The Effects of DI Flashcards and Math Racetrack on Multiplication Facts for Two Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lund, Kaitlyn; McLaughlin, T. F.; Neyman, Jen; Everson, Mary

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a Direct Instruction (DI) flashcard system paired with a math racetrack to teach basic multiplication facts to two elementary students diagnosed with learning disabilities. The study was conducted in a resource room which served intermediate aged elementary students. The school was located…

Benefits of Service-Learning for Freshmen College Students and Elementary School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eppler, Marion A.; Ironsmith, Marsha; Dingle, Stephanie H.; Errickson, Marissa A.

2011-01-01

Freshman honors students in a service-learning course tutored low-income English Language Learning kindergartners, first-, and second-graders in reading. We conducted two separate data collections, one assessing college students' attitudes and motives (Study 1) and one exploring the benefits for elementary school children (Study 2). We measured…

Elementary School Students' Strategic Learning: Does Task-Type Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malmberg, Jonna; Järvelä, Sanna; Kirschner, Paul A.

2014-01-01

This study investigated what types of learning patterns and strategies elementary school students use to carry out ill- and well-structured tasks. Specifically, it was investigated which and when learning patterns actually emerge with respect to students' task solutions. The present study uses computer log file traces to investigate how…

Preservice Elementary Teachers and Explanation Construction: Knowledge-"for"-Practice and Knowledge-"in"-Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zangori, Laura; Forbes, Cory T.

2013-01-01

Effectively designed science learning environments revolve around students' sensemaking through the use of evidence to ground explanations about natural phenomena. However, little research has been conducted to investigate elementary teachers' learning to promote students' sensemaking in elementary (K-5) classrooms. The purpose of this…

Examining the Effects of Integrated Science, Engineering, and Nonfiction Literature on Student Learning in Elementary Classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tank, Kristina Maruyama

In 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.

Learning from the True Customers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaster, Gregory

2012-01-01

Madison Elementary School, a K-6 school of 335 students in Marshfield, Wisconsin, recognizes the value of student feedback and strives to learn more through monthly student meetings, whole-class sit-downs, and student exit interviews. As the principal of Madison Elementary School, the author meets with a group of students for half an hour during…

Science Alive!: Connecting with Elementary Students through Science Exploration.

PubMed

Raja, Aarti; Lavin, Emily Schmitt; Gali, Tamara; Donovan, Kaitlin

2016-05-01

A novel program called Science Alive! was developed by undergraduate faculty members, K-12 school teachers, and undergraduate students to enrich science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) literacy at community schools located near the university. The ultimate goal of the program is to bolster the scientific knowledge and appreciation of local area students and community members and serve as a model for similar programs. Through the program, we observed that elementary school students made gains toward learning their grade-level science curricula after a hands-on learning experience and had fun doing these hands-on activities. Through the program, undergraduate students, working with graduate students and alumni, build scientific learning modules using explanatory handouts and creative activities as classroom exercises. This helps better integrate scientific education through a collaborative, hands-on learning program. Results showed that elementary school students made the highest learning gains in their performance on higher-level questions related to both forces and matter as a result of the hands-on learning modules. Additionally, college students enjoyed the hands-on activities, would consider volunteering their time at such future events, and saw the service learning program as a benefit to their professional development through community building and discipline-specific service. The science modules were developed according to grade-level curricular standards and can be used year after year to teach or explain a scientific topic to elementary school students via a hands-on learning approach.

Promoting Prospective Elementary Teachers' Learning to Use Formative Assessment for Life Science Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sabel, Jaime L.; Forbes, Cory T.; Zangori, Laura

2015-01-01

To support elementary students' learning of core, standards-based life science concepts highlighted in the "Next Generation Science Standards," prospective elementary teachers should develop an understanding of life science concepts and learn to apply their content knowledge in instructional practice to craft elementary science learning…

Integrating Book, Digital Content and Robot for Enhancing Elementary School Students' Learning of English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Nian-Shing; Quadir, Benazir; Teng, Daniel C.

2011-01-01

Early school years are an important period to lay out the foundation for learning a second language. In addition to mastering the basic language skills and keeping the learning process fun, promoting a lifelong learning habit should also be emphasised. Motivating elementary school students to learn English and avoiding misconceptions associated…

The Integration of Creative Drama in an Inquiry-Based Elementary Program: The Effect on Student Attitude and Conceptual Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendrix, Rebecca; Eick, Charles; Shannon, David

2012-11-01

Creative drama activities designed to help children learn difficult science concepts were integrated into an inquiry-based elementary science program. Children (n = 38) in an upper elementary enrichment program at one primary school were the participants in this action research. The teacher-researcher taught students the Full Option Science System™ (FOSS) modules of sound (fourth grade) and solar energy (fifth grade) with the integration of creative drama activities in treatment classes. A 2 × 2 × (2) Mixed ANOVA was used to examine differences in the learning outcomes and attitudes toward science between groups (drama and non-drama) and grade levels (4th and 5th grades) over time (pre/post). Learning was measured using the tests included with the FOSS modules. A shortened version of the Three Dimension Elementary Science Attitude Survey measured attitudes toward science. Students in the drama treatment group had significantly higher learning gains ( F = 160.2, p < 0.001) than students in the non-drama control group with students in grade four reporting significantly greater learning outcomes ( F = 14.3, p < 0.001) than grade five. There was a significantly statistical decrease in student attitudes toward science ( F = 7.5, p < 0.01), though a small change. Creative drama was an effective strategy to increase science conceptual learning in this group of diverse elementary enrichment students when used as an active extension to the pre-existing inquiry-based science curriculum.

The Effect of Teaching Methods and Learning Styles on Capabilities of Writing Essays on Elementary School's Students in East Jakarta

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wuryani; Yufiarti

2017-01-01

The objective of this research was to discover the effect of teaching methods and learning styles on the student's ability to write essays. This study was conducted in elementary school in East Jakarta. The population of this studies was 3rd-grade elementary school students who study in East Jakarta. Samples were taken with stratified cluster…

Promoting Prospective Elementary Teachers' Learning to Use Formative Assessment for Life Science Instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabel, Jaime L.; Forbes, Cory T.; Zangori, Laura

2015-06-01

To support elementary students' learning of core, standards-based life science concepts highlighted in the Next Generation Science Standards, prospective elementary teachers should develop an understanding of life science concepts and learn to apply their content knowledge in instructional practice to craft elementary science learning environments grounded in students' thinking. To do so, teachers must learn to use high-leverage instructional practices, such as formative assessment, to engage students in scientific practices and connect instruction to students' ideas. However, teachers may not understand formative assessment or possess sufficient science content knowledge to effectively engage in related instructional practices. To address these needs, we developed and conducted research within an innovative course for preservice elementary teachers built upon two pillars—life science concepts and formative assessment. An embedded mixed methods study was used to evaluate the effect of the intervention on preservice teachers' (n = 49) content knowledge and ability to engage in formative assessment practices for science. Findings showed that increased life content knowledge over the semester helped preservice teachers engage more productively in anticipating and evaluating students' ideas, but not in identifying effective instructional strategies to respond to those ideas.

Manipulative Use and Elementary School Students' Mathematics Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uribe-Flórez, Lida J.; Wilkins, Jesse L. M.

2017-01-01

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) 1998/1999, we examine the relationship between elementary students' (K-5) manipulative use and mathematics learning. Using a cross-sectional correlational analysis, we found no relationship between manipulative use and student mathematics "achievement". However, using a…

Effects of the Digital Game-Development Approach on Elementary School Students' Learning Motivation, Problem Solving, and Learning Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chu, Hui-Chun; Hung, Chun-Ming

2015-01-01

In this study, the game-based development approach is proposed for improving the learning motivation, problem solving skills, and learning achievement of students. An experiment was conducted on a learning activity of an elementary school science course to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. A total of 59 sixth graders from two…

Fostering Third-Grade Students' Use of Scientific Models with the Water Cycle: Elementary Teachers' Conceptions and Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vo, Tina; Forbes, Cory T.; Zangori, Laura; Schwarz, Christina V.

2015-01-01

Elementary teachers play a crucial role in supporting and scaffolding students' model-based reasoning about natural phenomena, particularly complex systems such as the water cycle. However, little research exists to inform efforts in supporting elementary teachers' learning to foster model-centered, science learning environments. To address this…

A Survey of Modes of Student Response Indicative of Musical Learning in Elementary Instrumental Music.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Molly A.

This master's thesis reports on a study of the frequency and modes of student responses that demonstrate musical learning in the elementary instrumental music class. Some advances must be made toward more definitive evaluation practices in elementary school instrumental music if instrumental programs are to be justified in terms of improved…

Elementary Teacher Assessments of Principal Servant Leadership, Their Experience with Team Learning and Student Academic Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zahn, Brian

2011-01-01

This study compared teacher assessments of principal servant leadership and their experience with team learning in high, moderate, and low student academic achieving elementary schools. The participants were from fifteen moderate need elementary schools located in southern New York State counties. One hundred sixty two teachers responded to a 36…

Science Alive!: Connecting with Elementary Students through Science Exploration†

PubMed Central

Raja, Aarti; Lavin, Emily Schmitt; Gali, Tamara; Donovan, Kaitlin

2016-01-01

A novel program called Science Alive! was developed by undergraduate faculty members, K–12 school teachers, and undergraduate students to enrich science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) literacy at community schools located near the university. The ultimate goal of the program is to bolster the scientific knowledge and appreciation of local area students and community members and serve as a model for similar programs. Through the program, we observed that elementary school students made gains toward learning their grade-level science curricula after a hands-on learning experience and had fun doing these hands-on activities. Through the program, undergraduate students, working with graduate students and alumni, build scientific learning modules using explanatory handouts and creative activities as classroom exercises. This helps better integrate scientific education through a collaborative, hands-on learning program. Results showed that elementary school students made the highest learning gains in their performance on higher-level questions related to both forces and matter as a result of the hands-on learning modules. Additionally, college students enjoyed the hands-on activities, would consider volunteering their time at such future events, and saw the service learning program as a benefit to their professional development through community building and discipline-specific service. The science modules were developed according to grade-level curricular standards and can be used year after year to teach or explain a scientific topic to elementary school students via a hands-on learning approach. PMID:27158309

Integrating Inquiry-Based Science and Education Methods Courses in a "Science Semester" for Future Elementary Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madsen, J.; Fifield, S.; Allen, D.; Brickhouse, N.; Dagher, Z.; Ford, D.; Shipman, H.

2001-05-01

In this NSF-funded project we will adapt problem-based learning (PBL) and other inquiry-based approaches to create an integrated science and education methods curriculum ("science semester") for elementary teacher education majors. Our goal is to foster integrated understandings of science and pedagogy that future elementary teachers need to effectively use inquiry-based approaches in their classrooms. This project responds to calls to improve science education for all students by making preservice teachers' experiences in undergraduate science courses more consistent with reforms at the K-12 level. The involved faculty teach three science courses (biology, earth science, physical science) and an elementary science education methods course that are degree requirements for elementary teacher education majors. Presently, students take the courses in variable sequences and at widely scattered times. Too many students fail to appreciate the value of science courses to their future careers as teachers, and when they reach the methods course in the junior year they often retain little of the science content studied earlier. These episodic encounters with science make it difficult for students to learn the content, and to translate their understandings of science into effective, inquiry-based teaching strategies. To encourage integrated understandings of science concepts and pedagogy we will coordinate the science and methods courses in a junior-year science semester. Traditional subject matter boundaries will be crossed to stress shared themes that teachers must understand to teach standards-based elementary science. We will adapt exemplary approaches that support both learning science and learning how to teach science. Students will work collaboratively on multidisciplinary PBL activities that place science concepts in authentic contexts and build learning skills. "Lecture" meetings will be large group active learning sessions that help students understand difficult concepts, make connections between class activities, and launch and wrap-up PBL problems. Labs will include activities from elementary science kits as launching points for in-depth investigations that demonstrate the continuity of science concepts and pedagogies across age levels. In the methods course, students will critically explore the theory and practice of elementary science teaching, drawing on their shared experiences of inquiry learning in the science courses. Field placements in elementary classrooms will allow students to ground their studies of science and pedagogy in actual practice.

eWorkbooks for Mathematics: Mapping the Independent Learning Experiences of Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaczorowski, Tara; Raimondi, Sharon

2014-01-01

In this paper, we describe a small case study exploring how four elementary students with mathematics learning disabilities utilized mobile technology (the eWorkbook) during core math instruction in a general education setting. The lead author designed the eWorkbook intervention to provide a flexible learning experience optimized for diverse…

Creating Digital Authors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zoch, Melody; Langston-DeMott, Brooke; Adams-Budde, Melissa

2014-01-01

Elementary students find themselves engaged and learning at a digital writing camp. The authors find that such elementary students usually have limited access to technology at home and school, and posit that teachers should do all they can to give them more access to and experience in digital composing. Students were motivated and learned to use…

The Classroom Learning Environment as Perceived by Students in Arab Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khalil, Mahmood; Saar, Vered

2009-01-01

In this study, students' perceptions of the classroom learning environment in Arab elementary schools were investigated. The sample included 261 students from Grades 5 and 6. The questionnaire was developed at an Arab college of teacher education by 16 fourth-year student teachers who were completing their studies toward a BEd degree. Articles on…

Learning Progression of Ecological System Reasoning for Lower Elementary (G1-4) Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hokayem, Hayat Al

2012-01-01

In this study, I utilized a learning progression framework to investigate lower elementary students (G1-4) systemic reasoning in ecology and I related students reasoning to their sources of knowledge. I used semi-structured interviews with 44 students from first through fourth grade, four teachers, and eight parents. The results revealed that a…

Enhancement of Elementary School Students' Science Learning by Web-Quest Supported Science Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Min-Hsiung, Chuang; Jeng-Fung, Hung; Quo-Cheng, Sung

2011-01-01

This study aimed to probe into the influence of implementing Web-quest supported science writing instruction on students' science learning and science writing. The subjects were 34 students in one class of grade six in an elementary school in Taiwan. The students participated in the instruction, which lasted for eight weeks. Data collection…

Korean Elementary School Students' English Learning Demotivation: A Comparative Survey Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Tae-Young

2011-01-01

This study explores Korean elementary school students' decreased motivation for English learning by analyzing the questionnaire data obtained from 6,301 students in a large city in South Korea. The students' school grades and their prior experience in private institutes were considered as the major factors behind the decrease in their motivation.…

Student Perceptions of the Transition from Elementary to Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akos, Patrick

2002-01-01

This study sought to learn more about student perceptions during the transition from elementary to middle school. In response to students' concerns, it is suggested that school counselors implement preventive or proactive programming to assist students with the elementary to middle school transition. (Contains 22 references.) (GCP)

Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers. Practice Guide Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2017

2017-01-01

An early foundation in writing offers students a valuable tool for learning, communication, and self-expression. Authored by a panel of experts, the "Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers" practice guide presents four recommendations educators can use to help elementary students strengthen their writing skills. The…

The Effects of Problem-Based Learning with Flipped Classroom on Elementary Students' Computing Skills: A Case Study of the Production of Ebooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Chia-Wen; Shen, Pei-Di; Lu, Yu-Jui

2015-01-01

This study investigated, via quasi-experiments, the effects of problem-based learning with flipped classroom (FPBL) on the development of students' learning performance. In this study, 144 elementary school students were selected from sixth-grade sections taking a course titled "Production of Ebook," and were assigned into the following…

A Proposed System for Differentiating Elementary Mathematics for Exceptionally Able Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sirr, Palma M.

1984-01-01

A pilot mathematics project for one exceptionally able elementary student expanded to include other students and schools. Project activities included a needs assessment and development of a learning center approach and materials to differentiate the core elementary mathematics curriculum. (CL)

Effect of Principals' Communication on Female Elementary School Teachers' Perception of Morale and Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helmer, Brad C.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this research was to determine if a direct relationship between the ways in which a principal communicates information to his or her classroom teachers and the classroom teachers' perception of the campus' morale and students' learning exists. The sample included 124 female elementary school teachers of 13 elementary schools in a…

The Integration of Creative Drama in an Inquiry-Based Elementary Program: The Effect on Student Attitude and Conceptual Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hendrix, Rebecca; Eick, Charles; Shannon, David

2012-01-01

Creative drama activities designed to help children learn difficult science concepts were integrated into an inquiry-based elementary science program. Children (n = 38) in an upper elementary enrichment program at one primary school were the participants in this action research. The teacher-researcher taught students the Full Option Science…

Roles of Teachers in Orchestrating Learning in Elementary Science Classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhai, Junqing; Tan, Aik-Ling

2015-12-01

This study delves into the different roles that elementary science teachers play in the classroom to orchestrate science learning opportunities for students. Examining the classroom practices of three elementary science teachers in Singapore, we found that teachers shuttle between four key roles in enabling student learning in science. Teachers can play the role of (1) dispenser of knowledge (giver), (2) mentor of learning (advisor), (3) monitor of students' activities (police), and (4) partner in inquiry (colearner). These roles are dynamic, and while teachers show a preference for one of the four roles, factors such as the nature of the task, the types of students, as well as the availability of time and resources affect the role that teachers adopt. The roles that teachers play in the classroom have implications for the practice of science as inquiry in the classroom as well as the identities that teachers and students form in the science learning process.

A Synthesis of Research on Informational Text Reading Interventions for Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciullo, Stephen; Lo, Yu-Ling Sabrina; Wanzek, Jeanne; Reed, Deborah K.

2016-01-01

This research synthesis was conducted to understand the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve learning from informational text for students with learning disabilities in elementary school (K-5). The authors identified 18 studies through a comprehensive search. The interventions were evaluated to determine treatment effects and to…

A Study on Learning Effect among Different Learning Styles in a Web-Based Lab of Science for Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Koun-tem; Lin, Yuan-cheng; Yu, Chia-jui

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore the learning effect related to different learning styles in a Web-based virtual science laboratory for elementary school students. The online virtual lab allows teachers to integrate information and communication technology (ICT) into science lessons. The results of this experimental teaching method…

Differentiation of Instruction in the Elementary Grades. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomlinson, Carol Ann

In most elementary classrooms, some students struggle with learning, others perform well beyond grade-level expectations, and the rest fit somewhere in between. Within each of these categories of students, individuals also learn in a variety of ways and have different interests. To meet the needs of a diverse student population, many teachers…

Elementary Teachers' Use of Formative Assessment to Support Students' Learning about Interactions between the Hydrosphere and Geosphere

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forbes, Cory T.; Sabel, Jaime L.; Biggers, Mandy

2015-01-01

Students' thinking should serve as the foundation of effective science curriculum and instruction. To promote science learning, particularly in the geosciences, teachers must attend to students' existing ideas about natural phenomena through the use of ''high-leverage'' instructional practices such as formative assessment. Elementary teachers need…

Investigating Effects of Embedding Collaboration in an Intelligent Tutoring System for Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olsen, Jennifer K.; Rummel, Nikol; Aleven, Vincent

2016-01-01

Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) are beneficial for individual students learning in several domains, including mathematics where they have been used to support both secondary and elementary students. Collaborative learning may be beneficial to include in ITSs, particularly for conceptual knowledge. There is little work on collaborative ITSs,…

Inference Instruction to Support Reading Comprehension for Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Colby; Barnes, Marcia A.

2017-01-01

Making inferences during reading is a critical standards-based skill and is important for reading comprehension. This article supports the improvement of reading comprehension for students with learning disabilities (LD) in upper elementary grades by reviewing what is currently known about inference instruction for students with LD and providing…

The Relationship between Student Self-Regulation Strategies and Increased Student Achievement: A Study on How the Explicit Integration of Self-Regulation Strategies Impacts Student Reading Achievement in the Elementary Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egan, Patti A.

2017-01-01

Student ownership in learning is a topic that has become quite prevalent in recent years. While emphasis has grown on the importance of active student involvement in learning, integration of student self-regulation strategies is often absent in elementary classrooms. A paradigm shift that encourages active involvement of students in the learning…

The Challenges and Success of Implementing Climate Studies Lessons for Pre-Professional Teachers at a Small Historically Black College to Engage Student Teaching of Science Pedagogy and Content Skill Based Learning.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, J.; Wider-Lewis, F.; Miller-Jenkins, A.

2017-12-01

This poster is a description of the challenges and success of implementing climate studies lessons for pre-service teachers to engage student teaching pedagogy and content skill based learning. Edward Waters College is a historical black college with an elementary education teacher program focused on urban elementary school teaching and learning. Pre-Service Elementary Educator Students often have difficulty with science and mathematics content and pedagogy. This poster will highlight the barriers and successes of using climate studies lessons to develop and enhance pre-service teachers' knowledge of elementary science principles particularly related to climate studies, physical and earth space science.

Linking Student Achievement Growth to Professional Development Participation and Changes in Instruction: A Longitudinal Study of Elementary Students and Teachers in Title I Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Desimone, Laura; Smith, Thomas M.; Phillips, Kristie J. R.

2013-01-01

Background/Context: Most reforms in elementary education rely on teacher learning and improved instruction to increase student learning. This study increases our understanding of which types of professional development effectively change teaching practice in ways that boost student achievement. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study:…

The Effects of Parental Use of Learning-Style Preference Strategies on Parent and Student Attitudes toward Homework Assistance and Student Academic Self-Perception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ewings, Stacy

2012-01-01

This study examined parent attitudes when assisting with elementary school students' homework, comparing parents who used learning-style preference strategies with parents who used traditional homework strategies. The study also examined the attitudes toward homework and the academic self-perception of elementary students. Teachers often expect…

Defining a Technology Research Agenda for Elementary and Secondary Students with Learning and Other High-Incidence Disabilities in Inclusive Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marino, Matthew T.

2010-01-01

Increased numbers of elementary and secondary students with learning and other disabilities are participating in inclusive science classrooms. Unfortunately, many of these students struggle to achieve at a level commensurate with their peers. As a result, few students with disabilities pursue advanced scientific coursework or enter science,…

Gifted Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luehning, Barbara

1979-01-01

Describes programs for the gifted: visual and performing arts for secondary students, enrichment for rural elementary students, and a learning center elementary enrichment program. NOTE: includes "INTERARTS: The High School Program for the Talented in the Arts" by Barbara Luehning, "Spice" by Jane V. Salisbury, and "Learning Center Enrichment…

Approximations of Practice in the Preparation of Prospective Elementary Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Michele M.

2011-01-01

Elementary teacher education involves learning to teach science. Even in elementary school, teaching science is demanding work--teachers must orchestrate a complex set of teaching practices to support students' science learning. This dissertation examines the application of Grossman and colleagues' (2009) cross-professional learning framework,…

The Role of Struggle in Pre-Service Elementary Teachers' Experiences as Students and Approaches to Facilitating Science Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Rachel E.; Kittleson, Julie M.

