Browsing by Subject "Elementary"
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Item “Can I just be a human with them?" Cultivating Equity-Mindedness for the Teaching and Learning of Elementary Mathematics(2016-07) Colum, KarenEquity has risen to a prominent position in mathematics education with some organizations such as the NCTM positioning it first of six principles for teaching mathematics. Additionally, much work has been focused on the development of effective mathematics teaching practices (NCTM, 2014), culturally relevant practices (Gay, 2000, Leonard, 2008) and developing social justice curriculum (Gutstein, 2006). However, what is still lacking is explicit attention to equity issues within the different academic disciplines in teacher preparation programs (Banks, 1993; Ladson-Billings, 1994). Many scholars argue that mathematics education courses need to have an explicit focus on equity and mathematics instruction to prepare teacher candidates for the realties in schools (Aguirre, 2009; Gutiérrez, 2012a; Martin, 2003). Therefore, this study addresses this problem outlined by the literature as it purposefully embedded issues of equity alongside the typical content contained in a mathematics methods course. A phenomenological understanding of teacher candidates’ perceptions as they experience becoming equity-minded in a mathematics methods course holds great potential to provide new insights into integrating equity into the teaching and learning of mathematics from an authentic, learner-centered perspective. This study seeks to help teacher educators and teacher education programs understand more deeply how teacher candidates may experience cultivating an equity mindset for the teaching of elementary mathematics by addressing follow question: How might cultivating equity mindedness take shape with teacher candidates in an elementary mathematics methods course? This qualitative study utilized a post-intentional research design (Vagle, 2014) to investigate a group of teacher candidates’ lived experiences of cultivating equity-mindedness while enrolled in a face-to-face, undergraduate, mathematics methods course. For sixteen weeks following the conclusion of the course, qualitative methods were used to collect data from the teacher candidates’ accountings of their experience shared through individual interviews and written course assignments. Iterative cycles of whole-part-whole approach (Vagle, 2014) captured tentative manifestations of the phenomenon of cultivating equity-mindedness as it was experienced in the methods course. Five tentative manifestations were produced through data analysis: (1) metacognitive awareness; (2) struggles with power; (3) knowledge of students; (4) multiplicity in practice; and (5) discourse of equity. The insights gained from this study were used to make recommendations for teacher educators and teacher preparation programs for practices that help promote and foster the growth of equity-oriented mindset for the teaching and learning of mathematics.Item Co-teaching: a look-back, a look-ahead, and the look-fors(MinneTESOL - Minnesota Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2014) Honigsfeld, Andrea; Dove, Maria G.Item A Comparison of Targeted and Multicomponent Small-Group Reading Interventions in Early Elementary Grades(2016-01) Hall, MatthewAlthough there is a broad research base supporting effective components of reading interventions, less is known about how to implement reading interventions in small groups. The current study investigated the impact of implementing small group reading interventions targeted to student needs guided by the theoretical frameworks of the Instructional Hierarchy (Haring & Eaton, 1978) and Chall’s (1983) stage theory of reading development. A between-participants randomized block design was used to assign 50 second and third grade students to either a targeted or multicomponent small group reading intervention to ensure equal students with decoding and fluency needs were in each condition. Results revealed no differences between conditions on measures of decoding, fluency and comprehension following 4-weeks of intervention. However, students with a decoding need were found to significantly improve their decoding skills compared to students with a fluency need regardless of condition. Observations of the interventions being implemented indicated that all four interventionists modified the interventions or added additional components. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.Item Comparison of teachers' and expert judgement's perceptions of the Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI/HET) Affordances of Highlands Elementary school grounds(2014-11) Pates, Gregory DanielHighlands Elementary school grounds were originally constructed for play. Use of settings for teaching using Highlands Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI) approach varied; some teachers were unaware of teaching opportunities that the settings "afforded." The author hypothesized that by comparing teachers' affordance perceptions with the author's "expert judgment" perceptions, opportunities could be identified to improve the "fit" of teachers' and expert judgments' perceptions in ways that would enhance suitability for teaching.Three settings were rated by teachers and expert judgment. Data was interpreted at and across settings regarding Science, Health, Social Studies, Student Inquiry, and teaching using Students' Senses ITI affordances. Relatively similar patterns were found in Science, Student Inquiry, and teaching using Students' Senses affordances. Health and Social Studies affordances were perceived differently. Differences helped interpret and infer potential opportunities to alter teaching activities and intervene in setting design to enhance suitability for teaching, and in suggestions for professional development.Item Cutting to the Common Core: analyzing informational text(MinneTESOL - Minnesota Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2014) Kinsella, KateItem Elementary teachers' perceptions of environmental education.