Elementary Education and Teaching Commons^™

Teaching Mathematics With Poetry: Some Activities, Alexis E. Langellier

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

During the summer of 2021, I experimented with a new way of getting children excited about mathematics: math poetry. Math can be a trigger word for some children and many adults. I wanted to find a way to make learning math fun—without the students knowing they’re doing math. In this paper I describe some activities I used with students ranging from grades K-12 to the college level and share several poem examples, from students in grades two to eight.

College For What . . . How Middle School Students From Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds Perceived Post-Secondary Education, Michelle Patrick

Dissertations

This study examines the attitudes and perceptions of middle school students from low socioeconomic backgrounds about attending post-secondary institutions. As research continues to explore the experiences of traditional high school students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and students' attendance into post-secondary institutions, research concerning middle school students from low socioeconomic backgrounds preparedness for college attendance has been limited. Using a phenomenological research design to obtain the study's results from fifteen students and thirteen parent interviews provided insight into the “lived experience” of the students’ and parents' attitudes and perceptions regarding college attendance. The study found that regardless of the parents’ and …

An Exploratory Case Study Of Leadership Practices That Enable International Schools To Become Highly Effective And Learning Progressive Environments, Santha Kumar Sankara Narayanan

Dissertations

Highly effective learning progressive (HELP) environments can prepare students to be future-ready with the needed knowledge and skills to thrive in an ever-changing world. This case study captured the characteristics and measured the effectiveness of an international school working to become a HELP environment using the high-reliability schools (HRS) framework and the leadership practices that enabled them.

This mixed-method study used an explanatory sequential design, beginning with a survey of 122 teachers based on the HRS model (Marzano et al., 2014), where teachers were asked to respond to a series of statements designed to measure the case-study school’s effectiveness and …

The Relevance And Benefits Of Moral Intelligence To Servant Leadership, Kong Wah Cora Chan

Servant Leadership: Theory & Practice

Moral intelligence has a better chance of fixing morality-related issues instead of bandaging them and addressing the servant leadership best test stated by Greenleaf (1977/2002). Prudence—mature moral intelligence—is one’s skillful act in making the best, most caring alternative among all possible choices based on moral wisdom (Bradshaw, 2010). Morally intelligent people are conscious of aligning their values, goals, and actions with the universal principles of integrity, responsibility, compassion, and forgiveness (Lennick and Kiel, 2011). Such an alignment leads to purposeful living and organizational success. Borba (2001) advocated for building moral habits of empathy, conscience, self-control, respect, kindness, tolerance, and fairness. …

Mathematical Identities And Tracking: An Exploration Of Efficacy In Children And Women, Emma Hagan

Education | Master's Theses

This study seeks to understand the impact of elementary school mathematical identities and mathematics tracking on the identities of women and girls. “Tracking” is an institutionalized education method developed in the 1960s and 1970s in which schools sort their students into smaller class-sized groups based on their observed achievement (Domina et al., 2016). Too often, when students test onto the lower track, they are confronted with a sense of futility and a lack of self-efficacy (Domina, Hanselman, Hwang & McEachin, 2016; Houtte & Stevens, 2015). Further, in STEM disciplines, students who identify as female report lower self-efficacy rates than those …

Uplifting The Cultural And Ethical Desires Of A Student Of Color: An Intercultural Phenomenological Exploration Of Marginalized Desires In Teacher Education, Younkyung Hong

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

In this study, I engage in the intercultural phenomenological analysis of discovering and naming marginalized and undervalued desires in a teacher education space. Based on Deleuze and Guattari’s (1987) conceptualization of desire, I challenge the understanding of desire as an absence or lack. I chose to focus on an Asian American female student’s story that has the power and potential to provoke awareness and prompt further examination and discussion about the complex realities of preservice teachers’ learning practices. This study highlights the value of adjusting the understanding of “what is manifested” in a phenomenological study to “what is not manifested?” …

Practical Strategies For School Leaders To Improve African American Males’ Reading Achievement, Faye C. Bradley

Journal of Research Initiatives

The study identified parental involvement activities that significantly influenced the reading achievement of the African American male learner. Teachers and administrators were surveyed using an instrument adapted from Epstein's School, Family, and Community Partnership Survey, The Virginia Standards of Learning reading and language arts assessments provided data for reading achievement of fourth-grade African American males. Significant differences were found between principals and teachers in their ratings of Teacher Reports of Total School Program to Involve Families. A correlation was found between teacher estimates of parents' involvement and the mean SOL English score for African American male fourth-grade students.