2012-01-01

Science education researchers are concerned with preparing pre-service elementary teachers (PSETs) to teach in ways that support students to learn science in a meaningful way. Preparing elementary teachers to teach science is complicated given that they tend to be generalists and may not have the same experience with science as secondary teachers.…

The relation between Assessment for Learning and elementary students' cognitive and metacognitive strategy use.

PubMed

Baas, Diana; Castelijns, Jos; Vermeulen, Marjan; Martens, Rob; Segers, Mien

2015-03-01

Assessment for Learning (AfL) is believed to create a rich learning environment in which students develop their cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Monitoring student growth and providing scaffolds that shed light on the next step in the learning process are hypothesized to be essential elements of AfL that enhance cognitive and metacognitive strategies. However, empirical evidence for the relation between AfL and students' strategy use is scarce. This study investigates the relation between AfL and elementary school students' use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. The sample comprised 528 grade four to six students (9- to 12-year-olds) from seven Dutch elementary schools. Students' perceptions of AfL and their cognitive and metacognitive strategy use were measured by means of questionnaires. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the relations among the variables. The results reveal that monitoring activities that provide students an understanding of where they are in their learning process predict Students' task orientation and planning. Scaffolding activities that support students in taking the next step in their learning are positively related to the use of both surface and deep-level learning strategies and the extent to which they evaluate their learning process after performing tasks. The results underline the importance of assessment practices in ceding responsibility to students in taking control of their own learning. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

An elective course to engage student pharmacists in elementary school science education.

PubMed

Woodard, Lisa J; Wilson, Judith S; Blankenship, James; Quock, Raymond M; Lindsey, Marti; Kinsler, Janni J

2011-12-15

To develop and assess the impact of an elective course (HealthWISE) on student pharmacists' skills in communication and health promotion and elementary school students' knowledge of and attitudes toward science. Three colleges and schools of pharmacy collaborated to develop a 1-credit elective course that used online and classroom teaching and learning techniques to prepare student pharmacists to teach science in elementary school classrooms. Student pharmacists delivered 6 science lessons to elementary students over the course of 2 months. In weekly journal reflections and a final paper, student pharmacists reported improved communication and health promotion skills. Elementary teachers reported they were satisfied with student pharmacists' performance in the classroom. On pretest and posttest evaluations, elementary students demonstrated increased science knowledge and enhanced enthusiasm for science following the lessons taught by student pharmacists. The HealthWISE elective course provided positive benefit for student pharmacists, elementary school teachers, and elementary students.

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Adaptation of Science Curriculum Materials for Inquiry-Based Elementary Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forbes, Cory T.

2011-01-01

Curriculum materials are important resources with which teachers make pedagogical decisions about the design of science learning environments. To become well-started beginning elementary teachers capable of engaging their students in inquiry-based science, preservice elementary teachers need to learn to use science curriculum materials…

Elementary School-Wide Implementation of a Blended Learning Program for Reading Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prescott, Jen Elise; Bundschuh, Kristine; Kazakoff, Elizabeth R.; Macaruso, Paul

2018-01-01

The authors examined the implementation of a blended learning program for literacy instruction across kindergarten through Grade 5 in a Title I urban elementary school, including a population of students (18%) who are English learners. Student progress in the online component of the blended learning program was a significant predictor of growth in…

Inquire Learning Effects to Elementary School Students' Nanotechnology Instructions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Yueh-Yun; Lu, Chow-Chin; Sung, Chia-Chi

2012-01-01

Nanotechnology is an emerging science that involved in different fields. This research inquired elementary school students' learning effect by using quasi-experiment, expositive-teaching and experiential-teaching methods for nanotechnology in the microcosmic world. By utilized the pretest "Nanotechnology Situational Questionnaire (NSQ)",…

Cross-Grade Analysis of Chinese Students' English Learning Motivation: A Mixed-Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Qian-Mei; Kim, Tae-Young

2013-01-01

This mixed-methods study investigated the changes in Chinese students' motivation to learn English from elementary to high school and explored the reasons for these changes at different school levels. A motivational questionnaire was designed and administered to 3,777 elementary, junior high, and high school students, and follow-up interviews were…

Increasing Motivation and Engagement in Elementary and Middle School Students through Technology-Supported Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Godzicki, Linda; Godzicki, Nicole; Krofel, Mary; Michaels, Rachel

2013-01-01

This action research project report was conducted in order to increase motivation and engagement in elementary and middle school students through technology-supported learning environments. The study was conducted from August 27, 2012, through December 14, 2012 with 116 participating students in first-, fourth-, fifth- and eighth-grade classes. To…

Students' development of astronomy concepts across time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plummer, Julia Diane

2006-02-01

The National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) recommend that students understand the apparent patterns of motion of the sun, moon and stars visible by the end of early elementary school. However, little information exists on students' knowledge of apparent celestial motion or instruction in this area. The goals of this dissertation were to describe children's knowledge of apparent celestial motion across elementary and middle school, explore early elementary students' ability to learn these topics through planetarium instruction, and begin the development of a learning progression for these concepts, First, third, and eighth grade students (N=60) were interviewed using a planetarium-like setting that allowed the students to demonstrate their ideas both verbally and with their own motions on an artificial sky. Analysis of these interviews suggests that students are not making the types of observations of the sky necessary to learn apparent celestial motion and any instruction they may have received has not helped them reach an accurate understanding of most topics. Most students at each grade level could not accurately describe the patterns of motion. Though the older students were more accurate in most of their descriptions than the younger students, in several areas the eighth grade students showed no improvement over the third grade students. The use of kinesthetic learning techniques in a planetarium program was also explored as a method to improve understanding of celestial motion. Pre- and post-interviews were conducted with participants from seven classes of first and second grade students (N=63). Students showed significant improvement in all areas of apparent celestial motion covered by the planetarium program and surpassed the middle school students' understanding of these concepts in most areas. This suggests that students in early elementary school are capable of learning the accurate description of apparent celestial motion. The results demonstrate the value of both kinesthetic learning techniques and the rich visual environment of the planetarium for improved understanding of celestial motion. Based on the results of these studies, I developed a learning progression describing how children may progress through successively more complex ways of understanding apparent celestial motion across elementary grades.

How African-American Elementary Students in High-Poverty Schools Experience Creative Expression: A Case Study Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willis, Belinda F.

2016-01-01

Literature that addresses how the arts enhance student learning through creative expression is minimal. This is especially true for African-American elementary students from high-poverty backgrounds. The purpose of this study was to employ a case study design to explore how African-American elementary students in high-poverty schools experience…

A narrative study of novice elementary teachers' perceptions of science instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrell, Roberta

It is hoped that, once implemented, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) will engage students more deeply in science learning and build science knowledge sequentially beginning in Kindergarten (NRC, 2013). Early instruction is encouraged but must be delivered by qualified elementary teachers who have both the science content knowledge and the necessary instructional skills to teach science effectively to young children (Ejiwale, 2012, Spencer, Vogel, 2009, Walker, 2011). The purpose of this research study is to gain insight into novice elementary teachers' perceptions of science instruction. This research suggests that infusion of constructivist teaching in the elementary classroom is beneficial to the teacher's instruction of science concepts to elementary students. Constructivism is theory that learning is centered on the learner constructing new ideas or concepts built upon their current/past knowledge (Bruner, 1966). Based on this theory, it is recommended that the instructor should try to encourage students to discover principles independently; essentially the instructor presents the problem and lets students go (Good & Brophy, 2004). Discovery learning, hands-on, experimental, collaborative, and project-based learning are all approaches that use constructivist principles. The NGSS are based on constructivist principles. This narrative study provides insight into novice elementary teachers' perceptions of science instruction considered through the lens of Constructivist Theory (Bruner, 1960).

Effects of Cooperative Learning STAD on Mathematical Communication Ability of Elementary School Student

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maelasari, E.; Wahyudin

2017-09-01

The aim of this study is to describe the increasing of mathematical communications capability, and difference between students who get STAD cooperative learning and students who receive Direct Instruction. This study is a quasi-experimental study with pretest posttest study design. Subjects in this study in one of the fifth grade elementary school located in Cibeureum District, Kuningan. The research instrument used was a written test mathematical communication skills. The results showed that the improvement of mathematical communication capabilities Direct Instruction students who scored significantly better than students who learned with STAD cooperative learning. By grouping according to the ability of students will show a positive impact on student achievement in the classroom.

A Learning Progression for Elementary Students' Functional Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, Ana C.; Fonger, Nicole; Strachota, Susanne; Isler, Isil; Blanton, Maria; Knuth, Eric; Murphy Gardiner, Angela

2017-01-01

In this article we advance characterizations of and supports for elementary students' progress in generalizing and representing functional relationships as part of a comprehensive approach to early algebra. Our learning progressions approach to early algebra research involves the coordination of a curricular framework and progression, an…

Movement and Learning in Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindt, Suzanne F.; Miller, Stacia C.

2017-01-01

Incorporating movement into elementary school lessons in reading, math, and other subjects can boost students' interest and academic learning while also helping them meet recommendations for daily involvement in physical activity. In a recent study, researchers found that students in classrooms where movement was integrated into regular lessons,…

Cooperative Learning in Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slavin, Robert E.

2015-01-01

Cooperative learning refers to instructional methods in which students work in small groups to help each other learn. Although cooperative learning methods are used for different age groups, they are particularly popular in elementary (primary) schools. This article discusses methods and theoretical perspectives on cooperative learning for the…

Elementary Teacher's Conceptions of Inquiry Teaching: Messages for Teacher Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ireland, Joseph E.; Watters, James J.; Brownlee, Jo; Lupton, Mandy

2012-02-01

This study explored practicing elementary school teacher's conceptions of teaching in ways that foster inquiry-based learning in the science curriculum (inquiry teaching). The advocacy for inquiry-based learning in contemporary curricula assumes the principle that students learn in their own way by drawing on direct experience fostered by the teacher. That students should be able to discover answers themselves through active engagement with new experiences was central to the thinking of eminent educators such as Pestalozzi, Dewey and Montessori. However, even after many years of research and practice, inquiry learning as a referent for teaching still struggles to find expression in the average teachers' pedagogy. This study drew on interview data from 20 elementary teachers. A phenomenographic analysis revealed three conceptions of teaching for inquiry learning in science in the elementary years of schooling: (a) The Experience-centered conception where teachers focused on providing interesting sensory experiences to students; (b) The Problem-centered conception where teachers focused on engaging students with challenging problems; and (c) The Question-centered conception where teachers focused on helping students to ask and answer their own questions. Understanding teachers' conceptions has implications for both the enactment of inquiry teaching in the classroom as well as the uptake of new teaching behaviors during professional development, with enhanced outcomes for engaging students in Science.

Fostering Student Sense Making in Elementary Science Learning Environments: Elementary Teachers' Use of Science Curriculum Materials to Promote Explanation Construction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zangori, Laura; Forbes, Cory T.; Biggers, Mandy

2013-01-01

While research has shown that elementary (K-5) students are capable of engaging in the scientific practice of explanation construction, commonly-used elementary science curriculum materials may not always afford them opportunities to do so. As a result, elementary teachers must often adapt their science curriculum materials to better support…

A Phenomenological Study of Homework from the Perspectives of Elementary Special Education Teachers of Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennis, Candace L.

2011-01-01

Research has shown that students with learning disabilities often do not complete or submit their homework, which may lead to failing grades. The intent of this research was to examine the perceptions of elementary special teachers on assigning appropriate homework for these students. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate…

A Learning Progression for Feedback Loop Reasoning at Lower Elementary Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hokayem, Hayat; Ma, Jingjing; Jin, Hui

2015-01-01

This study examines to what extent elementary students use feedback loop reasoning, a key component of systems thinking, to reason about interactions among organisms in ecosystems. We conducted clinical interviews with 44 elementary students (1st through 4th grades). We asked students to explain how populations change in two contexts: a…

Making the Case for Exploratory World Language Instruction in Catholic Elementary Schools through University Partnerships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Brigid M.; Howard, Eric D.

2017-01-01

As a result of a university partnership, elementary students at two midwest Catholic elementary schools have been provided with exploratory world language instruction (FLEX) from pre-service teachers. To investigate students' attitudes and learning of Spanish, researchers interviewed second and fourth graders. The students' parents and pre-service…

Outdoor Education Activities for Elementary School Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Connie L.

Outdoor education is an informal method of teaching and learning which offers opportunities for elementary school students, regardless of intellectual abilities, to learn about and appreciate their environment and acquire skills with which to enjoy a lifetime of creative, productive, and healthful living. Outdoor education can enrich, vitalize,…

Elementary School Garden Programs Enhance Science Education for All Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rye, James A.; Selmer, Sarah J.; Pennington, Sara; Vanhorn, Laura; Fox, Sarah; Kane, Sarah

2012-01-01

A national movement is underway to establish elementary school gardens, which can serve both academic and social purposes. These gardens can positively impact students' science achievement and provide the thematic and hands-on approach especially conducive to learning for students with disabilities. Garden-based learning (GBL) broadens the scope…

Motivational Orientations and Psychological Needs in EFL Learning among Elementary School Students in Japan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carreira, Junko Matsuzaki

2012-01-01

This study examined Japanese elementary school students' motivational orientations for learning English as a foreign language (EFL) and fundamental psychological needs from a self-determination theory perspective, exploring the relations between motivational orientations (e.g., intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjected regulation,…

Influence of passive smoking on learning in elementary school.

PubMed

Jorge, Juliana Gomes; Botelho, Clóvis; Silva, Ageo Mário Cândido; Moi, Gisele Pedroso

2016-01-01

To analyze the association between household smoking and the development of learning in elementary schoolchildren. Cross-sectional study with 785 students from the 2nd to the 5th year of elementary school. Students were evaluated by the School Literacy Screening Protocol to identify the presence of learning disabilities. Mothers/guardians were interviewed at home through a validated questionnaire. Descriptive and bivariate analysis, as well as multivariate Poisson regression, were performed. In the final model, the variables associated with learning difficulties were current smoking at the household in the presence of the child (PR=6.10, 95% CI: 4.56 to 8.16), maternal passive smoking during pregnancy (PR=1.46, 95% CI: 1.07 to 2.01), students attending the 2nd and 3rd years of Elementary School (PR=1.44, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.90), and being children of mothers with only elementary level education (PR=1.36, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.79). The study demonstrated an association between passive exposure to tobacco smoke and learning difficulties at school. Copyright © 2016 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

An Elective Course to Engage Student Pharmacists in Elementary School Science Education

PubMed Central

Wilson, Judith S.; Blankenship, James; Quock, Raymond M.; Lindsey, Marti; Kinsler, Janni J.

2011-01-01

Objective. To develop and assess the impact of an elective course (HealthWISE) on student pharmacists’ skills in communication and health promotion and elementary school students’ knowledge of and attitudes toward science. Design. Three colleges and schools of pharmacy collaborated to develop a 1-credit elective course that used online and classroom teaching and learning techniques to prepare student pharmacists to teach science in elementary school classrooms. Student pharmacists delivered 6 science lessons to elementary students over the course of 2 months. Assessment. In weekly journal reflections and a final paper, student pharmacists reported improved communication and health promotion skills. Elementary teachers reported they were satisfied with student pharmacists’ performance in the classroom. On pretest and posttest evaluations, elementary students demonstrated increased science knowledge and enhanced enthusiasm for science following the lessons taught by student pharmacists. Conclusions. The HealthWISE elective course provided positive benefit for student pharmacists, elementary school teachers, and elementary students. PMID:22345722

Preparing Elementary Preservice Teachers for Urban Elementary Science Classrooms: Challenging Cultural Biases Toward Diverse Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, Felicia M.

2008-02-01

This study reports the learning of elementary preservice teachers regarding diversity and teaching science in diverse urban elementary classrooms. From participating in a semester-long book club, the preservice teachers reveal their cultural biases, connect and apply their knowledge of diversity, and understand that getting to know their students are important elements for teaching science in diverse classrooms. These 3 things connect in ways that allow the preservice teachers to understand how their cultural biases impede student learning and gain new knowledge of diversity as they change their cultural biases. Implications of this study reveal that preservice teachers need opportunities to reveal, confront, challenge, and change their cultural models and to develop new models for teaching science in urban elementary classrooms.

Ecology: Learning To Love Our Planet. A Self-Directed Learning Experience. Grades K-8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enz, Judith; Diffenderfer, Susan

This self-directed study unit for grades K-3 and 4-8 was developed expressly to transport the student from the position of passive recipient to active participant in his/her own pursuit of knowledge. Within the guide are two complete units: one created for the lower elementary student and one for the upper elementary/middle school student. Units…

Use of Kidspiration[C] Software to Enhance the Reading Comprehension of Story Grammar Components for Elementary-Age Students with Specific Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wade, Erin; Boon, Richard T.; Spencer, Vicky G.

2010-01-01

The aim of this research brief was to explore the efficacy of story mapping, with the integration of Kidspiration[C] software, to enhance the reading comprehension skills of story grammar components for elementary-age students. Three students served as the participants, two in third grade and one in fourth, with specific learning disabilities…

Comparing Digital Badges-and-Points with Classroom Token Systems: Effects on Elementary School ESL Students' Classroom Behavior and English Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Homer, Ryan; Hew, Khe Foon; Tan, Cheng Yong

2018-01-01

This paper reports the findings of a field experiment that gamified the classroom experience of elementary school ESL students by implementing digital badges-and-points which students could earn by achieving specific behavioral and learning goals. Altogether, 120 children in eight different classes participated in this study. Four of the classes…

Teachers' Perceptions of the Availability and Need of a Support Program for Students with Learning Difficulties Attending Elementary Schools in the Atlantic Union Conference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coke, Lileth Althea

2013-01-01

Purpose of the Study. Support programs have been known to be very effective in helping students succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of the availability and need of a support program for students with learning difficulties who attend elementary schools…

Effects of Eclectic Learning Approach on Students' Academic Achievement and Retention in English at Elementary Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suleman, Qaiser; Hussain, Ishtiaq

2016-01-01

The purpose of the research paper was to investigate the effect of eclectic learning approach on the academic achievement and retention of students in English at elementary level. A sample of forty students of 8th grade randomly selected from Government Boys High School Khurram District Karak was used. It was an experimental study and that's why…

Measurement Invariance and Validity of a Brief Questionnaire on Reading Motivation in Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stutz, Franziska; Schaffner, Ellen; Schiefele, Ulrich

2017-01-01

In order to initiate more research on the role of reading motivation during the initial stages of learning to comprehend texts, we developed the "Reading Motivation Questionnaire for Elementary Students" (RMQ-E). The sample comprised 1497 elementary students in Grades 1-3. By means of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, three…

The Perceptions of Elementary School Teachers Regarding Their Efforts to Help Students Utilize Student-to-Student Discourse in Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craddock, Jennifer Lovejoy

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of elementary teachers who teach science as opposed to science teacher specialists regarding their efforts to help students use student-to-student discourse for improving science learning. A growing body of research confirms the importance of a) student-to-student discourse for making meaning of science ideas and b) moving students' conceptual development towards a more scientific understanding of the natural world. Based on those foundations, the three research questions that guided this study examined the value elementary teachers place on student-to-student discourse, the various approaches teachers employ to promote the use of student-to-student discourse for learning science, and the factors and conditions that promote and inhibit the use of student-to-student discourse as an effective pedagogical strategy in elementary science. Data were gathered from 23 elementary teachers in a single district using an on-line survey and follow-up interviews with 8 teachers. All data were analyzed and evolving themes led to the following findings: (1) elementary teachers value student-to-student discourse in science, (2) teachers desire to increase time using student-to-student discourse, (3) teachers use a limited number of student-to-student discourse strategies to increase student learning in science, (4) teachers use student-to-student discourse as formative assessment to determine student learning in science, (5) professional development focusing on approaches to student-to-student discourse develops teachers' capacity for effective implementation, (6) teachers perceive school administrators' knowledge of and support for student-to-student discourse as beneficial, (7) time and scheduling constraints limit the use of student-to-student discourse in science. Implications of this study included the necessity of school districts to focus on student-to-student discourse in science, provide teacher and administrator professional development regarding student-to-student discourse instructional strategies, and promote collaboration across disciplines. This study suggests that future research be conducted regarding the role of administrators in fostering student-to-student discourse, the perspectives of secondary teachers implementing student-to-student discourse, the use of student-to-student discourse in other subjects, and leadership approaches to broadening the study across districts.

The Impact of Sound-Field Systems on Learning and Attention in Elementary School Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dockrell, Julie E.; Shield, Bridget

2012-01-01

Purpose: The authors evaluated the installation and use of sound-field systems to investigate the impact of these systems on teaching and learning in elementary school classrooms. Methods: The evaluation included acoustic surveys of classrooms, questionnaire surveys of students and teachers, and experimental testing of students with and without…

Appropriate Instructional Practices in Elementary Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Subramaniam, Prithwi Raj

2011-01-01

Teaching and learning in physical education at the elementary level should be a time filled with excitement and fun for both teachers and students. Children by nature are inquisitive and bring an abundance of energy into the learning environment. Physical educators who are able to harness this student energy in positive ways are able to…

Relationships Between Classroom Behavior and Cognitive Development Characteristics in Elementary School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Good, Ron; And Others

1976-01-01

Studied classroom behaviors and conservation ability of elementary school science students taught by either Student-Structured Learning in Science (SSLS) or Teacher-Structured Learning in Science (TSLS). Reports on how behavior of conservers and nonconservers differs in SSLS and TSLS with respect to observing, following directions, and inventing…

Differentiated Instruction in an Elementary School EFL Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chien, Chin-Wen

2012-01-01

Elementary school English teachers in Taiwan face classes of students with differing levels of English proficiency, to the point where about one-third of the students may have never learned English before, and another third may already have read Harry Potter in English. A successful teacher recognizes that diversity may affect learning and works…

Curricular Treatments of Length Measurement in the United States: Do They Address Known Learning Challenges?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, John P., III; Males, Lorraine M.; Dietiker, Leslie C.; Lee, KoSze; Mosier, Aaron

2013-01-01

Extensive research has shown that elementary students struggle to learn the basic principles of length measurement. However, where patterns of errors have been documented, the origins of students' difficulties have not been identified. This study investigated the hypothesis that written elementary mathematics curricula contribute to the…

Learning Environment and Attitudes Associated with an Innovative Science Course Designed for Prospective Elementary Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin-Dunlop, Catherine; Fraser, Barry J.

