Thesis (M.Ed.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 26, 2007). Includes bibliographical references.

<p> The purpose of this study is to investigate the meaning of a class of second graders&rsquo; fairy tale learning experiences. This study is unique four key reasons. First, it focuses on a group of students whose school has been lagging in state English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency tests; second, it provides perspectives on how fairy tales affect the reading and writing of this group of students; third, it contributes to educational theory in terms of how to understand literacy practices by utilizing sociocultural theories; fourth, it implies that when it comes to educational policy, policy makers and educators should call for attention and efforts to tackle the problem of low ELA proficiency instead of putting students on the front line of low ELA test results and having them suffer the consequences of the outcomes. The current study employs a qualitative case study methodology supported by class observation and its fieldnotes, interviews, and materials that document second-grade students&rsquo; fairy tale learning experiences. Grounded theory was used as analytical tool. The study found that students&rsquo; fairy tale learning experiences were social practices built up in the community of fairy tale practices learning and expanded the capacities of students&rsquo; reading and writing.</p><p>

<p> ABSTRACT TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE CO-TEACHING MODEL: ANALYZING THE COOPERATING TEACHER/TEACHER CANDIDATE CO-PLANNING DIALOGUES by Jennifer Brownson The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2018 Under the Supervision of Drs. Hope Longwell-Grice and Linda Post Planning is a central component of the teaching experience in which the teacher draws on curriculum and pedagogy as well as learners and their context. Planning is also a teacher standard at both the state and national level (WI DPI Teacher Standards, InTASC, 2013). For teacher candidates (TCs), an opportunity to learn to plan occurs during the student teaching experience, and the planning session can reveal how the TC and cooperating teacher (CT) choose to meet the academic, social and emotional needs of their students (John, 2006). The power in the planning session has traditionally rested in the hands of CTs (Anderson, 2007); they make the decisions about what to teach and how to teach it, which may not provide the TC with enough opportunities to learn how to plan. </p><p> The co-teaching for student teaching model has shown promise in terms of increased agency for TC&rsquo;s when making decisions in the classroom, including opportunities to share reasons for choices of pedagogy and curriculum, and identify problems and solve them together. While in the co-teaching model for student teaching the CT and TC have been found to have more shared power, (Bacharach, Heck &amp; Dahlberg, 2010; Gallo-Fox &amp; Scantlebury, 2015), there is little research about how CTs and TCs plan for lessons in the co-teaching model, much less on how power is distributed between CTs and TCs during the co-planning session. The dilemma of the distribution of power for the CT and TC in the planning session, and how they participate in the planning session, was explored in this study. The purpose of this collective case study was to reveal and investigate the discourses CTs and TCs create in a co-planning session within the co-teaching model to explore the potential for engaging both participants to use their imaginations and create together, challenging the TC and CT to rethink and/or expand on ideas for planning; and talking about/creating/questioning/challenging each other when planning lessons that provide an equitable education for students.</p><p>

<p> Teachers represent a large portion of professional voice users in the United States and the development of poor vocal health has related to their work. Elementary music educators are expected to use their voices in both speech and song and are vocally active for much of their workday. This study investigates elementary music teachers&rsquo; conceptualization of their voices, what personal and professional value teachers place upon their voices, and how vocal health may affect, support, or detract from their careers. </p><p> In this multiple case study conducted with three participants, a questionnaire addressed background demographics for the teacher and information regarding the music program. An interview collected more in depth data on thoughts and perceptions of voice use. Teachers completed the Voice Handicap Index and Singing Voice Handicap Index and each teacher was observed for one full workday. </p><p> Vocal professionalism and caring for the voice&rsquo;s professional use vary in definition and importance from teacher to teacher. Participants seem more conscious of their physical health than other aspects of professional vocal demand. Participants described themselves as vocal professionals while also engaging in behaviors which did not consistently support sustainable vocal health or hygiene. While each teacher viewed their voice as a professional tool, none had received training in the care of their voices, in what to do if their voice was injured, or in how to use their voices safely while teaching. Each teacher reported mild to no voice handicap on both the Voice Handicap Index and the Singing Voice Handicap Index. This may reflect some degree of label avoidance. </p><p> Teachers at the elementary level of music come from diverse backgrounds and teach in widely varying circumstances. Teachers may hold some information on vocal health but may not have been trained in how to use the voice while teaching and may develop habitual practices which are not conducive to a career of healthy vocal production. Increased attention is indicated for the populations who professionally use their voices in both speech and song.</p><p>

<p> This study focuses on progress monitoring regarding CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words with three first grade students. The aim of this project is to find the most appropriate frequency of assessment in progress monitoring of first grade students who receive Tier 2 response to intervention for consonant vowel consonant words over a three-month period. Three students were chosen to participate in Response to Intervention (RTI) for literacy. These students received twenty minutes of RTI instruction four days a week. Response to Intervention is a process used by educators to help students who are struggling with a skill or lesson. These three students needed additional instruction with consonant vowel consonant (CVC) words. Each of the three students were progress monitored and assessed either twice a week, once a week, or biweekly. Data was collected on each student to show progress during the three-month period. The purpose of this study is to learn which frequency of progress monitoring is appropriate for students to gain progress over a length of time when receiving RTI instruction. </p><p>

