Elementary Education Commons^™

Occupational Stress And Burnout In K-2 Educators Postpandemic: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology, Jennifer M. Hart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to describe occupational stress and burnout as experienced by K–2 elementary educators in central Pennsylvania postpandemic. The theories guiding this study were Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping and Lazarus’s cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion, which provided a framework for understanding how educators process occupational stress. The central research question guiding this qualitative phenomenological study was: What is the lived experience of K–2 elementary school educators postpandemic? The sample consisted of 12 to 15 K–2 educators from across three school districts in central Pennsylvania. Data were collected using journal entries, …

The Effects Of Family Size And Birth Order On Students' Social Emotional And Cognitive Development, Mary Watson

Honors Projects

This project sought to analyze and understand the differences in student’s cognitive and social emotional development based on their number of siblings (also referred to as family size) and birth order. To accomplish this, a 130-question survey was created and emailed to approximately 125 teachers. 27 survey responses were received, which is a response rate of approximately 21.6%. The response data was categorized by only child, oldest child, youngest child, child with one or two siblings, child with three or four siblings, and child with five or more siblings. Though the responses were varied, the data showed that oldest children …

Building Classroom Community In Elementary Literacy Methods Courses, Kathleen M. Crawford, Heather M. Huling

Elementary & Special Education: Faculty Publications

In this article, two elementary teacher educators provide a novel approach to building relationships and classroom community in their face to face elementary literacy methods courses. The authors present their classroom practice entitled “Tell Me Time” (TMT), mirroring morning meetings in K–12 settings, as the staple of building classroom community in their courses. They describe how TMT has been used to build student relationships with each other and with instructors through providing unique, personalized opportunities to socialize and connect through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Threaded throughout, the authors detail specific feedback from students and highlight how TMT has helped …

Out With The Old, In With The New: Digital Interactive Journals In An Elementary Language Arts Methods Course, Kathleen M. Crawford, Heather M. Huling

Elementary & Special Education: Faculty Publications

In this article, two elementary literacy teacher educators provide elementary language arts content and methods by implementing digital interactive journals in a face-to-face classroom setting. The authors present how this practice evolved from traditional interactive journals pre-COVID to an innovative and engaging learning experience post-COVID. Interactive journals provide students with opportunities to explore and apply content and methods, while also learning a teaching strategy that pre-service teachers can implement in their own elementary classrooms. The authors describe the design and development of digital interactive journals along with student work samples and instructional steps to transfer and implement this strategy across …

Improving Teacher Intervention Decisions Using The Fraction Error Flowchart, Katherine Pettrey

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the U.S. the fifth-grade mathematics curriculum is largely devoted to building fraction skills, providing an essential foundation for future success in mathematics (National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008). Unfortunately, students in the U.S. struggle with fraction proficiency (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2022; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2018). Even when teachers facilitate interventions for struggling students those interventions may not be aligned with student need (Riccomini, 2005). Additionally, teachers struggle to identify research-based practices (RBPs) when presented with student data (Means et al., 2009). The purpose of this study was to create and test a flowchart that could …

An Evaluation Of Social Emotional Learning Curricula And Their Effect On 4th Grade Students' Emotional Regulation, Jared Larson

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This study evaluated the effectiveness of Sanford Harmony and Adventure Based Counseling (ABC) interventions on the emotional regulation of 4th-grade students. Students were not randomly selected in this study, and pre and postassessments were measured using an Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Results indicated both interventions had a positive effect on participants’ emotional regulation. Further, the Sanford Harmony and ABC intervention were found to be successful in improving emotional regulation. These improvements helped with regulating oneself, dealing with trauma, helping with relationships, and solving problems. Implications for counselors and educators include recommending both interventions as a means to improve students’ emotional regulation. …

The Casnr L.I.N.K.S. Newsletter: Learning Innovation Network For K-12 Schools, Volume 2, Edition 4, April 2023, Bailey Feit, Tammy Mittelstet

CASNR L.I.N.K.S. Newsletter

Contents

K-12 curriculum and resources

Career exploration: pathways for students who like animals and insects

CASNR six interest areas: analytical investigators, health systems innovators, food systems futurists, environmental stewards, entrepreneurial designers, community leaders

Analytical investigators careers spotlight: UNL statistics, forensic science, agricultural economics

Teacher and student opportunities: applied science program for flexible schooling, student summer opportunities, young Nebraska scientists summer camps