2008-01-01

This study assessed the effectiveness of an innovative science course for improving prospective elementary teachers' perceptions of laboratory learning environments and attitudes towards science. The sample consisted of 27 classes with 525 female students in a large urban university. Changing students' ideas about science laboratory teaching and…

The Chronotopes of Technology-Mediated Creative Learning Practices in an Elementary School Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kumpulainen, Kristiina; Mikkola, Anna; Jaatinen, Anna-Mari

2014-01-01

This socioculturally informed study examines space-time configurations of students' technology-mediated creative learning practices in a Finnish elementary school over a school musical project. This study focuses on the social practices of 21 students who worked with personal laptops, wireless internet access, and a collaborative writing service,…

Patterns of Reasoning about Ecological Systemic Reasoning for Early Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hokayem, H.

2016-01-01

Systems and system models are recognized as a crosscutting concept in the newly released framework for K-12 science education (NRC [National Research Council], 2012). In previous work, I developed a learning progression for systemic reasoning in ecology at the elementary level. The learning progression captured five levels of students' reasoning…

Taking an active stance: How urban elementary students connect sociocultural experiences in learning science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Upadhyay, Bhaskar; Maruyama, Geoffrey; Albrecht, Nancy

2017-12-01

In this interpretive case study, we draw from sociocultural theory of learning and culturally relevant pedagogy to understand how urban students from nondominant groups leverage their sociocultural experiences. These experiences allow them to gain an empowering voice in influencing science content and activities and to work towards self-determining the sciences that are personally meaningful. Furthermore, tying sociocultural experiences with science learning helps generate sociopolitical awareness among students. We collected interview and observation data in an urban elementary classroom over one academic year to understand the value of urban students' sociocultural experiences in learning science and choosing science activities.

Effect of School and Home Factors on Learning Outcomes at Elementary School Level: A Hierarchical Linear Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singh, Jai

2016-01-01

India is a democratic, socialistic republic that is committed to providing high quality elementary education to all children. This research paper examines and analyses the effects of school, teacher and home factors on learning outcomes in elementary schools in the urban slum areas of Varanasi city and assesses the learning outcomes of students of…

The effects of formative assessment on student self-regulation, motivational beliefs, and achievement in elementary science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, Melissa Digennaro

Goals 2000 set forth a bold vision for U.S. students: they would be "first in the world in science and mathematics" by the year 2000. Performance indicators such as the TIMSS-R (1999) and NAEP (2000) reports suggest that U.S. students have not yet reached that goal. This study intended to learn how specific assessment strategies might contribute to improved student performance in science. This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of formative assessment with reflection on students' motivational beliefs, self-regulatory skills, and achievement in elementary science. The study aimed to find out whether and how classroom applications of formative assessment during science instruction might influence fifth-grade students' attitudes and self-perceptions about science learning, self-regulatory learning behaviors, and achievement. To explore the effects of the assessment intervention, the study utilized a mixed methods approach involving quantitative and qualitative investigations of treatment and control groups during a four-week intervention period. Quantitative measures included student self-report surveys administered pre- and post-treatment and an end-of-unit science test. Qualitative measures included classroom observations, student interviews (post-treatment), and a teacher interview (post-treatment). Findings indicated that the fifth-grade students in this study had positive attitudes toward science and high levels of self-efficacy for science. Results suggested that these elementary students employed a wide variety of cognitive and metacognitive strategies to support science learning. Findings revealed that these fifth graders believed formative assessment with reflection was beneficial for science learning outcomes. Research results did not show that the formative assessment intervention contributed to significant differences between treatment and control groups. However, the data revealed different levels of academic achievement and self-regulation for students in specific instructional services subgroups (i.e., gifted, regular education, special education, and ESL). For example, high achieving students reported higher levels of self-regulatory learning behavior than other fifth grade students. Findings suggested that elementary science instruction that includes classroom applications of formative assessment with reflection may provide support for science learning and the development of self-regulatory learning behavior. However, widespread implementation of this practice in elementary science classrooms represents significant challenges for today's educators, due to time limitations and increasing accountability pressures in our nation's schools.

Service Learning is also Elementary!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Social Studies Review, 1997

1997-01-01

Presents 10 ideas for service learning projects designed for elementary schools. Includes having students do local history projects complete with interviews and artifacts, learn about community volunteering, interact with the elderly, care for the environment, recycle materials, and hold canned food drives. (MJP)

Precision in the Teaching, Learning, and Communication of Elementary School Mathematics: A Reply to Wilson's "Elementary School Mathematics Priorities"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maher, Carolyn; Weber, Keith

2009-01-01

In "Elementary School Mathematics Priorities," Wilson (2009 [this issue]) presents a list of five core concepts that students should master in elementary school so that they can succeed in algebra. As researchers in mathematics education, the authors enthusiastically endorse Wilson's recommendations. Learning algebra is key to further study of…

Future Elementary School Teachers' Conceptual Change Concerning Photosynthesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahopelto, Ilona; Mikkila-Erdmann, Mirjamaija; Anto, Erkki; Penttinen, Marjaana

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine conceptual change among future elementary school teachers while studying a scientific text concerning photosynthesis. Students' learning goals in relation to their learning outcomes were also examined. The participants were future elementary school teachers. The design consisted of pre- and post-tests. The…

Elementary Student Self Efficacy Scale Development and Validation Focused on Student Learning, Peer Relations, and Resisting Drug Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fertman, Carl I.; Primack, Brian A.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of a child self efficacy scale for learning, peer interactions, and resisting pressure to use drugs, to use in an elementary school drug prevention education program based on social cognitive theory. A diverse cohort of 392 4th and 5th grade students completed the 20-item…

Powwow for Learning: American Indian Tribe Inspires Coteaching Project at Dumbarton Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Panter, Suzanna L.; Kelley, Rebecca L.

2012-01-01

Coteaching might be described as educators bringing to the table what they do best. When these educators' skills and talents are interwoven, a unique design evolves that is most successful in supporting student learning outcomes. Dumbarton Elementary School (Henrico County, Virginia) is a Title 1 school with a very diverse student population.…

Starting Early with Study Skills: A Week-By-Week Guide for Elementary Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irvin, Judith L.; Rose, Elaine O.

On the premise that even young students can learn to study effectively, this book provides a framework and activities for the systematic teaching of study skills during the elementary grades. The book is consistent with current research and theory about learning and remembering; concepts such as schema and metacognition pervade the suggested…

Elementary Students' Affective Variables in a Networked Learning Environment Supported by a Blog: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allaire, Stéphane; Thériault, Pascale; Gagnon, Vincent; Lalancette, Evelyne

2013-01-01

This study documents to what extent writing on a blog in a networked learning environment could influence the affective variables of elementary-school students' writing. The framework is grounded more specifically in theory of self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985), relationship to writing (Chartrand & Prince, 2009) and the transactional…

The Effects of 3D-Representation Instruction on Composite-Solid Surface-Area Learning for Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sung, Yao-Ting; Shih, Pao-Chen; Chang, Kuo-En

2015-01-01

Providing instruction on spatial geometry, specifically how to calculate the surface areas of composite solids, challenges many elementary school teachers. Determining the surface areas of composite solids involves complex calculations and advanced spatial concepts. The goals of this study were to build on students' learning processes for…

The Inclusion of Students with Actual or Perceived Learning Disabilities in the Seventh-Day Adventist Elementary Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hale, Connie Lee

2009-01-01

This qualitative study investigated the effect of full inclusion of learning disabled students in Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) classrooms. Information on the dynamics of full inclusion was gathered through interviews with 15 elementary teachers in a Western Conference of SDA. Literature on inclusion in public and private educational systems was…

Teaching for Conceptual Change in Elementary and Secondary Science Methods Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marion, Robin; Hewson, Peter W.; Tabachnick, B. Robert; Blomker, Kathryn B.

1999-01-01

Describes and analyzes two science methods courses at the elementary and secondary levels for how they addressed four ideas: (1) how students learn science; (2) how teachers teach science to students; (3) how prospective science teachers learn about the first two ideas; and (4) how methods instructors teach prospective science teachers about the…

Deviant Behavior in Learning Disabled and Behaviorally Disordered Students as a Function of Level and Placement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sindelar, Paul T.; And Others

1985-01-01

Resource and special class teachers of learning disabled (LD) and behaviorally disordered elementary and secondary students rated behaviorally disordered Ss as exhibiting more of five patterns of deviant behavior than LD Ss. Secondary Ss exhibited more rule breaking than elementary Ss; and special class Ss, more anxious, fearful behavior than…

Online Comic in Mandarin Chinese's Vocabulary Learning: A Case Study of Budi Utama Multilingual School in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilujeng, Nuning Catur Sri; Lan, Yu-Ju

2015-01-01

This study was aimed to investigate (1) the improvement of CFL elementary-school students' skill in learning Mandarin Chinese (hereafter referred to as Mandarin) vocabulary through creating comic without online resources, creating online comics individually and collaboratively; (2) the CFL elementary-school students' attitude towards the…

Probing when Japanese junior high school students begin to feel difficulty in learning mathematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishikawa, Tomoko; Izuta, Giido

2017-05-01

It is thought that the increasing number of Japanese students avoiding mathematics has become a serious problem in the last decades. Japanese junior high school students are learning the basic understanding and skills of mathematics during the years of mandatory education. To our knowledge, there are few reports about the time when Japanese junior high school students begin to feel difficulty in mathematics learning. The aim of this work is to examine this case. To accomplish this purpose, a typical public junior high school in a country city with 616 students (182 first-year, 212 second-year, 222 third-year) in all was chosen to be the field of investigation. Likert scale type questionnaires to assess their feelings were conducted, and the respondents who answered `difficulty' and `a little difficulty' were extracted. The number of respondents were 89 first-year (26 males, 63 females), 76 second-year (27 males, 49 females), and 112 third-year (45 males, 67 females) students. The beginning time was divided into school years when it was in elementary school, and semesters when it was in junior high school. Ordinary statistical processings for each grade and gender were performed to analyze them. It was found that the time when they began to have difficulty learning mathematics was different in gender. Male students tended to start from higher-grade of elementary school whereas female students from middle-grade of elementary school. In other words, these results showed differences in gender and time. Finally, these examinations suggest that teachers need to provide appropriate support for students at a suitable time in the elementary school. Also these results are useful in mathematics education of elementary school.

The Roles of Engineering Notebooks in Shaping Elementary Engineering Student Discourse and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertel, Jonathan D.; Cunningham, Christine M.; Kelly, Gregory J.

2017-01-01

Engineering design challenges offer important opportunities for students to learn science and engineering knowledge and practices. This study examines how students' engineering notebooks across four units of the curriculum "Engineering is Elementary" (EiE) support student work during design challenges. Through educational ethnography and…

ICT media design for higher grade of elementary school mathematics learning using CS6 program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zainil, M.; Prahmana, R. C. I.; Helsa, Y.; Hendri, S.

2017-12-01

Technological innovation contributes to the emerging of new possibilities to change the learning process. The development of technology could bring the higher quality of education through the integration of technology in the learning. The purpose of this research is to create an interactive multimedia using CS6 program for mathematics learning in higher grade of elementary school. It was a development research using ADDIE model which consists of analysis, design, and evaluation stages. It has successfully developed interactive multimedia in a form of learning CD used in the material of plane figures and solid figures. The prototype has been validated and then tested for the 4th grade of elementary schools. Two schools were involved and the students taught by utilizing the prototype, and then, in the end of learning, they are examined to determine the learning result. There were 72% of the students passed the examination as they classified at good and excellent categories. Finally, the use of CS6 program is promising to help the students learning plane and solid figure in mathematics learning.

The Perceptions of Elementary School Teachers Regarding Their Efforts to Help Students Utilize Student-to-Student Discourse in Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craddock, Jennifer Lovejoy

2017-01-01

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of elementary teachers who teach science as opposed to science teacher specialists regarding their efforts to help students use student-to-student discourse for improving science learning. A growing body of research confirms the importance of a) student-to-student discourse…

Creating Partnerships for Learning: Family Literacy in Elementary Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Center for Family Literacy, Louisville, KY.

Building on the link between parents' education and children's academic achievement, the Families in Schools model of family literacy brings at-risk elementary school students and their parents together to learn in the elementary school setting. This book describes the model, presents the federal definition of family literacy, and argues that…

Exploring the Effects of Concreteness Fading across Grades in Elementary School Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaakkola, Tomi; Veermans, Koen

2018-01-01

The present study investigates the effects that concreteness fading has on learning and transfer across three grade levels (4-6) in elementary school science education in comparison to learning with constantly concrete representations. 127 9- to 12-years-old elementary school students studied electric circuits in a computer-based simulation…

Preservice Teachers' Uptake and Understanding of Funds of Knowledge in Elementary Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLaughlin, David S.; Barton, Angela Calabrese

2013-01-01

In this manuscript, we use a "learning to notice" framework to suggest that preservice elementary teachers bring a range of interpretations and responses to their students' funds of knowledge and science teaching and learning. By examining data from three sections of an elementary methods course, we find that preservice teachers recognized…

Student Perceptions of Small-Group Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florez, Ida Rose; McCaslin, Mary

2008-01-01

Background/Context: Elementary school teachers regularly arrange students in small groups for learning activities. A rich literature discusses various types of small-group learning formats and how those formats affect achievement. Few studies, however, have examined students' perceptions of small-group learning experiences. Our work extends the…

Student Leadership Education in Elementary Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hess, Lindsay

2010-01-01

As I began my career as a teacher, I assumed leadership education would naturally be integrated into the elementary classroom curriculum because I was intrigued by this topic. However, as I spent more time in the classroom I quickly realized leadership skills were not part of regular classroom learning or practice for elementary age students. I…

Story Bound, Map Around: Stories, Life, and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Ulyssa; Nolte-Yupari, Samantha

2015-01-01

In this article, the authors discuss mixed-media projects done with elementary students in a summer art camp and preservice elementary teachers taking Visual Arts in the Elementary Classroom, illustrating their consideration of how stories carry the curricular potential to bring students' out-of-school experiences into the classroom. In order…

Contemporary Practice in the Elementary Classroom: A Study of Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thulson, Anne

2013-01-01

Elementary school is not too early to introduce contemporary art; young students are especially adept at learning by mimicry and embracing contemporary art practices, including site-specific works. Elementary students are poised and capable to comprehend and respond to contemporary art. Tangible products can be made within a conceptual,…

Balancing Teacher and Student Roles in Elementary Classrooms: Preservice Elementary Teachers' Learning about the Inquiry Continuum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Biggers, Mandy; Forbes, Cory T.

2012-01-01

Using the National Research Council's inquiry continuum framework, we use a multiple-case study research design to investigate the teacher- and student-directedness of elementary preservice teachers' planned and enacted science lessons and their pedagogical reasoning about science instruction during a semester-long science methods course. Our…

Early Elementary Students' Understanding of Complex Ecosystems: A Learning Progression Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hokayem, Hayat; Gotwals, Amelia Wenk

2016-01-01

Engaging in systemic reasoning about ecological issues is critical for early elementary students to develop future understanding of critical environmental issues such as global warming and loss of biodiversity. However, ecological issues are rarely taught in ways to highlight systemic reasoning in elementary schools. In this study, we conducted…

Together We Can! The Collaborative Spirit at Forest Lake Elementary Technology Magnet School Energizes Learning for Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steck, Kappy; Padget, Lizzie

2012-01-01

Collaboration is the key! It is the driving force that has allowed Forest Lake Elementary Technology Magnet School to be consistently recognized as a "school that works" for all members of the learning community. Forest Lake's staff, teachers, students, and parents enthusiastically embrace the collaborative spirit that is a vital,…

A Comparison Between Teacher-Directed Instruction and Student Self-Directed Study in Physical Science for Undergraduate Elementary Education Majors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Magnus, Douglas Leslie

This research was conducted to compare the learning which occurred in a preservice elementary education course using two teaching-learning methods (teacher-directed instruction and student self-directed study). Areas investigated were: (1) knowledge of physical science content, (2) development and application of the processes of science, (3)…

Developing Digital Wisdom by Students and Teachers: The Impact of Integrating Tablet Computers on Learning and Pedagogy in an Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shamir-Inbal, Tamar; Blau, Ina

2016-01-01

This article investigates a pilot of integrating tablet computers in the elementary education. The research questions address the impact of tablet integration on learning and pedagogy. This qualitative case study crosschecks non-participated observations on students who work with tablet PCs, the school staff reflection on the integration as…

Partnerships in Learning: A Collaborative Project between Higher Education Students and Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunter, Peggi E.; Botchwey, Nisha D.

2017-01-01

Higher education and K-12 school partnerships are typically designed with an end-goal that serves the instructional needs of one group over the other. For this project, a university professor and elementary school instructor used problem-based and project-based learning strategies to design a curriculum that served the academic needs of both…

A Synthesis of Interventions for Improving Oral Reading Fluency of Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Min Kyung; Bryant, Diane Pedrotty; Bryant, Brian R.; Park, Yujeong

2017-01-01

A synthesis of the research literature was conducted from 2004 to 2014 on interventions designed to build oral reading fluency for elementary students with learning disabilities (LD). An extensive search yielded a total of 12 intervention studies. Among the 12 studies, the majority (n = 9) implemented repeated reading with or without a model.…

Dancing through the School Day: How Dance Catapults Learning in Elementary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, Kelly Mancini

2013-01-01

The necessity for engaging the body in learning, the need for students to move throughout the school day, and the positive effects that dance has on students' development are all good reasons for dance to be included in the elementary curriculum. There are many ways for teachers to integrate movement into the school day, using math, science,…

The Effect of Testing Condition on Word Guessing in Elementary School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mannamaa, Mairi; Kikas, Eve; Raidvee, Aire

2008-01-01

Elementary school children's word guessing is studied, and the results from individual and collective testing conditions are compared. The participants are 764 students from the second, third, and fourth grades (ages 8-11, 541 students from mainstream regular classes and 223 students with learning disabilities). About half of these students are…

Using Readers Theater as a Facilitator in Elementary School English Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Ya-Fen

2015-01-01

The purpose of the study aimed to investigate the effect of the Readers Theater (RT) training on elementary school students. In particular, changes in the students' English reading comprehension before and after the RT show, comparison of the students' responses to English learning, especially English reading, the students' opinions on the RT…

Teaching Problem Solving Skills to Elementary Age Students with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cote, Debra L.; Jones, Vita L.; Barnett, Crystal; Pavelek, Karin; Nguyen, Hoang; Sparks, Shannon L.

2014-01-01

Students with disabilities need problem-solving skills to promote their success in solving the problems of daily life. The research into problem-solving instruction has been limited for students with autism. Using a problem-solving intervention and the Self Determined Learning Model of Instruction, three elementary age students with autism were…

The Relationship between Personal Epistemology and Self-Regulation among Turkish Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alpaslan, Muhammet Mustafa

2017-01-01

The purpose of the study was to determine the level of the relationship among Turkish elementary school students' personal epistemologies, motivation, learning strategies, and achievements in science. A total of 322 fifth-grade students participated in the study. Results from the structural equation modeling showed that students' personal…

Perceptual Preferences of Mathematically Deficient Elementary Students: Implications for Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCoy, Leah P.

Two groups of elementary school students were tested and compared on learning style perceptual preference. One group was comprised of 11 students identified as being in need of remedial instruction in mathematics. The other group consisted of eight average/above average students experiencing slight or no difficulties in mathematics. Grade levels…

Improving Student Achievement through Organization of Student Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brookbank, Donna; Grover, Susan; Kullberg, Karin; Strawser, Cathleen

This action research project investigated various reading strategies to increase reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. The targeted population consisted of students from three elementary schools and one junior high school, located in lower to middle socioeconomic neighborhoods. Two elementary schools and the junior high school are located…

Exploring Elementary Students' Understanding of Energy and Climate Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boylan, Colin

2008-01-01

As environmental changes become a significant societal issue, elementary science curricula need to develop students' understanding about the key concepts of energy and climate change. For teachers, developing quality learning experiences involves establishing what their students' prior understanding about energy and climate change are. A survey…

Dynamic Assessment, Potential Giftedness and Mathematics Achievement in Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Popa, Nicoleta Laura; Pauc, Ramona Loredana

2015-01-01

Dynamic assessment is currently discussed in educational literature as one of the most promising practices in stimulating learning among various groups of students, including gifted and potentially gifted students. The present study investigates effects of dynamic assessment on mathematics achievement among elementary school students, with…

Historic Preservation and Elementary Student Extracurricular Community Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, Ronald V.

2016-01-01

Elementary students survey buildings in an extracurricular community service project to learn social studies and historic preservation. From these experiences students formed values and dispositions by engaging in a constructivist process of creating knowledge by examining their community. They gathered data, transformed it into information, and…

TLC for Growing Minds. Microcomputer Projects. Elementary Intermediate Microcomputer Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buxton, Marilyn

Designed to improve students' thinking, learning, and creative skills while they learn to program a microcomputer in BASIC programing language, this book for intermediate learners at the elementary school level provides a variety of microcomputer activities designed to extend the concepts learned in accompanying instructional manuals (Volumes 3…

Effects of Pedagogical Agent Gestures on Social Acceptance and Learning: Virtual Real Relationships in an Elementary Foreign Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Robert; Antonenko, Pavlo

2017-01-01

Pedagogical agents (PAs) are lifelike characters in virtual environments that help facilitate learning through social interactions and the virtual real relationships with the learners. This study explored whether and how PA gesture design impacts learning and agent social acceptance when used with elementary students learning foreign language…

Beyond the Art Lesson: Free-Choice Learning Centers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werth, Laurie

2010-01-01

In this article, the author emphasizes that by providing learning centers in the art studio environment and by providing "free-choice time," art educators can encourage and reinforce the natural learning styles of students. Learning centers give elementary students the freedom to pursue individual artistic expression. They give students an…

Exploring the Influences of Elementary School Students' Learning Motivation on Web-Based Collaborative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chin-Fei, Huang; Chia-Ju, Liu

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore the influences of students' learning motivation on Web-based collaborative learning. This study conducted learning materials of Web pages about science and collaborative learning, a motivation questionnaire and interviews were used for data collection. Eighty Grade 5 students and a science teacher were…

Under One Big Sky: Elementary Pre-Service Teachers Use Inquiry to Learn about the Moon, Construct Knowledge, and Teach Elementary Students around the World via the Internet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Luann Christensen

2011-01-01

This study examined the content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) constructed by a group of 24 pre-service elementary teacher participants as they learned about the moon's phases, inquiry learning, and use of the Internet message boards as a teaching tool as a part of their science teaching methods course. The MOON Project (More…

An Evaluation of Elementary School Mathematics Programs Utilizing the Mini-Calculator.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Patricia; Virgin, A. E.

The purpose of this study was to compare the achievement, attitudes, and teaching/learning experiences in mathematics programs of two groups of elementary-school students in grades 5 and 6. Approximately 150 students in each of two elementary schools were given as a pretest a standardized mathematics achievement test and a questionnaire regarding…

Attitudes and Perspectives of Teacher Performers on Pedagogy and Perceived Student Learning in the Elementary and Secondary School Music Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vitale, John L.