The Association Of Neighborhood Schools Assignment Plan With Economic, Racial And Academic Outcomes In One North Carolina District, Theodore Kaniuka

Journal of Research Initiatives

When unified status was granted to numerous school districts, school boards developed redistricting plans to implement neighborhood schools. Social justice advocates decried these plans as they reversed over 40 years of progress, as many of these efforts resulted in resegregating schools homogenously grouped by race and wealth. Using piecewise and Difference in Difference regression with publicly facing data, this study assessed the association between neighborhood school attendance plans, school racial and economic balance, and student reading achievement. The results indicate that in one North Carolina school district over 15 years, (a) schools became more racially segregated, and (b) the achievement …

Teaching Mathematics To All Learners By Tapping Into Indigenous Legends: A Pathway Towards Inclusive Education, Nahid Golafshani

Journal of Global Education and Research

This study explored the use of Indigenous storytelling in the planning and teaching of mathematical content. In collaboration with Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators, a culturally inclusive mathematical lesson was developed, implemented, and reviewed in an elementary school in Northern Ontario. This study used a culturally authentic approach to address the current educational issue of diversity within the Ontario curriculum and education system. The results of this study suggested that utilizing Indigenous storytelling for teaching mathematical curricular expectations could benefit both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Storytelling can allow students to relate abstract mathematical concepts to their own lived experiences, to be …

Remembering The Ladies! A Decision-Making Activity For Teaching The American Revolution, Presley Shilling, Jeffrey Byford, Deanna Owens-Mosby

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This content-centered American Revolution activity encourages students to utilize Robert Stahl’s rank-order approach to promote decision-making in the social studies classroom. The incorporation of women’s contributions in the years leading up to the American Revolution influences students to analyze various perspectives surrounding this historical event. Employing Robert Stahl’s four phases of decision-making, students examine a situation and rank-order the efforts of the daughters of liberty, while investigating the political, economic, and social causes of the American Revolution. Students, individually or in groups, determine which of the seven solutions will be most effective in undermining the British and King George III’s …

Creating Law And Order: A Content-Centered Manifest Destiny Activity, Presley Shilling, Jeffrey Byford, Alisha Milam

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This content activity shows how Robert Stahl’s negotiation activity approach can promote decision-making in the social studies classroom. The effects of the activity on students’ ability to replicate the actions of settlers taking the journey to the western territories in search of gold. Incorporating Robert Stahl’s four decision-making phases, students negotiate social, political, and economic issues associated with the mining town of Bodie, California. In doing so, students must, individually or in small groups, decide and prioritize a series of proposals to better the living conditions, economic struggles, and social problems that have plagued Bodie for some time.

Book Review: Kumar, Ashwani. (Ed.). (2022). Engaging With Meditative Inquiry In Teaching, Learning, And Research: Realizing Transformative Potentials In Diverse Contexts. New York, Ny: Routledge., Giovanni Rossini Phd

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Book Review of following text:

Kumar, Ashwani. (Ed.). (2022). Engaging with Meditative Inquiry in Teaching, Learning, and Research: Realizing Transformative Potentials in Diverse Contexts. New York, NY: Routledge.

Using Way-In And Stay-In Scientific Picturebooks To Learn About Science And Scientists, William P. Bintz

Michigan Reading Journal

The power and potential of literature to learn science has long been recognized by both science and literacy specialists. Literature is often a child's first introduction to science and the first encounter with the concept of science and the role of scientists. The problem is that much science literature focuses mostly on the scientist or the science. This article responds to the imbalanced portrayal between science and scientist in children’s literature. It also discusses the value of scientific picturebook biography to teach science, introduces the notion of Way-In and Stay-In texts, and provides examples of both types of texts along …

Beyond Certification: Innovative Strategies To Tackle The Teacher Shortage, Abbigail Lp Morris

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

This article challenges educational leaders to look beyond alternative routes for teaching certification and more towards an increased collaboration between districts and universities to help alleviate the teacher shortage issue in Kentucky. It specifically highlights the works of Omaha Public School District and the University of Nebraska Omaha as a model for proactive teacher pipeline.