Classroom Learning For English Language Learners In Elementary Schools Of West Virginia, Wenjuan Mo

Graduate Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Examining Motivation And Self-Efficacy In Reading And Writing In Seventh Grade English: An Improvement Science Dissertation In Practice, Jennifer Tuttle

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This Improvement Science study sought to understand and support the motivation and self-efficacy of middle school students for literacy-based tasks using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), Burke Reading Inventory (BRI), and Burke Writing Inventory (BWI) in a pre-and post-format. This study was designed in response to observed course failings and lack of motivation for seventh-grade students in a post-COVID educational situation. The teacher researcher implemented a Plan, Do, Study, Act cycle alongside interested stakeholders to try and support students’ motivation to complete literacy tasks. She also conducted class discussions to clarify and support students’ understandings of motivation and …

Teaching Angle As Turn Using A Code.Org Lesson, Stacy K. Boote, Terrie Galanti

UNF Faculty Research and Scholarship

Elementary school students use physical manipulatives (e.g., pattern blocks) to make sense of the geometry and measurement ideas in a Code.org block-based programming lesson.

Reaching Rural Students With Resources And Enrichment-Focused Learning In The Summer Months, Kathrina M. O'Connell

The Rural Educator

This promising practice describes the summer programming transformation at a rural, Title I school. After eliminating barriers to education and remediation overtones, the school now provides free transportation, meals, and books for all participants and engages them in research based, enrichment focused literacy learning. The program’s first year experienced a 746% increase in registration, 34% increase in retention, and 18% increase in attendance. Similar registration and participation numbers were reported in years two - four, with reading growth demonstrated in all four summers. Both students and their parents reported increased engagement and motivation to read in the summer months. Results …

Geometry And Coding: Introducing An Interactive And Integrated Mathematics-Computer Science Unit, Kimberly Beck, Jessica F. Shumway

Publications

As part of a collaborative project between Utah State University, the Cache County School District, and Stanford, instructional units were designed for fifth-grade students. These units integrated math concepts of geometrical shapes and computer science concepts of sequences, conditionals, and loops. One component of the unit was implemented in math classrooms by math teachers, and the other component was implemented in computer labs. This presentation will focus on the math unit as presented at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM-V).

Using Visual Imagery To Develop Multiplication Fact Strategies, Gina Kling

Dissertations

The learning of basic facts, or the sums and products of numbers 0–10 and their related differences and quotients, has always been a high priority for elementary school teachers. While memorization of basic facts has been a hallmark of elementary school, current recommendations focus on a more nuanced development of fluency with these facts. Fluency is characterized by the ability to demonstrate flexibility, accuracy, efficiency, and appropriate strategy use. Despite recommendations to focus on strategy use, there is insufficient information on instructional approaches that are effective for developing strategies, particularly for multiplication facts. Using visual imagery with dot patterns has …

Subjective Well-Being Of Teachers In K-12 Christian Schools, Julianne Rettig

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

This non-experimental, quantitative study aimed to examine the factors that influence the self-perceived well-being of teachers in K-12 Christian schools. The sample for this study was convenient, non-probable, and purposive and comprised of 81 teachers from one Christian school system in Florida. The measurement tool used in this study is based on Seligman’s (2011) work on well-being. The Workplace PERMAH Profiler is a valid and reliable (α = .94) instrument that measures flourishing in terms of six domains: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment, and health. The internal reliability of study participant responses to survey items associated with the construct …

A Middle-Class Mother's Journey On Navigating The Educational System: The Impact Of Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, And Class In Schools, Amy A. Hunter

Dissertations

This is a qualitative autoethnographic study of a Black mother in the Midwest region as she navigates the educational system for her children. This is a research document that informs the reader of the impact of racism and the intersectional identity of race, gender, and motherhood. The importance of intersectionality is highlighted in this research, and so it is that the mother is middle-class to articulate that poverty, access to resources, or the educational attainment of the mother are not necessarily mitigating factors for the treatment she receives within the educational setting. Moreover, is serves as a guide for other …

The Impact Of Supplemental Phonemic Awareness Lessons On Phonological Awareness And Spelling Development Among Kindergarten And First Graders, Crystal Olinger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Reading is a developmental process that builds on complex cognitive processes and starts long before children enter school. This present study investigated the impact of supplemental phonemic awareness lessons on phonological awareness and spelling development among kindergarten and first graders. The Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP-2) measured phonological awareness. The Kindergarten Inventory of Developmental Spelling (KIDS) measured spelling development in kindergarten students. The Developmental Spelling Analysis (DSA) measured spelling development in first grade. Participants in the treatment group received 16 weeks of weekly word study instruction and 10-15 minute daily phonemic awareness instruction. A mixed design full factorial ANOVA …