(2010-12) Bengtson, Karen Jo MaierEfforts to develop and implement environmental education (EE) in classrooms across the United States need to be grounded in understanding teachers' perceptions of EE. A case study format was selected as an effective means of eliciting a wide range of the teachers' perceptions and capturing an in-depth elaboration of the complexity and internal consistency of those perceptions. The research questions for this study are: 1) What are the participating elementary teachers' perceptions of EE? 2) What are the participating elementary teachers' perceptions of ideal EE? 3) What are the participating elementary teachers' perceptions of the reality of teaching EE? And 4) How do the individual participating teachers' three types of EE perceptions misalign? Case studies of four elementary classroom teachers from the same school building were constructed from survey questions, interviews, and resource materials. Analysis and interpretation of the data were conducted using two sets of descriptors, strength and development, of the identified themes. The major implications of this study include (a) efforts supporting the implementation of EE need to account for the context that exists in the school, and how the structure of the school interplays with the implementation; (b) the need for teacher professional development in EE with considerations for teaching context, teachers' personal EE connections, and variability in teacher understanding, and (c) the complexity and diversity in the expression of teachers' EE perceptions needs to be attended in EE implementation efforts, as well as in research exploring teacher perceptions of EE.Item Examining the effects of integrated science, engineering, and nonfiction literature on student learning in elementary classrooms(2014-06) Tank, Kristina MaruyamaIn recent years there has been an increasing emphasis on the integration of multiple disciplines in order to help prepare more students to better address the complex challenges they will face in the 21st century. Exposing students to an integrated and multidisciplinary approach will help them to better understand the connections between subjects instead of as individual and separate subjects. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Integration has been suggested as an approach that would model a multidisciplinary approach while also offering authentic and meaningful learning experiences to students. However, there is limited research on STEM integration in the elementary classroom and additional research is needed to better define and explore the effects of this integration for both students and science educators. With the recent recommendations for teaching both science and engineering in elementary classrooms (NRC, 2012), two common models include teaching science through inquiry and teaching science through engineering-design pedagogies. This study will explore both of these models as it seeks to better understand one piece of the larger issue of STEM and STEM integration by examining how the integration of science, engineering, and nonfiction literature affects students learning in elementary classrooms. This study employed an embedded mixed methods design to measure the effects of this integration on student learning in four fifth grade classrooms from the same elementary school. The findings revealed that the students who participated in the nonfiction reading instruction that was integrated with their science instruction showed a greater increase in all measures of student learning in both science and reading when compared to the control students. The findings from the integrated science, engineering and nonfiction literature revealed similar findings with the treatment students showing a greater increase in the measures of student learning in all three of the content areas. These results suggest that integrating nonfiction literature with science or science and engineering instruction can be an effective strategy in improving student learning in elementary classrooms.Item Listen(MinneTESOL - Minnesota Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2015) Smith, JackieItem Presenting academic language to mainstream teachers(MinneTESOL - Minnesota Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2014) Mabbott, Ann SaxItem Teachers learning together to enact culturally relevant pedagogy for English learners: a call to reclaim PLCs(MinneTESOL - Minnesota Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2014) Benegas, MichelleItem Teachers think aloud about picture books for teaching social studies in the primary grades(2012-12) Harrington, Judith MarieSocial studies has long been relegated to the sidelines in the elementary grades. Teachers have often used children’s literature to teach social studies (e.g., Hicks, 1996; Hinde, 2005, 2009; Kent & Simpson, 2008) but there are concerns that this integration shortchanges social studies learning (e.g., Alleman & Brophy, 1993, 1994; Brophy, Alleman, & Knighton, 2007). This qualitative study involved teachers in the primary grades, thinking aloud as they read three picture books with social studies content; the emphasis was on the teachers’ planning processes so students were not present during the study. Participants included 27 experienced teachers from grades K-2, recruited from 14 suburban and rural schools located in a large metropolitan area in the upper Midwest. Verbal analysis (Chi, 1997) indicated that the participants perceived