2015-01-01

This study investigated the lives of three active music teacher performers and how their performing experience impacted pedagogy and perceived student learning in the classroom. At the time of data collection, one participant was a full-time elementary school music teacher, and the other two participants were full-time secondary school music…

Improving Science Pedagogic Quality in Elementary School Using Process Skill Approach Can Motivate Student to Be Active in Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sukiniarti

2016-01-01

On global era todays, as the professional teacher should be improving their pedagogic competency, including to improve their science pedagogy quality. This study is aimed to identify: (1) Process skill approach which has been used by Elementary School Teacher in science learning; (2) Teacher's opinion that process skill can motivate the student to…

The Effects of Teaching Notetaking Strategies on Elementary Students' Science Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Pai-Lin; Lan, William; Hamman, Douglas; Hendricks, Bret

2008-01-01

The research examined effects of notetaking instruction on elementary-aged students' abilities to recall science information and their notetaking behaviors. Classes of eight to nine years old third grade students were randomly assigned to three treatment conditions: strategic notetaking, partial strategic notetaking, and control, for four training…

Student Teacher Thinking: A Comparative Study of Elementary and Secondary Student Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galluzzo, Gary L.; Minix, Nancy A.

1992-01-01

Using videotaped simulated recall interviews, researchers assessed elementary and secondary student teachers' thoughts and concerns. Both groups considered pupil learning the greatest concern. There were consistent differences in how the groups perceived classroom interactions. Both groups addressed a narrower range of concerns regarding teaching…

Digital Photography for Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neckers, Matt

2009-01-01

Most elementary students approach photography in an open-minded, experimental way. As a result, their images are often more playful than those taken by adults. Students discover more through their own explorations than they would learn through overly structured lessons. In this article, the author describes how he introduces his elementary…

"Using" Computer Graphic Representations to Promote Learning in Elementary Science Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazaros, Edward J.; Spotts, Thomas H.

2009-01-01

This interdisciplinary activity promotes science, technology, and language arts and is well suited for upper elementary grade students. In the activity, students' research about a teacher-assigned weather phenomenon facilitates their study of the weather. When they have completed their research, students word process a paper summarizing their…

Implementing Inclusive Engineering Challenges for Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silva Mangiante, Elaine; Moore, Adam

2015-01-01

The Next Generation Science Standards emphasize the need to promote equitable opportunities for all students to engage in science and engineering. This article offers eight tips that educators can use to support students of all abilities, including those with special learning needs, to engage in engineering challenges at the elementary level.

Developing Language in Digital Natives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Badia, Ingrid C.

2011-01-01

The Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) program in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) provides an opportunity for all students in an elementary school to learn a world language at an early age with a focus on developing students' communicative competence. Technology plays a major role in helping students develop communicative…

Effects of an iPad-Based Early Reading Intervention with Students with Complex Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lucas, Kristin Goodwin

2015-01-01

Early reading literacy is foundational to all other academic learning. It is imperative that elementary students with and without disabilities be provided with evidence-based reading instruction. Elementary students with developmental disabilities (DD) and complex communication needs (CCN) benefit from evidence-based reading instruction that…

Effects of Using Mobile Devices on English Listening Diversity and Speaking for EFL Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hwang, Wu-Yuin; Huang, Yueh-Min; Shadiev, Rustam; Wu, Sheng-Yi; Chen, Shu-Lin

2014-01-01

This study designed learning activities supported by a mobile learning system for students to develop listening and speaking skills in English as a foreign language (EFL). How students perceive learning activities and a mobile learning system were examined in this study. Additionally, how different practices relate to students' language…

The effects of traditional learning and a learning cycle inquiry learning strategy on students' science achievement and attitudes toward elementary science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebrahim, Ali

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of two instructional methods on students' academic achievement and attitudes toward elementary science in the State of Kuwait: traditional teaching method and the 4-E learning cycle inquiry teaching method. The subjects were 111 students from four intact 4th grade classes. The experiment group (n = 56) received the learning cycle instruction while the control group (n = 55) received a more traditional approach over a four week period. The same female teacher taught the experimental and control groups for boys and a different female teacher taught experimental and control groups for girls. The dependent variables were measured through the use of: (1) a science achievement test to assess student achievement; and (2) an attitude survey to measure students' attitudes toward science. Quantitative data were collected on students' pre- and post-treatment achievement and attitudes measures. The two way MANOVA reveals that: the 4-E learning cycle instructional method produces significantly greater achievement and attitudes among fourth grade science students than the traditional teaching approach F (2, 93) = 19.765, (P = .000), corresponding to Wilks' Lambda = .702 with an effect size of .298 and a power of 1. In light of these findings, it is therefore suggested that students can achieve greater and have higher science attitudes when the 4-E learning cycle is used. In addition, these findings support the notion that effective instruction in teaching science, such as the 4-E learning cycle instruction, should be proposed and implemented in elementary schools.

Word Processing with the Elementary School Student--A Teaching and Learning Experience for Both Teachers and Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacoby, Adrienne

Using word processing in the elementary school writing curriculum is advantageous for both students and teachers. Word processors motivate students to spend more time on task, encourage changes and rewriting, and eliminate concern for neatness and the tedium of writing (and rewriting) by hand. Teachers can see that students using the word…

Using the Native American Flute in a Beginning Instrumental Classroom: The Native American Flute Can Be a Great Tool for Helping Students Learn to Improvise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winslow, Michael; Winslow, Hayley

2006-01-01

Although the National Standards include achievement standards for improvisation for elementary school students, music teachers sometimes are reluctant to pursue improvisation study with young students. First- and second-year instrumental students, often older elementary or middle school students, may have difficulty studying improvisation because…

Who's Wrong? Tasks Fostering Understanding of Mathematical Relationships in Word Problems in Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savard, Annie; Polotskaia, Elena

2017-01-01

Mathematical relationships are crucial elements to consider for learning mathematics. However, too often students pay more attention to the calculations to be done rather than the reasons for doing them. Relying on the relational paradigm to support elementary school students, we proposed two specially designed tasks to help students recognize and…

The Effects of Technology-Mediated Dialogic Learning in Elementary Mathematics Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Working, Christopher

2018-01-01

The use of technology in elementary mathematics instruction tends to be low-level, despite its affordance of supporting the development of students' high-level reasoning ability. This study builds upon a sociocultural view of learning and was designed to determine what effect a technology-mediated dialogic learning intervention has on third-grade…

Learning as Conceptual Change: Factors Mediating the Development of Preservice Elementary Teachers' Views of Nature of Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abd-El-Khalick, Fouad; Akerson, Valarie L.

2004-01-01

This study assessed, and identified factors in participants' learning ecologies that mediated, the effectiveness of an explicit reflective instructional approach that satisfied conditions for learning as conceptual change on preservice elementary teachers' views of nature of science (NOS). Participants were 28 undergraduate students enrolled in an…

Teaching Conceptually Oriented Social Science Education Programs in the Elementary School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahlios, Marc C.

Approaches to elementary social studies education that focus on concept and inquiry learning are outlined. The basic goal of the teacher in concept teaching is to aid the student in developing relationships among factual learning, conceptualization, and personal behavior. Learning activities should focus on the process concept (i.e., one that is…

Elementary Teacher's Conceptions of Inquiry Teaching: Messages for Teacher Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ireland, Joseph E.; Watters, James J.; Brownlee, Jo; Lupton, Mandy

2012-01-01

This study explored practicing elementary school teacher's conceptions of teaching in ways that foster inquiry-based learning in the science curriculum (inquiry teaching). The advocacy for inquiry-based learning in contemporary curricula assumes the principle that students learn in their own way by drawing on direct experience fostered by the…

Economics in the Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelton, Dave

1976-01-01

Fourth and fifth grade students at Bulman Elementary School, Redford, Michigan, learn economics concepts by selling potato chips: company stocks are sold and part of the profit is invested in a student-run bank which has checking accounts and issues monthly statements. (AV)

Shoptalk.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meade, Jeff

1991-01-01

Describes innovative programs for teaching elementary school students. In Illinois, students learn about the artists Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello using the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. An Oregon program prints student poetry and places it on cafeteria tables. In rural Texas, students learn about restaurant etiquette through play…

The Effect of Scaffolded Think-Group-Share Learning on Indonesian Elementary Schooler Satisfaction and Learning Achievement in English Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mantik, Octavia; Choi, Hee Jun

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not "Scaffolded Think-Group-Share" learning can have a positive effect on student satisfaction and learning achievement in English classes of an Indonesian elementary school. To achieve this purpose, this study compared the findings from the two dependent variables (i.e., student…

Effectiveness of a Mobile Plant Learning System in a Science Curriculum in Taiwanese Elementary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Yueh-Min; Lin, Yen-Ting; Cheng, Shu-Chen

2010-01-01

This study developed a Mobile Plant Learning System (MPLS) that provides instructors with the ways and means to facilitate student learning in an elementary-school-level botany course. The MPLS represented in this study was implemented to address problems that arise with the use of a didactic approach to teaching and learning botany, as is…

Physician as teacher: promoting health and wellness among elementary school students.

PubMed

Stefaniak, Jill E; Lucia, Victoria C

2014-01-01

Every day, physicians engage in teaching during their patient encounters. It may be that medical students who are introduced to the principles of teaching and learning are more likely to become good communicators and learners. Service-learning may be an effective way for medical students to practice skills in teaching and communication in a real-world setting, while also filling a need within the community. The purpose of this study was to identify common themes within medical students' reflections on what they learned through participating in a teaching exercise with local elementary school children. As a required component of a longitudinal prevention and public health course that spans the first and second years of undergraduate medical education, second year students at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, in Detroit, Michigan, in the USA completed a service-learning activity, which included teaching a standardized curricular module to local elementary school children. Students were required to complete a reflection assignment based on their teaching experience. Medical students' responses to assignment's three guided questions were qualitatively coded to identify common themes among the responses related to the teaching activity. Qualitative analysis of students' reflections revealed several themes regarding what the students learned and viewed as the benefits of the activity: The importance of early education and parental involvement; the importance of understanding your audience when teaching; the importance of simplifying complex concepts to the audience's level; and the importance of preparation for teaching. Medical students identified the difficulties of communicating at an audience appropriate level and providing patient education outside the confines of a controlled classroom setting. This activity provided medical students with hands-on experience presenting to an audience age-appropriate, health-related topics. Presenting in an elementary school environment helped students better understand what health information various age groups knew about and the importance of clarifying information when communicating with a younger audience.

An Analysis of Individualized Education Program Goals Selected for Learning-Disabled Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCormick, Paula K.; Fisher, Maurice D.

The study was designed to analyze the types and frequencies of individualized education program (IEP) goals selected for 102 elementary learning disabled students in resource rooms (LDR) and 94 learning disabled students in self-contained classrooms (LDSC) and to compare the learning disabilities teachers' assessments of progress made on the goals…

Elementary School Teachers' Perception of Desirable Learning Activities: A Singaporean Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Ai-girl

2001-01-01

From ratings of children's learning activities by 209 elementary teachers in Singapore, four factors emerged: conventional activities, motivational activities, student-directed activities that foster independence and collaboration, and teacher-directed group activities. Beginning teachers preferred motivational activities. The current environment…

The transfer of learning process: From an elementary science methods course to classroom instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Nina Leann

The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore the transfer of learning process in student teachers. This was carried out by focusing on information learned from an elementary science methods and how it was transferred into classroom instruction during student teaching. Participants were a purposeful sampling of twelve elementary education student teachers attending a public university in north Mississippi. Factors that impacted the transfer of learning during lesson planning and implementation were sought. The process of planning and implementing a ten-day science instructional unit during student teaching was examined through lesson plan documentation, in-depth individual interviews, and two focus group interviews. Narratives were created to describe the participants' experiences as well as how they plan for instruction and consider science pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Categories and themes were then used to build explanations applying to the research questions. The themes identified were Understanding of Science PCK, Minimalism, Consistency in the Teacher Education Program, and Emphasis on Science Content. The data suggested that the participants lack in their understanding of science PCK, took a minimalistic approach to incorporating science into their ten-day instructional units, experienced inconsistencies in the teacher education program, and encountered a lack of emphasis on science content in their field experience placements. The themes assisted in recognizing areas in the elementary science methods courses, student teaching field placements, and university supervision in need of modification.

Investigation of learning environment for arithmetic word problems by problem posing as sentence integration in Indonesian language

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasanah, N.; Hayashi, Y.; Hirashima, T.

2017-02-01

Arithmetic word problems remain one of the most difficult area of teaching mathematics. Learning by problem posing has been suggested as an effective way to improve students’ understanding. However, the practice in usual classroom is difficult due to extra time needed for assessment and giving feedback to students’ posed problems. To address this issue, we have developed a tablet PC software named Monsakun for learning by posing arithmetic word problems based on Triplet Structure Model. It uses the mechanism of sentence-integration, an efficient implementation of problem-posing that enables agent-assessment of posed problems. The learning environment has been used in actual Japanese elementary school classrooms and the effectiveness has been confirmed in previous researches. In this study, ten Indonesian elementary school students living in Japan participated in a learning session of problem posing using Monsakun in Indonesian language. We analyzed their learning activities and show that students were able to interact with the structure of simple word problem using this learning environment. The results of data analysis and questionnaire suggested that the use of Monsakun provides a way of creating an interactive and fun environment for learning by problem posing for Indonesian elementary school students.

The Influence of Drama on Elementary Students' Written Narratives and On-Task Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Alida; Berry, Katherine A.

2014-01-01

Dramatic language arts integration (DLA) and conventional language arts (CLA) lessons were compared for their influence on third grade students' written narrative cohesion and on-task behavior in a self-contained, nonpublic elementary classroom. Participants included students (N = 14) with comorbid language-based learning disabilities (LD) and…

Investigating Elementary School Students' Technology Acceptance by Applying Digital Game-Based Learning to Environmental Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Yuh-Ming; Lou, Shi-Jer; Kuo, Sheng-Huang; Shih, Ru-Chu

2013-01-01

In order to improve and promote students' environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour, integrating environmental education into the primary education curriculum has become a key issue for environmental education. For this reason, this study aimed to investigate elementary school students' acceptance of technology applying digital game-based…

Design Thinking in Elementary Students' Collaborative Lamp Designing Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kangas, Kaiju; Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, Pirita; Hakkarainen, Kai

2013-01-01

Design and Technology education is potentially a rich environment for successful learning, if the management of the whole design process is emphasised, and students' design thinking is promoted. The aim of the present study was to unfold the collaborative design process of one team of elementary students, in order to understand their multimodal…

Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ray, Katie Wood

Drawing on stories from classrooms, examples of student writing, and illustrations, this book explains in practical terms the theoretical underpinnings of how elementary school students learn to write from their reading. Beginning with the concepts that underlie how writing teachers teach students to write by studying other writers, it goes on to…

Learning Science through Talking Science in Elementary Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tank, Kristina Maruyama; Coffino, Kara

2014-01-01

Elementary students in grade two make sense of science ideas and knowledge through their contextual experiences. Mattis Lundin and Britt Jakobson find in their research that early grade students have sophisticated understandings of human anatomy and physiology. In order to understand what students' know about human body and various systems,…

Newspapers in Science Education: A Study Involving Sixth Grade Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lai, Ching-San; Wang, Yun-Fei

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the learning performance of sixth grade elementary school students using newspapers in science teaching. A quasi-experimental design with a single group was used in this study. Thirty-three sixth grade elementary school students participated in this study. The research instruments consisted of three…

Effects of Computer Applications on Elementary School Students' Achievement: A Meta-Analysis of Students in Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liao, Yuen-kuang Cliff; Chang, Huei-wen; Chen, Yu-wen

2008-01-01

A meta-analysis was performed to synthesize existing research comparing the effects of computer applications (i.e., computer-assisted instruction, computer simulations, and Web-based learning) versus traditional instruction on elementary school students' achievement in Taiwan. Forty-eight studies were located from four sources, and their…

How the nature of science is presented to elementary students in science read-alouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivera, Seema

Students as early as elementary school age are capable of learning the aspects of the nature of science (NOS), and the National Benchmarks incorporate the NOS as part of the learning objectives for K--2 students. Learning more about elementary science instruction can aid in understanding how the NOS can be taught or potentially integrated into current teaching methods. Although many teaching methods exist, this study will focus on read-alouds because they are recommended for and are very common in elementary schools. The read-aloud practice is particularly helpful to young students because most of these students have a higher listening comprehension than reading comprehension. One of the main components of the read-aloud practice is the discourse that takes place about the trade book. Both explicit and implicit messages are communicated to students by teachers' language and discussion that takes place in the classroom. Therefore, six multisite naturalistic case studies were conducted to understand elementary teachers' understanding of the NOS, students' understandings of the NOS, trade book representations of the NOS, and read-aloud practices and understandings in upstate New York. The findings of the study revealed that teachers and students held mostly naive and mixed understandings of the NOS. The trade books that had explicit connections to the NOS helped teachers discuss NOS related issues, even when the teachers did not hold strong NOS views. Teachers who held more informed NOS views were able to ask students NOS related questions. All teachers showed they need guidance on how to translate their NOS views into discussion and see the significance of the NOS in their classroom. Explicit NOS instruction can improve student understanding of the NOS, however the focus should be not only on teachers and their NOS understanding but also on the books used. These results show that quality trade books with explicit connections to the NOS are a useful instructional tool in elementary science classrooms. The results of the study encourage more science education research in the science read-aloud practice. Keywords: NOS, read-aloud, elementary

Student Centered Curriculum: Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rondone, Atria

2014-01-01

Student-centered learning has an important place in education because it fosters student engagement and allows the traditional micromanaging teacher to transform into a guide. The current education model emphasizes teacher control and curriculum based on standardized testing, which stunts students' natural learning processes. This study…

Geological field study for science education on Elementary and Junior high school student, in Shimane prefecture, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, I.

2011-12-01

The importance of learning at field has been increasing in the elementary and the junior high school in Japan. And, an environmental education is one of the important subjects even in the school education, too. It was important, as for science education, understanding with actual feeling and learning were specified as for the Teaching outlines (the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) of the new science textbook of the elementary and the junior high school as well. However, It is a little actual situation that there is in an opportunity for the field learning enforced in the school lesson by the investigation of JST (Japan Science and Tecnology Agency). This tendency is strong as much as school of the city and that circumference. I have this cause think that there are a few suitable places for learning to observe geological and biological field near school. In addition, below two is pointed out as a big problem to obstruct the execution of field learning. 1) A natural experience isn't being done sufficient as much as a teacher can teach to the student. 2) It doesn't have the confidence that a teacher teaches a student geology and biology at the field. I introduce the practical example of geological field learning at the public elementary school of the Shimane prefecture by this research. Though it is the place where nature is comparatively rich even in Japan, it can't be said that field learning is popular in Shimane prefecture. A school teacher has to learning experience at field, and he must settle confidence to guide a student at the field. A specialist in the university and the museum must support continuous learning for that to the school teacher.

Investigating Elementary Students' Learning Approaches, Motivational Goals, and Achievement in Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hacieminoglu, Esme; Yilmaz-Tuzun, Ozgul; Ertepinar, Hamide

2009-01-01

This study examined the relationships among students' learning approaches, motivational goals, previous science grades, and their science achievement for the concepts related to atomic theory and explored the effects of gender and sociodemographic variables on students' learning approaches, motivational goals, and their science achievement for the…

Supporting Scientific Experimentation and Reasoning in Young Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varma, Keisha

2014-01-01

Researchers from multiple perspectives have shown that young students can engage in the scientific reasoning involved in science experimentation. However, there is little research on how well these young students learn in inquiry-based learning environments that focus on using scientific experimentation strategies to learn new scientific…

How Elementary School Students' Motivation Is Connected to Self-Regulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarvela, Sanna; Jarvenoja, Hanna; Malmberg, Jonna

2012-01-01

Empirical research reveals that students face difficulties engaging in learning and achieving their goals in a variety of learning contexts. To study effectively, students need to regulate their learning process. In spite of increased understanding of cognitive aspects of self-regulation, motivational aspects of regulation have not yet been…

Supporting Diverse Learners through Professional Learning for Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winnen, Ashley Newman

2016-01-01

School leaders use professional learning practices as a strategy to improve teaching and therefore student learning. As student populations become more ethnically and socioeconomically diverse, teachers need ongoing training to meet the needs of today's students. One successful elementary school in Colorado was the focus of this case study…

Active Learning through Toy Design and Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sirinterlikci, Arif; Zane, Linda; Sirinterlikci, Aleea L.

2009-01-01

This article presents an initiative that is based on active learning pedagogy by engaging elementary and middle school students in the toy design and development field. The case study presented in this article is about student learning experiences during their participation in the TOYchallenge National Toy Design Competition. Students followed the…

Practice of Field learning and its effect by using Hiikawa river distributed over Shimane prefecture, southwest Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomoyuki, U.; Matsumoto, I.

2013-12-01

The importance of field learning about geological feature has been increasing from a elementary to a undergraduate (university) student. Especially the field learning for elementary and junior high school student is important in it. However, the implementation rate of the field learning in an elementary and a junior high school is a low very much. The trend for a school with such a situation nearer to a large city to be stronger is recognized. They learn the erosion, transportation, and sedimentation by river water as science unite of grade 5 "Function of running water" of elementary school in Japan. As for Hii river, the granitoids is widely distributed over most of the basin from the upper stream to the down stream. Therefore, the most is the granitoids origin and we can look upon the clastic grains observed to the river floor and bank as a series of rocks and minerals from the upper stream to the lower stream. That is, since a student can make observation learning of the function of a river through grain size change of a granitoids and the mineral which constitutes it, Hii river is very good teaching material in this unit. Moreover, in this study, we carried out the questionnaire of the free description format including the general impression against a this field learning. The result of these questionnaires showed that student not only having studying the function of running water 'weathering', 'transportation' and 'sedimentation' with actual feelings, but also the actions of the river having spent tremendous time and having studied dominating the Space.

