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

Navigating Early Intervention: The Experiences And Impact Of A Parent Coaching Model On Immigrant And Refugee Families In Rural Massachusetts, Emily Pleasant

Capstone Collection

Early Intervention (EI) programs play a critical role in supporting the developmental needs of children from birth to age three. This study explores the experiences of immigrant and refugee families engaging with EI services in rural Massachusetts, focusing particularly on the implementation and effectiveness of parent coaching models. Utilizing a mixed methods design that incorporates both narrative and phenomenological approaches, the research examines how families from culturally diverse backgrounds perceive and engage with EI services. This study discusses what barriers or facilitators they encounter throughout their journeys with Early Intervention. Preliminary findings suggest challenges related to language, cultural differences in …

Language Matters: What Are The Primary School Teachers' Perspectives And Lived Experiences Of Burundi's Language Policy?, Leah Passauer

Capstone Collection

Burundi is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Africa. Burundian language policy dictates that four languages, Kirundi, French, English, and Kiswahili, must be taught starting in the second trimester of grade one. The language policy decision is not an obvious one since the country is linguistically homogenous, meaning that almost the entire population speaks Kirundi as their first language. Primary school teachers in the public education system typically receive training in a vocational setting that may not fully prepare them for the complex multilingual classroom environment they are expected to cultivate. The aim of this small-scale mixed-methods …

When Crayons Meet Tibetan Living Room Walls: Early Childhood In Exile, Emma Hart

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study aims to understand early childhood caregiving among Tibetan refugees living in Nepal. Due to the brain’s enormous developmental plasticity from ages zero to three, children’s experiences during this period are extremely important to explaining their future learnings in school, interactions with people, and engagements with their surroundings. Through interviews and observations, Tibetan parents shared their conceptions of early childhood, parent-child interaction norms, dreams for their children, and how their status as refugees in Nepal affects these. Research was conducted in two Pokhara district Tibetan settlements and one settlement in Mustang. Connected by the flow of children and adults …

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, …

Engaging In Social Justice With Toddlers, Susan M. Nasiombe

Capstone Collection

This study was created as a way to highlight and begin filling a large void in academic information regarding the ways caregivers engage in social justice with the toddlers they care for. Through an online survey, participants were asked to explain their role and experience as caregivers, give their definition of social justice, share the social justice resources they use to help inform their engagement with toddlers, and list the limitations and barriers they face in achieving their goals in this area. Participants were also asked to assess their value of various elements commonly used to engage toddlers in social …

La Educacion Chilena: ¿Derecho Humano O Bien De Consumo?, Simone Nicole Henry

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El tema de este proyecto es el sistema educativo chileno, en términos de los Derechos Humanos y, particularmente, el derecho a la educación del niño. Se busca información sobre el sistema educativo chileno por su historia, su evolución, sus métodos actuales, sus fortaleces y sus debilidades para encontrar el origen de la desigualdad profunda que el sistema sufre y también perpetua. Para obtener esa información, se usaron fuentes primarias y secundarias además de entrevistas de varias personas que participan, directamente o indirectamente, en la educación chilena primaria. Aunque la educación superior en Chile es también un desafío actual, como un …

Early Care And Education For At-Risk Children In Rural And Urban Slums In Kenya, Giselle Emilia Navarro Casillas

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With the rise of changing family structures as well as an increase in the demands of an early preparation for children to enter primary school, Early Care and Education (ECE) has become extremely important in Kenya. In particular an increase of ECE centers for at risk children is important because research has shown that at risk children benefit more from a high quality early care and education program (Calman, L.J., & Tarr-Whelan, L., 2005). Observations were conducted in fifteen ECE centers located in urban slums and rural villages throughout Kenya where poverty is high and sanitation conditions are poor. This …

The Effect Of Educational Kinesiology On Second Language Acquisition, Tina Lynne Haverstick

MA TESOL Collection

This thesis is a summary of my experience working with the theory of Educational Kinesiology (Edu-K) in the foreign language classroom environment. It may serve as a guide for anyone who is interested in tapping into the full potential of students’ brains within a structured learning environment.

A case study is presented here examining the effects of educational kinesiology on two groups of kindergarten students I taught simultaneously in my EFL classroom in Taiwan.

I chose to assess their attitudes toward different classroom activities, including those geared toward improving listening, speaking, reading and writing, as well as the overall attitude …

A Reading Program Designed For Nursery School Children, Marlene Rubin

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

A Generative Language Approach To Esl For Children: Considerations And Activities, Monique H.W.C. Noyons Gehman

MA TESOL Collection

The purpose of this project is to provide ESL teachers of primary aged children with a guide to using a generative language approach. The guide includes teaching considerations relevant both to teaching children in general, and specifically to teaching ESL. A great variety of activities are presented, focusing on the total development of the child as well as the creative use of language. In addition, suggested readings and resources are listed, some for theoretical background and others for use in classroom.

Self-Concept, Self-Image Improvement Activities For The Classroom, Daniel Mack

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

A Language Arts Project Involving The Construction Of A Solar Greenhouse By Navajo Children, Daniel J. Mclaughlin

MA TESOL Collection

This paper, in three parts, explains why and how fifth and sixth grade students at a Navajo bilingual elementary school in New Mexico built a solar greenhouse as a language arts project. The first part catalogues the English speaking, reading, and writing needs of the children. It details the rationale behind building a greenhouse to address these needs. The second part is the greenhouse project itself. It contains English lessons which the students used as guidelines for planning and building the greenhouse structure. The third part, found in the Appendix, contains one of the students' workbooks.

I hope this serves …

Theater Games And Group Problem-Solving Exercises For The Foreign Language Classroom, Larraine Ruth Wright

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is a handbook of initiative games, theater games and improvisations especially adapted for use in the foreign language classroom. It includes games for small children, older children and adults. It can be used with classes of all levels. The games are described with recommendations for their use. Background information on the theory behind theater games, their use in the classroom, and an annotated bibliography of further sources are included.

The Reading Process And Alphablanks, Dale Saul, Linda Driver

MA TESOL Collection

Alphablanks was developed as an aid for teaching reading by Rosalie R. Saul. It has been used chiefly in teaching children to read in their native language, especially in the field of learning disabilities. We wanted to expand its use into the ESL classroom. But we also wanted to present a rationale for using Alphablanks, to research the field of reading and how we go about learning to read, in order to find out exactly what areas of reading Alphablanks would help. Thus this paper is divided into two main parts: a summary of current research into reading, interpreting this …

A Handbook Of Ideas And Activities For Teaching English As Second Language To Pre-Schoolers, Laurie Jean Emel

MA TESOL Collection

This is a collection of activities for teaching English to children of pre-school age. The activities are aimed at the total involvement of the child by encouraging not only verbal communication, but also self-expression through art, body movements, and dramatization. The directions for the use of the activities include adaptations to varying class sizes, levels of English proficiency, and cultural backgrounds.

Teaching English As A Foreign Language To Younger Japanese Children, Viviane D. Fleischer

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

E.S.L. At Borrego Pass School: The Program For Kindergarten Through Second Grade, Anne Bermant

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is a report on my first year as an E.S.L. teacher. The paper describes the school where I worked and the program I set up there. Included are my personal feelings and beliefs about what I was doing. This paper deals only with my portion of the E.S.L. instruction at the school. For information on the upper level program (grades 3-5) refer to Charles E. Hancock's I.P.P. I have included in my paper suggestions for activities in working with young children (grades kindergarten through second) and some observations about working with Navajo children in particular.

Materials In The Billingual Kindergarten: Student Teaching At The Carew Street School, Diane Wunderlich

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.