities, the participant children became more competent in realizing the influence of emotions on their …

Breaking Down Common Core Math, Dialah Azam

Research Days

Common Core has been at the very front of parent and teacher criticism alike for some time now. The reason there is such a gap between the excitement for a better way to teach and the utter confusion on specifically Common Core Math is the understanding of the rationale behind it. The aim of this research and presentation is to bridge that gap by introducing the background of why the math curriculum has changed, how to understand the new math strategies that have resulted from this change, and how to pass that understanding on to make math and Common Core, …

Gentrification And Student Achievement: A Quantitative Analysis Of Student Performance On Standardized Tests In Portland's Gentrifying Neighborhoods, Justin Joseph Ward

Dissertations and Theses

Across the United States one would be hard pressed to find an urban center that has been unaffected by the phenomenon known as gentrification. From substantial economic growth to the displacement of long-term residents, the benefits and criticisms of the process of gentrification are wide ranging and extend over a thorough body of literature. Commonly associated with increasing levels of education and higher resident incomes, gentrification should be a boon to struggling public schools that are continually plagued by generational poverty. Unfortunately, the continued widening of the education gap and increasing racial segregation in our public schools suggest that any …

Toward A More Loving Framework For Literacy Education

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Claiming The Promise Of Place-Based Education

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

Addressing The Climate Change Consensus Gap Among Preservice Teachers: A Four-Faceted Approach, Grinell Smith, Colette Rabin

Faculty Publications

In this paper, we report an estimate of the magnitude of the “consensus gap” – the gap between what scientists know about climate change and what the general public thinks they know – about anthropomorphic climate change among K-8 pre-service teachers. We also report qualitative findings about the utility of a four-faceted approach to teaching about climate change designed explicitly to mitigate inductive reasoning errors and to reduce in-group favoritism, attribution bias, inter-group conflict, and confirmation bias. We found that learning about the scientific consensus spurred student exploration about climate change and the careful use of deliberation toward commonly-held positions …

Motivating The Unmotivated: How Are We Supporting Struggling Readers In Upper Elementary Classrooms?, Maci V. Wood

Honors College Theses

Motivating struggling students to read is a question considered by many general education reading teachers and special education teachers alike. Since student classroom experiences today differ greatly from classrooms of the past in terms of instructional practices and learning supports, scripted materials that seldom cater to student interest have often been promoted due to the pressure of standardized assessment. With little to no student engagement present in the classroom, it is up to the student to find the will to read or to the teacher to utilize alternative strategies in increasing student motivation (Cambria & Gunthrie, 2008). However, there is …

Fostering Critical And Creative Thinking In The Elementary Social Studies Classroom: Teaching Social Justice Through The Lenses Of Power And Oppression And Site-Based Experiences, Julia R. Wilkins, Chelsea D. Witwer

Dissertations

This joint study in the elementary school social studies setting enacted the explicit intention of facilitating student understanding of social justice. The first study was conducted in a second grade classroom to assess how exploring historical neighborhoods in St. Louis impacted students’ understandings of diversity. Student writings, interviews, artwork, and adult interviews and surveys provided evidence of the impact the curriculum had on the school community and larger city. This study revealed that it is possible for young students to explore hard histories and present day social justice topics through the use of place-based learning and community partnerships. Their learning …

The If Men Project – The Design And Implementation Of A Healthy Masculinity Curriculum For Young Men, Scott Kaltenbaugh

Capstone Collection

This paper examines the creation of the If Men Project, a healthy masculinity training curriculum aimed at young men. The If Men Projectseeks to create a better world by helping young men find a stronger sense of their own identity in a way that creates positive relationships with everyone around them. In short, it helps young men be good men.

The paper will track the creation process from my own social justice journey, through the conception of the project, the design of the training, multiple implementations of it, and finally to the reflections and learnings that came from …

Language Sampling Methods For Early Adolescents With Specific Language Impairment, Anna Mckay

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

One essential component of clinical practice in the field of speech-language pathology is eliciting language to assess an individual’s communication abilities. Language becomes more sophisticated during the adolescent stage of development, particularly in the areas of vocabulary and complexity of sentence structures used. The current protocols used to evaluate adolescents are limited in their ability to elicit and analyze language samples, resulting in decreased effectiveness of identifying adolescents with language disorders. Preliminary data was collected at Western Kentucky University in 2018 regarding a new language sampling technique, the Dixit Method (DM), to elicit more lexically diverse language than standard interview …

Toro Times: Raising Our Voices!, Griffee Albaugh, Tiana Andrade, Mitchell Chen, Eric Cho, Kimberly Contreras, Minerva Ipatzi, Natalie Oporta, Jorge Cortes, Wendy Flores, Victoria Sato, David Hernandez, Kendall Hill, Ryan Guzman, Jose Lopez Huerta, Gerard Villaseñor, Isa Basche, Anthony Castro, Adolfo Bello, Raymond Ferman, Paul Callahan, Olivia Coston, Julie Ornelas, Jane Gore, Jiva Jimmons, Sakura Kato, Jessie Latin, Erin Leung, Diana Miranda, Sydnie Partida, Reuben Regalado, Kimberly Velazquez, Isabelle Arriaga, Ezekiel Banda, Angelynn Benitez De La Cruz, Airiale Hernandez, Alana Caires, Katelyn Carbajal, Karly Eastley, Kiaya Estes, Layla Fulton, Leslie Rosales, Bella Ryan, Marisol Gallardo, Krystal Gonzalez, Ciera Ortiz, Brody Shellenbarger, Jackie Solano, Kyra Gallego, Vanessa Garcia, Nhi Vo, Emily Gutierrez, Sarah Hernandez, Keila Pineda, Valerie Quinones, Luke Kudlinski, Samantha Mbodwam, Alexa Muro, Jasmine Nava, Dayana St. Clair, Lizbeth Teran, Heaven Wong

Yorba-Chapman Writing Partnership Anthology of Journalistic Writing

During the Spring 2019 semester, Dr. Noah Asher Golden's Teaching of Writing K-12 students partnered with the Journalism class at Yorba Academy for the Arts. Through collaboration over a four-month period, Chapman's future teachers and Yorba's junior high journalists engaged a deep writing process to write a series of features, editorials, and news articles related to a number of global issues. Thank you to Principal Preciado-Martin, former principal Tracy Knibb, Mrs. Andrea Lopez, Mrs. Kori Shelton, and the Lloyd E. and Elisabeth H. Klein Family Foundation for supporting this project.

Dysgraphia, Madeline Brown

Classical Conversations

Envision a kindergarten student sitting in school with an assignment to copy. As she sits down, she already knows the challenge writing presents for her but does not speak up or say anything because this time probably will not be any different than when she requested help before. She has been labeled as a lazy writer and has never had the most readable handwriting. All of the other children around her finish the assignment and she inevitably she remains unable to complete the first sentence. This scene does not have to play out this way. Students in schools across the …

Including Students With Emotional Disturbance: Teachers' Experiences, Kimberley Shearer

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This phenomenological study explored three general educators’ experiences of including students with Emotional Behavior Disorder (EBD) in the general education classroom. Given the challenges of including children with severe behaviors, the study aimed to understand what educational and behavioral practices teachers found useful as they strove to help students be successful. This study took place in a suburban school district with first-through-fourth grade elementary general education teachers who were perceived as being successful with students with EBD. This study used in-depth interviews to explore the teachers’ lived experiences around their efforts to include students with EBD, using descriptions, quotes, and …