Elementary Education and Teaching Commons^™

A Comparative Case Study Of Mentoring Practices By National Board Certified And Non-Certified Teacher Mentors, Bethany Mcclure

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As preservice teacher candidates engage in field experiences that shape their development of teacher identity, it is important to examine their perceptions of the mentoring process. This study explored how preservice teacher candidates construct their own knowledge about mentoring as a process, as well as explored the perceptions of mentor teachers, both National Board Certified, and non-National Board Certified, as they facilitated the learning and growth of their mentees. Many prior studies on the mentoring process exist, however, a gap in the literature that was identified and explored through this study included the impact that National Board Certified Teachers have …

Exploring The Impact Of A Literacy-Based Service-Learning Project On Pre-Service Teachers, Shelly J. Landreth, Tara Wilson

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

In this study, we describe a teacher educator’s first experience implementing a service-learning project in a children’s literature course in which pre-service teachers helped provide read-alouds for the local public library’s summer reading program. We sought to examine the impact the project had on the seven participants. Data was collected through reflective journals and an end-of-course debrief. Four themes were identified in the data: Initial Feelings, Preparation and Planning, Lessons Learned, and Barriers and Challenges.

Exploring The Relationship Between Classroom Management And Relational Leadership, Genie Kim, Nancy Ross

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Our research examines teachers’ capacity to cultivate a learning environment conducive to students’ academic and social-emotional flourishing, specifically as it pertains to love and its intersection with classroom management. Utilizing Ross’ (2023) Relational Leadership Scale (RLS), coupled with an adapted version of Tschannen-Moran’s Teacher Efficacy Scale, we measured loving leadership, from the perspective of Teacher Candidates, as they observed their Associate/Host teachers’ behaviors/dispositions within the context of teaching students. The results of our study revealed a moderate positive correlation between classroom management and the overall RLS scores. It was found that teachers who engage in loving leadership behaviors were perceived …

A Seat At The Schoolhouse Table: Reimagining Education Through Afrofuturist And Womanist Theory, Natasha M. Capers

Student Theses

“A Seat at the Schoolhouse Table: Reimagining Education Through Afrofuturist and Womanist Theory” critically examines how curriculum, even when well-intentioned, can perpetuate harm by excluding the lived experiences of marginalized communities—especially Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQIA+ students. Using a real middle school immigration assignment given to the author's son as a case study, this capstone deconstructs the structural biases embedded in curriculum design and proposes a radical reimagining through the liberatory lenses of Afrofuturism and Womanism. Blending scholarly inquiry, personal narrative, and community-based interviews, this project offers a restructured assignment that centers joy, identity, and speculative storytelling as tools for educational …

Call For Manuscripts, Michele J. Koomen, Thomastine Sarchet-Maher, Jessica Williams

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Call For Manuscripts, Michele J. Koomen, Thomastine Sarchet-Maher, Jessica Williams

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

From The Editors, Michele J. Koomen, Thomastine Sarchet-Maher, Jessica Williams

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

JSESD remains a venue for the dissemination of research and practice related to the education of students with disabilities in the science classroom and laboratory since 1998. Volumes #1 through 11 were published in a print format. Starting with Volume #12, the journal has been published online and Open Access. Having JSESD in the Open Access format maximizes access for readers and authors and allows the journal to remain economically sustainable.

Copyright, Michele J. Koomen, Thomastine Sarchet-Maher, Jessica Williams

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

A School-University Research Practice Partnership: Why, How And What's Next, Stephanie Knight, Larry Featherstone

Presentations

This symposium will utilize three unique examples of collaborative research projects taking place under CERI to richly describe features of the partnership. Through the three papers, a summary presentation of features of the overall consortium, discussant comments, and brief Q&A with the presenters, we aim to highlight how CERI is encountering and addressing challenges common to RPPs as well as addressing some emergent and regional issues in innovative ways.

