Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Multi-Sensory Techniques In Spelling Instruction: An Action Research Study For Students With Dyslexia, Alyssa Ashbaugh

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

The purpose of this action research project was to use instructional inquiry to study multisensory spelling instruction with a single fourth grade student diagnosed with dyslexia. Multisensory teaching techniques and strategies stimulate learning by engaging students on multiple levels encouraging students to use some or all of their senses. To examine the effectiveness of multisensory teaching techniques in spelling, I conducted pre- and post assessments of two spelling inventories, collected weekly dictated sentences, identified writing samples from his classroom, and had conversations with the student and the student’s teacher. The student continued to receive intervention services as previously scheduled twice …

Perspectives On Creativity: Theoria, Praxis, And Poiesis, Kathryn Bryan-Bethea

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Theoretical perspectives on creativity encompass ideas such as risk, inquiry, resistance to conformity, and attraction to complexity. In response to these philosophical tenets I have organized my dissertation into three distinct but related manuscripts that explore creativity through theoria (knowing), praxis (doing), and poiesis (making). These manuscripts present an integrated approach to creative pedagogy. 1. The first manuscript is a review of literature with the aim to: provide a brief overview of creativity theories; consider an imbricated definition of creativity; and evaluate current empirical research. Research in creativity should provide a spectrum of methods that reflect the complex nature of …

Representations And Impacts Of Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Ideals In Children's Literature For Young Children, David B. Foresman

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Children’s literature plays a critical role in shaping how children view themselves and the world around them. This is especially true in regards to outgroups such as the transgender and gender nonconforming communities. Transgender individuals have been gaining increased visibility in the past few years. The misconceptions surrounding these topics are not exclusively found outside the classroom. Title IX was expanded to include gender identity as recently as 2014. Yet, much confusion and apprehension is present when discussing the topic of transgender and gender nonconformity, especially in the elementary school classroom. To address these misconceptions, inclusion of these outgroups into …

The Effects Of A Loving-Kindness Meditation On Positive Emotions, Social Connectedness, And Problem Behaviors In Second And Third Grade Students., Doreen Collins-Mchugh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Concerns about K-12 students' mental health and social, emotional, and ethical development have prompted some schools to implement programs designed to promote student well-being and healthy social and emotional functioning. Most of these programs are distinguished as social and emotional learning (SEL) programs and/or character education programs. Although there is growing empirical support for the potential of school-based mindfulness interventions to positively influence students' well-being, the number of school-based mindfulness studies is limited, and the majority of the investigations have focused on students' cognitive rather than affective capacities. Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM), a mindfulness- and compassion-based practice, is garnering recent attention …

Examining Elementary Preservice Teacher Efficacy To Teach Writing In A Title 1 School: A Mixed Method Study Of A School-Based Teacher Education Course Intervention, Norine Blanch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the demographics of the United States change, barriers persistently thwart efforts to ensure that all students, regardless of ethnicity, academic ability, or family circumstance, have equal opportunities to learn. Diminished retention rates of effective educators in Title 1 schools, elevated rates at which students from low-income families are taught by inexperienced or unqualified teachers and insufficient preparation of preservice teachers (PSTs) to teach in Title 1 schools are three such barriers. Policy reform organizations interested in improving the effectiveness of teacher education programs nationwide suggest forging strong clinical partnerships between universities and schools by relocating coursework to school-based settings …

Integrating Social And Emotional Competencies Into Instructional Activities In A Summer Enrichment Program, Lisette Ostrander

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educators involved in the teaching, learning, and assessment of social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies face challenges on how to integrate these competencies into instruction. Limited research has been conducted about how to integrate such SEL competencies into instructional practices, particularly in the context of a summer enrichment program. The purpose of this single case study was to explore how teachers and counselors at a summer enrichment program for preK-4 students integrated SEL competencies into instructional activities. The conceptual framework was based on core competencies and standards for quality program design that the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning …

An Investigation Of Multimedia Instruction, The Modality Principle, And Reading Comprehension In Fourth-Grade Classrooms, Laura Angela Sandoval

Doctoral Dissertations

Elementary-school teachers are faced with the responsibility of finding the most effective ways to educate their students using multimedia approaches. The use of instruction with visuals and audio has resulted in positive learning outcomes on retention and transfer tasks for junior-high and high-school students. This approach that results in the modality principle has been tested less frequently in elementary-aged students.

