Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons^™

Reading Between The Lines: A Mixed Methods Investigation Of Teachers’ Understanding And Implementation Of The Science Of Reading, Karen L. Dumas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the nation, the science of reading (SoR) is sweeping through schools, realigning instructional practices, altering curricula, and causing a shift in educators’ ideologies. Therefore, exploring teachers’ understanding of the science of reading and the classroom implementation may offer valuable insights for school leaders, policymakers, and educators during this period of transition. This explanatory sequential mixed methods investigation researched SoR knowledge and implementation of K-3 general education teachers in Pennsylvania.

This study took place in two phases: quantitative followed by qualitative. During the quantitative phase, 141 K-3 teachers in Pennsylvania participated in the Teacher Understanding of Literacy Constructs and Evidence-Based …

Equipping Teachers To Support Comic Literacy: An Analysis Of The Educational Potential Of Toon Book, Kayla Whitlock, Jewel Yoder Kuhns, Sara Kersten-Parrish Dr.

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

Teachers frequently reach for leveled readers to help facilitate their guided reading groups; however, there can be limits in using these leveled readers. One such limit relates to enjoyment and engagement. An answer to this is using TOON books during guided reading time. TOON books are graphic novel leveled readers and were created in response to a need for high quality books for readers of all levels. However, in reading these books teachers need to be aware of the comics form and how those features impact the reading process. In this article, we outline the features common in graphic novels …

Teaching About Bodily Autonomy In The Early Childhood Classroom, Alaina Foster

Honors Projects

Research and evidence-based practices for the need to implement instructional materials in regard to elementary bodily autonomy and childhood sexual assault prevention education in the general education classroom.

Using Trade Books To Thematically Teach Civil Rights Issues, Alyssa Whitford, Timothy Lintner, Caroline Sheffield

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This semester-long project examined the use of social studies trade books to thematically teach the civic contributions of three individuals who served as change agents in the United States during the late 19^th and early 20^th century. Two were African American men, Robert Smalls and Frederick Douglass, who took civic action to address racial discrimination faced by the Black community following the U.S. Civil War. The other was Ida B. Wells who challenged social inequities and injustices within her community. Throughout this project, sixth-grade students read selected trade books, examined primary sources, completed graphic organizers, and crafted writing …

Supporting Elementary Educators Through A Nervous System Regulation And Social-Emotional Learning Skills Workshop Intervention: An Musc Capstone Project, Lily Morgan

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

Teachers have a great influence on developing children’s emotional intelligence, regulatory capacity, and occupational engagement. These professionals also happen to report some of the highest rates of stress, mental health challenges (Agyapong, B. et al, 2022), and burnout (Xie, M., et al, 2022). Providing teachers with education and support on nervous system regulation, social-emotional learning skills, and related topics can improve their ability to manage job stress, enhance modeling and interactions with students, and improve their quality of life. This project aimed to enhance knowledge, provide access to resources, and serve to support elementary educators at an inner-city school in …

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 …

Mitigating The Negative Effects Of Over And Early Exposure To Media With Joint Media Engagement: A Literature Review, Mary K. Littlepage

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

This paper examines the negative impact of over and early exposure to media on children’s developmental domains. Among other deleterious effects, early and over exposure to media has been associated with attention deficits, language delays, and interrupted social interactions. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) addresses these concerns with recommendations, discouraging the use of screens for children birth to eighteen months and recommends that children over two years old limit their viewing to one to two hours or less per day (AAP Council on Communications and Media, 2016). For children within the recommended viewing and age parameters, many studies have …

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.

Giant Tree Versus Ipad Kids: Reflecting On Childhood Outdoor Play, Then And Now., Minsun Shin

Department of Teaching and Learning Scholarship and Creative Works

Childhood play experiences, particularly outdoor play, positively affect children’s holistic development and well-being. This qualitative study examined teacher education students’ perceptions through retrospective reflection on their own childhood play experiences in the past (then) compared to contemporary children’s play at present (now) to recognize the value of childhood play. Ten student teachers enrolled in various teacher education programs at one university participated in this study. Analyzing a drawing task and interviews revealed that participants recalled outdoor play as their favorite childhood play experiences, engaging in unstructured and child-initiated activities, taking risks, and creating their own rules. These outdoor experiences not …

Mentoring And Supporting All Writers: Strengthening Writing Instruction In Pk To 5th Grade With Halpern’S “Interactive Writing” And Anderson’S “Mentor Texts”, Chad H. Waldron, Meghan K. Block, Alicia D. Fluker, Mariah C. Schepak, Michelle R. Snyder