Development of Speaking Skills through Activity Based Learning at the Elementary Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ul-Haq, Zahoor; Khurram, Bushra Ahmed; Bangash, Arshad Khan

2017-01-01

Purpose: This paper discusses an effective instructional method called "activity based learning" that can be used to develop the speaking skills of students in the elementary school level. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of activity based learning on the development of the speaking skills of low and high achievers…

Learning without Boundaries: Developing Mobile Learning Scenarios for Elementary and Middle School Language Arts & Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Michael A.; Gracanin, Denis

2009-01-01

This article provides an overview to a collaborative knowledge building project using iPod Touches in elementary and secondary language arts and mathematics classrooms, working with 4 teachers and over 80 students. The interactive technologies for embodied Learning in Reading and Mathematics (iteL*RM) project intends to facilitate student…

Technology Trends in Mobile Computer Supported Collaborative Learning in Elementary Education from 2009 to 2014

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carapina, Mia; Boticki, Ivica

2015-01-01

This paper analyses mobile computer supported collaborative learning in elementary education worldwide focusing on technology trends for the period from 2009 to 2014. The results present representation of device types used to support collaborative activities, their distribution per users (1:1 or 1:m) and if students are learning through or around…

Teacher Leaders Building Foundations for Data-Informed Teacher Learning in One Urban Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicholson, Julie; Capitelli, Sarah; Richert, Anna E.; Wilson, Carrie; Bove, Claire

2017-01-01

We examine how teacher leaders (TLs), working in a low-income urban elementary school, supported their colleagues to learn how to collect quality formative data and to discuss it in collaborative conversations in order to make their students' learning visible. The TLs faced challenges reflecting consequences resulting from the district's high…

Bread Baking Contest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blanchette, Amy; And Others

1995-01-01

Describes a classroom project in which elementary students bake homemade bread to learn about the settlement period in Canadian history and the early history of the students' community. Maintains that students learn to compare the lifestyle of the past with the present. (CFR)

Activity Book: Ocean Ecology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Learning, 1992

1992-01-01

Presents a collection of activities to help elementary students study ocean ecology. The activities have students investigate ocean inhabitants, analyze animal adaptations, examine how temperature and saltiness affect ocean creatures, and learn about safeguarding the sea. Student pages offer reproducible learning sheets. (SM)

A program evaluation of Protovation Camp at an elementary school in North Carolina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavoly, Denise Y.

The purpose of this program evaluation was to investigate the impact over time teachers' self-efficacies and the outcome expectancies of those who participated in an inquiry-based, hands-on, constructivist professional development program to learn science content. The hope was that after active participation in this inquiry-based professional development program that provides science inquiry experiences, the teachers, graduate students and elementary students would gain content knowledge, increase self-efficacies, and provide the outcome expectancies of the learning development program that provides science inquiry experiences. The mixed-methods approach used quantitative and qualitative data for campers, which consisted of pre-test and post-test scores on the Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA), the Draw-A-Scientist Test, Science Process Skills Inventory (SPSI) and content tests based on the camp activities. Additionally, TOSRA scores, Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), and Thinking about Science Survey (TSSI) results for the graduate students and elementary teachers were used along with qualitative data collected from plusdelta charts and interviews to determine the impact of participation in Protovation Camp on teachers and students. Results of the program evaluation indicated that when students were taught inquiry-based lessons that ignite wonder, both their attitudes toward science and their knowledge about science improved. An implication for teacher preparation programs was that practicing inquiry-based lessons on actual elementary students was an important component for teachers and graduate students as they prepare to positively impact student learning in their own classrooms. The findings of this study suggest that it is not just the length of the professional development program that is crucial, but the need for an implementation period while teachers work to transfer the learning to the classroom to their own students is critical to the success of process.

A survey of specific individualized instruction strategies in elementary science methods courses in Tennessee teacher education institutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hazari, Alan A.

The purpose of the study was to determine the status of individualized science instruction in Tennessee teacher education institutions. Specifically, the study sought to investigate the extent of teaching about and/or use of 31 strategies for individualizing instruction in elementary science teaching methods courses. The individualized instruction frameworks, with strategies for individualizing instruction, were developed by Rowell, et al. in the College of Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. A review of the literature on the preparation of preservice elementary science teachers for individualized instruction in K-8 classrooms revealed very limited research. This investigation sought to identify how the elementary science teacher educators prepared their preservice elementary science teachers to (1) learn about the children they will teach, (2) determine differences among learners, (3) plan for individualized science instruction in the elementary school classroom, and (4) help attend to individual student differences. The researcher prepared and used a 31-item survey to poll elementary science teacher educators in Tennessee. The participants included K-8 educators from 40 state-approved teacher education institutions. The high teacher education institution response rate (72.5%) brought input from institutions of varying sizes, operated privately or publicly across the state of Tennessee. In general, Tennessee elementary science teacher educators reported that they tended to teach about and/or use a fair number of the 31 individualized instruction strategies that involve both learning about K-8 students and their differences. On the other hand, many of these educators provided preservice teachers with quite a bit of the strategies that lead to planning for individualized science instruction and to attending to individual student differences. The two strategies that were the most taught about and/or used in elementary science methods by Tennessee educators were planning for and maintaining an interactive classroom and implementing cooperative learning groups. The two strategies with the lowest rating were using a computer-tracking system to keep student profiles and using commercial tests to determine student placement. Almost 42% of the strategies in the survey were rated high to very high. This indicated that Tennessee educators do regularly include many of these 31 strategies in their elementary science methods courses. Examples include hands-on approach, cooperative learning, thematic and project teaching, learning centers, and the use of the Tennessee Instructional Model. The study also showed that Tennessee science teacher educators in church-related institutions appeared to utilize more of the 31 strategies for individualizing instruction in K-8 classrooms than do the educators in non-church-related institutions. Tennessee K-8 teachers could be better prepared if exposed to as many different and effective pedagogical tools and practices as possible during their education and preparation. A strong science program rich in content and a variety of instructional strategies (including individualized instruction) is needed to help maximize the science learning opportunities for all Tennessee students.

The Relation between Assessment for Learning and Elementary Students' Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategy Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baas, Diana; Castelijns, Jos; Vermeulen, Marjan; Martens, Rob; Segers, Mien

2015-01-01

Background: Assessment for Learning (AfL) is believed to create a rich learning environment in which students develop their cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Monitoring student growth and providing scaffolds that shed light on the next step in the learning process are hypothesized to be essential elements of AfL that enhance cognitive and…

Emotional Intelligence among Auditory, Reading, and Kinesthetic Learning Styles of Elementary School Students in Ambon-Indonesia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leasa, Marleny; Corebima, Aloysius D.; Ibrohim; Suwono, Hadi

2017-01-01

Students have unique ways in managing the information in their learning process. VARK learning styles associated with memory are considered to have an effect on emotional intelligence. This quasi-experimental research was conducted to compare the emotional intelligence among the students having auditory, reading, and kinesthetic learning styles in…

Diversity Awareness for K-6 Teachers: The Impact on Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLeod, Rona Leach

2011-01-01

"Diversity Awareness for K-6 Teachers: The Impact on Student Learning" is a resource guide for elementary teachers and college-level student teachers for teaching diversity awareness across the various areas of content. It contains many exciting activities teachers can use to enhance learning while making learning and teaching fun and exciting.…

The effect of learning styles and attitude on preservice elementary teachers' conceptual understanding of chemistry and the nature of matter in a simulation-based learning environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Jaroudi, Mo H.

This causal-comparative descriptive study investigated the achievement of pre-service elementary teachers taking an introductory physical science course that integrates inquiry-based instruction with computer simulations. The study was intended to explore if pre-service elementary teachers with different attitudes towards science as well as students with different learning styles would benefit differentially. Four research questions including four hypotheses were developed. The first major question consist of four specific hypothesis that addressed preservice elementary teachers' learning styles (Active/Reflective, Sensing/Intuitive, Visual/Verbal, and Sequential/Global) and their conceptual understanding of chemistry and the particulate nature of matter in a science class which use hands-on learning integrated with computer based simulated activities. The second major question pertained to the relationship between preservice teachers learning science and chemistry and their attitude towards science. The third major question related to preservice elementary teachers science and chemistry achievement gain scores and attitude average affected by their learning styles. Finally, the fourth question pertained to the dissipation or the minimization of preservice elementary teachers' science and chemistry misconceptions over the course of study. Three instruments were given to preservice elementary teachers in three different classes: pretest/posttest for the science conceptual understanding examination, and pretest-only for the science attitude and learning styles instruments. Total usable science attitude surveys returned was 67 out of 70. The overall average mean was 3.13 (SD = .51) on a five point scale. Total return of science achievement instrument was 65, with a total mean test score (quantitative and qualitative together) of 6.38 (SD = 3.05) on the pretest, with a post test mean of 9.06 (SD = 4.19). Results revealed no statistically significant achievement gain scores based on students' learning styles, entering in all 4-combined dimensions at the same time Visual/Verbal, Sensing/Intuitive, Sequential/Global, and Active/Reflective (p > .05), indicating the four learning styles dimensions cannot be used to predict students' achievement gain. Results also indicated that there was no significant relationship between achievement gain and students' attitude (p > .05). Attitude and learning style together were also not significantly related to achievement gain. Preservice elementary teachers' comprehension of chemical concepts in this study varied from no comprehension to fair comprehension, and included many misconceptions; no answer showed complete understanding of the concepts. Many of the preservice teachers held misconception related to evaporation. If not addressed in science content and methods courses, this could be a problem as this new generation of teachers goes out to teach. It is proposed that to fix preservice elementary teachers' conceptual problems, curriculum needs to specifically focus on misconceptions. The preservice elementary subjects of the study showed a variety of misconceptions on both pretest and posttest concerning the particulate and the kinetic nature of matter. Suggestions are made is that a science content course could more contribute to preservice students' conceptual change if curriculum designers incorporate a segment that specifically addresses misconceptions, especially those misconceptions that have been documented in the literature for decades. A robust cognitive model for science education is proposed to increase teachers' science knowledge and to decrease science misconceptions.

Classroom Management in the Elementary Grades. Research Series No. 32.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brophy, Jere E.; Putnam, Joyce G.

The literature on elementary school classroom management is reviewed. Topics include student characteristics and individual differences, preparing the classroom as a learning environment, organizing instruction and support activities to maximize student engagement in productive tasks, developing workable housekeeping procedures and conduct rules,…

Elementary Students' Mathematical Explanations and Attention to Audience with Screencasts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soto, Melissa

2015-01-01

Reasoning and constructing mathematical explanations for an audience have become increasingly important activities in elementary classrooms with the implementation of reform-oriented curriculum and standards. Mobile learning tools and applications, such as screencasts, allow students to generate multimedia presentations of their solution…

Sounds and Sense-Abilities: Science for All

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plourde, Lee A.; Klemm, E. Barbara

2004-01-01

Activities-oriented instruction offers multi modal opportunities for learning science. How do college students in elementary pre-service teacher preparation programs describe science lab activities in terms of visual, kinesthetic, auditory and motor characteristics? Research with elementary science methods students shows that the Levels of…

A Mindfulness-Based Intervention Pilot Feasibility Study for Elementary School Students With Severe Learning Difficulties: Effects on Internalized and Externalized Symptoms From an Emotional Regulation Perspective

PubMed Central

Malboeuf-Hurtubise, Catherine; Lacourse, Eric; Taylor, Geneviève; Joussemet, Mireille; Ben Amor, Leila

2016-01-01

Objective. Students with severe learning disabilities often show signs of anxiety, depression, and problem behaviors such as inattention and conduct problems. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in school settings constitute a promising option to alleviate these co-occurring symptoms. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the impact of an MBI on symptoms and behaviors of elementary school students with severe learning disabilities. Method. A one-group pretest-posttest design was used. The sample comprised 14 students aged 9 to 12 years with special education needs. Both student-report and teacher-report of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition were used. Results. Repeated-measures analyses of variance revealed a significant impact of the MBI on symptoms and behaviors such as anxiety, depression, inattention, aggression, and conduct problems. Effect sizes for all variables were considered large (partial η2 = .31-.61). Conclusion. These preliminary results indicate that MBIs can reduce the frequency of symptoms and problem behaviors often found in children with learning disabilities in elementary schools. Further multiple baseline experimental trials with a long-term follow-up are warranted to establish more robustly the effect of MBIs for children with learning disabilities.

'Sometimes They Are Fun and Sometimes They Are Not': Concept Mapping with English Language Acquisition (ELA) and Gifted/Talented (GT) Elementary Students Learning Science and Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marzetta, Katrina; Mason, Hillary; Wee, Bryan

2018-01-01

This study presents an 'education for sustainability' curricular model which promotes science learning in an elementary classroom through equity pedagogy. A total of 25 fourth-grade students from an urban, public school in Denver, Colorado participated in this mixed-methods study where concept maps were used as a tool for describing and assessing…

The Effects of Repeated Reading on the Fluency and Comprehension Skills of Elementary-Age Students with Learning Disabilities (LD), 2001-2011: A Review of Research and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strickland, Whitney D.; Boon, Richard T.; Spencer, Vicky G.

2013-01-01

This article provides an extensive review of the literature on the use of repeated reading to improve the reading fluency and comprehension skills of elementary-age students with learning disabilities. A systematic review of the published literature from 2001 to 2011 was conducted and nineteen (N = 19) research-based repeated reading studies were…

Problem Solving-based Learning Materials on Fraction for Training Creativity of Elementary School Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widhitama, Y. N.; Lukito, A.; Khabibah, S.

2018-01-01

The aim of this research is to develop problem solving based learning materials on fraction for training creativity of elementary school students. Curriculum 2006 states that mathematics should be studied by all learners starting from elementary level in order for them mastering thinking skills, one of them is creative thinking. To our current knowledge, there is no such a research topic being done. To promote this direction, we initiate by developing learning materials with problem solving approach. The developed materials include Lesson Plan, Student Activity Sheet, Mathematical Creativity Test, and Achievement Test. We implemented a slightly modified 4-D model by Thiagajan et al. (1974) consisting of Define, Design, Development, and Disseminate. Techniques of gathering data include observation, test, and questionnaire. We applied three good qualities for the resulted materials; that is, validity, practicality, and effectiveness. The results show that the four mentioned materials meet the corresponding criteria of good quality product.

Elementary School Literacy: Critical Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dreher, Mariam Jean, Ed.; Slater, Wayne H., Ed.

Providing a thorough grounding on important topics in elementary school literacy for experienced teachers and graduate students early in their programs, this book addresses a number of critical issues such as grouping and reading instruction, emergent literacy, learning to read and write with at-risk children, developing vocabulary, learning in…

"If We're Ever in Trouble They're Always There": A Qualitative Study of Teacher-Student Caring

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeffrey, Aaron J.; Auger, Richard W.; Pepperell, Jennifer L.

2013-01-01

In the current elementary school environment of increased academic and administrative demands on schools and teachers, it has become increasingly challenging to maintain the personal teacher-student relationships that form the basis for learning. In this qualitative study, we conducted focus groups with 17 elementary students and 6 elementary…

Elementary Students as Active Agents in Their Learning: An Empirical Study of the Connections between Assessment Practices and Student Metacognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braund, Heather; DeLuca, Christopher

2018-01-01

This study explored how elementary teachers leveraged and structured student-involved formative assessment to promote metacognition and self-regulation. Research has suggested a connection between formative assessment practices (e.g., self-assessment and peer-assessment) and metacognition. However, this connection has limited empirical support,…

The Foreign Language Learning Value Beliefs of Japanese Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Ron Reuel

2013-01-01

This study was an investigation of student beliefs about their EFL education, and it was based upon the subjective task value component of the expectancy-value theory, a prominent theory of achievement motivation. The participants were three cohorts of Japanese public elementary school students (Cohort 1 from 2008; Cohort 2 from 2009; and Cohort 3…

Promoting Elementary Students' Epistemology of Science through Computer-Supported Knowledge-Building Discourse and Epistemic Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Feng; Chan, Carol K. K.

2018-01-01

This study examined the role of computer-supported knowledge-building discourse and epistemic reflection in promoting elementary-school students' scientific epistemology and science learning. The participants were 39 Grade 5 students who were collectively pursuing ideas and inquiry for knowledge advance using Knowledge Forum (KF) while studying a…

Orienteering Map and Compass: A Guide and Outline to Its Science and Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Mel; Burton, VirLynn

This orienteering manual is used to teach map and compass skills to elementary school students on an overnight outdoor experience administered by volunteers. Although the experience is aimed at elementary students, student teachers have the opportunity to participate as instructors. After a few words to the volunteers on maximizing learning among…

Effects of Engineering Design-Based Science on Elementary School Science Students' Engineering Identity Development across Gender and Grade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capobianco, Brenda M.; Yu, Ji H.; French, Brian F.

2015-04-01

The integration of engineering concepts and practices into elementary science education has become an emerging concern for science educators and practitioners, alike. Moreover, how children, specifically preadolescents (grades 1-5), engage in engineering design-based learning activities may help science educators and researchers learn more about children's earliest identification with engineering. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which engineering identity differed among preadolescents across gender and grade, when exposing students to engineering design-based science learning activities. Five hundred fifty preadolescent participants completed the Engineering Identity Development Scale (EIDS), a recently developed measure with validity evidence that characterizes children's conceptions of engineering and potential career aspirations. Data analyses of variance among four factors (i.e., gender, grade, and group) indicated that elementary school students who engaged in the engineering design-based science learning activities demonstrated greater improvements on the EIDS subscales compared to those in the comparison group. Specifically, students in the lower grade levels showed substantial increases, while students in the higher grade levels showed decreases. Girls, regardless of grade level and participation in the engineering learning activities, showed higher scores in the academic subscale compared to boys. These findings suggest that the integration of engineering practices in the science classroom as early as grade one shows potential in fostering and sustaining student interest, participation, and self-concept in engineering and science.

History and Imagination: Reenactments for Elementary Social Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, Ronald Vaughan

2012-01-01

In "History and Imagination," elementary school social studies teachers will learn how to help their students break down the walls of their schools, more personally engage with history, and define democratic citizenship. By collaborating together in meaningful investigations into the past and reenacting history, students will become…

Nutrition and Its Effects on Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swensson, Marjorie

A 12-week practicum intervention, designed to improve the classroom performance of 17 elementary school students experiencing learning or behavior problems by offering the students nutrition instruction and improving nutritional practices in the students' homes, was implemented and evaluated. Students were requied to agree to: (1) eat a nutritious…

Earth Systems Science in an Integrated Science Content and Methods Course for Elementary Education Majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madsen, J. A.; Allen, D. E.; Donham, R. S.; Fifield, S. J.; Shipman, H. L.; Ford, D. J.; Dagher, Z. R.

2004-12-01

With funding from the National Science Foundation, we have designed an integrated science content and methods course for sophomore-level elementary teacher education (ETE) majors. This course, the Science Semester, is a 15-credit sequence that consists of three science content courses (Earth, Life, and Physical Science) and a science teaching methods course. The goal of this integrated science and education methods curriculum is to foster holistic understandings of science and pedagogy that future elementary teachers need to effectively use inquiry-based approaches in teaching science in their classrooms. During the Science Semester, traditional subject matter boundaries are crossed to stress shared themes that teachers must understand to teach standards-based elementary science. Exemplary approaches that support both learning science and learning how to teach science are used. In the science courses, students work collaboratively on multidisciplinary problem-based learning (PBL) activities that place science concepts in authentic contexts and build learning skills. In the methods course, students critically explore the theory and practice of elementary science teaching, drawing on their shared experiences of inquiry learning in the science courses. An earth system science approach is ideally adapted for the integrated, inquiry-based learning that takes place during the Science Semester. The PBL investigations that are the hallmark of the Science Semester provide the backdrop through which fundamental earth system interactions can be studied. For example in the PBL investigation that focuses on energy, the carbon cycle is examined as it relates to fossil fuels. In another PBL investigation centered on kids, cancer, and the environment, the hydrologic cycle with emphasis on surface runoff and ground water contamination is studied. In a PBL investigation that has students learning about the Delaware Bay ecosystem through the story of the horseshoe crab and the biome that swirls around this remarkable arthropod, students are exposed to interactions between the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and geosphere and they examine ways in which climate change can affect this ecosystem.

Effects of Illustrations on Reading Comprehension of Learning Disabled Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Terry L.

1986-01-01

The effects of illustrations on comprehension were investigated with 32 learning disabled elementary-aged students. Results showed significantly more correct responses to comprehension questions following the non-illustrated passages. (Author)

Small Schools Student Learning Objectives, K-3: Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartl, David, Ed.; And Others

Developed by primary teachers and elementary principals from small districts in Snohomish and Island counties in Washington, this handbook contains sequenced student learning objectives for grades K-3 in the curriculum areas of reading, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Each student learning objective is correlated to the…

Music: Highly Engaged Students Connect Music to Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Shelly M.; Pearson, Dunn, Jr.

2013-01-01

A musician and a mathematics educator create and implement a set of elementary school lessons integrating music and math. Students learn the basics of music theory including identifying notes and learning their fractional values. They learn about time signatures and how to determine correct note values per measure. Students are motivated by…

Alternative Learning Environments in the Elementary School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Eugene D.

This paper outlines a program utilized in the Countryside School which offers alternative learning environments in the elementary school. The program includes (1) semi-departmentalization; (2) team teaching; and (3) an open-alternatives program. Each of these areas is outlined and fully discussed in terms of student and parent needs. (YRJ)

Developing Preservice Elementary Teachers' Knowledge and Practices through Modeling-Centered Scientific Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwarz, Christina

2009-01-01

Preservice elementary teachers face many challenges in learning how to teach science effectively, such as engaging students in science, organizing instruction, and developing a productive learning community. This paper reports on several iterative cycles of design-based research aimed at fostering preservice teachers' principled reasoning around…

The International Pencil: Elementary Level Unit on Global Interdependence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolken, Lawrence C.

1984-01-01

The production of an American pencil is the result of complex interactions involving many people, places, and resources. Learning activities dealing with the making of a pencil that will help students learn about global interdependence are described. The activities can be adapted to fit any elementary grade level. (RM)

Patterns in Elementary School Students' Strategic Actions in Varying Learning Situations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malmberg, Jonna; Järvenoja, Hanna; Järvelä, Sanna

2013-01-01

This study uses log file traces to examine differences between high-and low-achieving students' strategic actions in varying learning situations. In addition, this study illustrates, in detail, what strategic and self-regulated learning constitutes in practice. The study investigates the learning patterns that emerge in learning situations…

Elementary School Psychologists' Perceptions of Response to Intervention and Its Use to Diagnose Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in Tennessee: A Mixed Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebbinger, April M.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in initial eligibilities of elementary students across Tennessee since the implementation response to intervention (RtI), as well as understand the perceptions of elementary school psychologists related to those changes in identification and eligibility. RtI is a Tennessee mandated initiative,…

A Comparison between the Effect of Cooperative Learning Teaching Method and Lecture Teaching Method on Students' Learning and Satisfaction Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohammadjani, Farzad; Tonkaboni, Forouzan

2015-01-01

The aim of the present research is to investigate a comparison between the effect of cooperative learning teaching method and lecture teaching method on students' learning and satisfaction level. The research population consisted of all the fourth grade elementary school students of educational district 4 in Shiraz. The statistical population…

Development Mathematic Assessment to Increase Mathematical Prerequisite Ability on The Student with Learning Disabilities in Inclusive Elementary School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robiansyah, S. T. U.; Nanang, F.; Hidayat

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to introduce about mathematic assessment is a process of obtaining data or information about the mastery of a student's mathematical skills as an ingredient in preparing a learning program. With this mathematics assessment can be known obstacles, difficulties and needs of students especially in the field of mathematic, so that the learning program will be in accordance with the potential students because it is tailored to what is required of students. This research study was conducted at elementary school of inclusive precisely at SDN Sukagalih I Bandung City based learning in setting of inclusive education. This research study is motivated by the existence of a first-grade student who has disabilities learning in mathematics, the ability of the mathematical prerequisite mastery of the classification of objects by color. The results of the research can provide a profile picture of student data information, the data obtained from the results of the development of systematic and formal mathematical assessment. After doing the development of mathematics assessment then the teacher gets important related information: 1. process the analysis of students’ learning needs, especially in the field of mathematics, 2. preparing the learning program planning according to student learning needs, 3. Designing procedural of method remedial program.