The purpose of this study was to examine two different multimedia instructional approaches to investigate which condition offers beneficial learning outcomes through recall and transfer assessments during a lesson on different types of energy in fourth-grade classrooms using a Powerpoint® …

Training In Summarizing Notes: Effects Of Teaching Students A Self-Regulation Study Strategy In Science Learning, Michelle Mendoza Nebres

Doctoral Dissertations

The last two decades of national data assessments reveal that there has been a sharp decline in nationwide standardized test scores. International assessment data show that in 2012 a very low amount of American students were performing at proficiency or above in science literacy. Research in science literacy education suggests that students benefit most when they are self-regulated (SR) learners. Unfortunately, SR poses a challenge for many students because students lack these skills. The effects of having learned few SR strategies at an early age may lead to long term learning difficulties—preventing students from achieving academic success in college and …

Analyzing Unique-Matching Games Using Elementary Mathematics, Calvin Jongsma, Tom Clark

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

We present here an analysis of the game of Spot It! that can be used as background information for the purpose of leading a math circle around the game. The presentation here follows the progression of solving the puzzle for simple cases first and culminating in the solution of the original game.

In Search Of A Grand Narrative: The Turbulent History Of Teaching, Judith R. Kafka

Publications and Research

For this review of research on the history of teaching, I use the instructional triangle as an organizing tool and frame of analysis to explore what we know about who taught, who was taught, and what was taught across space and time.

In the first section of this chapter I review historical research on who taught in American classrooms. One overwhelming theme throughout this literature is that policy makers, school leaders, and the general public have historically cared a great deal about who a teacher was, often basing their preferences on the belief that a teacher’s social characteristics would shape …

Elementary Teachers' Support Of Positive Development Of Immigrant Africans In An Urban School District, Kelly Marie Ballard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Walter Pope School District (WPSD), a predominantly African American district, has experienced a new wave of immigrant students arriving from African nations such as Liberia and Sierra Leone. Many students arrive with little or no formal education, and they are not achieving academic success. This purpose of this study was to discover successful instructional strategies that academically, socially, and culturally support the immigrant students. Guided by Portes and Rumbaut's segmented assimilation theory, this study examined the experiences of WPSD African immigrant learners and explored instructional approaches to reinforce their learning. The research questions focused on teachers' perceptions of factors …

Teachers' Perspectives On Reading Interventions Implemented To Low Achieving Second Graders, Kendra Yvette Coles-Hart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a Mid-Atlantic school district, the administration of standardized assessments begins in third grade. Over the past 3 years, these assessments revealed that an average of 37% of third graders in the local district did not possess necessary reading skills, although over 86% of this group received intervention support in second and third grade. It is unclear how effective the implementations of various interventions are in instruction with struggling second graders to prepare them for the rigors of third grade. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore the perspectives of 9 second grade teachers on research-based interventions …

Montana K-8 Teacher Preparation In Stem, Jeanette Murnane

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The goal of this thesis is to find out how K-8 teacher education programs in Montana can

be improved to better prepare teachers to teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts. While research has been done on what types of courses best prepare teachers for the classroom, my study focuses on how well Montana colleges and universities prepare K-8 certified teachers to teach STEM concepts. A survey was sent out to K-8 certified teachers across Montana to determine how well new teachers can utilize the technology available in their classrooms and what concepts within Common Core Math and Next …

Integration Of Place-Based Education Into Science Classes From Prekindergarten Through Grade 5, Terri Adele Wade-Lyles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a large urban district in Ohio, 29.2% of Grade 5, 28.7% of Grade 8, and 45.7% of Grade 10 students passed the state test in science. School district administrators formed a community partnership with local science institutions in order to provide students with hands-on place-based learning experiences intended to improve science academic achievement in PK-Grade 5. The purpose of this qualitative program evaluation was to determine the level of implementation of that place-based program by examining the efficacy of the teachers' embedded professional development and their experiences with the training components. Bruner's theory of cognitive development was used to …

Facilitating The Acquisition Of Social Skills Through Service Learning, Becky J. Hendrickson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Deficits in communication affect individuals with autism regarding the ability to access a free and appropriate education as well as quality of life. This research study explored the effects of a service-learning project on acquisition of social skills and reduction of problem behaviors for students who have autism. The conceptual framework for this study was based on Maslow's theory of motivation and Erickson's 8 stages of personality development. A mixed-methods design with sequential transformative strategy was used to collect quantitative data from 5 elementary students who have autism during involvement in service learning; the Social Skills Improvement System was used …

