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Kindergarten-second grade teachers often have to navigate conflicting paradigms as they attempt to honor the developmentally appropriate practices best suited for their young learners while working within the demands of the current educational paradigm of high-stakes testing and standardization. This challenge is acutely experienced in the assessment of young children, yet little research has been done to look at how teachers in the early elementary years approach or use assessment in developmentally appropriate ways. The purpose of this study was to use a constructivist grounded theory approach to address the overarching question: How do K-2 teachers come to their conceptualizations regarding developmentally appropriate practices and strong classroom assessment practices? Thirty-five teachers were interviewed in reaching theoretical saturation. Through the constant comparative process of data generation, data analysis, and extensive memoing, the researcher generated a theory with I, They, and We phases to explain the influences on teachers. The study also revealed how teachers conceptualize assessment and the ways teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices interact with each other in regard to classroom assessment and developmentally appropriate practice. The influences of school district administration, teaching colleagues, and experience through time were some of the most considerable influences. Among its implications, the theory suggests a need for more dissemination of knowledge of best practices in early elementary education. The theory also provides a framework for future research to improve assessment decisions and inferences in early elementary classrooms.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the impact Balanced Literacy Reading Instruction had on student motivation to read and student reading competence in the elementary school of one public school district. This study analyzed extant student summative reading assessment data and extant teacher observation data. The study also administered the Self-Regulation Questionnaire-Reading Motivation to measure the reading motivation of students who had received Balanced Literacy Reading Instruction in the district from first grade through fifth grade. The study sought to determine the amount of reading time administered during reading instruction during the implementation, the current level of student reading motivation, and the longitudinal growth of student reading competence. The study used the CIPP model of program evaluation for data collection on the context, input, process, and products of implementation and student results of the Balanced Literacy Reading Instruction. The findings of the study indicate that the Balanced Literacy approach is not being implemented with fidelity based on the disparity of student reading time between teachers. Based on survey results, the current level of student motivation to read varies significantly between students and does not reflect trends in motivation research. The students have not experienced significant growth in reading competence during implementation. Recommendations for future research and continuous program improvement include providing consistent and continuous professional development on Balanced Literacy, collecting baseline data on student motivation to measure growth, and analyzing the effect of Balanced Literacy Reading Instruction on student populations more aligned to the district’s student population.

Differentiated instruction (DI) is an approach to teaching that considers the individual needs of students based on readiness levels, interest, learning styles, and learning profiles. This pragmatic, exploratory, sequential mixed-methods study investigated the conceptualizations of teachers at high-performing elementary schools within Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) regarding DI, the degree of successful implementation, and the extent to which the degree of implementation correlates with student achievement in reading. Data were collected from 29 semi-structured teacher participant interviews, two 90-minute observations of each participant's reading instruction, and a comparison of i-Ready reading achievement data over two diagnostic assessments. The participants conceptualized that Instructional Delivery and Engagement and Learning Environment were the most important domains within the M-DCPS Framework of Effective Instruction (FEI; Appendix A), which encompasses six areas in which teachers are directly responsible for the actions needed for student success, related to DI. The qualitative and quantitative observational data indicated that Knowledge of Learners, Learning Environment, and Instructional Planning practices, as contained in the FEI, were equally implemented during instruction. Correlation analysis of the frequency of implementation and i-Ready gain scores between diagnostic assessments found a significantly positive correlation of three domains: Knowledge of Learners, Learning Environment, and Instructional Delivery and Engagement. Gaining knowledge of teachers' conceptualizations and implementation of this approach at high-performing, schools can assist the schools and the district in providing training and support to teachers, which can further promote the effective use of DI in the classroom.

Differentiated instruction (DI) is an approach to teaching that considers the individual needs of students based on readiness levels, interest, learning styles, and learning profiles. This pragmatic, exploratory, sequential mixed-methods study investigated the conceptualizations of teachers at high-performing elementary schools within Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) regarding DI, the degree of successful implementation, and the extent to which the degree of implementation correlates with student achievement in reading. Data were collected from 29 semi-structured teacher participant interviews, two 90-minute observations of each participant's reading instruction, and a comparison of i-Ready reading achievement data over two diagnostic assessments. The participants conceptualized that Instructional Delivery and Engagement and Learning Environment were the most important domains within the M-DCPS Framework of Effective Instruction (FEI; Appendix A), which encompasses six areas in which teachers are directly responsible for the actions needed for student success, related to DI. The qualitative and quantitative observational data indicated that Knowledge of Learners, Learning Environment, and Instructional Planning practices, as contained in the FEI, were equally implemented during instruction. Correlation analysis of the frequency of implementation and i-Ready gain scores between diagnostic assessments found a significantly positive correlation of three domains: Knowledge of Learners, Learning Environment, and Instructional Delivery and Engagement. Gaining knowledge of teachers' conceptualizations and implementation of this approach at high-performing, schools can assist the schools and the district in providing training and support to teachers, which can further promote the effective use of DI in the classroom.