How Intuition and Language Use Relate to Students' Understanding of Span and Linear Independence in an Elementary Linear Algebra Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Catherine Frieda

2010-01-01

A possible contributing factor to students' difficulty in learning advanced mathematics is the conflict between students' "natural" learning styles and the formal structure of mathematics, which is based on definitions, theorems, and proofs. Students' natural learning styles may be a function of their intuition and language skills. The purpose of…

"An Adjective Is a Word Hanging down from a Noun": Learning to Write and Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Karen R.; Graham, Steve

2013-01-01

By the upper elementary grades, writing becomes an essential tool both for learning and for showing what you know. Students who struggle significantly with writing are at a terrible disadvantage. Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress indicate that only 25% of students can be classified as competent writers; students with…

Science Pedagogy, Teacher Attitudes, and Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munck, Miriam

2007-01-01

Through a century-long process, there has been a resolute effort to shape science teaching in elementary classrooms. A close look at science teaching and student learning may provide a better understanding of what really happens in elementary classrooms. This study examines relationships between science teaching pedagogy, teachers' science…

Teacher Talk in General and Special Education Elementary Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollo, Alexandra; Wehby, Joseph H.

2017-01-01

Teachers' oral language use may be an important factor in student achievement, particularly for students who struggle with language, learning, and behavior. This study examined features of teacher talk during whole-class instruction in 14 general education (GE) and 14 self-contained special education (SE) elementary classrooms that included…

Applying Questioning or Reading Strategy to Review Technology Enhanced Coedited Notes of Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiu, Chiung-Hui; Cheng, Hsiao-Wei; Wu, Chiu-Yi

2016-01-01

The authors examined whether applying questioning review better enhances elementary level students' learning from technology-enhanced coediting-based note taking than does traditional reading review. A nonequivalent comparison group quasi-experimental design was implemented and replicated on four independent units. Two sixth grade elementary…

Thomas Edison Accelerated Elementary School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levin, Henry M.; Chasin, Gene

This paper describes early outcomes of a Sacramento, California, elementary school that participated in the Accelerated Schools Project. The school, which serves many minority and poor students, began training for the project in 1992. Accelerated Schools were designed to advance the learning rate of students through a gifted and talented approach,…

Preservice Elementary Students Meet Sagan's "Demon-Haunted World."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Mike

This paper describes a course in which preservice elementary teachers read and discussed "The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark" by Carl Sagan. Students discussed their beliefs about the nature of science, teaching, and learning. The paper concludes that preservice teachers appeared to develop reflective and critical…

The Book Trailer Project: Media Production within an Integrated Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Festa, Karen

2017-01-01

A special education co-teacher in an integrated elementary classroom describes key aspects of media literacy pedagogy for all students, including opportunities for critical analysis and creative media production. After elementary school students learned about author's craft, purpose, theme/message, three types of writing, and target audience, they…

Elementary Students' Perspectives on a Curriculum for Literacy Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pires Pereira, Íris Susana; González Riaño, Xosé Antón

2018-01-01

This article arises out of an initiative to implement a curriculum designed to enhance the literacy learning of elementary school children in Portugal. Researchers explored students' perspectives about the experienced curriculum through the enactment of group interviews. Thematic analysis of the conversations revealed positive opinions and…

Cooperative Learning with a Computer in a Native Language Class.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Ruth

In a cooperative task, American Indian elementary students produced bilingual natural history dictionaries using a Macintosh computer. Students in grades 3 through 8 attended weekly, multi-graded bilingual classes in Hupa/English or Yurok/English, held at two public school field sites for training elementary teaching-credential candidates. Teams…

Employing Popular Children's Literature to Teach Elementary School Chemistry: An Engaging Outreach Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wally, Laura M.; Levinger, Nancy E.; Grainger, David W.

2005-01-01

A chemistry outreach program to enthuse students of elementary school levels through employing popular children's literature Harry Potter is presented. The outreach activity performance found the students discovering new skills, learning more about science, and participating enthusiastically in the program without any added incentive from their…

Exploring Third-Grade Student Model-Based Explanations about Plant Relationships within an Ecosystem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zangori, Laura; Forbes, Cory T.

2015-01-01

Elementary students should have opportunities to develop scientific models to reason and build understanding about how and why plants depend on relationships within an ecosystem for growth and survival. However, scientific modeling practices are rarely included within elementary science learning environments and disciplinary content is often…

An Investigation into Upper Elementary Students' Attitudes towards Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaya, Hasan

2012-01-01

Science and technology course that helps to improve cognitive aspects and enhance the creativity of the individuals is an important part of elementary school education as a core course. Students may gain scientific knowledge, scientific process skills, and attitudes during their science learning process. This study aimed to determine upper…

Laptop Computers in the Elementary Classroom: Authentic Instruction with At-Risk Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kemker, Kate; Barron, Ann E.; Harmes, J. Christine

2007-01-01

This case study investigated the integration of laptop computers into an elementary classroom in a low socioeconomic status (SES) school. Specifically, the research examined classroom management techniques and aspects of authentic learning relative to the student projects and activities. A mixed methods approach included classroom observations,…

What Is the Optimal Length of an ELL Program?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hong, Guanglei; Gagne, Joshua; West, Andrew

2014-01-01

This study focuses on assessing the contribution of ELL services to Spanish-speaking students' mathematics learning in elementary schools. ELL students tend to have lower average math achievement at school entry and throughout elementary school. The term "ELL services" encompasses English-as-a-second-language (ESL) programs, bilingual…

Teleconferencing across Borders: Promoting Literacy--and More--in the Elementary Grades.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szente, Judit

2003-01-01

Chronicles the experiences of teachers and elementary students from the United States and Costa Rica as they participated in a videoconferencing project, initiated by Costa Rican students and made possible by CATE, Center for Applied Technologies in Education. Notes that the distance learning experience enhanced academic, technological and…

Effects of Different Student Response Modes on Science Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kho, Lee Sze; Chen, Chwen Jen

2017-01-01

Student response systems (SRSs) are wireless answering devices that enable students to provide simple real-time feedback to instructors. This study aims to evaluate the effects of different SRS interaction modes on elementary school students' science learning. Three interaction modes which include SRS Individual, SRS Collaborative, and Classroom…

The Effectiveness of Teaching Aids for Elementary Students' Renewable Energy Learning and an Analysis of Their Energy Attitude Formation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chou, Ying-Chyi; Yen, Hsin-Yi; Yen, Hong-Wei; Chao, Yu-Long; Huang, Ying-Hsiu

2015-01-01

As an examination of the influences of a renewable energy teaching activity employing teaching aids on elementary students' knowledge of, attitude toward, and behavior of energy saving and carbon reduction, this study designed a teaching experiment in which experimental group was subjected to the teaching with four teaching aids for students to…

The Effect of Using Concept Maps in Elementary Linear Algebra Course on Students’ Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syarifuddin, H.

2018-04-01

This paper presents the results of a classroom action research that was done in Elementary Linear Algebra course at Universitas Negeri Padang. The focus of the research want to see the effect of using concept maps in the course on students’ learning. Data in this study were collected through classroom observation, students’ reflective journal and concept maps that were created by students. The result of the study was the using of concept maps in Elementary Linera Algebra course gave positive effect on students’ learning.

Self-Determined Learning to Motivate Struggling Learners in Reading and Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wehmeyer, Michael L.; Shogren, Karrie A.; Toste, Jessica R.; Mahal, Stephanie

2017-01-01

Promoting self-determined learning through student-directed learning strategies has been documented to promote more positive school-related outcomes for upper elementary grade learners with disabilities and other students who are struggling. These strategies are typically introduced in multicomponent interventions combining several…

Cooperative Learning in Elementary Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadderman, Margaret

1992-01-01

Cooperative learning is being recommended as a solution for numerous education problems, from enhancing disadvantaged children's self-esteem to ensuring academic success for all students. Cooperative learning has great potential as a supplement or alternative to traditional teaching methods when students are adequately socialized and motivated.…

Adapting Math Instruction to Support Prospective Elementary Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LeSage, Ann

2012-01-01

Purpose: Elementary teachers' understanding of mathematics is a significant contributor to student success with mathematics. Consequently, teacher educators are frequently charged with the responsibility of supporting the development of prospective elementary teachers' mathematics content knowledge as they re-learn concepts in ways they are…

Open-Source Learning Management System and Web 2.0 Online Social Software Applications as Learning Platforms for an Elementary School in Singapore

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tay, Lee Yong; Lim, Cher Ping; Lye, Sze Yee; Ng, Kay Joo; Lim, Siew Khiaw

2011-01-01

This paper analyses how an elementary-level future school in Singapore implements and uses various open-source online platforms, which are easily available online and could be implemented with minimal software cost, for the purpose of teaching and learning. Online platforms have the potential to facilitate students' engagement for independent and…

Patterns of Students' and Teachers' Interactions in Learning Centres: A Case Study of Three Teacher Leaders in an Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Badger, James

2016-01-01

This study investigated the instructional practices of three teacher leaders employed in a diverse, elementary school in the USA. Through extended observations, it was found that learning centres occupied a central role in the organisation and learning in each of the classrooms. Bernstein's theory of classification and framing was used to analyse…

Automated Inattention and Fatigue Detection System in Distance Education for Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hwang, Kuo-An; Yang, Chia-Hao

2009-01-01

Most courses based on distance learning focus on the cognitive domain of learning. Because students are sometimes inattentive or tired, they may neglect the attention goal of learning. This study proposes an auto-detection and reinforcement mechanism for the distance-education system based on the reinforcement teaching strategy. If a student is…

A Learning-Center Solution for Using Technology in Elementary Music

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casey, Amy C.

2005-01-01

The challenge for educators today is to overcome this barrage of media and technology and find innovative ways to help students learn. But, how can teachers compete for student attention when this is the challenge? How can they improve learning experiences and make them relevant to our students' lives? Integrating technology into the music…

The Effect of Computer-Assisted Learning Integrated with Metacognitive Prompts on Students' Affective Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tatar, Nilgün; Akpinar, Ercan; Feyzioglu, Eylem Yildiz

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of computer-assisted learning integrated with metacognitive prompts on elementary students' affective skills on the subject of electricity. The researchers developed educational software to enable students to easily and comprehensively learn the concepts in the subject of electricity. A…

The Development and Publication of Elementary Mathematics Textbooks: Let the Buyer Beware!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reys, Barbara J.; Reys, Robert E.

2006-01-01

Mathematics textbooks are critical tools for student learning in American classrooms. Teachers use them daily to plan and deliver lessons, and students use them in class to explore and learn mathematics. Given textbooks' potential to support student learning, it is important to understand how they are developed. While pressure is growing on…

Comparing American and Chinese Students' Learning Progression on Carbon Cycling in Socio-Ecological Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, J.; Anderson, C. W.

2015-01-01

Previous studies identified a learning progression on the concept of carbon cycling that was typically followed by American students when they progress from elementary to high school. This study examines the validity of this previously identified learning progression for a different group of learners--Chinese students. The results indicate that…

Mapping Students' Ideas to Understand Learning in a Collaborative Programming Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harlow, Danielle Boyd; Leak, Anne Emerson

2014-01-01

Recent studies in learning programming have largely focused on high school and college students; less is known about how young children learn to program. From video data of 20 students using a graphical programming interface, we identified ideas that were shared and evolved through an elementary school classroom. In mapping these ideas and their…

Developing Worksheet (LKS) Base on Process Skills in Curriculum 2013 at Elementary School Grade IV,V,VI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subhan, M.; Oktolita, N.; Kn, M.

2018-04-01

The Lacks of students' skills in the learning process is due to lacks of exercises in the form of LKS. In the curriculum of 2013, there is no LKS as a companion to improve the students' skills. In order to solve those problem, it is necessary to develop LKS based on process skills as a teaching material to improve students' process skills. The purpose of this study is to develop LKS Process Skills based elementary school grade IV, V, VI which is integrated by process skill. The development of LKS can be used to develop the thematic process skills of elementary school students grade IV, V, VI based on curriculum 2013. The expected long-term goal is to produce teaching materials LKS Process Skill based of Thematic learning that is able to develop the process skill of elementary school students grade IV, V, VI. This development research refers to the steps developed by Borg & Gall (1983). The development process is carried out through 10 stages: preliminary research and gathering information, planning, draft development, initial test (limited trial), first product revision, final trial (field trial), product operational revision, Desemination and implementation. The limited subject of the this research is the students of SDN in Dharmasraya grade IV, V, VI. The field trial subjects in the experimental class are the students of SDN Dharmasraya grade IV, V, VI who have implemented the curriculum 2013. The data are collected by using LKS validation sheets, process skill observation sheets, and Thematic learning test (pre-test And post-test). The result of LKS development on the validity score is 81.70 (very valid), on practical score is 83.94 (very practical), and on effectiveness score is 86.67 (very effective). In the trial step the use of LKS using One Group Pretest-Posttest Design research design. The purpose of this trial is to know the effectiveness level of LKS result of development for improving the process skill of students in grade IV, V, and VI of elementary school. The data collection in this research uses the test result sheet of the process skill through pre-test and post-test. Observation results were analyzed with SPSS 16.0 software. The Result of analysis learning process of student skill of Sig value. (2-tailed) (0,000) <α (0.005) then H0 is rejected. There is a significant difference to the development of process skills between students using LKS with students who do not use LKS. It can be concluded that LKS have accuracy, ease and can improve result learn on aspect of skill process of student of grade IV, V and VI elementary school.

The good field trip: How elementary students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds learn science, art, and technology at a museum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martell, Sandra Toro

The Good Field Trip is a study that uses an ethnographic approach to answer the question of what learning looks like during a field trip to a museum. The study uses the Contextual Model of Learning (Falk & Dierking, 2000) to investigate elementary students' personal, physical, and sociocultural contexts of learning as well as how time affects students' thoughts and feelings about the experience. The author accompanied a group of eight students on a three and a half day camp-like experience to a museum that promotes environmental stewardship and the integration of art, science, and technology use and learning. The author videotaped the students' conversations and experiences and interviewed students before, during, and after the trip. Analyses of the videotapes were supplemented with student documents, including comic books, journal notes, and reflective essays about the trip. Findings include that not all experiences are marked as science, art, and technology; technology use does not occur; art is presented in a more formalized manner than science, which is composed of observation and the acquisition of knowledge about plants and animals; and conversations and activities resemble traditional modes of learning in school settings.

Cooperative Learning Model toward a Reading Comprehensions on the Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murtono

2015-01-01

The purposes of this research are: (1) description of reading skill the students who join in CIRC learning model, Jigsaw learning model, and STAD learning model; (2) finding out the effective of learning model cooperative toward a reading comprehensions between the students who have high language logic and low language logic; and (3) finding out…

Lesson study on 2nd grader of elementary school to improve the student’s numeracy skill

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prabowo, A.; Asih; Jumardi

2018-03-01

The purpose of this research is to find the most appropriate learning media of multiplication and division for the 2nd graders of elementary school. The study used the steps in the lesson study, Plan-Do-See. Data were taken using observation instruments, video documentation, and learning evaluation tools. Initially, teachers used gravel as media of multiplication and division. Students can solve numeracy problems when they learn by those media. In test, 80% of students were failure when the teacher evaluates them. By involving experts and partner teachers at school, classroom teachers can solve problems by discover multiplication and division media with the drawing media created by the students themselves. At the end of the lesson, 100% of students have mastered multiplication and division with the media.

Learning to Teach Elementary Students in Democratic Field Placements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Payne, Katherina A.

2013-01-01

This multicase study employs sociocultural theories to analyze the learning to teach process and identity development of six novice elementary school teachers, who were immersed in a semester-long democratic field placement. Broadly, this study explored the field experience as part of democratic teacher education, and how the field experience can…

Pennies and Eggs: Initiation into Inquiry Learning for Preservice Elementary Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wink, Donald J.; Hwang-Choe, Jeong Hye

2008-01-01

Two labs incorporating the Science Writing Heuristic are described that introduce scientific inquiry in a course for preservice students majoring in elementary education. One lab adapts a previously described discovery learning opportunity involving the change in composition and mass of pennies in 1982. The other involves the use of flotation…

Elementary Teachers' Learning to Construct High-Quality Mathematics Lesson Plans: A Use of the IES Recommendations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ding, Meixia; Carlson, Mary Alice

2013-01-01

This study explored a group of elementary teachers' ("n" = 35) learning to construct high-quality lesson plans that foster student understanding of fundamental mathematical ideas. The conceptual framework for this study was gleaned from the recently released Institute of Education Sciences (IES) recommendations, including (a)…

Prospective Elementary Teachers' Understanding of the Nature of Science and Perceptions of the Classroom Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin-Dunlop, Catherine S.

2013-01-01

This study investigated prospective elementary teachers' understandings of the nature of science and explored associations with their guided-inquiry science learning environment. Over 500 female students completed the Nature of Scientific Knowledge Survey (NSKS), although only four scales were analyzed-Creative, Testable, Amoral, and Unified. The…

Interacting with a Suite of Educative Features: Elementary Science Teachers' Use of Educative Curriculum Materials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arias, Anna Maria; Bismack, Amber Schultz; Davis, Elizabeth A.; Palincsar, Annemarie Sullivan

2016-01-01

New reform documents underscore the importance of learning both the practices and content of science. This integration of practices and content requires sophisticated teaching that does not often happen in elementary classrooms. Educative curriculum materials--materials explicitly designed to support teacher and student learning--have been posited…

Individualizing Elementary General Music Instruction: Case Studies of Assessment and Differentiation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salvador, Karen

2011-01-01

Elementary general music teachers typically teach hundreds of students every week. Each child has individual learning needs due to a variety of factors, such as prior experiences with music, music aptitude, learning style, and personality. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore ways that experienced teachers used assessments to…

The Effects of Community-Based Service Learning on Preservice Teachers' Beliefs About the Characteristics of Effective Science Teachers of Diverse Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cone, Neporcha

2012-12-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of community-based service learning (CBSL) on preservice elementary teachers' beliefs of the characteristics of effective science teachers of diverse students. Using semi-structured interviews, data were collected from 74 preservice teachers enrolled in four sections of an elementary science methods course over a semester. Findings suggest that preservice teachers who participated in CBSL developed beliefs about the characteristics of effective science teachers that are complimentary to the descriptions of effective teachers of diverse students provided in the literature.

Creating Learning Environments in the Early Grades That Support Teacher and Student Success: Profiles of Effective Practices in Three Expanded Learning Time Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farbman, David A.; Novoryta, Ami

2016-01-01

In "Creating Learning Environments in the Early Grades that Support Teacher and Student Success," the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) profiles three expanded-time elementary schools that leverage a longer school day to better serve young students. In particular, the report describes how a longer day opens up opportunities…

Title 1 and Learning Disabilities: The Creatures from the Federal Swamp.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chandler, Harry N., Ed.

1982-01-01

The article discusses legal and educational concerns with providing services for learning disabled students under Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act which provides services for schools with underachieving disadvantaged students. (DB)

What a Blind Student Taught Me to See

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caswell, Caroline

2016-01-01

When a teacher educator is called on to teach a blind student in her class for aspiring teachers of elementary mathematics, she feels ill-prepared for the challenge. As she learns how to accommodate the student's needs, she learns a lot about being a good teacher--to not assume that a student will be able to show his or her learning the same way…

Assessing Classroom Learning: How Students Use Their Knowledge and Experience to Answer Classroom Achievement Test Questions in Science and Social Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nuthall, Graham; Alton-Lee, Adrienne

1995-01-01

Observational studies of student learning from classroom experience in science and social studies in elementary and middle school classrooms were carried out with 14 students. A model is described that explains how students use multilayered episodic and semantic memory for learning experience and related knowledge to answer achievement test items.…

Boys' and girls' involvement in science learning and their self-efficacy in Taiwan.

PubMed

Hong, Zuway-R; Lin, Huann-shyang

2013-01-01

This cross-sectional study investigated the significant differences in students' self-efficacy and their involvement in learning science. Nine hundred and twenty-two elementary school fifth graders, 499 junior high school eighth graders, and 1455 senior or vocational high school eleventh graders completed the students' questionnaire. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and independent t-tests compared the significant similarities and differences across school levels and genders. The initial findings were as follows: A sharp decline in boys' and girls' self-efficacy scores from elementary to secondary school levels; boys have significantly higher self-efficacy scores than girls at vocational and senior high school levels; students with more involvement in science learning presented significantly higher self-efficacy scores than those with less involvement. The significant discrepancies in terms of gender and age in students' self-efficacy and involvement in learning science need to be addressed. Implications and limitations are provided.

Teacher Leaders: Advancing Mathematics Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kinzer, Cathy J.; Rincón, Mari; Ward, Jana; Rincón, Ricardo; Gomez, Lesli

2014-01-01

Four elementary school instructors offer insights into their classrooms, their unique professional roles, and their leadership approaches as they reflect on their journey to advance teacher and student mathematics learning. They note a "teacher leader" serves as an example to other educators and strives to impact student learning;…

Reducing Dropout Rates through Expanded Learning Opportunities. Issue Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Laura; Princiotta, Daniel

2009-01-01

Expanded learning opportunities (ELOs), which include afterschool, summer learning, and extended day and extended year programs, can help states reduce dropout rates and increase graduation rates. Effective elementary, middle, and high school ELOs support academic rigor, boost student engagement, and provide students with supportive relationships.…

Graphic Organizers and Students with Learning Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dexter, Douglas D.; Hughes, Charles A.

2011-01-01

This meta-analysis reviews experimental and quasi-experimental studies in which upper-elementary, intermediate, and secondary students with learning disabilities learned from graphic organizers. Following an exhaustive search for studies meeting specified design criteria, 55 standardized mean effect sizes were extracted from 16 articles involving…

Enhancing Elementary Students' Experiences Learning about Circuits Using an Exploration-Explanation Instructional Sequence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Timothy M.; Brown, Patrick L.