How Does A School Support Students Who Experience Social, Emotional, And Behavioral Challenges?, Hannah Steely

University Honors Theses

This qualitative study identified how educators and administrators support elementary school students who experience social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. Semi-structured interviews were used to understand how students are supported through Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in an elementary school. We interviewed six participants, including one administrator, two general educators, one literacy specialist, and two learning specialists. The results revealed the frequent use of common strategies within MTSS that included Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support (PBIS) and Behavioral Support Plan (BSP) tools and strategies. These strategies included: (a) zones of regulation, (b) in-class or out-of-class support from education specialists, (c) check …

Examination Of Training On Pre-Service Science Teachers’ Views On Socio-Scientific Issues And Nature Of Science, Aylin Çam

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Science continuously interacts with the social environment. Science develops with social needs, and society develops and changes with scientific advances. These changes and developments may cause dilemmas in society. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the improvements among pre-service science teachers in terms of socio-scientific issues and nature of science after explicit theoretical and practical training. The participants in this case study were 16 voluntary pre-service science teachers. In-depth views of the pre-service science teachers on nature of science and socio-scientific issues were examined with open-ended questions and reflective diaries. After the training, the understanding of the …

Teacher Residency As A Path To Teacher Diversity: Negotiating Tensions In Role And Identity, Jennifer Sharples Reichenberg, Hilary Lochte, Corinne M. Kindzierski, Alayla J. Ende, Diana Maskell, Crystal A. Elias, Julie J. Henry

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

This phenomenological qualitative study examined the experiences of graduate-level teacher candidates enrolled in teacher residency programs and serving as teacher aides or assistants (TAs). Some participants were graduate-level teacher candidates already employed as TAs in a large urban district and enrolled in an Urban Pipeline Residency Program, a state-funded diversity initiative designed to increase the number of teachers from underrepresented groups by supporting TAs to pursue teacher certification. Additional participants were enrolled in the Traditional Residency Program and completed residencies in other local districts. Survey and interview data from TA/teacher candidates, mentors, and instructors showed that TA/teacher candidates in both …

Identity, Access, And Equity: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study Of Mathematics Identity And Socialization In Pre-Service Teachers, Ashley Renaire Davis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Teaching practices in early childhood through post-secondary learning settings continue to reproduce inequities in mathematics education despite recognition of math’s utility and its necessity for competitiveness in the global economy. For reform efforts to be successful, teachers must change the way mathematics is presented in classrooms where students often experience differences in exposure to mathematics content and time spent covering particular mathematics topics. Therefore, teachers represent a critical component in the cycle of reproduction of unequal access to mathematics. This mixed-methods study examined the processes of mathematics identity formation and mathematics socialization in a diverse sample of pre-service elementary and …

Developing Better Instructors Using The Principles To Actions Professional Learning Toolkit, Abigail Pyle, Patrick Eggleton

Lux et Fides: A Journal for Undergraduate Christian Scholars

This research report documents how a group of mathematics teacher educators collaborated to use the Principles to Actions (NCTM, 2014) (PtA) Professional Learning Toolkit in their classes, the tools they used to measure development in the future teachers, and the findings from the study. In keeping with other studies, using “effective mathematics teaching practices” as defined by Principles to Actions brought about changes in the beliefs of preservice elementary mathematics teachers toward best practices for teaching mathematics. There is hope that the benefits of seeing those instructional practices used by elementary classroom teachers through the PtA Toolkit videos …

Overview Of The Proceedings Of The 2022 Inclusion In Science, Learning A New Direction, Conference On Disability (Island), Cary A. Supalo, Jasodhara Bhattacharya, Daniel Steinberg

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The 13th annual Inclusion in Science, Learning a New Direction, Conference on Disability was hosted by the Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM), a National Science Foundation funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), and Princeton University on September 16-17, 2022 at Bowen Hall. This annual conference included presentations that featured innovative research done by science educators in formal and informal education contexts, ranging from pre-K-12 to higher education, and science education researchers, access technology developers, and others interested in the full inclusion of persons with disabilities into the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce. The 2022 ISLAND …

From The Editors..., Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Calmness As A Quality Of Teacher Presence And The Impact On Learning, Kiana Pelton

Education | Master's Theses

This study seeks to identify the conditions for calmness within an educator's life and its impact on educators and students. Research shows that mindfulness practices can be implemented in the classroom and help students focus (Riner & Tanase, 2014). According to Kane (2018), implementing different practices and strategies of mindfulness can help regulate the internal and external stresses that happen daily. Currently, there is a lack of existing research on what educators do to calm themselves outside of the school day and how those practices impact their relationship with the students, helping students feel calm during school. Specifically, this study …

Moving Toward Critical Political Education With Elementary Preservice Teachers. A Response To “The Impact Of Polarization On The Political Engagement Of Generation Z Elementary Preservice Teachers And Their Teaching", Sara B. Demoiny

