Elementary Education Commons^™

Combining The Concrete Representational Abstract Framework And Video Modeling To Increase Basic Addition Skills Among First Grade Students, Sara Ebner

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Proficiency in mathematics is fundamental for academic success and is linked to numerous skills that are essential for success in the real-world. Despite its importance, many students struggle with math, leading to nationwide declines in math proficiency. This decline highlights the need for effective interventions that are accessible, able to be individualized, and feasible for implementation across settings. In the present study, a single case multiple probe across participants design was used to assess the efficacy of a concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) framework with video modeling intervention on the basic addition problem-solving accuracy of three first-grade students. Results show that participants’ accuracy …

Sixth Grade Music Ensemble Exploratories: Promoting Accessibility In Music Education, Michaela Marie Chybowski

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

School music ensemble participation has many benefits for students, including social well-being and improving academic performance; however, a variety of barriers, such as fear or lack of interest prevent many students from participating. To improve recruitment in music ensemble classes, Pittsburg Community Middle School created an exploratory class schedule that commenced with the 2022-2023 school year during which almost all sixth-grade students enrolled in three-week rotations of band, choir, and orchestra with the option to choose one option for the rest of the school year. This action research examined this new curriculum and the self-motivations of students who enrolled in …

From Carnival Games To Plastic Filters: Preparing Elementary Preservice Teachers To Teach Engineering, Jennifer Kidd, Pilar Pazos, Kristie Gutierrez, Danielle Rhemer, Stacie Ringleb, Krishna Kaipa, Isaac Kumi, Orlando Ayala, Francisco Cima

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Preservice teachers (PSTs) in an educational foundations course were tasked with leading elementary students in an engineering design challenge. In order to explore different approaches for helping the PSTs develop competence in engineering education, two implementation methods were tested. In Spring 2022, PSTs collaborated with undergraduate engineering students to develop carnival-themed design challenge lessons. In Fall 2022, PSTs worked with their PST classmates to teach a professionally prepared engineering lesson focused on designing plastic filters. PSTs’ knowledge of engineering and engineering pedagogy were compared across the two semesters using an exploratory approach. Both groups showed increases in engineering knowledge and …

Student Perceptions Of Inclusive And Culturally Responsive Teaching In The Elementary Classroom, Emma Larson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research is to explore student perspectives, as it relates to inclusive and culturally responsive teaching practices. In order to uplift student voices in the elementary classroom, observations and interviews were conducted to collect data on student perceptions. This study found that students believe the teacher’s job is to help everyone, students want a sense of belonging, and students love when their teacher celebrates them. As this research followed students in a bilingual kindergarten classroom, further research is needed in order to grasp a deeper understanding of students, their view, and perception of inclusive and culturally responsive …

Exploring The Pre- And Post-Pandemic Connection Between The Plus School Climate Survey And Student Outcomes: A Comparative Analysis And Predictive Study, Sarah V. Neely

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The return to in-person schooling post-COVID-19 pandemic has brought increased pressure on educators to ensure academic success for students. This study examines the school climate of 40 elementary and middle schools in California's Central Valley and its impact on academic performance and attendance, comparing pre-pandemic (2018-2019) with post-pandemic (2021-2022 and 2022-2023) data. Additionally, the study explores the influence of positive student-teacher relationships on academic outcomes and chronic absenteeism. Utilizing the PLUS School Climate Survey, this research sought to identify significant differences in survey scores pre- and post-pandemic, as well as examining the predictive power of student-teacher connectedness on academic performance …

From Elementary School To Doctoral Education: An Autoethnographic Journey, Gwendolyn D. Dailey

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Every child has a right to education, and their skin color should not determine their education quality. However, since the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), it has been proven that race continues to matter in the success and failure of education (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001). The persistent achievement gaps between students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as the disparities in access to high-quality educational opportunities, demonstrate how race and ethnicity shape the educational experiences of students of color (Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis, 2012). Unfortunately, stories such as Ruby Bridges of New …

Exploring The Integration Of Technology In Elementary Literacy Instruction: A Qualitative Descriptive Study, Melvina L. Barton

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study delved into the challenges faced by elementary educators at a suburban school in integrating technology-enhanced literacy pedagogy to bolster student success. Guided by Venkatesh’s unified theory of acceptance, the research investigated educators’ perceptions and utilization of technology in literacy instruction to foster student achievement. Key questions probed teachers’ perceptions of technology’s role in enhancing literacy outcomes and their views on administrative support for instructional practices.

