Elementary Education and Teaching Commons^™

The Cultural Contours Of Democracy: Indigenous Epistemologies Informing South African Citizenship, Patricia K. Kubow, Mina Min

Democracy & Education

Drawing upon the African concept of ubuntu, this article examines the epistemic orientations toward individual-society relations that inform democratic citizenship and identity in South Africa. Findings from focus group interviews conducted with 50 Xhosa teachers from all seven primary and intermediate schools in a township outside Cape Town depict the cultural contours of democracy and how the teachers reaffirm and question the dominant Western-oriented democratic narrative. Through ubuntu, defined as the virtue of being human premised upon respect, the Xhosa teachers interrupt the prevailing rights-and-responsibilities discourse to interpose a conception of democracy based on rights, responsibilities, and respect. …

What I Didn't Know About Teaching: Stressors And Burnout Among Deaf Education Teachers, J. Lindsey Kennon Ed.D., Margaret H. Patterson M.A.

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

No abstract provided.

Becoming A Teacher Leader Within Your Classroom: A Dialogue, Jill Stacy, Nayantara Mhatre

Occasional Paper Series

Describes a spontaneous relationship that has equal measures of mentoring, peer coaching, and teaming.

Fives: An Integrated Strategy For Comprehension And Vocabulary Learning, Mary Shea, Nancy Roberts

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This article describes a strategy that emphasizes the integration of all language and literacy skills for learning across content areas as well as the importance CCSS place on learners’ ability to ask questions about information, phenomena, or ideas encountered (Ciardiello, 2012/2013). FIVES is a strategy that meaningfully integrates research-based methodologies associated with reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing for differentiated disciplinary literacy instruction related to authentic texts and issues. The strategy described can be universally applied across disciplines to develop high levels of competence with literacy processes and content.

Civic Education Training Promotes Active Learning With Real-World Outcomes, Becci Burchett Gauna, Michelle Paul

SPACE: Student Perspectives About Civic Engagement

The teaching of history is moving away from the rote memorization of textbooks and toward the development of civic skills. Illinois’ recent decision to require all students to complete a semester-long civics course brings us a step closer to measuring active citizenship. Typically harbored under the social studies umbrella, civics is now a stand-alone course. The state mandates that each civics course include service learning, controversial conversation, instruction regarding government institutions and procedures, and simulations.

Galileo: Staying Afloat In The Digital Age, Pamela Y. Mccreless

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

According to the Pew Research Center, 94% of teachers surveyed indicated that their students are “very likely” to use Google or other search engines ahead of all other sources when doing research for assignments. Educators agree that students are drowning in information. Teachers and librarians alike have the mission to teach information literacy skills to enable students to stay afloat in the sea of information. These same students were reported to lack online search skills. Students should understand that not all search engines are alike nor can all search engine results be trusted 100% of the time. GALILEO - Georgia …

Parents' And Teachers' Collaborative Perspective: An Input For A Model On Materials Development In A Multilingual Setting, Jane Kibla Lartec

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study explored the collaborative perspective of teachers and parents on the materials development in a multilingual setting. Respondents were six parents and six teachers from two pilot schools in a melting pot city of different languages and cultures. The research design employed was qualitative to gain insights, explore the depth, richness and complexity inherent in the social or cultural phenomenon. Data were gathered from interviews with the aid of audio recorder and interview guide based on Malone (2007). The responses were transcribed and then categorized into themes according to similarities pertaining to the development of materials. It was found …

African American Early Literacy Development: An Integrative Review Of The Research, Tiffany A. Flowers

Journal of Research Initiatives

An integrative review of the research literature was conducted in order to explore plausible explanations of the achievement gap. Research articles were analyzed for this review of the research literature. The findings of this integrative review were included and the educational implications for practice are delineated.

