This case study investigated the ways in which its participants drew from available language and literacy practices as they constructed identities in various contexts. Data was gathered using ethnographic methods, including field notes, interviews, artifact collection, and video data. Observations took place within a fifth grade classroom and select focal participants were interviewed and collected video data on their own outside of school. The study was framed through theories of context-dependent identities, built from the semiotic resources available to people based on context and positionality. Findings suggest the participants engaged in multimodal, heteroglossic composing practices outside of school, while inside of school their composing practices were defined by accountability measures imposed on them from outside the classroom. Findings also showed how the classroom community was discursively built and maintained, at times functioning as a homogenizing force even though the discourses defining the community were those of acceptance and diversity. Participants cultivated what they viewed were acceptable identities within the classroom through the language and literacy norms and practices therein. The study suggests implications for educators in how language and literacy practices shape acceptable identities and the spaces for them, and for how the construct of community is understood and intended in classrooms versus how it functions in practice. / text

This report highlights and explores research surrounding a variety of interventions used in the elementary and secondary mathematics classroom for English Language Learners. Topics discussed include ways to motivate English Language Learners, the use of successful teaching strategies, allowing the use of code-switching, and the use of one-on-one tutoring. Though some interventions used in the research are utilized in the elementary mathematics classroom, they are also widely used in secondary mathematics classrooms. A short discussion regarding the use of such interventions in the secondary mathematics classroom is also included. / text

published_or_final_version / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

In an increasingly global world, there is a growing demand for pronunciation instruction. A focus on intelligibility as the goal in pronunciation instruction has risen to the forefront of the literature. Suprasegmentals are a practical goal for instruction since they have been shown to have a greater impact on overall intelligibility, but many language curricula do not allocate time or resources to pronunciation instruction at all, making it difficult for teachers to incorporate much needed suprasegmental learning in language classrooms. This Report suggests a practical way to incorporate suprasegmental learning in a mixed language background classroom: a project that incorporates a Web 2.0 tool, VoiceThread, and Covert Rehearsal Model strategy use. / text

Research in the field of applied behavior analysis indicates that all group-contingency programs have been effective in both increasing academic and behavior success in the classroom environment. Among the three types of group-contingency programs, this study investigated the effects of a multiple component interdependent group-oriented contingency program on the behavior of typically developing elementary students. The purpose of this study was to develop and analyze the effects of a classroom management system that teachers or educators could utilize to minimize problematic classroom behaviors while increasing adaptive classroom behaviors. The study was conducted within two third-grade classrooms from a local school which accommodates low socio-economic status and high risk students. This intervention included the use of visuals, positive teacher praise, a reinforcement lottery system, a criterion level lottery system, a token economy reinforcement system, and positively stated expectations. A multiple baseline design was used to analyze the effects over multiple classrooms and with multiple target students within each classroom setting. Results indicate that the intervention had a positive effect on behaviors for both the classrooms and five of the target students.

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This research study, undertaken in an all girls‘ secondary school in London, brings to light different approaches by which a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) may be adopted in order to support the development of students‘ Emotional Intelligence. It examined the views and experiences of 35 teachers (10 of whom were key informants); 5 teaching assistants; 150 students and 2 VLE Content Developers. Drawing upon data obtained from questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions, findings of the study indicate that the strategic adoption of VLE tools for use in discussion forums, homework support and feedback, amongst others, can help in boosting secondary school students‘ self-confidence, self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy and motivation to use VLE resources. Furthermore, the argument is made, that developing students‘ Emotional Intelligence through the use of online learning tools can lead to the attainment of emotionally intelligent face-to-face classroom environments and hence positive learning outcomes. Based on a process of inductive reasoning, a framework for supporting teachers in developing their students‘ Emotional Intelligence through VLEs is subsequently proposed and its enablers as well as inhibitors discussed. Finally, whilst emphasising that the use of VLEs to promote Emotional Intelligence is eminently generalisable, the limitations of case study research studies such as this one are acknowledged. Hence, it is recommended that future research in this area is undertaken in different contexts so that a more holistic picture is obtained.

The relationship between students’ physical activity (PA) and on-task behavior in the classroom setting was examined. Given that students spend nearly half of their waking hours in school, researchers have suggested that the school environment could play a crucial role in increasing children’s PA. Physical activity of 157 first- and second-grade students was assessed using ActiGraph (GT1M) accelerometers during school hours. Momentary time sampling (MTS) tracked the on-task behaviors of 72 of the 157 participants every 30 seconds. Multiple linear regressions and paired sample t tests were run to measure students’ classroom PA steps, PA intensity levels in the classroom, and on-task behaviors. Results indicated weak, yet significant, inverse correlations between students’ PA steps, PA intensity levels, and on-task behaviors (R =.40, R2 = .16, p = .01). On-task behaviors and steps taken in the classroom before recess indicate a significant inverse relationship (R = -.18, R2 = .03), indicating the pre-recess classroom steps account for 3% of the variance in on-task behavior. Steps taken in the classroom indicate a significant inverse relationship (R = -.20, R2 = .04) with on-task behavior. The results from the linear regression analysis after recess indicate that the post-recess steps can account for approximately 4% of the variance of the on-task behavior. These overall results suggest that greater PA levels in the classroom setting were associated with less on-task behavior. Results from the t test indicate a significant (t(143) = -4.32, p < .001) increase in on-task behavior (3%) after recess. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that 84% of the variance in on-task behavior is accounted for by non-PA suggesting that other variables may affect students’ on-task behaviors in the classroom setting.

This study sought increase student understanding of nutrition with the use of technology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using technology, in the form of the legacy cycle, on student understanding of nutrition, with a particular interest in at risk students. Ninth grade students participated in either a legacy cycle lesson or a traditional classroom instruction that taught facts about genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) and the controversy that surrounds GMOs integration into the diet of the world. Analysis of pretest, posttest, and one-week retention test scores showed that there was no significant difference between the two teaching methods, although both were effective at teaching the concepts. This study showed that the legacy cycle could be incorporated in the academic classroom without detriment to student learning. / text