<p> Effective school to home communication encourages positive relationships that support student achievement. This study examines perceptions and preferences of teachers and parents to understand what constitutes effective communication between teachers and parents. Research questions examine the frequency of communication between teachers and parents, modes of communication, and the field and tenor of effective school to home communication. Data was gathered from teachers and parents of students in first through third grades, in a Southeastern Pennsylvania suburban school district. Two surveys were created aligning with current school to home communication literature focusing mainly on the field, tenor, and mode of language interactions. Each survey consisted of Likert-Type questions and included two open-ended responses. One survey gathered teachers&rsquo; perceptions and another, parents&rsquo; perceptions. The significance of this study stems from the importance of effective communication between the school and parents. Federal mandates require schools provide communication to parents. Previous studies indicated effective communication leads to parents being involved and engaged in a child&rsquo;s education that in turn increases student academic and social progress (Epstein, 2001; Murphy, 2008; Stuck, 2004). The findings of this study indicated that parents and teachers place high value on the necessary components of effective school to home communication. This study found that teachers and parents were largely in agreement in their perceptions about the value of school to home communications. Teachers and parents believe that effective home to school communication helps them work together as a team to improve student learning.</p>

<p> Parental Stress With Homeschooling K-6th Grade Children in a South Florida District. Jennifer A. Myers, 2015: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education. ERIC Descriptors: Homeschooling, Stress, Stress Management, Coping This applied dissertation study was designed to inform and advance knowledge by using a quantitative approach to determine if perceived parental stress in homeschooling parents varies as a function of age, income, education, and ethnicity. Previous research in the field of homeschooling has primarily been qualitative in nature, thus, leaving a gap in the research. </p><p> Home schooling parents of K-6 grade children in South Florida districts were specified as the sample for the study. A perceived Stress Survey and demographic questionnaire were administered to 102 participants. Parental participants were male and female, all ethnicity, and ages 18 and older, who were homeschooling K-6th grade children in South Florida. Inferential statistics were used to draw conclusions from the sample tested. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 23.0 was used to code and tabulate scores collected from the survey and provide summarized values where applicable. Logistic regression analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used to evaluate the two Research Questions and hypotheses. Analysis of the primary data indicated that age, income, level of education, ethnicity and number of children homeschooled had no significant effect on perceived stress. Implication from findings suggests that behavioral characteristics of the child may mediate the relationship between stress and parental characteristics. The study is a valuable addition to the homeschooling research community as it aligns with and extends findings from previous research. </p>

<p> The purpose of this research project was to determine the effects of literature categories on student engagement. The participants of this research project were selected from a third grade elementary class. They were selected at random. The class was heterogeneous containing twenty-one students. The dependent variable in this project was the student engagement while the independent variable was the literature category. Data was collected for two weeks in each category on student engagement and observational notes were also recorded. This research project determined that the literature category of nonfiction produced a high student engagement when texts were selected based on student&rsquo;s interests. This study was and is important because educators can use this information to help with classroom lessons and to reach students through literature. </p>

<p>This study explored the impact of numbers used in instructional tasks on the construction and generalization of multiplicative reasoning by fourth grade students designated as having learning difficulties or disabilities in mathematics (SLDs). In particular, this study addressed the following research questions: (1) In what ways do SLDs&rsquo; conception of number as a composite unit afford or constrain transition to multiplicative reasoning? (2) Which specific numbers, used in instructional and/or assessment tasks, may support or interfere with SLDs&rsquo; progression from additive reasoning to multiplicative Double Counting (mDC)? Results suggested that in early participatory stages, using numbers with multiples familiar to the students, such as 2 and 5, promoted multiplicative solution paths (e.g., counting by fives while simultaneously keeping track of how many fives they have counted). This use of familiar numbers allowed for students&rsquo; reflection on their multiplicative thinking. Introduction of more difficult numbers&mdash;any number for which the child was yet to master multiples&mdash;tended to limit the multiplicative thinking and move students back to more known (additive) solution paths. In later participatory stages, the introduction of more difficult numbers promoted the progression within mDC. </p>