The 'Rules Of Engagement': The Ethical Dimension Of Doctoral Research, Christopher Berg

Journal of Research Initiatives

The pursuit of a doctorate is a rite of passage that requires a student to successfully navigate the transition from “student” to “scholar.” One area of practice, however, that is often marginalized is the role of ethics. Though there is no formal coursework in ethics, its importance cannot be understated. This essay examines the conceptual role of ethics in doctoral research as both an individual reflective essay as well as a broader discussion of ethics in general. The ethical dimension considered is broken down into eight principles or ethical research and practice in doctoral research. The “Eight Ethical Principles” will …

Fluency: A Steady Beat In The Making, Nicole Patton

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This honors thesis explores the literacy component of fluency and its instruction in the intermediate grades through the incorporation of Brain-based learning and the arts. Because reading fluency can affect other areas of reading, such as comprehension, it is important to build fluency skills through meaningful instruction. By exploring the best practices of fluency instruction, by understanding how the brain learns, and by recognizing how the arts can meet the needs of different learners, educators can alter and create instruction that challenges students’ reading ability in a unique way. A series of fluency lessons incorporating brain-based learning and the arts …

Internationalizing Teacher Education: A Case Study Of A School Of Education, Florence Bromfield

Capstone Collection

Schools of Education across the US are some of the furthest behind in the race to internationalize departments across campuses in higher education. What does this mean for students in the K-12 classroom? The purpose of this case study is to explore the internationalization of teacher education within the context of a medium-sized state university in the South-East of the US. Working with the School of Education on this campus, qualitative interviews and surveys were administered to faculty and pre-service teachers to understand the extent of internationalization at the university, and the needs of the K-12 classroom. For this research, …

High-Altitude Ballooning In 3rd Grade, Emily L. Mathews, Brianna Marszalek, Bernhard Beck-Winchatz

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

In this poster presentation we report on a high altitude balloon project conducted with third-graders from Gower West Elementary School in Willowbrook, IL in spring 2016. In the weeks before the launch students used a vacuum jar to investigate the effects of pressure changes on different objects, substances and sounds in the classroom and conducted pressure, temperature and wind measurements inside and outside of their school using Vernier probeware. To learn how to use the balloon tracking equipment and how to fill a balloon and prepare it for launch, students simulated a flight with a tethered balloon outside of their …

“It’S Just Too Sad!”: Teacher Candidates’ Emotional Resistance To Picture Books, Aimee Papola-Ellis

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The use of critical literacy with children’s books that focus on social issues and disrupt the status quo can be a powerful way to create spaces for conversations with students about social justice and empowerment. Teacher candidates in a semester long children’s literature course were asked to respond to a range of children’s texts that dealt with many social issues and disrupted the commonplace. Despite an explicit emphasis on critical literacy and social justice, the candidates were very resistant to using many of the texts in their own future classrooms. They had strong emotional reactions that prevented them from consideration …

What Does A Suffragist Look Like?, Maribel Delgadillo

Lesson Plans

Students will look at several photographs to determine what a suffragists looks like. Many students believe that all women, and only women, wanted women to have the right to vote.

Examining Bridges Between Informal And Formal Learning Environments: A Sequential Mixed Method Design, Dagen L. Valentine

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this sequential mixed method study was to identify schools implementing a technology-based engineering design intervention in a way that connects or bridges formal learning environments of the school-day to informal learning environments such as afterschool programs. Further, this study investigated educators’ decisions that enabled or facilitated bridging between formal and informal learning environments. This cooperation and/or linking between informal and formal learning time is bridging. Participants included public schools (n=16) in Eastern Nebraska that incorporated the Nebraska Wearables Technology (WearTec) program at their school, club or Out-of-School-Time program during the 2015-2016 school year. Three of the schools …

Reframing Lesson Plans: The Foundation For Improving Instruction, Carletta M. Noland

Dissertations

This dissertation is a policy advocacy document that boldly states that it is our moral imperative to change the current educational landscape for the students attending Milwaukee Public Schools. In advocating for such a change, it is strongly suggested that the way to accomplish this challenging task is to mandate a stronger instructional foundation by leveraging the power of thoughtful lesson planning and design. Through its own merit, public and professional opinions and research findings, a viable argument is crafted to eliminate the current policy that marginalizes the planning process by suggesting through its current language, that the planning process …