The Usage And Impact Of Act 1240 Teacher Licensure Waivers In Arkansas, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Policy Briefs

Act 1240 of 2015 allows Arkansas school districts to petition for waivers allowing for the employment of teachers who are not licensed under the standard procedures of the state. Since the program’s inception in the 2016-17 school year, the number of teachers employed under Act 1240 waivers has increased, with the Arkansas Department of Education reporting 836 teachers hired using Act 1240 waivers in 69 districts during the 2021-22 school year. This represents approximately one quarter of the districts within the state, but only approximately 2 percent of the nearly 40,000 teachers employed last year.

Using publicly available data from …

Partnering Pre-Service Teachers With First-Grade Writers: An Exploration Of Giving Effective Feedback, Kelly N. Tracy, Lydia J. Foust

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Feedback is a critical component of teaching and learning (Black & William, 1998; Hattie, 2009). Thus, it is essential for pre-service teachers to have a clear understanding of how to give effective feedback, including on student writing. This article describes a collaborative partnership project between a first-grade teacher and a teacher educator focused on giving students feedback on their writing. Using the online tool Flipgrid, the project brought together 15 first graders and 27 pre-service teachers enrolled in a writing methods course in an effort to offer on-going feedback to the first graders as they were in the process of …

Elementary Teachers' Experiences Of Student Engagement During Forced Virtual Learning: A Phenomenological Approach, Heather Nicole Campbell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand and describe Virginia's Shenandoah Valley Elementary School teachers' experiences of student engagement during forced virtual learning. Teachers' experiences were defined by their positive or negative perceptions of virtual learning experiences. Bandura's social learning theory guided this study on the importance of student engagement in the classroom. This qualitative, transcendental phenomenological study included 12 elementary school teachers from the Madre school division. Data were collected through interviews, letter writing, and focus groups. The precoding and coding processes were used for data analysis to identify three final themes. The themes were online …

Public School Teachers' Experiences With High-Stakes Testing: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Lamorris Nakita Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to examine how public school elementary teachers perceive high-stakes testing situations as it relates to the impact of test anxiety on young children. Bandura’s (1997) social cognitive theory guided this study as it sought to explain the role of human self-belief in cognition, motivation, and behavior. Eleven teachers who are elementary teachers within a North Carolina public school system, have been teaching at least three years, and have administered high-stakes testing over the course of their teaching careers shared their lived experiences of high-stakes testing through their answers to the following: How …

A Creative Approach To Promoting And Discussing Social Emotional Learning, Lori B. Doyle, Jill L. Swisher

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Social emotional learning (SEL) is an important topic in education and a desired area of professional development for teachers. This conceptual essay offers a creative approach in promoting and discussing SEL through the use of haiku poetry. The tenets from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework were synthesized into key concepts and presented as haiku poems as a pedagogical exercise to increase awareness on SEL.

Multilingual Zambia - Language Issues In Primary/Secondary Schools Of The Eastern/Southern Provinces, Kenzie Steiner

NUTR/GLST 498b: Global Research Experiences in Nutrition and Health

Introduction: Zambia is a multilingual country that uses 8 different languages for instruction including English and 7 other indigenous languages.

Methods: Survey research conducted between May-June 2022 on 6-7th graders within 9 Zambian schools. Classroom observations made and teachers interviewed.

Results: In Eastern and Southern Provinces, Zambian teachers speak an average of 5 languages while students speak an average of 2. Both teachers and students say English remains the most important language followed by first languages.