<p> The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover how experienced teachers, new to a grade-level team within a public elementary school, perceive and make meaning of their organizational entry experiences. The rationale for this study lies in the need to better understand the environmental factors that influence a newly hired, experienced teacher&rsquo;s desire to remain in his or her current position and within the profession. </p><p> The literature review outlined the resulting effects of organizational entry processes on individuals, groups, and organizational culture, as well as the factors influencing the effectiveness of the process. The use of phenomenological interviews gathered descriptive data regarding the lived experiences of 15 newly hired, experienced public elementary school teachers to answer the question: In what ways did new team members experience the organizational entry process as they joined an existing grade-level team within a public elementary school? </p><p> In essence, newly, hired experienced teachers wanted to stay in their current positon when provided with the necessary supports so they could competently perform their newly assigned role without feeling overly dependent upon existing team members. Several themes emerged. Newly hired, experienced teachers spoke of needing support in three areas to make an effective transition to a new position: (a) instructional; (b) logistical; and (c) emotional. Both the new-hire and existing school personnel influenced the degree to which the felt needs of the newly hired teachers were met. Participants stressed having to self-advocate to their needs met. Participants suggested mentoring and the use of a common grade-level meeting time as key mechanisms school personnel could use to meet the needs of newly hired experienced teachers. </p><p> As a result of this study, schools may consider examining existing organizational entry processes at organizational, group, and individual levels. Newly hired experienced teachers may consider preparing lists of question prior to meeting with the administration and grade-level team to advocate for their needs.</p>

<p> Professional Development for technology integration into the elementary curriculum has been a costly and frequently ineffective endeavor. The idea for the Tech Buddy model came from this frustration. Teaming a teacher who had high comfort and self-efficacy levels with technology, however who still had much to learn, together with a teacher who was willing to learn, but had low comfort and self-efficacy levels seemed natural.</p><p> The study consisted of 13 educators and one Administrative Intern from the school of study. The study paired a mentor who had a high level of comfort and self-efficacy with ICT integration with a mentee who had a low level of comfort and self-efficacy with ICT integration as measured by a pre-study self-assessment. The pairs were formed using three types; two were same grade level pairs, two were adjacent grade level pairs, and two were nonadjacent grade level pairs. All participants attended one half-day release time per quarter, one two-hour planning time per quarter and one evening stipend time per semester. Three of the six pairs began the study using iPads. Three of the six pairs began the study using Chromebooks. Midway through the study, the pairs all switched in order to use the other devices. The researcher also conducted interviews of each participant midway and at the end of the study. At the conclusion of the study, each participant again took the self-assessment in an effort to determine if the study was affective in increasing comfort and self-efficacy levels with ICT integration into the curriculum. The conclusion of the self-assessment indicated an increase in comfort level and self-efficacy in all participants except one pairing. The results were mostly positive and expected, however, one of the pairing did not show anticipated growth in all areas of self-assessment.</p><p> The conclusion of the study indicated the Tech Buddy program is a viable option for increasing comfort and self-efficacy levels of ICT integration into the elementary curriculum. The use of one particular device over another did not seem of concern. Application of the model should pay particular attention to how each mentor perceives his or her role as mentor.</p>

The purpose of this study was to develop a system for describing the interactive nature of language during instructional discourse. The system was then used to describe instructional discourse during reading lessons where comprehension was the major goal. Recently, reading instructional research has been conducted to investigate what occurs during reading lessons. These researchers observed lessons using instruments consisting of categories of behaviors that were expected to occur. The present study contributed to this line of investigation by describing what actually occurred during reading lessons through the language of instruction. Eight reading lessons were audio-taped in two second grades and two sixth grades over a three-month period. During one lesson, a story from a basal textbook was read and/or discussed. During the other lesson, a book from the district literature program was read and/or discussed. During the basal lesson, a group of students, neither highest nor lowest in reading ability, was selected in each class. During the literature lesson, a group of students of mixed reading ability was audio-taped in three classes. In one second grade class, the same group was audio-taped for both lessons. From transcriptions of the audio-tapes, a system of analysis was developed, consisting of a pragmatic subsystem for identifying interactional functions of language and a semantic subsystem for identifying interactional functions of language and a semantic subsystem for identifying transactional functions of language. Interactional functions were described as different types of speech acts, termed instructional acts. Transactional functions were described as different types of topical relationships between utterances, termed topical moves and topical sequences. Data were analyzed quantitatively, comparatively, and qualitatively. From quantitative analyses, organization of instructional discourse across reading lessons was described. From comparative analyses, variations in organization of instructional discourse between reading lessons were described according to grade level, lesson type, and teacher. From qualitative analyses, topical development during reading lessons was described. Results indicate that reading lessons can be described by analyzing functions of language using methods of discourse analysis. Application of these methods revealed similarities and differences in the organization of discourse among lessons and discourse strategies used by teachers and students to interactively accomplish reading lessons.