Data collection involved interviews and surveys with 12 participants, selected based on demographics and teaching credentials. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify patterns and insights. The study explored the alignment among literacy …

Winter Vacation Activity Manual (Sindhi Version), Aisha Naz Ansari, Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta, Zarfin Saleem

Institute for Educational Development Pakistan (IED-PK) Archives

This resource is a compilation of activities to help parents and caregivers boost the holistic development of children during and beyond winter vacations.

Florida Queer K12 Teachers Perceptions Of School Climate Under “Don’T Say Gay”, Katherine E. Foley

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida's newest legislation leaves many Florida queer teachers feeling marginalized and unprotected in the classroom (Block, 2022). The “Parental Rights in Education” Bill (FL HB 1557 and FL HB 1069), infamously renamed “Don’t Say Gay”, was created ostensibly to help protect parental rights and choices in education. The new law prohibits the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through twelfth grade classrooms. “Don’t Say Gay” provides vague guidelines for queer teachers on approaching topics like sexual orientation and gender identity. Despite the evidence that queer teachers who are open and honest about their identity often find themselves …

Exploring Perceptions Of Advanced Coursework Enrollment Practices: A Multiple Case Study, Tomika Ferguson, David B. Naff, Jenna Lenhardt, Amy E. Jefferson, Isaiah Moore, Andrea Herndon, Richard Ashburn, Jessica Harris, Jenna Conlee, Courtney Forstmann

MERC Publications

This report from the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium highlights findings from a multiple case study exploring enrollment practices related to advanced coursework matriculation in a suburban middle school and rural high school. In connection with the MERC Equitable Access and Support for Advanced Coursework study, this multiple case study included perspectives from students, parents, and educators as they reflected on the factors that support and inhibit access for advanced courses in their schools.

Exploring The Perspectives Of Teenage Tutors Who Tutor Elementary Students In A One-To-One Reading Tutoring Program, Talya M. Taylor

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There have been minimal studies on tutoring programs that pair elementary students with teenage tutors (Jacob et al., 2016). Innovative tutoring programs are important as student reading achievement has declined since the onset of COVID-19 and school systems face instructional staff shortages. Through the lens of Self Determination Theory, this study explored how tutor autonomy (Ryan & Deci, 2000) to choose instructional strategies and delivery methods influences student reading progress through one-to-one tutoring.

Centered in a constructivist world view, qualitative research methodology was used to explore the relationship between teenage tutors exercising autonomy when delivering a scripted reading curriculum and …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Title I Elementary School Principals And Youth Mental Health: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Marva Mckinney

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) investigates how individuals make meaning of their social and personal environments. The primary questions that guide the exploration of the principals’ perspectives for this study include “How do Title 1 elementary school principals describe their leadership experiences in relation to student mental health challenges?”, “How do these experiences shape their perceptions of youth mental health within their schools?”, and “How do Title 1 elementary school principals understand the impact of external factors on their ability to address youth mental health challenges?”. According to Rousmaniere (2013, pp. 19–55), the principal has the most complex role in …

Reformed-Based Approaches To The Teaching And Learning Of Science, Sahar Vali

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This qualitative practice-based study explores the efficacy of reformed-based science teaching approaches in fostering meaningful student engagement within elementary science classrooms, framed within the science-as-practice paradigm. Utilizing three theoretical frameworks, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Ambitious Science Teaching (AST), and the Teacher Noticing, this research investigates how these frameworks influence student engagement in scientific disciplinary practices. The study draws on data from an NSF-funded project on teacher noticing in fifth-grade classrooms in West Virginia. Through a practice-based research approach, the relationship between teachers’ pedagogical practices and student engagement in science and engineering practices as outlined by NGSS and …