Quantifying The Qualitative: Increasing The Reliability Of Subjective Language Assessments, Jeremy W. Armes

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project explores how to increase the reliability of subjective language assessments. What are the major factors that affect reliability, and what can educators do to maximize it? Research in the field suggests four key factors that have the greatest effect on reliability. The first factor is the procedures used to administer and score the assessment. The more standardized the process is, the higher the reliability will be. The second factor is rater experience, both in the profession and with the assessment in question. Experience is positively correlated with reliability. Novice teachers who get training and feedback in a scoring …

The Influence Of Length Of School Day On Grade 4 And Grade 5 Language Arts And Mathematics Performance In The State Of New Jersey, Meghan M. Plevier

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this relational, non-experimental, explanatory, cross sectional study with quantitative methods was to explain the influence of length of school day, if any, on Grade 4 and Grade 5 student achievement in Language Arts and Mathematics as measured by the high-stakes New Jersey standardized test entitled New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK) 2011. Additionally, the study examined the influence of other student, staff, and school variables such as student mobility, student attendance, percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch (SES), percentage of students with limited English proficiency (LEP), percentage of students with disabilities, …

Extended Learning Time, Ivette M. Febo

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Abstract

Research suggests that regular participation in programs that provide academic and social activities contribute positively to children’s academic and social development (National Education Association, 2004). However, existing literature on teachers’ and parents’ views on extended learning time is limited. A lot of emphasis has been placed on after-school programs for three primary reasons. First, attendance in after-school programs can provide children with supervision during a time when many might be exposed to and engage in more anti-social and destructive behaviors. Second, after-school programs can provide enriching experiences that broaden children’s perspectives and improve their socialization. Third, after-school programs may …

Beyond Behavior, Craig C. Laupheimer

Scholarship and Engagement in Education

Teaching to engage students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can inspire the whole classroom and make teaching and learning engaging and exciting. Although teachers and students alike face a challenging educational landscape, much can be done to empower students with special needs. Teaching with the whole classroom in mind with an emphasis on hands on, explorative and inspirational learning experiences to accommodate for these students strengthens and causes student engagement and agency. This article highlights the challenges and potential breakthroughs possible for classroom instruction specifically where the ADHD student is concerned and looks towards teaching mindfulness and empowerment as …

Effective Interventions For Improving Reading Accuracy And Fluency In Children With Dyslexia, Carlea A. Winkler

Scholarship and Engagement in Education

There are a vast number of instructional strategies for teaching students with dyslexia, but successful approaches all share a few key components including, a high degree of structure, intensive and explicit instruction, and a low student to teacher ratio. Additionally, most research-backed strategies fall into one of two categories: programs that target phonological awareness, and programs that target orthographic pattern recognition and morphology. Numerous studies on phonological awareness training and orthographic pattern recognition training have showed positive results. However, more research is needed to understand why some children fail to make significant gains even with intensive intervention, and what factors …

The Achievement Gap And Students Living In Poverty: The Role Of Core Self-Evaluation And Transformational Leadership In Teachers, India Harris

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Research has shown that the combination of locus of control, self-efficacy, self-confidence, and emotional stability is a good predictor of life success. Until now, this second order factor, called core self-evaluations (CSE) has only been studied in adults. Findings from this study, showed levels of CSE were significantly and positively connected with academic achievement for middle and elementary aged students. CSE appears to play to a similar role between students and academic achievement as it plays with adults and job performance. In this study, the dimensions of transformational leadership were applied to teacher behaviors and students were grouped based on …

Inclusive Settings: Rti In The General Education Classroom, Brittany Graves

Honors Projects

The premise of this study was derived upon seeing a severe need for professional development in my current field work experience. I set out to determine a possible solution to the lack of cohesion among general and special educators evident in my local school district. This small town rural school is looking to expand RTI, and intervention technique, to decrease gaps in education for at risk students. With issues of cohesion and professional development evident, I collected and analyzed data in order to determine a way the school district can still incorporate and expand their Response to Intervention (RTI) practices. …