2010-01-01

Using an exploration-explanation sequence of science instruction helps teachers unveil students' prior knowledge about circuits and engage them in minds-on science learning. In these lessons, fourth grade students make predictions and test their ideas about circuits in series through hands-on investigations. The teacher helps students make…

Learning Experiences for Mentally Handicapped Students in a School Store.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

David, Carol

A supermarket chain supplies a small grocery store in an elementary school in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The store program seeks to provide learning experiences for students, as they make selections, spend their earnings, and save for later purchases. Students with multiple handicaps and students with severe/profound handicaps shop in the store…

Evidence-Based Strategies for Improving the Reading Comprehension of Secondary Students: Implications for Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Silvana M. R.; Gable, Robert A.; Gear, Sabra B.; Hughes, Kimberly C.

2012-01-01

Reading comprehension is a complex skill that places significant demands on students, beginning with elementary school and continuing through the secondary grades. In this article, we provide an overview of possible factors associated with problems in reading comprehension among secondary students with learning disabilities. Discussion underscores…

The Book of My Dreams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Degirmenci Gundogmus, Hatice

2018-01-01

This study offers an opportunity for learning the characteristics of elementary school students' dream books that can increase their willingness to read. In the study, for which the qualitative research method was adopted in line with this main purpose, 275 elementary school students that attended different schools at 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades were…

Behavioral Impacts of a Mindfulness Pilot Intervention for Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harpin, Scott B.; Rossi, AnneMarie; Kim, Amber K.; Swanson, Leah M.

2016-01-01

Elementary school students in today's urban classrooms face many life circumstances at home and in their communities that contribute to stress and coping needs. These stressors are often brought into the classroom, which impact learning, behaviors, and overall academic performance. Mindfulness has been used in classroom settings, particularly with…

An Overview of the Environmental Knowledge System for Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xuehua, Zhang

2004-01-01

Environmental education should set different objectives for different learning subjects. At the elementary school level, the primary goal is to establish environmental awareness so that students can perceptually appreciate and comprehend how rich and colorful the environment is. In this article, the author discusses a systematic approach that can…

Identification of Parent-Child Interaction Characteristics of High and Low Achieving Elementary Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Portes, Pedro R.; And Others

The present study was designed to identify parent-child interaction patterns that might differentiate bright from below average elementary students in order to test the hypothesis that environmental processes related to regulation of executive processes influence both children's learning and developmental level. Thirty-two mother-child dyads (16…

Drug and Alcohol Attitudes and Usage among Elementary and Secondary Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fournet, Glenn P.; And Others

1990-01-01

Surveyed elementary and secondary school students (N=2,290) from four rural school districts to measure incidences and attitudes toward drug and alcohol use. Subjects' responses indicated that social learning theory was feasible theory for explaining drug involvement in the young. Suggests that intervention with drug and alcohol education programs…

Is It Really Abstract?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kernan, Christine

2011-01-01

For this author, one of the most enjoyable aspects of teaching elementary art is the willingness of students to embrace the different styles of art introduced to them. In this article, she describes a project that allows upper-elementary students to learn about abstract art and the lives of some of the master abstract artists, implement the idea…

Developing Prospective Elementary Teachers' Abilities to Identify Evidence of Student Mathematical Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spitzer, Sandy M.; Phelps, Christine M.; Beyers, James E. R.; Johnson, Delayne Y.; Sieminski, Elizabeth M.

2011-01-01

This study investigated the effects of a classroom intervention on prospective elementary teachers' ability to evaluate evidence of student achievement of mathematical learning goals. The intervention was informed by a framework for teacher education which aims to provide prospective teachers (PTs) with the skills needed to systematically learn…

Teaching and Learning K-8 Mathematics and Science through Inquiry: Program Reviews and Recommendations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linn, Marcia C.; Kessel, Cathy; Lee, Kristen; Levenson, Janet; Spitulnik, Michelle; Slotta, James D.

This report offers guidance for those shaping policy and designing elementary and middle school science and mathematics courses that prepare students to be lifelong users of scientific and mathematical ideas. We have reviewed programs designed to improve elementary and middle school students' understanding of science and mathematics by…

Classwide Efficacy of INSIGHTS: Observed Teacher Practices and Student Behaviors in Kindergarten and First Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cappella, Elise; O'Connor, Erin E.; McCormick, Meghan P.; Turbeville, Ashley R.; Collins, Ashleigh J.; McClowry, Sandee G.

2015-01-01

We investigate the classwide efficacy of INSIGHTS, a universal social-emotional learning intervention for early elementary grades, on observed teacher practices and student behaviors. Twenty-two elementary schools (87% free/reduced lunch) were randomly assigned to INSIGHTS or an attention-control condition. Kindergarten and first-grade classrooms…

Cartwheels on the Keyboard: Computer-Based Literacy Instruction in an Elementary Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carroll, Maureen

2004-01-01

This book helps readers imagine new instructional possibilities, try new classroom activities, and question their own teaching--learning process through the use of computers to support student literacy growth. Maureen Carroll shares her study of how one teacher and her elementary-grade students integrated computer-based literacy instruction into…

The Influence of Different Representations on Solving Concentration Problems at Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Chia-Ju; Shen, Ming-Hsun

2011-01-01

This study investigated the students' learning process of the concept of concentration at the elementary school level in Taiwan. The influence of different representational types on the process of proportional reasoning was also explored. The participants included nineteen third-grade and eighteen fifth-grade students. Eye-tracking technology was…

It's Not a Math Lesson--We're Learning to Draw! Teachers' Use of Visual Representations in Instructing Word Problem Solving in Sixth Grade of Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boonen, Anton J. H.; Reed, Helen C.; Schoonenboom, Judith; Jolles, Jelle

2016-01-01

Non-routine word problem solving is an essential feature of the mathematical development of elementary school students worldwide. Many students experience difficulties in solving these problems due to erroneous problem comprehension. These difficulties could be alleviated by instructing students how to use visual representations that clarify the…

Exploring Effects of Multi-Touch Tabletop on Collaborative Fraction Learning and the Relationship of Learning Behavior and Interaction with Learning Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hwang, Wu-Yuin; Shadiev, Rustam; Tseng, Chi-Wei; Huang, Yueh-Min

2015-01-01

This study designed a learning system to facilitate elementary school students' fraction learning. An experiment was carried out to investigate how the system, which runs on multi-touch tabletop versus tablet PC, affects fraction learning. Two groups, a control and experimental, were assigned. Control students have learned fraction by using tablet…

Snapshots of a Culture: How Do American and Turkish Elementary Students Represent Their Cultural Identities Using Technology as a Means of Expression and Communication?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simsek, Ali; Nuss, Shirley

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate how elementary students can learn about the culture of another country and how technology can play a role in this process. The sample of the study included 135 fifth grade students from the United States and Turkey. Initial knowledge and information sources of students were assessed at the beginning of…

Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Annenberg Media, 2005

2005-01-01

This video workshop with auxiliary classroom videos will show intermediate elementary teachers how to help their students transition from "learning to read" to "reading to learn." Eight half-hour workshop video programs feature leading experts who discuss current research on learning to read and teaching a diverse range of students. The research…

How Service-Learning Can Ignite Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serriere, Stephanie; McGarry, Lori; Fuentes, David; Mitra, Dana

2012-01-01

At its best, service learning involves students making meaningful connections to their own community and feeling empowered by the experience. Unfortunately, in the elementary years, student service-learning is often a one-shot effort in which adults make decisions for children, preventing them from truly having a hand in the project's direction…

The Ecology of Learning: A Comparison of Alternative Elementary School Learning Environments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoaglund, Mary; And Others

This paper is the first-year report of a three-year project in Edina, Minnesota, developing a system for measuring differences among classroom environments and organizational patterns. Dimensions measured include teacher preferences for classroom structure, student perceptions of learning environments and classmate behavior, student attitudes,…

Cooperative Learning and Gifted Students: Report on Five Case Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coleman, Mary Ruth; And Others

This study examined cooperative learning (CL) programs that were successfully meeting the needs of gifted students and identified factors critical to this success. Of 19 programs nominated as models of cooperative learning, 5 sites were selected and visited: Wilton Public Schools, Connecticut; Glenville Elementary School, Connecticut; Mary Taylor…

Science + Writing = Super Learning. Writing Workshop.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bower, Paula Rogovin

1993-01-01

Article presents suggestions for motivating elementary students to learn by combining science and writing. The strategies include planning the right environment; teaching the scientific method; establishing a link to literature; and making time for students to observe, experiment, and write. (SM)

Accommodating Elementary Students' Learning Styles.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, James

1995-01-01

Examines the perceptual learning style preferences of sixth- and seventh-grade students in the Philippines. Finds that the visual modality was the most preferred and the auditory modality was the least preferred. Offers suggestions for accommodating visual, tactile, and kinesthetic preferences. (RS)

Assessing Elementary Prospective Teachers' Mathematical Explanations after Engagement in Online Mentoring Modules

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wall, Jennifer; Selmer, Sarah; Bingham Brown, Amy

2016-01-01

Prospective elementary teachers at three universities engaged in online modules called the Virtual Field Experience, created by the Math Forum. The prospective teachers learned about problem solving and mentoring elementary students in composing solutions and explanations to nonroutine challenge problems. Finally, through an asynchronous online…

Bright Lights: Stories of Success and Excellence from BC Elementary Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

British Columbia Dept. of Education, Victoria.

This document profiles 16 elementary schools in British Columbia that are creating excitement about learning through innovative and creative practices. The schools and their activities are: Westwood Elementary School (Port Coquitlam)--a 1-day "mini-conference" to show students how math is relevant in daily life; Henderson Elementary…

Reflective Teaching and Conceptual Change in an Interdisciplinary Elementary Methods Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomkiewicz, Warren C.

This study was conducted to determine the extent to which writing to learn and reflective teaching within an interdisciplinary elementary methods course gave undergraduates the opportunity to change their perspective from student to teacher. Participants were 31 preservice elementary education majors enrolled in a one semester interdisciplinary…

Caring and the Elementary Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ediger, Marlow

In light of the amount of violence reported in public media and increasing rudeness of public behavior, it is imperative that elementary school students learn to care for other human beings. This paper makes recommendations for developing an elementary school curriculum of caring. The paper recommends three categories of objectives--knowledge,…

Dynamic lighting system for the learning environment: performance of elementary students.

PubMed

Choi, Kyungah; Suk, Hyeon-Jeong

2016-05-16

This study aims to investigate the effects of lighting color temperatures on elementary students' performance, and thereby propose a dynamic lighting system for a smart learning environment. Three empirical studies were conducted: First, physiological responses were measured as a potential mediator of performance. Second, cognitive and behavioral responses were observed during academic and recess activities. Lastly, the experiment was carried out in a real-life setting with prolonged exposure. With a comprehensive analysis of the three studies, three lighting presets-3500 K, 5000 K, and 6500 K-are suggested for easy, standard, and intensive activity, respectively. The study is expected to act as a good stepping stone for developing dynamic lighting systems to support students' performance in learning environments.

Students' Ideas on Cooperative Learning Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoruk, Abdulkadir

2016-01-01

Aim of this study is to investigate students' ideas on cooperative learning method. For that purpose students who are studying at elementary science education program are distributed into two groups through an experimental design. Factors threaten the internal validity are either eliminated or reduced to minimum value. Data analysis is done…

Linking Leadership to Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leithwood, Kenneth; Seashore-Louis, Karen

2011-01-01

"Linking Leadership to Student Learning" clearly shows how school leadership improves student achievement. The book is based on an ambitious five-year study on educational leadership that was sponsored by The Wallace Foundation. The authors studied 43 districts, across 9 states and 180 elementary, middle, and secondary schools. In this book,…

Student Perspectives: Responses to Internet Opportunities in a Distance Learning Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saunders, Nancy G.; Malm, Loren D.; Malone, Bobby G.; Nay, Fred W.; Oliver, Brad E.; Thompson, Jay C., Jr.

This study examined student attitudes toward interactions with class members on an Internet site supplementing a multimedia graduate-level distance learning course at Ball State University (Indiana). The course, "Elementary School Curriculum" was taught in a studio classroom (of 13 students) and transmitted to five distant sites…

A Proposal for Teaching Undergraduate Chemistry Students Carbohydrate Biochemistry by Problem-Based Learning Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Figueira, Angela C. M.; Rocha, Joao B. T.

2014-01-01

This article presents a problem-based learning (PBL) approach to teaching elementary biochemistry to undergraduate students. The activity was based on "the foods we eat." It was used to engage students' curiosity and to initiate learning about a subject that could be used by the future teachers in the high school. The experimental…

Local Implementation Effectiveness of a Multi-Tier System of Support in Elementary School Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houlton, Terry P.

2017-01-01

Ensuring all students learn at high levels is demanding. Multi-tier systems of supports (MTSS) has shown promise as a way to promote high levels of learning for all students while catching students who are struggling to learn. However, implementing MTSS models in school districts and schools has seen its challenges. The context of an individual…

Classroom Assessment for Student Learning: Impact on Elementary School Mathematics in the Central Region. Final Report. NCEE 2011-4005

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Randel, Bruce; Beesley, Andrea D.; Apthorp, Helen; Clark, Tedra F.; Wang, Xin; Cicchinelli, Louis F.; Williams, Jean M.

2011-01-01

This study was conducted by the Central Region Educational Laboratory (REL Central) administered by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning to provide educators and policymakers with rigorous evidence about the potential of Classroom Assessment for Student Learning (CASL) to improve student achievement. CASL is a widely used professional…

The Identification and Establishment of Reinforcement for Collaboration in Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darcy, Laura

2017-01-01

In Experiment 1, I conducted a functional analysis of student rate of learning with and without a peer-yoked contingency for 12 students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade in order to determine if they had conditioned reinforcement for collaboration. Using an ABAB reversal design, I compared rate of learning as measured by learn units to criterion…

Engaged Learning: Impact of PBL and PjBL with Elementary and Middle Grade Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dole, Sharon; Bloom, Lisa; Doss, Kristy K.

2017-01-01

This study used structured online interviews with teachers to examine the impact that inquiry-based teaching methods had on their students. The research question was the following: What are the effects on student learning and motivation as a result of teachers using problem-based and project-based learning? Interviews were conducted with 36…

Discovering Learning, Discovering Self: The Effects of an Interdisciplinary, Standards-Based School Garden Curriculum on Elementary Students in Hawai'i

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koh, Ming Wei

2012-01-01

This study evaluates the effects of an interdisciplinary standards-based school garden-based education program on student learning. The objective of the program is to help students learn to be self-directed learners, community contributors, complex thinkers, quality producers, effective communicators, and effective/ethical users of technology. For…

Including Students with Learning Disabilities in Mainstream Classes: A 2-Year Spanish Study Using a Collaborative Approach to Intervention.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardona, Cristina

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an inclusive program for students (grades 2 through 4) with mild learning disabilities (LD) in four elementary schools in Spain. It compared two support strategies, a within-class integrated program versus resource room approach with students having either high or low learning potential. The study also…

Colors of Competence in Competition: A Guide for Active Learning in Competitive Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernstein, Eve; Rasmussen, Jennifer F.

2013-01-01

The idea of actively involving children in the learning process can be beneficial for both teacher and student on a number of levels. Allowing students in physical education class to make choices has been incorporated into elementary-age teaching successfully. As a way to invite students to become more active participants in their learning,…

Impact of the Extended Learning Opportunities Summer Adventures in Learning (ELO SAIL) Program on Student Academic Performance: Part 1, Results from Fall 2012 to Fall 2015

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper-Martin, Elizabeth; Wolanin, Natalie; Jang, Seong; Modarresi, Shahpar; Zhao, Huafang

2016-01-01

Extended Learning Opportunities Summer Adventures in Learning (ELO SAIL) is a Montgomery County Public Schools summer program for students in all Title I elementary schools; it targets students who will be in kindergarten-Grade 2 in the fall following the program. This report analyzed demographic characteristics of attendees and the impact of the…

Engaging Karen refugee students in science learning through a cross-cultural learning community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harper, Susan G.

2017-02-01

This research explored how Karen (first-generation refugees from Burma) elementary students engaged with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) practice of constructing scientific explanations based on evidence within the context of a cross-cultural learning community. In this action research, the researcher and a Karen parent served as co-teachers for fourth- and fifth-grade Karen and non-Karen students in a science and culture after-school programme in a public elementary school in the rural southeastern United States. Photovoice provided a critical platform for students to create their own cultural discourses for the learning community. The theoretical framework of critical pedagogy of place provided a way for the learning community to decolonise and re-inhabit the learning spaces with knowledge they co-constructed. Narrative analysis of video transcripts of the after-school programme, ethnographic interviews, and focus group discussions from Photovoice revealed a pattern of emerging agency by Karen students in the scientific practice of constructing scientific explanations based on evidence and in Karen language lessons. This evidence suggests that science learning embedded within a cross-cultural learning community can empower refugee students to construct their own hybrid cultural knowledge and leverage that knowledge to engage in a meaningful way with the epistemology of science.

Growing Students toward Proficiency in Reading: A Case Study of Selected Title I Schools in the Wake County Public School System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douglas, James Roy, II.

2016-01-01

Reading ability is one of the most crucial skills learned in elementary school, a primary focus for students in these years. Around the third grade, though, students start transitioning to a skill they will need the rest of their academic and work career--reading to learn. Students begin demonstrating their learning by taking high-stakes…

The Effects of a STEM Professional Development Intervention on Elementary Teachers' Science Process Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cotabish, Alicia; Dailey, Deborah; Hughes, Gail D.; Robinson, Ann

2011-01-01

In order to increase the quality and quantity of science instruction, elementary teachers must receive professional development in science learning processes. The current study was part of a larger randomized field study of teacher and student learning in science. In two districts in a southern state, researchers randomly assigned teacher…

Elementary School Principals' Learning-Centered Leadership and Educational Outcomes: Implications for Principals' Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reardon, R. Martin

2011-01-01

This article arises from research in one school district (utilizing the Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education, VAL-ED) into the relationships among the perceptions of elementary school leaders of their learning-centered leadership, and student achievement on state-mandated tests of reading in Virginia. Beyond the percentage of students…

The Mastery in Learning Project at Orchards Elementary School with the Consultancy of Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston, Idaho.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diessner, Rhett

This report describes activities from 1986 through 1990 of the Mastery in Learning Project, which focused on "restructuring the school" and "sharing decision making" at one elementary school in Lewiston, Idaho. Based on need surveys of various constituents of school life (administrators, students, teachers, and parents), a…

Effects of Engineering Design-Based Science on Elementary School Science Students' Engineering Identity Development across Gender and Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capobianco, Brenda M.; Yu, Ji H.; French, Brian F.

2015-01-01

The integration of engineering concepts and practices into elementary science education has become an emerging concern for science educators and practitioners, alike. Moreover, how children, specifically preadolescents (grades 1-5), engage in engineering design-based learning activities may help science educators and researchers learn more about…

Designing and Testing a Mathematics Card Game for Teaching and Learning Elementary Group Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galarza, Patrick

2017-01-01

This paper explores the viability and development of the first edition of the researcher's mathematical card game, Groups, as a learning tool for elementary group theory, a topic in abstract algebra. "Groups" was play-tested by six undergraduate students in late 2016 who provided feedback on "Groups" from both utility-centric…

[Perceptions of classroom goal structures, personal achievement goal orientations, and learning strategies].

PubMed

Miki, Kaori; Yamauchi, Hirotsugu

2005-08-01

We examined the relations among students' perceptions of classroom goal structures (mastery and performance goal structures), students' achievement goal orientations (mastery, performance, and work-avoidance goals), and learning strategies (deep processing, surface processing and self-handicapping strategies). Participants were 323 5th and 6th grade students in elementary schools. The results from structural equation modeling indicated that perceptions of classroom mastery goal structures were associated with students' mastery goal orientations, which were in turn related positively to the deep processing strategies and academic achievement. Perceptions of classroom performance goal stractures proved associated with work avoidance-goal orientations, which were positively related to the surface processing and self-handicapping strategies. Two types of goal structures had a positive relation with students' performance goal orientations, which had significant positive effects on academic achievement. The results of this study suggest that elementary school students' perceptions of mastery goal structures are related to adaptive patterns of learning more than perceptions of performance goal structures are. The role of perceptions of classroom goal structure in promoting students' goal orientations and learning strategies is discussed.

Examining Motivational Orientation and Learning Strategies in Computer-Supported Self-Directed Learning (CS-SDL) for Mathematics: The Perspective of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Goals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lao, Andrew Chan-Chio; Cheng, Hercy N. H.; Huang, Mark C. L.; Ku, Oskar; Chan, Tak-Wai

2017-01-01

One-to-one technology, which allows every student to receive equal access to learning tasks through a personal computing device, has shown increasing potential for self-directed learning in elementary schools. With computer-supported self-directed learning (CS-SDL), students may set their own learning goals through the suggestions of the system…

A Collaborative Game-Based Learning Approach to Improving Students' Learning Performance in Science Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sung, Han-Yu; Hwang, Gwo-Jen

2013-01-01

In this study, a collaborative game-based learning environment is developed by integrating a grid-based Mindtool to facilitate the students to share and organize what they have learned during the game-playing process. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment has been conducted in an elementary school natural science…

Implementing a Self-Regulated "WebQuest" Learning System for Chinese Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsiao, Hsien-Sheng; Tsai, Chung-Chieh; Lin, Chien-Yu; Lin, Chih-Cheng

2012-01-01

The rapid growth of Internet has resulted in the rise of WebQuest learning recently. Teachers encourage students to participate in the searching for knowledge on different topics. When using WebQuest, students' self-regulation is often the key to successful learning. Therefore, this study establishes a self-regulated learning system to assist…

The pedagogical effect of a health education application for deaf and hard of hearing students in elementary schools.