Disrupting Pedagogy: High School Students Making Sense Of The Flipped Learning Instructional Videos, Celeca A. Sukra

Journal of Research Initiatives

Technology has impacted every aspect of modern culture, including education. The influx of educational technology in schools presents opportunities to explore ways to engage students in the learning process fully. Although students may enjoy using technology in their daily lives, it is necessary to carefully consider how these students make sense of technology in the learning environment. Using the theoretical framework of constructivism, this Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) aimed to understand and describe the lived experiences of three students using technology to learn in a flipped classroom at a New York City public charter high school. The significant findings reveal …

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 …

Language, Cultural Knowledge, And Privileged Practices: A Case Study Of Understandings That Shape Family Engagement For Parents Of Spanish-English Emergent Bilinguals, Alissa Blair

Journal of English Learner Education

This research examines the ways in which parents of Spanish-English emergent bilinguals perceive and navigate the implicit and explicit expectations for family engagement through analysis of contrasting case studies of focal students from two 4^th grade classrooms, one characterized by English-medium instruction and the other by a developmental bilingual program. One case sheds light on the language barriers that hampered parents’ participation in their children’s education at school, while the other case highlights discrepancies in the understandings of parental and teacher roles and expectations. Findings demonstrate that parents’ capacity to meet school-based expectations was constrained by assumptions about their …

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 …

Triumph Through Tragedy, One Student At At Time, Chanel M. Schwenck

Kentucky Teacher Education Journal: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children

The EF-4 tornado that struck Mayfield, Kentucky on the evening of December 10, 2021 caused tremendous destruction to the entire community of Mayfield. Two education professors at a neighboring university sought to help students in the Mayfield Independent School District and were able to do so via funding from a KEEP mini-grant. 81 of their college students were trained in Response to Intervention (RtI) practices and provided individual and small group instruction to students in Mayfield for 2 hours a week for 17 weeks during the 2022-2023 school year. Altogether, struggling students in Mayfield received 1,377 hours of RtI instruction …

Effects Of Screen Time On Children's Brain Development: A Scoping Review, Niloofar Jannesar, Todd E. Davenport, Lindsay Gietzen

Pacific Journal of Health

In this scoping review, the effects of screen time on cognitive, linguistic, and social-emotional development in children were studied by examining peer-reviewed articles published between 2018 and 2023. A total of 17 peer-reviewed articles were used in the study. The research reported that screen media provide a learning avenue, though it could be detrimental when children spend their time watching more than appropriate screen media. Furthermore, the study indicated that excessive screen media use may harm children’s executive function, which affects academic performance and language development. Related studies have also shown a correlation between excess screen use and problems like …

Library Steam Kits: Developing Circulatable Curriculum For Community Steam Learning, Daphne Fauber, Ashley Fletcher

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Public libraries serve as repositories for a movement described as cultivation of the Library of Things. In the wake of COVID-19, the West Lafayette Public Library enhanced its existing Library of Things collection through the creation of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) kits. Since 2017, the West Lafayette Public Library has held regular free STEAM programs for the community; those programs were put on hold during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which concurred with a library renovation. These kits provide the community with the ability to learn STEAM concepts at home engaging, hands-on activities that may otherwise …

Klondike Elementary School: Serving Purdue And The Local Community And Empowering Students From Around The Globe Through High-Quality Learning Experiences Accenting Diversity And Inclusion, Jingyuan Zhang, Yan Ping Xin

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Disabilities Awareness Program (DAP) aims to cultivate an understanding of disability and inclusion among young children through accessible instructions, age-appropriate activities, and engaging discussions. We want to take this opportunity to introduce one of our school partners - Klondike Elementary School (KES), to recognize its contributions to DAP in providing service-learning opportunities and showcase KES as one of the community partners.