Michigan Reading Journal

Shared, co-authored book review by educators and researchers of Matt Halpern’s (2023) A Teacher’s Guide to Interactive Writing, Grades PreK-2 and Carl Anderson’s (2022) A Teacher’s Guide to Mentor Texts, Grades K-5 (Heinemann)

Interactive Read Aloud Planning Template For The Story, The Letter From The Book Frog And Toad Are Friends, Lauren Dehmer, David Wolff

OER Materials

This is a read-aloud planning template for the story The Letter from the book Frog and Toad are Friends, which holds five stories. The goal of the assignment is to create an effective read-aloud. Research supports these as they can expose children to new words and language structures (Burkins & Yates, 2021). Cunningham et al. (2023) also explain interactive read-alouds as a way to “immerse students in rich content.” The author was given a list of stories from the anthology, The 20^th Century Children’s Book Treasury: Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud, from instructor Dr. David Wolff, who …

Literacy Teachers’ Self-Efficacy And Instructional Choice Within A Structured Literacy Approach, Brianna Horst

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

In the United States over the past two centuries, differing views on reading instruction have fueled public and scientific debate. In the mid-2020s, Structured Literacy has become a central focus in education policy, pre-service teacher preparation, professional development, and curricular design. While Structured Literacy offers a strong foundation for early literacy, it does not fully capture a holistic view of literacy.

This mixed-method explanatory sequential design examined teachers’ stance on Structured Literacy, their instructional practices, and self-efficacy in literacy instruction. Participants included 30 survey respondents and 5 interviewees. Albert Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory (1978, 1997) informed the analysis. Phase I involved …

Using The Foundational Numeracy Transformation Cycle To Gain Insights And Perspectives On Teaching And Learning, Brooke Custis

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The Foundational Numeracy Transformation Cycle (FNTC) was created in part to increase the percentage of students with disabilities performing at or above grade level in middle school mathematics. Through professional development and support, the FNTC worked within regional co-ops to increase math proficiency at all grade levels by building instructional capacity in primary educators. In addition to increasing student proficiency, the FNTC also aimed to enhance educator confidence in implementing Mathematical Teaching Practice (MTP) #2. This study used quantitative analysis to determine that participation in the FNTC had no statistically significant effect on student achievement. This study also explored the …

Social Science In Early Childhood Education Open Syllabus, Denise Farrelly

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus provides a week-by-week outline of resources for teaching early childhood social studies for preservice teachers at the associate's level.

Persistent Reading Deficiencies In Early Education, William Steven Reed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study investigated early reading teachers’ perceptions of the instructional practices they use to identify early elementary student reading proficiency, including unique challenges they face when addressing the development of early reading skills. The researcher investigated eight first and second grade teacher classrooms during the 2023–2024 school year through collective interviews, observations, and related school data. The researcher performed a qualitative analysis of the collected data to reveal varying themes that support recommendations to reduce persistent reading problems among early elementary students. Using purposeful sampling to select licensed, experienced participants, the insights of eight early elementary reading teachers …

Mental Health Supports In The Public Schools, Elizabeth Walters

Masters Theses

Increasingly, young students experience mental health challenges, some as early as first grade. With mental health challenges reaching students at younger ages, teachers and school staff need to be ready to assist their students in need. Roughly a third of young people experience mental health challenges, and 70-80% are unable to receive mental health services. As a large portion struggle in school with mental health concerns, teachers and school staff are likely to be the first to see any potential signs of struggle. When teachers notice signs of a student struggling with mental health, the staff often do not know …

Supporting Students In Transition To And From Elementary School, Meleah Ellison, Jamelle Simmons, David B. Naff, Taryn G. Traylor, Meredith Dean, Sooyeon Moon, Jia Jia Liu, Latonja Y. Wright, Cameron Parkins, Jennifer Locasale-Crouch, Dana V. Yarbrough, Audrina Farrar, Obed Amoakoh Boateng

MERC Publications

This report is part of a two-part series focused on supporting students in transition across PK-12 education. Specifically, it explores transitions into and out of elementary school. The report includes a synthesis of recent peer-reviewed literature, analysis of publicly available data (with a specific focus on Virginia and the metropolitan Richmond region), and summary of relevant federal, state, and school division-level policies. It answers the following questions:

1. What are key considerations for supporting students in transition to and from elementary school in the MERC region?

2. How do federal, state, and division policies guide support for student transitions to …

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.