Math Teachers' Experiences Learning And Teaching Math, Kathryn Couch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

In a charter school in the Southwest United States, elementary students were struggling to

attain proficiency in math and have been failing to meet the standards in math on the

Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards test. As a result, these students may not have

been prepared for more advanced math courses as they continued their schooling, and this

failure to attain proficiency in math may continue to impact the school's ability to make

adequate yearly progress. The purpose of this explanatory case study was to explore the

perspectives of elementary math teachers toward teaching math, their preparation to teach …

Elementary School Teachers' Perceptions On Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports Implementation And Effectiveness, Keisha A. Anderson-Saunders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School personnel were concerned that the disruptive student behaviors at an urban, elementary school in the northeast United States had persisted despite positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) implementation and professional development (PD) for more than 7 years. The purpose of this basic qualitative research study was to explore teacher perceptions regarding the PBIS related to student behavior and socialization issues. Skinner's reinforcement theory and Bronfenbrenner's bioecological systems theory served as the conceptual frameworks for this study. Specifically, this study explored the PBIS framework in reducing students' undesirable behaviors, how the framework prepared teachers to implement PBIS in their school, …

Perceptions On Interventions Impacting The Self- Efficacy Of At-Risk Students, Natalie Giddens Giddens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers need interventions to improve at-risk students' self-efficacy, which may improve their academic performance in school. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of elementary school teachers at a Texas public middle school as to what research-based interventions they felt would improve the self-efficacy of these students. Bandura's social cognitive theory, which framed the study, indicates that self-efficacy beliefs affect the courses of action that people seek and the choices people make. Many at-risk students who experience a lack of academic success have low self-efficacy, which may affect their school performance. The research questions that …

A Study Of The Application Of A Bring Your Own Device Strategy In An Elementary School, Carol Louise Scholz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Numerous studies have been published on the efficacy of a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) at the U.S. secondary and postsecondary school levels to increase student access to technology. However, there is a lack of data on the efficacy of a BYOD AUP to increase elementary student technology access. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to determine if a BYOD AUP at the U.S. K-5 level would increase students' access to technology as necessitated by the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This study was grounded in social transmission and transformative theories. …

Relationship Between Teacher Inquiry Science Instruction Self-Efficacy And Student Achievement, Grace Hanners

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Standardized test data indicate that student achievement in science is a problem both nationally and locally. At the study site, only a small percentage of fifth-grade students score at the advanced level on the Maryland state science assessment (MSA). In addition, the performance of African American, economically disadvantaged, and special education students is well below that of the general student population. Some studies have shown that teacher self-efficacy affects student achievement. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between fifth-grade teacher inquiry science instruction self-efficacy scores and the scores of their students on the MSA. Bandura's …

A Purposeful Approach To Student Conduct With Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Learners, Heidi Lynn Jordan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students spend more time in conflict resolution than their general education colleagues do. Although emerging research suggests that both students and teachers benefit from an approach to student conduct that is more purposeful than traditional behavior modification models, further research was necessary to clarify how such an effective purposeful program would work. The purpose of this inquiry was to explore how teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students perceived and used a purposeful approach to student conduct. Deutsch's conflict resolution theory served as the conceptual framework. A single case study design was …

Response To Intervention Teachers' Perspective Of Tier 2 Intervention Fidelity, Doretha Meissner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an urban Texas school district, teachers and administrators were concerned about students' achievement and the teachers' knowledge and implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) Tier 2 interventions with fidelity. This study addressed teachers' perceptions of the reliability of the application of Tier 2 interventions at the study site, its influence on student achievement, and the appropriateness of current professional development at the targeted campus. The constructivist concept of how people learn and the implementation theory of scaffolding instruction, meaningful experiences, and active learning provided the framework for this study. The educators provided perspectives of how the quality and frequency …

Parent And Principals' Perceptions Of Cyberbullying In 21st Century Rural Elementary Schools, Kathleen Virginia Hosterman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cyberbullying is a common form of harassment and aggression engaged in by today's youth. This phenomenon is affecting primary-school-aged children as technology devices are now made available to elementary school students in rural settings. Based on the framework of Bandura's social cognitive theory, this mixed methods project study included a survey to quantitatively investigate the associations between parental knowledge of the phenomenon of cyberbullying and children's grade levels, and a focus group to gather qualitative data from school principals regarding their perceptions of the extent and impact of cyberbullying in 4 rural elementary schools in Massachusetts. Due to highly skewed …