Differentiated instruction (DI) is an approach to teaching that considers the individual needs of students based on readiness levels, interest, learning styles, and learning profiles. This pragmatic, exploratory, sequential mixed-methods study investigated the conceptualizations of teachers at high-performing elementary schools within Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) regarding DI, the degree of successful implementation, and the extent to which the degree of implementation correlates with student achievement in reading. Data were collected from 29 semi-structured teacher participant interviews, two 90-minute observations of each participant's reading instruction, and a comparison of i-Ready reading achievement data over two diagnostic assessments. The participants conceptualized that Instructional Delivery and Engagement and Learning Environment were the most important domains within the M-DCPS Framework of Effective Instruction (FEI; Appendix A), which encompasses six areas in which teachers are directly responsible for the actions needed for student success, related to DI. The qualitative and quantitative observational data indicated that Knowledge of Learners, Learning Environment, and Instructional Planning practices, as contained in the FEI, were equally implemented during instruction. Correlation analysis of the frequency of implementation and i-Ready gain scores between diagnostic assessments found a significantly positive correlation of three domains: Knowledge of Learners, Learning Environment, and Instructional Delivery and Engagement. Gaining knowledge of teachers' conceptualizations and implementation of this approach at high-performing, schools can assist the schools and the district in providing training and support to teachers, which can further promote the effective use of DI in the classroom.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the impact Balanced Literacy Reading Instruction had on student motivation to read and student reading competence in the elementary school of one public school district. This study analyzed extant student summative reading assessment data and extant teacher observation data. The study also administered the Self-Regulation Questionnaire-Reading Motivation to measure the reading motivation of students who had received Balanced Literacy Reading Instruction in the district from first grade through fifth grade. The study sought to determine the amount of reading time administered during reading instruction during the implementation, the current level of student reading motivation, and the longitudinal growth of student reading competence. The study used the CIPP model of program evaluation for data collection on the context, input, process, and products of implementation and student results of the Balanced Literacy Reading Instruction. The findings of the study indicate that the Balanced Literacy approach is not being implemented with fidelity based on the disparity of student reading time between teachers. Based on survey results, the current level of student motivation to read varies significantly between students and does not reflect trends in motivation research. The students have not experienced significant growth in reading competence during implementation. Recommendations for future research and continuous program improvement include providing consistent and continuous professional development on Balanced Literacy, collecting baseline data on student motivation to measure growth, and analyzing the effect of Balanced Literacy Reading Instruction on student populations more aligned to the district's student population.

Current data point to the need for more research on writing instruction. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results showed that 73% of students in Grade 8 and Grade 12 scored basic or below on writing assessments, a trend reflected in college students’ writing. These data co-exist with research that reported teachers’ low self-efficacy with writing instruction .The most effective way to address these troubling statistics is to take a proactive approach that looks at writing instruction from its genesis—kindergarten. This post-intentional phenomenological study (Vagle, 2014) explored two aspects of kindergarten teachers’ self-perceptions of writing instruction (SPWI)—self-efficacy and outcome expectancy, constructs in Bandura’s (1997) Social Cognitive Theory. Twelve teachers from 11 schools across a suburban school district in Virginia participated in the study. The lens of Appreciative Inquiry during data gathering, analysis, and reporting engendered a valuation of teachers’ lived experiences, and the term, Appreciative Phenomenology, was used to describe this strengths-based approach to research. The benefits of this approach were evidenced in the rich, thick, and nuanced tentative manifestations of the phenomenon that emerged from the data. Specifically, kindergarten teachers’ SPWI were largely influenced by: students’ progress, kindergarten readiness, district and building supports, opportunities for professional development, and teaching across classroom instructional groupings. Relative to these findings, recommendations for national, state, and district leaders are included.

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