Benefits Of Teaching Pre-Literacy In Waldorf Education In Early Childhood, April Guerrero

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This senior capstone research project examines the benefits of teaching pre-literacy in Waldorf education in early childhood. In Waldorf Education, literacy development incorporates differentiated instructions that fosters cognitive and social emotional learning of their students. Through the use of literature review and several teachers in various grades of Waldorf schools, the result findings revealed that pedagogical practices around literacy instructions promote critical thinking skills, nurtures children’s creative expression, and imagination. Literacy curriculum in Waldorf schools allows students to create tangible evidence of self-expressions and communication skills. Given its emphasis on holistic curriculum, it allows teachers to engage with their diverse …

A Qualitative Study Of Iranian Efl Teachers’ Perceptions Of A Digital Diversified Education, Seyed Mohammad Reza Marvasti Zadeh, Azizollah Dabaghi Varnosfadrani Advarnosfadrani, Mohammad Amiryousefi

The Qualitative Report

Because Iran is a country of learners of diverse languages, socio-economic classes, genders, and ages, digital diversified education seems appropriate to address needs in English language education. However, there is a notable gap in research on teachers’ perceptions about this type of education. To fill this gap, this study aimed to investigate the perspectives of Iranian teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) regarding a diverse digital education. Data were collected via an open-ended survey with 30 EFL teachers, both male and female, who were selected through convenience sampling. Analysis revealed several key themes, including the utilization of diverse …

Radical Hospitality: Transforming Adjunct Care, Jennifer L. Kritsch, Rachelle Wong, Michael Corke, Ricardo Ramos, Deb Erickson

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

What would it look like to actively connect with others instead of fighting to affirm our differences? Could radical hospitality usher in a way to connect with others? What would a deep connection to adjuncts in an educational community look like? This research intended to document adjunct faculty responses to departmental efforts to better support adjunct faculty based on their expressed needs. Further, the researchers examined literature on the ethic of care, hospitality, invitational theory, and the role that leadership plays in making people feel welcome. The research team also illuminated how radical hospitality/transformative care can redefine the relationships found …

Collaborative Professional Development Featuring Innovative Curriculum Materials, Cory Callahan

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Here I synthesize two research investigations (Callahan, 2018, 2019) that comprise a continuing line of inquiry into the potential of innovative curriculum materials and sustained collaboration as a professional development program to help in-service teachers understand and implement a complex model of social studies instruction. This article features an original innovative curriculum material and specifically explores the question: To what degree can a collaborative professional development program featuring innovative curriculum materials help social studies teachers understand and implement a powerful social studies approach? Findings suggest the professional development program and its innovative curriculum materials helped teachers promote substantive pedagogical thinking …

Policy, Practice, And Perceptions Of K-12 Social-Emotional Learning, Janice Filer, Ebony C. Cain, Della Thompson-Bell

Education Division Scholarship

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of K-12 school staff who participate in social-emotional learning (SEL). Since the global pandemic, several school districts have included SEL as part of the school curriculum. Teachers, counselors, social workers, school psychologists, and school administrators participate in SEL instruction and/or practices. Classroom teachers instruct students in SEL instruction and other school staff practice the SEL components of self-awareness, self-management, decision-making, social awareness, and relationship skills through their daily interactions with students. This study was conducted in various schools throughout the Los Angeles area using open-ended interview questions that utilized focus …

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 Beliefs And Experiences Addressing Healthy Racial And Ethnic Identity Instructionally Through Social Emotional Learning, Juliana Gutierrez

Theses and Dissertations

Children and youth develop within an ecological context that includes family, peers, and broader social environments including school. Children’s understanding of their ethnic or racial group and the meaning they attribute to belonging in that group is also shaped by interactions in their school environment. Most research on school-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programs has focused on student behavioral and academic outcomes. However, as SEL spreads across U.S. K-12 schools, questions have emerged surrounding how children from diverse racial and cultural groups and unequal opportunity can benefit from universal SEL programs. Using a mixed-methods design, this study explores teachers’ understanding and …

Borderland Voices: Exploring The Educational Journey Of Transfronterizx Students, Families, And Educators For Enhanced Engagement And Empowerment, Sobeida Velazquez

Dissertations

Transfronterizx students and their families cross the U.S.–Mexico border for academic, economic, social, cultural, and linguistic reasons. Socioeconomic disparities, deportation, and work have propelled some families to live in Mexico and enroll their U.S.-born children in U.S. schools to provide more socioeconomic opportunities in the United States. Educators of transfronterizx students are uniquely tasked to work with these nontraditional students. Moreover, transfronterizx students and their families have distinct needs in U.S. schools; as such, there is a need for further research on the transfronterizx experience in the U.S. K–12 system. This qualitative narrative inquiry study aimed to understand the experiences …