As an RPP, CERI is guided by three broad principles. (1) Mutuality - CERI was developed to benefit both the university and the large local urban school district. Problems of practice …

El Deafo Bibliotherapy, David S. Wolff

OER Materials

The goal of this assignment was for preservice teachers to practice writing a chain of questions that focused on the social and/or emotional needs of young learners. Bibliotherapy is therapeutic in nature to help individuals understand themselves and the world around them through guided reading experiences (American Library Association, 2025; Delisle & Galbraith, 2002). Further, bibliotherapy allow individuals to identify a personal problem mirrored by a character in a book. As the reader connects with the character, the reader experiences the emotions expressed by the character. Finally, the reader applies the character’s experience to their own personal problem (American Library …

Horrible Harry In Room 2b Bibliotherapy, David S. Wolff

OER Materials

The goal of this assignment was for preservice teachers to practice writing a chain of questions that focused on the social and/or emotional needs of young learners. Bibliotherapy is therapeutic in nature to help individuals understand themselves and the world around them through guided reading experiences (American Library Association, 2025; Delisle & Galbraith, 2002). Further, bibliotherapy allow individuals to identify a personal problem mirrored by a character in a book. As the reader connects with the character, the reader experiences the emotions expressed by the character. Finally, the reader applies the character’s experience to their own personal problem (American Library …

Constructivism Made Easy Using The Consider, Construct, Confirm Learning Cycle, Timothy E. Goodwin Ed.D

Essays in Education

Shifting from didactic, teacher-led instruction to a student-centered, constructivist classroom is often a daunting task for teachers. The Consider, Construct, Confirm Learning cycle is a framework for teachers to organize their planning—be it individual lessons, units of study, or whole courses. The CCC Learning Cycle framework shifts the format of a typical lesson from didactic instruction leading to short-term renting of knowledge through memorization, to student-centered, lived experiences resulting in students owning their new knowledge.

Storytelling As Research Methodology And Pedagogy: Connecting The Researcher And Practitioner Through Narrative Inquiry, David Wolff

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

The most effective teachers are reflective teachers. Reflective teachers are curious about their pedagogy and their impact on student learning and often seek out opportunities to formalize their reflective process and share their stories about their teaching practices. Teachers’ knowledge is founded in their stories of experience (Ciuffetelli et al., 2011). The author positions themselves as the researcher in this autoethnographic narrative inquiry, or self-study. As the researcher, they use the narrative inquiry methodology to study themselves and explore the learning process of using storytelling in their Social Studies methods course in a Teacher Education program while exploring the research …

Teacher Decision Making In Guided-Reading, Brittany Worthen

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

Guided reading provides teachers the opportunity to support students in literacy learning. When planning for and implementing this instructional approach, teachers are required to make various in-advance and in-the-moment decisions that involve responding to students’ instructional needs through adaptive teaching. Grounded in sociocultural and social constructivist theories, this study was designed to understand teacher decision-making within the context of guided reading instruction.

This research was a collective case study aimed at providing a better understanding of the various decisions teachers make when teaching in a guided reading context. Findings pertaining to in-advanced decisions that emerged from the data can be …

Power Of Partnerships, Joni Meade

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

No abstract provided.

Using Diverse Picture Books To Strengthen Social And Emotional Skills, Jessica L. Edwards

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

Social and emotional learning skills are inherently interconnected with culturally responsive teaching, as any progress with equity and justice requires intrapersonal, interpersonal, and cognitive competence. This article discusses the significance of this connection, providing numerous ideas for using diverse picture books to establish and further strengthen social and emotional learning skills within any classroom environment.

Teaching And Normalizing Digital Accessibility For Students In The Chemical Sciences, Stefano C G Biagini

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Digital accessibility is the inclusive practice of ensuring that all people can equally access digital information. However, this good practice has yet to be fully embraced by practitioners and educators in the chemical sciences. This article will describe and explain the key requirements of digital accessibility and how they apply to educators in the chemical sciences, with the emphasis on supporting visually impaired students; it will illustrate a case study of training students in adopting digital accessibility good practices in order to enable a culture change of greater inclusivity for the next generation; and finally illustrate low cost laboratory adaptations …

Teacher Retention And The Future Of Learning: Alarming Concerns About Preparing The Next Generation Of Citizens, Dejuanna M. Parker, Barbara D. Holmes