Development Of A Professional Learning Framework To Improve Teacher Practice In Technology Integration, Donna Marie Ledford

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Technology is now considered a critical component and an integral part of a high-quality education (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2010). Teachers must be equipped to handle the transactional relationship and dynamics of integrating technology in the classroom (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Professional development should be designed and implemented to improve instruction and ensure all students are afforded the opportunity to learn effectively using technology. The problem is that current staff development models designed to help teachers integrate technology into their instruction have not resulted in the effective transformation of instructional practices to utilize technology as part of the teaching and learning …

Parental Involvement: Perceptions And Participation At Critical Moments Throughout The Middle School Transition, Rachel R. Heaton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the perception scores and the frequency of parental involvement for parents of students who have most recently completed elementary school (entering 6^th grade) with parents of students who have most recently completed middle school (entering 9^th grade) in a northeast Tennessee public school district.

Data were collected by surveys containing a short demographic section, a perceptions section, and a participation section. The population consisted of the parents of 544 sixth grade students from the district’s 2 middle schools and the parents of 578 ninth grade students from 1 district high …

The Assimilation Of Beginning Teachers Into An Established School Improvement Project: A Qualitative Case Study Examining Formats Of Job-Embedded Professional Development, Lynn A. Fuller

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation examined formats of job-embedded professional development that were experienced by beginning teachers at a high-poverty, high-mobility elementary school in the third year of a School Improvement Grant. A qualitative case study was conducted to examine formats of job-embedded professional development that were most useful to help beginning teachers assimilate into an established school improvement project and support gains in effective teaching practices and student achievement.

In an effort to define what good teaching is and how we can support it, this study informs education leaders about the power of instructional coaching as a way to provide support and …

Retention Effects Of An Experiential Pedagogical Approach, Kelsea E. Adams

Senior Honors Projects

The quality and nature of delivery of education, especially at the K12 level is a major focus of the education reform movement. As an aspiring teacher, I am interested in developing a personal understanding of the efficacy of different modes of delivery. A large body of studies has examined the differences between experiential learning versus traditional classroom learning as well as effects on student retention. Traditional classroom learning involves literary texts, PowerPoint presentations and teacher-centered learning. In contrast, experiential learning is a hands-on, real world experience that provides students with an environment to expand their critical thinking skills and apply …

School Readiness Of First Grade Charter School Students: An Evaluation Of An Early Childhood Program, Dr Shandowlyon L. Hendricks-Williams

Dissertations

This program evaluation studied the effectiveness of an early childhood program as it relates to school readiness. The early childhood program of a charter school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin had been operating for over thirty without an evaluation of its effectiveness. To examine the effectiveness of the early childhood program, seventy-two students were evaluated using a teacher-developed First Grade Readiness Checklist; the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Test and Success for All (SFA) Assessment. School readiness, as a multifaceted construct, included five domains: academic, behavioral, emotional, social and self-help-skills.

The results of the survey indicate that the early childhood program …

Elementary Physical Education Teachers’ Content Knowledge And Pedagogical Content Knowledge Of Overhand Throwing, James Allen Parrott

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The complexity of physical education instruction provides unique challenges for the physical education teacher. In this research, I sought to describe and examine the types of knowledge that physical education teachers use to inform their instructional practices. I also explored the relation between teaching experience and components of content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in overhand throwing. Specifically, what are the task representations, common content knowledge, and specialized content knowledge during an overhand throwing unit of novice, beginning, and accomplished elementary teachers? A naturalistic, qualitative approach involving three elementary physical education teachers examined the elements that they used in the …

Integrating Teaching Literature And Writing, John J. Hobe

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Brief Description: Come and learn how we can better understand each other through reading and writing about literature. Participants will see demonstrated and participate in integrated literature and writing lessons for all age students. They will receive references and lessons for integrating literature and writing lessons. Participants will discuss teaching literature and writing in schools.