Conclusion: Continued research on language-in-education policies and impacts on student performance must be conducted if “One Zambia, One Nation” is meant to promote all …

Difficulties Facing Teachers In Teaching Mathematics To Students With Learning Disabilities In Light Of Corona Pandemic And Proposed Solutions From The Teachers' Point Of View, Laial Mohammad Damrah

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Research in Higher Education مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية للبحوث في التعليم العالي

The study aimed to reveal the difficulties facing teaching students with learning disabilities in Mathematics in light of Corona pandemic and proposed solutions to them from the point of view of their teachers. To achieve this goal, the analytical descriptive approach was used, the study tool (questionnaire) was distributed randomly on a sample of 58 teachers was chosen out of 123 (47% of the study population) from all resource rooms in 5 directorates in Amman (26 male and 97 female teachers) for the academic year 2020/2021 to respond to a questionnaire items. The result showed that the most problems facing …

Desire And Marketizing English Version Of Education As A Commodity In The Linguistic Market In Bangladesh, Mohammod Moninoor Roshid Professor, Shaila Sultana Professor

The Qualitative Report

In recent years, the globalization of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) policy has grown exponentially, driven by socio-economic, political, cultural, and educational desires and forces. Despite having a well-established elite English-medium education in Bangladesh, EMI-based, a new type of education system has emerged recently at primary and secondary levels called English-version (EV) education. This paper investigates parents' desires to choose EV schools for their children and how those desires contribute to marketizing EV schools as a new and popular commodity in the education market of Bangladesh. Data were collected using open-ended questionnaires from 120 parents of primary school …

Unlocking The Potential Of Private-School Choice: Avoiding And Overcoming Obstacles To Successful Implementation, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Books

The parental-choice movement has secured a number of important victories in recent years. There are now 65 private-school-choice programs in the U.S., serving approximately 700,000 students, including new universal education savings account programs in Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Utah, and West Virginia. Despite this progress, however, existing private-school-choice programs have, in some ways, fallen short of their transformational potential. The number of students served remains stagnant and below capacity in many states, faith-based (and especially Catholic) schools continue to close despite new eligibility for public funds, most funds are used to fill seats in existing schools and rather than driving the …

An Exploratory Study Of Elementary School Students’ Reading Performance Scores Before And After Covid-19, Timothy Goodman

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this study was to explore the reading performance scores of elementary school students in one school district before and after school closures due to COVID-19. This nonexperimental, exploratory study of quantitative, archival data was designed to explore a single cohort (N = 2,006) of third- through fifth-grade students’ i-Ready reading diagnostic scale scores from five different assessment periods: before school closures in spring 2020 and four subsequent assessment periods after face-to-face instruction resumed in fall 2020. The research sample excluded exceptional student education students and English language learners who had been retained. Mean scale scores of …

Elementary School Educators’ Perceptions Of Discipline Policies And The Overrepresentation Of Discipline Outcomes In Urban Settings, William Casey Cooper

Ed.D. Dissertations

Since the formation of schools, schools have developed ways of understanding discipline and ensuring a safe and orderly environment. Governmental personnel began to influence local school policies beginning in 1989, with United States President Ronald Reagan’s War on Drugs campaign. This led to the creation and development of zero-tolerance policies. School districts implemented zero-tolerance policies, which helped lead to the overrepresentation of discipline outcomes (i.e., punishment) among certain demographics. Following the Critical Race Theory theoretical framework, I interviewed 12 participants to determine their perceptions of discipline policies and the overrepresentation of discipline outcomes in urban settings. My participants included elementary …

Staying “Above The Fray” With Julia B. Lindsey’S Insights On Effective Reading Instruction, Troy Hicks, Emma Chappel, Kirstin Fish, Anne Hosking, Jill Johnston, Jodi Juergens, Georgianna Murray, Lindsay Picarski, Heidi Turchan, Meghan K. Block, Chad Waldron

Michigan Reading Journal

In this crowdsourced, collaborative book review, participants in an online book club share their insights on Julia B. Lindsey's 2022 Scholastic Professional text, Reading Above the Fray.

Great Lakes Great Books: Encourage The Joy Of Reading, Lynette Marten Suckow

Michigan Reading Journal

A sampling of books from the Great Lakes Great Books list for 2022 that includes grade levels from K-12 and addresses the importance of engaging text, as well as artwork that enhances the story.

The Best Way To Learn A Pedagogy Is Practice: A Project-Based Learning Journey, Kelly C. Margot, Katherine Worden

Michigan Reading Journal

Project based learning (PBL) is an instructional practice that gives students an opportunity to learn while focused on sustained inquiry. The teacher becomes a facilitator of learning by guiding students through an inquiry-process that includes authentic learning leading to a student-created product that will be shown to an authentic audience. Preservice teachers often lack exposure to this type of inquiry-based learning from their own school experiences and may be intimidated by this type of pedagogy. This manuscript tells the story of one English preservice teacher’s experience learning to be more comfortable with PBL and the role teacher education played by …