Democracy & Education

In “The Impact of Polarization on the Political Engagement of Generation Z Elementary Preservice Teachers and Their Teaching,” Keegan and Vaughan engaged with questions of preparing Gen Z, elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) in political education. Their much-needed study confirmed the continued call for social studies teacher educators to cultivate critical, civically active elementary PSTs who will intentionally attend to political education in the classroom. In this response, I situate Keegan and Vaughan's findings in white discomfort (Zembylas, 2018) as a way to consider a path forward in elementary teacher preparation, moving from a centering of white PSTs’ individual responses to …

The Impact Of Polarization On The Political Engagement Of Generation Z Elementary Preservice Teachers And Their Teaching, Patrick Keegan, Kelly P. Vaughan

Democracy & Education

This instrumental case study of Generation Z preservice teachers enrolled in elementary teaching methods courses in social studies and literacy explores the impact of polarization on their political engagement and teaching. Using the 2020 presidential election as a teachable moment, participants developed and taught literacy-infused civics units in order to bring to light their understandings of their role in preparing elementary students as political actors. This study has important implications for how teacher educators can better facilitate elementary preservice teachers’ own political engagement, thereby ensuring equitable democratic learning opportunities for students.

Experiences And Support Needs Of Typically Developing Siblings Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Keely Hamilton

Education | Master's Theses

Children living with an autistic sibling face unique challenges and are in need of support (Angell et al., 2012; Marquis et al., 2019; Molinaro et al., 2020). The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand what the experience of having a sibling with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is like for a typically developing child during middle childhood or preadolescence, the impacts this experience has, and what types of support they feel they need. Five participants were interviewed for this study; all were in middle childhood or preadolescence, live in Marin County, California, and are in a family with a …

Community And Safe Spaces For English Language Learners In Bilingual/Dual Immersion Settings, Miriam Pazos

Education | Master's Theses

This qualitative study explores teachers' understanding of English Language Learners and newcomer students' need for a sense of belonging and safe spaces in a bilingual/dual immersion classroom. The goal was to identify some best practices for teachers to create an inclusive classroom for multilingual students. This research uses the lens of two frameworks, Acompañamiento (Sepúlveda III, 2011) and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. According to Sepúlveda III (2018), Acompañamiento is a response to globalization where there is a need to understand a student's humanity and the need to be part of a community. Acompañamiento is about engagement with one another without goals …

Teachers In Elementary Schools…Do They Have What They Need?, Claire Smith

Education | Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to understand a group of teachers’ perspectives and experiences about inequitable access to instructional materials for students in K-5 classrooms and the effect this lack of access has had on the teaching and learning process (Albornoz, Berlinski, & Cabrales, 2018). The problem identified for this project was that instructional materials (including textbooks, curriculum documents, and technology) are not equally available at all K-5 schools. Hahnel (2020) discussed how even though California is one of the wealthiest states in the nation, funding awarded to schools in California was not enough to meet educational goals or …

School Voices: An Exploration Of Early Career Teachers’ Narratives On Student Voice And Dialogic Practices, Rachel Ada Meiklejohn

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Classrooms are typically organized around the expectation that students’ voices should be used primarily for reciting answers elicited by teachers. Numerous studies show that moving away from this recitation model towards more dialogic practices has the potential to make literacy learning more effective and inclusive. Yet, dialogic classrooms in which students’ voices work together to create knowledge and make meaning of texts remain rare, especially in classrooms serving students of low-income and minority backgrounds. In order to understand how teachers develop their thinking about student voice and dialogic practices in literacy learning, I completed a qualitative case study of ten …

Overcoming Language Barriers With Parents Of English Learners, Anissa Elkjer

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The purpose of this literature review was to determine the most effective ways to build relationships with parents of English Language Learner (ELL) students and how to overcome the language barrier when creating these relationships. A literature review was done to answer the following research questions: In what ways can English Language teachers build relationships with parents of English Learners? How can the language barrier be overcome between educators and English Language Learner’s families? The results were used to create a presentation to inform other educators what was learned. The presentation provides explanatory information about initiating effective communication using translators …

The Effects Of Orthographic Mapping In Student Spelling Performance, Kelli Simpson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The ability to accurately and automatically spell words shows a deep understanding of phonemes, graphemes, phonological context, morphology, and an understanding of language of origin. One approach to spelling instruction is through the explicit teaching of grapheme-phoneme correspondences. This 2023 study focused on the impact of orthographic mapping on student spelling performance of third grade students. Students completed a spelling pre-assessment. Then, students received orthographic mapping spelling instruction using sound boxes. At the conclusion of the study, students completed a spelling post-assessment. Student data was analyzed to gauge the effectiveness of orthographic mapping as a method of spelling instruction.