Supporting Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Design Of Differentiated Instruction With A Transparent Lesson Plan Template, Charlotte A. Mundy-Henderson, Aaron Gierhart, Saoussan Maarouf

Perspectives In Learning

Planning and differentiation are key components of elementary teachers’ work in classrooms. Therefore, teacher education programs must prepare their preservice teachers for this future responsibility. This study examines how the integration of a more targeted lesson plan template and increased explicit in-class instruction impacts preservice teachers’ knowledge and implementation of differentiated instruction in an Elementary Education teacher certification program. Findings indicate that the new, more targeted lesson plan template and increased time dedicated to explicit differentiated instruction across the Elementary Education program led candidates to feel more knowledgeable about differentiated instruction and how to design and implement instruction for diverse …

How Do Staff And Families Perceive The Effects Of After School Programs On The Overall School Experience?, Selena Alonzo

Masters Theses (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Examining The Effect Of Utilizing 1:1 Ipad Technology On Third Grade Reading Achievement: A Causal-Comparative Analysis, Sharla E. Edwards

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative causal-comparative study examined the effects of one-to-one (1:1) iPad instruction versus traditional instruction on urban third-grade students' English Language Arts (ELA) achievement. The research is significant given the rising use of technology, like the 1:1 iPad initiative, to combat declining reading proficiency. It highlights the pivotal role of third-grade reading proficiency in future success, aligning with education policies and catering to modern learners. This study provides valuable insights for educators, administrators, and education stakeholders by elucidating the impact of technology on reading achievement. As one-to-one instruction gains prominence, understanding its influence on students' reading performance is crucial due …

The Transformation Of Rural Elementary Classroom English Language Teachers During Distance Learning: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Cecilia Frazier Salzer

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand the transformation of rural elementary classroom teachers who transitioned to distance learning with English learners (ELs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the California Central Valley. The theory guiding this study is Mezirow’s transformative learning theory. At the same time the conceptual framework is Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPACK), as both will ascribe meaning to how EL teachers transformed their perspectives, assumptions, feelings, and judgments while conducting distance learning. The research question guiding this study is: What transformation did teachers experience while providing distance learning instruction to rural elementary English …

Cultivating Equity: Harnessing School Garden Education As A Catalyst For Food Justice And Social Change, Maureen Madeleine Callahan

Dissertations and Theses

In the realm of critical pedagogy, state power, and food justice in school garden education, this internship reflection paper delves into the creation and impact of a unique video project. Collaborating with a school garden education organization and a local farm owned by a pair of queer, multiracial women near Portland, Oregon, the study aimed to present K-5 students with farming and environmental insights through a food justice lens. Central inquiries explored the intersection of school garden curriculum and farming knowledge, emphasizing community-building and cultural diversity, farmer-environment interactions, engaging young students, and creating a replicable video format. Rooted in critical …

Experiential Leadership Learning: Narratives Of A Multiple Case Study Of Mexican School Leaders Appointed To Indigenous Schools, Manuel Lopez-Delgado, Argelia Estrada-Loya

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

Training and preparation of school leaders have an impact on the quality of leadership displayed in their readiness for the leadership practice. However, in Mexico the training and preparation processes for school leaders are unclear and lack uniformity. The way of access to headship has promoted that school leaders learn to lead in their role without previous preparation for the position. This paper presents the findings of a study conducted through narratives that analyzed the leadership learning processes of novice and experienced school leaders. The study identified important learning experiences as the receptive observation, malleable observation, practical experiences of leadership, …

Math Vocabulary & Number Sense: Instructional Strategies For Upper Elementary English Learning Students In The Math Classroom, Matt J. Cavanaugh

Doctorate in Education

Recent studies show that English learning students are a growing population within the United States school system. Language barriers have been shown to negatively influence reading scores as well as math scores, and math scores are a predictor of future academic success in many subject areas. This qualitative action research study demonstrates the difficulties many upper-elementary English learning students have understanding number sense (numeracy) in a math classroom setting in Minnesota, United States. The purpose of this study was to explore whether intentional teaching of math vocabulary could alleviate the difficulties upper-elementary English learning students have in understanding, applying, and …

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 …