both social studies and literacy aspects related to each book; more attention was often paid to the social studies content than literacy development. This finding is contrary to research which found that elementary teachers (K-6) often focus on developing literacy skills more than social studies understanding when reading texts to teach social studies (Boyle-Baise, Hsu, Johnson, Serriere, & Stewart, 2008). The 27 participants utilized books for multiple purposes in order to address curriculum demands and time constraints: to teach literacy skills, to develop literary appreciation, and to foster content understanding. These findings have implications for publishers, curriculum planners, and teacher educators, as well as the teachers themselves. Given the resources and freedom to explore both literacy and content aspects of the literature they use in their class, teachers in the primary grades would be both willing and able to meaningfully address both.Item Using student performance during a reading intervention to predict student outcomes and performance on accountability measures of reading.(2012-07) Parson, LorienAn existing data set for a sample of 3rd grade students was used to determine the relationship between performance during a reading intervention and short-term achievement test outcomes, and long-term risk status. Students participated in a reading intervention, one-on-one practice with a trained adult, during which weekly curriculum based measurement-reading data and dosage of intervention service time were collected. The sample was comprised of reading curriculum based measurement progress monitoring data for 99 students from 8 different schools. The recommendation was for students to receive 60 minutes per week of fluency sessions, the average student received a dosage of 51 minutes per week. Student scores on district and state reading tests from the spring of third grade, and student participation in pre-referral or special education programming 1 and 2 years post participation were also examined. Reading test data were provided by the schools including student performance on the spring 3rd grade No Child Left Behind state reading test, and for 6 of the schools, a district reading test by the Northwest Evaluation Association called the Measures of Academic Progress. Schools also provided existing information about free/reduced lunch eligibility and risk-status, for each of the students. The following research questions guided the study: (a) how does performance during a third-grade reading intervention predict future performance on district and state reading tests; and (b) how does performance during a third-grade reading intervention predict future risk-status in 4th and 5th grades? Multiple linear regression models were used to determine the amount of variance accounted for in state and district reading test performance, using the predictor variables related to participation in the 3rd grade reading fluency intervention. Twenty-three percent of the variance in state test scores, and 44% of the variance in district test scores could be explained using multiple linear regression models with the predictor variables: lunch status, slope, baseline and end levels, and dosage. There were different significant coefficients in each model, and 2 of the schools did not administer the MAP. Risk-status 1 and 2 years following participation in the 3rd grade reading intervention also was determined, using the predictors: performance during the intervention, dosage, and lunch status. Logistic regression models used to predict placement in special education in 4th or 5th grades were not significant. The logistic regression model used to predict student participation in pre-referral programming in 4th grade was not significant, but the model was significant in 5th grade. Variables were backwards eliminated to further determine which variable(s) in the model was/were significant in predicting pre-referral participation in 5th grade, and baseline level at the onset of the 3rd grade reading intervention was the significant predictor. An estimated probability plot illustrated that students with a higher baseline level were less likely to participate in pre-referral programming in 5th grade, versus students with lower baseline level performance. The findings from the first part of this study further support the existing research that reading curriculum based measurement does predict performance on other reading tests (Baker, et al., 2008; Chard, Vaughn & Tyler, 2002; Lennon & Slesinski, 1999) and state reading tests (Stage & Jacobsen, 2001; Good, Simmons & Kame’enui, 2001; Crawford, Tindal, Stieber, 2001; McGlinchey & Hixson, 2004; Keller-Margios, Shaprio & Hintz, 2008). The current study is unique in its application of progress monitoring data for students that participated in a reading intervention, versus seasonal benchmark scores. The second part of the study examined risk-status in 4th and 5th grades for the students who participated in the reading intervention service in 3rd grade. Results supported the findings of other studies, that some intervention participants struggle to maintain gains in subsequent years, (Byrne & Fielding-Barnsley, 1993; Bus & Van Ijzendoorn, 1999; O’Connor, Notari-Syverson, & Vadasy, 1996, 1998) and that curriculum-based measurement baseline level, can be a strong predictor of growth (Silberglitt and Hintz, 2007). The current study was unique in that much of prior research has examined results for students that participate in interventions higher in dosage, diverse in skill areas and prior to 3rd grade. The findings from this study suggest that progress-monitoring data at the on-set, and during an intervention, do relate to performance on other reading assessments, and may predict future risk-status.