The Common Core: An Enhancement Or Hindrance For The Youth Of America?, Haley L. Alderete, Haley L. Alderete

CMC Senior Theses

Education in America differs from other nations and may benefit from modeling some of these foreign practices. Although there are many improvements that the country could make, curriculum could be one of the sources of inadequacy in the education system and is often what receives the most attention. Therefore, the subsequent sections will explore the United States’ major attempt in improving education through creating consistency through the Common Core curriculum. In all, if the United States seeks to maintain its power in various sectors, it must strengthen its education system to ensure success.

A Phenomenological Study On The Impacts Of Embedding Disciplinary Literacy During Science Instruction On Elementary Teachers’ Metacognition Of Instructional Techniques, Kelley Weiss

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The educational community has been increasing its focus on literacy for several years. The modern definition of literacy requires students to be an informed and integrated thinker, synthesizing new information beyond the mere ability to read and write (Guzzetti & Bang, 2011). This qualitative phenomenological study focused on how teachers of science view literacy and how that view changes when they implement the concept of disciplinary literacy into science instruction. This phenomenological study examined how teachers became more metacognitive of their instructional methods after implementation of the Question-Answer Relationship strategy (QAR) and direct vocabulary instruction into their science instruction. Teachers …

Applying The Technology Acceptance Model To Predict And Explain Elementary And Secondary Preservice Teachers' Continuance Behavioral Intentions And Pedagogical Usage Of Twitter To Build Professional Capital: A Structural Equation Modeling Inquiry, Nandita Gurjar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to predict and explain elementary and secondary preservice teachers' continuance behavioral intentions and pedagogical usage of Twitter, a web based social networking, microblogging platform, to build professional growth and capital. The objective of the research study was to examine preservice teachers' beliefs associated with the specified constructs that formed the latent variables of the hypothesized research model; these latent variables were then measured with their associated indicators or manifest variables, and the relationship between the manifest variables was examined through the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) process. A non-experimental empirical research study was conducted …

Student, Teacher, School, And District Determinants Of Elementary School Accountability Classification In The Detroit Metropolitan Region, Embekka Nakia Thompson

Wayne State University Dissertations

Legislators have implemented an accountability system in an effort to increase school quality for all students. Policymakers assume that rewards and sanctions, based on results from high-stakes testing, can improve student achievement. The accountability system does not consider environmental factors that impact student outcomes. This study examines student, teacher, school and district determinants and their impact on student achievement, school designation, and school ranking. Data was collected from 333 elementary (K-5) schools in 56 public school districts and 18 charter schools in three counties: Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne. Two research questions were developed for this study.The first research question examined …

Staff Perceptions Of The Effect Of The Leader In Me On Student Motivation And Peer Relationships In Elementary School, Charlene Tidd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Staff and student surveys at Lane Elementary School (pseudonym) confirm that students lack motivation to complete class work and often struggle to interact appropriately with one another. Similar concerns are reported across the United States as indicated by national Gallup Poll results on student motivation, peer relationships, and feelings of connectedness in schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine if elementary school personnel believe than an initiative called The Leader In Me has had a positive impact on student motivation and peer relationships. Underpinning this study were Perrin's student motivation theory and research on social and …

Critical Thinking To Justify An Answer In Mathematics Classrooms, Angelique E. Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students' critical thinking in mathematics was a concern for grade 5 through 8 teachers at a Title 1 public school in the northeastern United States because of the students' poor performance on constructed response questions on the state's mathematics exam. In this exam, students were required to justify their answers in writing. When teachers recognize the connection between writing and critical thinking, they can devise strategies to help students develop mathematical literacy. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how 5th through 8th grade mathematics teachers use the GoMath mathematics literacy program to teach the critical thinking …

Case Study Of An African American Community's Perspectives On Closing The Achievement Gap, Cleopatra Lacewell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The disparity in test scores, known as the achievement gap, between African American and European American students has persisted despite research and reforms. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine what African American community members in a North Carolina school district perceived as the causes of the local achievement gap and what support they believed they could offer to close the gap. The theories of cultural-historical psychology, social cognition, learned helplessness, social disorganization, and the funds of knowledge concept, guided the data collection from the 3 focus groups from the local community. Each focus group contained 6 …