Journal of Research Initiatives

Research is robust in detailing the various reasons teachers leave the profession. There is scant literature on why teachers stay and what should be done to improve teacher retention. Teacher retention is a primary concern nationally and internationally. The inability to retain teachers has resulted in a teacher shortage and significantly affects student learning. Sorenson and Ladd (2020) This study yielded three emergent themes related to integral factors of teacher retention: changing attitudes on administrative support, workplace collegiality, and persistence of passion and purpose. Recommendations offered include encouraging administrators to leverage the passion and commitment of the educators to create …

The Shifting The Balance Duology: A Book Critique From A Teacher Education Perspective, David Wolff

Essays in Education

Reading instruction has become a critical focus in many states in the country. Both in-service and pre-service teachers are adopting innovative approaches in reading instruction embedded in the Science of Reading. However, the transition to these new methods require a shift in practice that should be differentiated for both groups. In-service teachers have a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw upon, while pre-service teachers because of the lack of prior knowledge of past practices in literacy that include the Balanced Literacy approach. This book critique examines the Shifted the Balance duology, offering insights to its implications to Teacher Education.

Implementing Evidence-Based Curricula And Professional Development To Improve Student Reading, Madeline Lukan

Graduate Teacher Education

This paper examined research on equitable reading curricula and reading professional development to improve students in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade reading scores and levels taken from NAEP. The research analyzed were qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods. These research studies shared school interventions, reading data points, curricula being analyzed, phonemic awareness importance, and The Science of Reading implementation. The curricula, professional development, and evidence-based instruction work together to increase student phonemic awareness and reading abilities for all students on an equitable level. The three themes within the paper are phonemic awareness, professional development, curriculum and standards. The research suggested the importance …

Losing Identity Or Regaining Confidence? A Collaborative Autoethnography On Teachers' Self-Efficacy, Geraldine Jiménez Grajales, Mariana Arias Torres, Keren Hapuc Guisao Bohórquez, Leslie J. Lopera

The Qualitative Report

This collaborative autoethnography analyzes the role of self-efficacy within our teacher identity crisis. As English teachers in training, we have experienced situations inside and outside the classroom that motivated a professional identity crisis and led us questioning our efficacy as teachers. Through this study we explore the intricacies of our very own selves as prospective English teachers. We blended storytelling and analysis through a set of data generation procedures that included collaborative witnessing, written personal narratives and semi-structured interviews, which allowed us to co-construct our stories. Our findings reveal three main themes that display the roles of self-efficacy within the …

Cultural Advocacy And Teachers Of Color, Torine Champion, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

Teachers of color face marginalization and microaggressions that their White counterparts do not have to face. African American teachers experience microaggressions pathologizing their cultural values and communication styles, cultural/ethnic insensitivity, an ascription of their intelligence, and being treated as second-class citizens) that are hurtful, undermining, and disparaging (Brown, 2019). Asian American teachers face gendered, racial, and sexualized expectations on their campuses (Endo, 2015). A study of Latina bilingual teachers revealed that they felt alienated from their colleagues, had larger workloads, and did not have access to support (Amos, 2016). Teachers of color experience inequalities, microaggressions, and marginalization that impact their …

Tackling Infrastructural Deficit In Mission Schools: Stakeholder Perspectives, Daniel Ayembilla, Musa Adekunle Ayanwale

Journal of Research Initiatives

The research adopted a qualitative case study research design and engaged stakeholders from Senior High Schools (SHS) across Ghana. Fifty-six participants from five selected schools were purposefully sampled to represent diverse perspectives, including administrators, teachers, parents, and community members. The data collection methods involved semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews to elicit comprehensive insights. Thematic analysis was employed to discern recurring patterns and themes within the data, facilitating a comprehensive exploration of infrastructural deficits in mission schools. Moreover, stringent measures were implemented to ensure the reliability and validity of the findings, including inter-coder reliability checks, member validation, …

Why Researchers Need To Hear Practitioners’ Voices: A Call To Action, David Wolff, Donna Zerr, Carissa Gober

Essays in Education

Educators play a crucial role in shaping student learning experiences. Practitioners engage in scholarly inquiry daily in classrooms and educational settings. Scholarly inquiry varies based on context and student needs. By viewing classrooms as research labs, educators can foster curiosity and develop research. It is the goal of this article to encourage educators to engage in The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning by formalizing their insights into publishable writings.