This study takes an in-depth look at five children who participated in a developmental first grade program after a year in kindergarten. The characteristics of the students that led to their placement in the developmental program, the program itself, and the school progress of the students in the three years following participation in the developmental program are described. Students included in the sample were selected on the basis of their consecutive attendance in the same school for a period of five years to permit a longitudinal perspective on the schooling experiences of children perceived to be at-risk of school failure in the early years of schooling. Availability of classroom teachers for interviewing was also a consideration in sample selection. Qualitative research methods were used to develop detailed case studies on each of the five children. Interviews were conducted with the students themselves, their parent(s), classroom teachers, special area teachers, and other school personnel having contact with each student. School records, including special education records when applicable, were reviewed. In addition to document analysis and interviews, the children were observed in their third grade classrooms. The study examined the characteristics demonstrated by young children perceived to be at-risk in the traditional school setting, their teachers' perceptions of them in subsequent years, and their school progress through third grade. Several issues emerged from the data. These were discussed along with suggestions for consideration by policy makers to more effectively meet the needs of young children perceived to be at-risk of school failure. Recommendations were made for further research.

This study was designed to capture and portray a teacher's classroom knowledge as curriculum script. The task framework suggested by Doyle (1980, 1983, 1986) was combined with the descriptions of the activity organization and materials used to convey the content, to examine activities embedded within classroom events in order to determine the patterns which might suggest the content and character of the teacher's knowledge for one content area, mathematics. The teacher taught two math groups each week: a second grade, homogeneous group three days per week, and her combination second and third grade homeroom group two days each week. Data were collected over a period of six months. Daily observations were made in two phases: all day every day for the first week of school and every day during the one-hour math period for the first half of the school year. Five interviews were conducted with the teacher: one before the school year began, three during the first half of the school year, and one six weeks after the last observations were made. The data for this study were analyzed in four stages. First, task descriptions were constructed daily from the field notes that were taken during classroom observations and expanded shortly thereafter. Second, task descriptions for each unit of instruction were analyzed to generate summary statements which were used to compose letters to the teacher. Third, all task descriptions were analyzed to reveal patterns within and across the two math groups. Finally, the letters were sent to the teacher in advance of each interview, the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed, then the protocols were analyzed to reveal themes in the teacher's dialogue about her classroom knowledge. This analysis resulted in the construction of a number of propositions which were then used in conjunction with the findings from the task description analysis to present the content, functions of, and influences on the teacher's curriculum script. The curriculum script model constructed from the findings of this study seems to account for both the complexity of teachers' knowledge and the complexity of the classroom context.

Two experiments were conducted to determine which of three proposals (memory limitations, inferential reasoning deficits, or task-related interference) best accounts for gist-extraction deficits observed in children with impaired language skills (LI group) relative to age-matched children developing language normally (NL group). Sixteen children between the ages of 8;0 and 10; 11 (years;months) from each group participated in each experiment. Experiment 1 utilized a comprehension paradigm (instructions focused on meaning) to investigate children's recognition of true and false premises, paraphrases, and inferences in short passages. Experiment 2 utilized a sentence-verification paradigm (instructions focused on verbatim form) to investigate children's ability to recognize presented premises in these same passages, and differentiate them from nonpresented items. In both experiments, passages were read aloud to each child, half of the passages were accompanied by pictures, and immediate and delayed recognition testing was conducted. In Experiment 1, previously documented inference-recognition deficits were associated with the auditory-only presentation of passage information. Gistextraction deficits involving inaccurate recognition of true paraphrases and acceptance of false foils were also observed. However, when pictures accompanied passages, the LI group's overall recognition of gist improved significantly relative to the auditory-only condition, and between-group differences were eliminated. Forgetting rates did not differ significantly as a function of language group in either the picture or no-picture condition. In Experiment 2, there were no significant between-group differences in the recognition of presented premises, with both groups erroneously recognizing nonpresented true sentences more frequently than false sentences (gist intrusions). Nevertheless, the LI group was significantly less likely than the NL group to differentiate presented premises from nonpresented items. Findings from both experiments indicated that gistextraction deficits observed in LI groups were not associated with either memory limitations or deficits in inferential reasoning. Instead, in line with fuzzy-trace theory (e.g., Brainerd & Reyna, 1990), difficulties these children had in extracting meaning from linguistic input presented auditorily appeared to interfere with (i.e., degrade) the simultaneous processing of verbatim input associated with presented premises. Comparable interference effects were not observed for children developing language normally.