<p> Mindfulness is a growing topic of discussion across the United States, particularly in education. There exists an array of studies on mindfulness as an intervention used in schools to promote academic achievement and social and emotional well-being. While the research has consistently supported the benefits of mindfulness, it has not addressed its implementation into the classroom (both formally and informally) as thoroughly. Specifically, it has not examined the perceptions of those teachers that are charged with implementing this intervention into their classroom. Nor does there exist research to identify possible barriers to teachers&rsquo; implementation of mindfulness into the classroom. </p><p> In order to investigate these areas, this study employed a survey to collect data from 78 elementary school teachers from a school district in the Denver metropolitan area. The survey measured teachers&rsquo; knowledge (definition, familiarity, and use) of mindfulness, as well as their perceived barriers to its implementation. Results showed that two-thirds of teachers reported that they had somewhat of an understanding of mindfulness and were informally using it in their classroom, and that a need for training is the highest barrier to teachers&rsquo; implementation. Further research on informal mindfulness training is needed to guide future implementation efforts.</p><p>

<p> Severe teacher shortages, caused by high attrition rates, have been the focus of attention for school districts and policy leaders for over two decades. Teacher attrition accounts for approximately 40 to 50% of new teachers leaving in the first 5 years of service. High teacher attrition rates in the United States impact tomorrow&rsquo;s leaders, innovators, and workers who today are struggling to succeed in math and science in a globally competitive world. By not addressing the reasons teachers leave the profession, or by not conducting further research on preservice teachers to better prepare them for the classroom, the nation will continue to be at risk. This study looks at the research on why teachers say they leave in the first 1 to 5 years of service and asks preservice teachers the extent to which they consider low salaries, working conditions that severely limit their autonomy over classroom decision-making, and the effectiveness of their teacher preparation in content areas and classroom management. Understanding whether preservice teachers considered these factors or felt they needed more effective instruction will help identify gaps in teacher education programs that may prevent new teachers from leaving the profession in the first 5 years. This study uses a semi-structured interview process to attain the unique stories of preservice teachers and to assess their consideration of the issues that have been shown to make teachers leave the teaching profession. A combination of criterion and snowball sampling techniques were used to select a group of 12 preservice elementary education teachers. The qualitative design uses a phenomenological approach to find the main themes of the preservice teachers&rsquo; stories. </p><p> The study revealed that preservice teachers do not consider low salaries, working conditions that severely limit their autonomy over classroom decision-making, and the effectiveness of their teacher preparation in content areas and classroom management prior to becoming a teacher. Although the preservice teachers in this study did not consider these factors, each expressed concern about working conditions during their clinical experience and the quality of their teacher preparation programs. The stories of these preservice teachers and the recommendations for future studies will help guide the transformation of teacher education programs and the teaching profession to lower attrition rates in K-12 schools around the country.</p><p>

<p> The aim of this study is to determine if students in special education receive a benefit to their self-esteem by learning about the concept of growth mindset. Many times, students in special education find that their deficits become the focus of their educational experience. I hope to show that teaching children the idea of growth mindset, the belief that an individual can improve his or her abilities, will provide a positive boost in school performance. Data will be collected via surveys both before and after a series of growth mindset videos are shown to students that are currently receiving special education services. Each potential subject will have a letter sent home to parents explaining the study and asking for consent to have their child participate. Students will remain anonymous with pseudonyms assigned to participants for any notes, and a different teacher assigning all students a number for the surveys.</p><p>

<p> This study examined the contribution of adult directed lessons to student social engagement as part of a multicomponent procedure of adult directed lessons and child specific prompting with peer support delivered to four elementary-aged students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Prior to intervention, each participant exhibited deficits in social engagement compared to same-age peers. The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase One, assessment, interviews, rating scales, and observations were conducted to determine the social skills deficits of each student. During Phase Two, intervention, a individualized intervention plan was implemented using adult directed lessons and child specific prompting with peer support. Using a combined ABC and reversal (A-B-BC-B-BC), a functional relation between the full intervention and immediate increase in social engagement was demonstrated. When the intervention procedures returned to adult directed individualized social skills lessons <i>only</i>, a rapid decrease in social engagement occurred. Reinstatement of the full intervention procedure resulted in high levels of social engagement. Generalization across peers was evident and maintenance data indicated high levels of social engagement for three out of the four participants. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are presented.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this mixed-methods research design was to determine which method was the more effective keyboarding instruction&mdash;traditional, teacher-driven instruction or software-based instruction&mdash;for third-grade general education students and students with an IEP. Also examined were the perceptions of classroom teachers as to how they used technology in their classrooms and if they felt the keyboarding coursework was beneficial to their students. Participants in this study consisted of 427 third-grade students from two elementary schools and 16 third-grade teachers from the same schools located within the St. Louis Metropolitan area of Southern Illinois. This study included a quantitative portion constructed of two-groups of third-grade students. These two groups were then additionally divided into two additional student groups&mdash;general education students and students with an IEP. Timed-writing typing tests were given as pre and posttests and measured speed and accuracy scores of the two methods of instruction. From observation of the means, initial results indicated an increase in speed and accuracy scores for both methods. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed for each of the dependent variables to measure the statistical significance and address the research questions. Software-based instruction was recommended for both education groups. The qualitative portion included open-ended interviews with the classroom teachers. Overall, teachers were positive about technology implementation in their classroom, even though their comfort levels varied. However, teachers indicated that professional development was needed, and more access to technology for students was necessary. Teachers perceived that the keyboarding instruction did help on the online state assessment. Additional research is needed to examine the impact of keyboarding instruction and the effect it may have on computer-based standardized tests.</p><p>