Teacher Candidate Learning Of Interdisciplinary Controversial Issues: Linking Social Studies And Science In The Elementary School Curriculum, Brandon M. Butler, Stephen R. Burgin, Mark Diacopoulos, William Mcconnell

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

Teaching controversial issues poses challenges for teacher candidates, stemming from apprehensions about potential backlash and gaps in content and pedagogical knowledge. The prevailing emphasis on tested subjects such as mathematics and reading/writing in elementary school education often sidelines social studies and science, limiting opportunities for candidates to engage with these disciplines and their associated instructional strategies, including addressing controversial topics. Integrating social studies and science with other subject areas emerges as a viable approach to ensure comprehensive education. Teacher education coursework serves as a vital platform for exposing educators to interdisciplinary curriculum design and implementation. Such exposure prompts teacher candidates …

Exploring School Leadership Styles Used To Improve Instruction And Learning In Schools, Nana Yaw Agyeman Mr, Venessa Aphane Ms

Journal of Research Initiatives

Schools are under intense pressure to improve quality and achieve long-term educational outcomes. To improve education, schools' teaching and learning environments must be improved. This research evaluated the various leadership philosophies used in South African schools to improve teaching and learning. The study's qualitative methodology included in-depth interviews with open-ended questions. A purposeful technique was used to select 16 participants from four different schools. The participants included four principals, four school management team members, four department heads, and four teachers. Themes guided the data analysis, focusing on patterns and resemblances while maintaining data quality. The study's findings revealed that school …

"It Hurts Me To Say": Preservice Teachers' Use And Disapproval Of Deficit Discourse In Urban Schools, Sherridon Sweeney, Brian Flores

Journal of Research Initiatives

Extensive research examines the development and impact of deficit discourse in schools. However, more research needs to be needed to explore how preservice teachers use this language during their preparation. Therefore, our qualitative study explored how deficit discourse became part of five preservice teachers' vernacular when speaking about children and teaching. Findings suggest participants (a) Relied on reductive labels to describe children, (b) attributed their use of these labels to their exposure to them during their practicum, and (c) demonstrated both cognitive dissonance and silent resistance toward deficit language. Implications are for teacher educators and school leaders.

“Don’T Call On Me!”: Mediating Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Mathematics Anxiety In A Problem-Based Classroom, Christina Koehne, Wenyen Huang, Nataly Chesky

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

This study aims to understand the ways in which problem-based teaching in a mathematics content course can alleviate pre-service elementary school teachers' mathematics anxiety. The significance of this work is to help increase the content and pedagogical knowledge of mathematics education, as outlined in STEM policies. Using a mixed method approach, the teachers-researchers explore what methods, procedures, and other perhaps unknown variables, helped pre-service elementary teachers decrease their mathematics anxiety during two mathematics content courses. The findings illuminate five major themes the authors discuss, which are illustrated by rich descriptions of students’ narratives and interviews. Given the importance of mathematics …

Narrative Research: You Did What With Technology? Exploring Student Narratives Of Technology At A Research-Based University In The Southwest, Alma M. Sanchez

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This qualitative study examined the impact of high school instructional technology on college students' academic strategies. It examined the historical and modern advancements of technology in education, uncovering significant milestones in technology integration within classrooms in the United States. Using a narrative inquiry approach grounded in John Dewey's philosophy of experience, it centered on the narratives of students in their second and third semesters of college. The study highlighted the gap in understanding students’ personal experiences with technology and emphasized the role their narratives play in shaping future technology integration strategies.

The methodology involved utilizing digital surveys and online semi-structured …

A Qualitative Descriptive Study Exploring The Perceptions Of New Teacher Induction Supports, Tonya P. Dixon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem of novice teachers leaving the profession in the first few years of their career represented a global issue and an increased attrition rate. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the perceptions of novice U.S. teachers and effective systemic supports provided to new teachers through the lens of social capital. For this study, the intangible components of social capital emerged through the development and fostering of mentoring relationships in an induction program. The methodology used was a qualitative descriptive study using a survey, interviews, and thematic analysis of the survey and interview data collected. The …