PubMed

Abbasi, Masoumeh; Eslami, Saeid; Mohammadi, Mahdi; Khajouei, Reza

2017-09-01

Deaf or hard-of-hearing children experience difficulties in learning health principles. But technology has significantly improved their ability to learn. The challenge in e-learning is to design attractive applications while having an educational aspect. The aims of this study were to determine the pedagogical effectiveness of a health education application for deaf and hard of hearing students in elementary schools, and to investigate the student's perceptions in different educational grades about the educational effectiveness of the text, graphics, video clips, and animation in the application. The study design was quasi experimental and was conducted in Mashhad in 2016. Study population were deaf or hard-of-hearing students in elementary schools. The intervention included health application training to deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Mashhad. A questionnaire was used for data gathering. The pedagogical effectiveness was determined by measuring the modified Adapted Pedagogical Index. This index was created based on the characteristics of the application and study population. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests with Bonferroni adjustment by SPSS 22. Eighty-two students participated in the intervention. The value of modified Adapted Pedagogical Index was 0.669, indicating that the application was effective. The results of Kruskal-Wallis H and Mann-Whitney U test showed significant differences in different educational grades. (p<0.008). Using information technology can improve the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Modified Adapted Pedagogical Index can be used for evaluation of non-interactive applications for elementary school children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Exploring the Effects of Student-Centered Project-Based Learning with Initiation on Students' Computing Skills: A Quasi-Experimental Study of Digital Storytelling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Chia-Wen; Shen, Pei-Di; Lin, Rong-An

2015-01-01

This study investigated, via quasi-experiments, the effects of student-centered project-based learning with initiation (SPBL with Initiation) on the development of students' computing skills. In this study, 96 elementary school students were selected from four class sections taking a course titled "Digital Storytelling" and were assigned…

Comparison of the Learning Styles of Students with Autism versus Typical Elementary-School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friedlander, Diana

2010-01-01

Developing successful educational opportunities for students with autism has long been a challenge for educators. Although medical research is making great strides in the treatment and etiology of autism, as more and more students with autism are learning alongside their peers in the general education classroom the struggle to find effective…

Upper Elementary Students Creatively Learn Scientific Features of Animal Skulls by Making Movable Books

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Julie L.; Gray, Phyllis; Zhbanova, Ksenia S.; Rule, Audrey C.

2015-01-01

Arts integration in science has benefits of increasing student engagement and understanding. Lessons focusing on form and function of animal skulls provide an effective example of how handicrafts integrated with science instruction motivate students and support learning. The study involved students ages 9-12 during a week-long summer day camp.…

An Examination of the Relationship among Teachers' Perceptions of Social-Emotional Learning, Teaching Efficacy, Teacher-Student Interactions, and Students' Behavioral Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poulou, Maria S.

2017-01-01

The study investigated how teachers' perceptions of emotional intelligence (EI), social and emotional learning (SEL) skills, and teaching efficacy relate to perceptions of teacher-student relationships and students' emotional and behavioral difficulties. Ninety-eight elementary teachers from public schools in central Greece completed the…

Formative Assessment and Elementary School Student Academic Achievement: A Review of the Evidence. REL 2017-259

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klute, Mary; Apthorp, Helen; Harlacher, Jason; Reale, Marianne

2017-01-01

Formative assessment is a process that engages teachers and students in gathering, interpreting, and using evidence about what and how students are learning in order to facilitate further student learning during a short period of time. The process offers the potential to guide educator decisions about midstream adjustments to instruction that…

"Pluto Has Been a Planet My Whole Life!" Emotions, Attitudes, and Conceptual Change in Elementary Students' Learning about Pluto's Reclassification

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broughton, Suzanne H.; Sinatra, Gale M.; Nussbaum, E. Michael

2013-01-01

Learning about certain scientific topics has potential to spark strong emotions among students. We investigated whether emotions predicted students' attitudes after engaging in independent rereading and/or rereading plus discussion about Pluto's reclassification. Fifth and sixth grade students read a refutation text on Pluto's reclassification.…

Using the Networked Peer Support Strategy to Enhance Reading Comprehension for Students with Various Thinking Styles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Chien I.; Chang, Chih C.

2017-01-01

How to enhance students' reading comprehension as well as reading interest is a currently serious problem for elementary school students. Students can learn various knowledge through reading, as a result of this reason, the advantage and disadvantage of reading ability could directly affect the learning efficiency. This study proposes networked…

Alleviating Mathematics Anxiety of Elementary School Students: A Situated Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharma, Yogesh

2016-01-01

The present study investigates the effects of the situated learning and effortful control on mathematics anxiety of school students. Participants were 99 seventh graders who studied in two schools. Students in one of these were given instruction through the situated learning model, and the students of other school were treated as a control group.…

The "Science" Behind a Successful Field Trip to the Zoo

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Catherine Marie; Matthews, Catherine E.

2011-01-01

A field trip to the local zoo is often a staple in many elementary school curricula. Many zoos offer free entry to local teachers and their students. Teachers take students on field trips to enrich the curriculum, make connections to what students are learning in school, and provide students with meaningful learning experiences (Kisiel 2007).…

A Quantitative Study of the Use of "DreamBox Learning" and Its Effectiveness in Improving Math Achievement of Elementary Students with Math Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grams, Devonee

2018-01-01

Math underachievement is of grave concern with 42% of 4th grade and 36% of 8th grade students achieving at a proficient or advanced level in mathematics, and schools are continually searching for interventions to implement with struggling students. The problem addressed in this study is recently an elementary school purchased access to…

Relationship between Gender and Vocabulary Teaching Methodology among Iranian EFL Children: A Comparison of TPR and Direct Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naeini, Nazgol Nekoui; Shahrokhi, Mohsen

2016-01-01

The present study intended to examine the impact of methodology on EFL vocabulary learning of elementary school boys and girls. To achieve this end, 40 elementary female and male students aged 9-10 were selected from among 60 students studying at a language institute in Isfahan, Iran. The students were selected based on the results of an overall…

A Tactical-Game Approach and Enhancement of Metacognitive Behaviour in Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chatzipanteli, Athanasia; Digelidis, N.; Karatzoglidis, C.; Dean, R.

2016-01-01

Background: "Teaching games for understanding" (TGfU) is a tactical-game approach to teaching, in which participants are learning via the processes intrinsic to the games themselves. Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a tactical-game model in promoting metacognitive behaviour in elementary-school students.…

Exploring the Effect of Embedded Scaffolding within Curricular Tasks on Third-Grade Students' Model-Based Explanations about Hydrologic Cycling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zangori, Laura; Forbes, Cory T.; Schwarz, Christina V.

2015-01-01

Opportunities to generate model-based explanations are crucial for elementary students, yet are rarely foregrounded in elementary science learning environments despite evidence that early learners can reason from models when provided with scaffolding. We used a quasi-experimental research design to investigate the comparative impact of a scaffold…

A Huge Responsibility: Three Keys to Teaching Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davison, Leslie

2014-01-01

Based on her 20 years of teaching Spanish, Leslie Davison strives for a holistic approach to teaching and learning that is authentic and relevant to her young language learners. Herein, she shares three keys to teaching elementary level students in a way that ensures they will have a "Can Do" attitude in terms of language proficiency and…

Getting in Touch: Use of Mobile Devices in the Elementary Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciampa, Katia; Gallagher, Tiffany L.

2013-01-01

In this single-case study, we examined the perceived influence of school-wide Apple iPod Touch integration on student learning and engagement. Data collection consisted of elementary teacher and principal interviews, as well as parent surveys. Findings revealed that there was a marked shift in teachers' and students' perceived roles when the iPod…

Improving Access to Elementary School Social Studies Instruction: Strategies to Support Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciullo, Stephen

2015-01-01

Social studies instruction in upper elementary school (Grades 3-5) is important for building foundational content knowledge to equip students for the secondary school curriculum. Due to numerous school initiatives and demands on the time of teachers, social studies instruction can play second fiddle to reading and mathematics instruction, which…

Singing in Science: Writing and Recording Student Lyrics to Express Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Sara D.; Norton-Meier, Lori

2009-01-01

This article explores the use of lyric writing in elementary science. It details an exploratory project in which elementary students and a professional musician collaborated to write and record lyrics at the conclusion of an inquiry-based science unit. What we found was that lyric writing when used as a summary reflection activity in science…

The Effect of a Noise Reducing Test Accommodation on Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Gregory W.; Riccomini, Paul J.

2013-01-01

Researchers in the fields of cognitive psychology and education have been studying the negative effects of noise on human performance for almost a century. A new empirical study that builds upon past relevant research on (1) test accommodations and (2) auditory distraction and academic performance was conducted with elementary age students.…

Investigating Elementary Principals' Science Beliefs and Knowledge and Its Relationship to Students' Science Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khan, Uzma Zafar

2012-01-01

The aim of this quantitative study was to investigate elementary principals' beliefs about reformed science teaching and learning, science subject matter knowledge, and how these factors relate to fourth grade students' superior science outcomes. Online survey methodology was used for data collection and included a demographic…

Introducing Engineering in Elementary Education: A 5-Year Study of Teachers and Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diefes-Dux, Heidi A.

2015-01-01

Engineering, when integrated into K-12 education, may offer a number of potential student learning and future success benefits. In a 5-year study, four cohorts of elementary teachers of grades 2 to 4 in a single US school district were provided with teacher professional development with engineering education. Teachers were prepared to teach…

Activity Approach to the Formation of the Method of Addition and Subtraction in Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maksimov, L. K.; Maksimova, L. V.

2013-01-01

One of the main tasks in teaching mathematics to elementary students is to form calculating methods and techniques. The efforts of teachers and methodologists are aimed at solving this problem. Educational and psychological research is devoted to it. At the same time school teaching experience demonstrates some difficulties in learning methods of…

We're All in This Together: Teacher Empowerment and Leadership Transform an Elementary School Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinchot, Michelle; Weber, Chris

2016-01-01

At Peters K-3 Elementary School in Garden Grove, California, teacher leadership and empowerment supported by professional learning from the district have led to increases in student outcomes and in parent and student satisfaction with the culture and climate of the school community. Peters demonstrates the impact that empowering staffs and…

Self-Advocacy: The Importance of Building Interpersonal-Communication and Help-Seeking Skills in Elementary School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gasparini, Daniel

2014-01-01

Now, more so than in the past, children have been deprived of the opportunity to learn and exercise effective interpersonal communication skills. Interpersonal communication skills, for elementary students, are important in the development of a student's ability to self-advocate. The purpose of this study is to identify techniques in which…

A Study of the Relationships between Distributed Leadership, Teacher Academic Optimism and Student Achievement in Taiwanese Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, I-Hua

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between distributed leadership, teachers' academic optimism and student achievement in learning. The study targeted public elementary schools in Taiwan and adopted stratified random sampling to investigate 1500 teachers. Teachers' perceptions were collected by a self-report scale. In…

Literacy Learning Cohorts: Content-Focused Approach to Improving Special Education Teachers' Reading Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brownell, Mary; Kiely, Mary Theresa; Haager, Diane; Boardman, Alison; Corbett, Nancy; Algina, James; Dingle, Mary Patricia; Urbach, Jennifer

2017-01-01

Two professional development (PD) models for teachers were compared on teacher and student outcomes. Special education teachers participated in Literacy Learning Cohorts (LLC), a PD innovation designed to improve content and pedagogical knowledge for providing reading instruction to upper elementary students with learning disabilities. The LLC,…

Group Investigation as a Cooperative Learning Strategy: An Integrated Analysis of the Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Mitzi G.; Montgomery, Hilary; Holder, Michelle; Stuart, Dan

2008-01-01

The cooperative learning strategy of group investigation has been used extensively in elementary and high school classrooms. Whereas this learning strategy seems to benefit low- and middle-achieving students, the performance of high-achieving students seems to change little. This article examines the literature on group investigation as a…

The Relation between Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement across Childhood and Adolescence: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dent, Amy L.; Koenka, Alison C.

2016-01-01

This research synthesis explores how academic achievement relates to two main components of self-regulated learning for students in elementary and secondary school. Two meta-analyses integrated previous findings on (1) the defining metacognitive processes of self-regulated learning and (2) students' use of cognitive strategies. Overall…

Engaging Karen Refugee Students in Science Learning through a Cross-Cultural Learning Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harper, Susan G.

2017-01-01

This research explored how Karen (first-generation refugees from Burma) elementary students engaged with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) practice of constructing scientific explanations based on evidence within the context of a cross-cultural learning community. In this action research, the researcher and a Karen parent served as…

Users' Familiar Situational Contexts Facilitate the Practice of EFL in Elementary Schools with Mobile Devices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hwang, Wu-Yuin; Chen, Holly S. L.

2013-01-01

It is beneficial for students to experience situational learning, especially for English as a foreign language (EFL) learning. Providing more listening and speaking opportunities could help EFL students with English learning. Our research proposes a listening and speaking practice system employing personal digital assistants (PDAs) for situated…

Curricular Pillars in the Elementary General Music Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howell, Allen C.

2009-01-01

Karen, a veteran elementary general music teacher, was bewildered when she learned that none of her students remembered "Peter and the Wolf," a music lesson they have encountered in the past. Conscientious beginning elementary general music teachers like Karen may work diligently to plan instruction that will ensure that national, state, and local…

Identifying, Preparing and Evaluating Army Instructors

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-01

Description WB1 Monitor/observe students to ensure learning is taking place and that problems/issues (e.g., learning off track, faulty thinking ) are...improve performance. S9 Apply educational technology in ways that enhance student learning . 8 Table 4 Abilities required for an Instructor to... mathematics and science at both the elementary and high school levels. Yet many individual studies often indicate no significant differences in student

Characteristics and Contributions of School Subjects at the Elementary Level: Results of a Survey of Pre-Service Elementary Teachers from Four Quebec Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lebrun, Johanne; Lenoir, Yves; Oliveira, Anderson Araujo; Morin, Marie-Pier; McConnell, Anne Catherine

2011-01-01

This article presents the results of a survey questionnaire involving 841 third and fourth year students enrolled in a French language Bachelors degree program in Elementary Education at four Quebec universities. The questionnaire dealt with pre-service elementary teachers' representations of the teaching and learning of four school subjects:…

Traveling with Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fast, Danene; Wild, Tiffany

2018-01-01

For early elementary students with vision loss, these seemingly simple questions can pose great difficulty, especially when conceptual development is being established. Because students with vision loss are unable to observe non-verbal cues within environmental settings, supplemental learning techniques must be utilized for learning. In science,…

Seeing things through science eyes: A case study of an exemplary elementary teacher

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, Andrea Susan

Science-eyed elementary teachers exhibit relentless passions for replacing traditional teaching with realistic, integrated, responsible instruction with science at its core. The purpose of this study was to explore an exemplary elementary teacher's thinking about science and how it serves as a vehicle for the learning that occurs in her primary classroom. Two research questions were investigated in this study. First, what does it mean for an exemplary elementary teacher to view all learning with science eyes? Second, in what ways does the science-oriented elementary teacher use her knowledge of science content, pedagogy, and practical experience to structure her students' learning and her classroom teaching? A naturalistic methodology was employed in this research effort. Classroom observations, teacher interviews, documents, and selected artifacts were analyzed using a constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Lincoln & Guba, 1985) and the analysis tools of HyperRESEARCH (1994) in an effort to unravel the complex, intuitive knowledge of a nationally recognized first grade teacher. Data analyses provided insightful information about this exceptional teacher and how she organizes, plans, and implements effective lessons that integrate science with all subject areas. Four direct observation themes, Best Practice, Just Like a Scientist, Integrating Curriculum - A Balancing Act, and Expert Pedagogy, and six interview themes, Curriculum - What to Teach?, Instruction - How to Teach, Knowing Students, Getting Stuff, Professionalism, and Reflective Practitioner, emerged from independent analyses of two data sets. Three overall themes, Head, Heart, and Hands of an Exemplary Science Elementary Teacher, emerged from a convergent content analysis. The themes provide the foundation for a proposed model of an expert science pedagogue. Ten portrait-like, impressionistic, vignettes are included in this unique study to capture the spirit of the science-eyed elementary teacher's outstanding work in her first-grade classroom. Conclusions indicate that an in-depth knowledge and genuine passion for science, students, and teaching drives science-eyed teachers. The science-eyed elementary teacher organizes curriculum and instruction with scientific principles and skills of inquiry in mind. She improvises lessons to meet students' needs and interests in science. The science-eyed elementary teacher seeks out other science-eyed teachers. She is unique, inventive, and self aware.

Food...Your Choice. Levels 1, 2, and 3. Summative Evaluation. Technical Report No. 98.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois Univ., Chicago. Chicago Circle Campus.

A summative evaluation study of the National Dairy Council's learning system, "Food...Your Choice," was designed to address three concerns: (1) effectiveness of the learning system in enhancing elementary school students' understanding of nutrition; (2) effect of instruction in nutrition on student attitudes about nutrition and student behavior in…

Using Inquiry-Based Instruction for Teaching Science to Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydeniz, Mehmet; Cihak, David F.; Graham, Shannon C.; Retinger, Larryn

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of inquiry-based science instruction for five elementary students with learning disabilities (LD). Students participated in a series of inquiry-based activities targeting conceptual and application-based understanding of simple electric circuits, conductors and insulators, parallel circuits, and…

Community Colleges for the Students They Actually Have

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyner, Josh

2012-01-01

In the United States, people think of elementary and secondary education as fundamentally different from higher education. The first two levels are where students are expected to learn the building blocks for lifelong learning, while college is meant to confer higher-order thinking and more-specialized skills. How students are treated flows…

The Collaboration Model and Reading Improvement of High School Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sacchetto, Jorge A.

2014-01-01

In the field of reading research, studies that focus on improving the reading achievement of high school students with learning disabilities are lacking. Although collaborative interventions for elementary age students have been shown to be effective, a gap exists in the current research regarding effective collaborative reading interventions for…

Elementary and Secondary School Students' Perceptions of Teachers' Classroom Management Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalin, Jana; Peklaj, Cirila; Pecjak, Sonja; Levpušcek, Melita Puklek; Zuljan, Milena Valencic

2017-01-01

Teachers with proper training in knowledge transfer to different students, in the creation of suitable learning conditions, the motivation of students for active cooperation and peer learning, in the formation of classroom community, as well as independent and responsible personalities, can provide quality education. Teacher's classroom management…

A Qualitative Study on the Impact of Professional Learning Communities in an Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Portia LaShan

2012-01-01

Educators are continuously confronted with initiatives to increase student achievement; however, teacher isolation may hinder advancements to improve student learning. Teacher isolation may be a problem at many schools in which student achievement is not progressing, and teachers are not sharing pedagogical knowledge or instructional practices.…

Influence of Adult Goal-Setting Instruction on Students' Responsibility toward Self-Directed Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Apa Browne, Lynn Geri

2014-01-01

Elementary grade students in a mid-Atlantic state school district have not been meeting academic standards on state assessments. Research indicates that academic achievement is connected to self-directed readiness to learn; however, often the instruction in strategies for student self-directed readiness to learn remains teacher-centered. The…

A Model Program of Comprehensive Educational Services for Students With Learning Problems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Union Township Board of Education, NJ.

Programs are described for learning-disabled or mantally-handicapped elementary and secondary students in regular and special classes in Union, New Jersey, and approximately 58 instructional episodes involving student made objects for understanding technology are presented. In part one, components of the model program such as the multi-learning…

Understanding Reading Intervention from a Child's Perspective: Interviews with Adolescents, Parents, and Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Despaux, Lori Juhas

2010-01-01

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the perceptions and experiences of the middle school students who participated in learning center support as elementary students in independent schools. There were 16 participants from three sites included in the study: six students, seven parents, and three learning specialists. The research…

"Practicing What We Preach: An Argument for Cooperative Learning Opportunities for Elementary and Secondary Educators"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coke, Pamela K.

2005-01-01

Van Allen (1996) supports a paradigm shift in how Americans think about education, from a view of school as hierarchy to school as continuum. While the relationship between elementary and secondary education is not always visible, teachers can model cooperative learning for students by working as a team across grade levels to solve problem,…

Analysing the Opportunities and Challenges to Use of Information and Communication Technology Tools in Teaching-Learning Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dastjerdi, Negin Barat

2016-01-01

The research aims at the evaluation of ICT use in teaching-learning process to the students of Isfahan elementary schools. The method of this research is descriptive-surveying. The statistical population of the study was all teachers of Isfahan elementary schools. The sample size was determined 350 persons that selected through cluster sampling…

An Experimental Study for Effectiveness of Super-Learning Technique at Elementary Level in Pakistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shafqat, Hussain; Muhammad, Sarwar; Imran, Yousaf; Naemullah; Inamullah

2010-01-01

The objective of the study was to experience the effectiveness of super-learning technique of teaching at elementary level. The study was conducted with 8th grade students at a public sector school. Pre-test and post-test control group designs were used. Experimental and control groups were formed randomly, the experimental group (N = 62),…

Becoming Teachers: Examining How Preservice Elementary Teachers Use Language to Construct Professional Identities, Learn within Relationships, and Take Risks in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ticknor, Anne Swenson

2010-01-01

This longitudinal qualitative study examined how four preservice elementary teachers used language to construct professional identities, learn within relationships, and take risks in the classroom during their final three semesters in teacher education coursework and field experiences. My female participants were former students of mine in the…

Learning to Teach Elementary Science in an Experiential, Informal Context: Culture, Learning, and Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Carolyn S.; Brooks, Lori

2015-01-01

Lack of time for teaching science in traditional classroom placements in the United States has led some science teacher educators to provide practice teaching time for elementary education students in informal science settings. The purposes of this study were to describe the culture of one science methods course taught in conjunction with a K-7…

PACER Model: Skills and Personal Characteristics of Alternative Elementary Free School and Open School Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wardle, Francis

This essay outlines the skills and qualities that an alternative, open, elementary school teacher should possess. These criteria are based on the PACER model of 30 students, age 4 to 12, learning in an ungraded, unstructured environment. (The PACER model adheres to the idea that all experiences and all learning situations are of equal importance.)…

Building Community from Diversity: Connecting Students to Their Learning Environments. An Anthology of Classroom Projects Undertaken for the Kellogg Beacon Grant. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahony, Elizabeth M., Ed.; And Others

This five-part anthology presents descriptions of 22 classroom projects undertaken by a consortium of Missouri community colleges and elementary and secondary schools, directed by St. Louis Community College. The collection comprises the following articles: "Views of an Elementary Teacher" (Susan Biffignani); "Writing To Learn and…

The Effect of Constructivist Learning Principles Based Learning Materials to Students' Attitudes, Success and Retention in Social Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karaduman, Hidir; Gultekin, Mehmet

2007-01-01

The present study aims to investigate whether the learning materials that based on constructivist learning principles have an effect on fifth grade Social Studies students' attitudes, their academic success and their retention. The study was conducted at Sehit Ali Gaffar Okkan Elementary School, Eskisehir. The participants of the study were 5th…

A Qualitative Study of Learning Spaces at a Midwest Elementary School and Its Relationship to Student Attitudes about Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Limpert, Stefanie Marie

2017-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between flexible learning environments and student attitudes about reading. Flexible learning environments are spaces wherein learners can choose from different seating or standing options, locations within the learning space, and the size group with which to work. This allows the learner to find the…

Transition Works: Self-Awareness and Self-Advocacy Skills for Students in the Elementary Learning Center

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merlone, Lynn; Moran, Dolores

2008-01-01

Fifth grade students with learning disabilities receive a ten-week unit on learning styles and the special education process as part of their transition to the middle school. Developed by a learning center teacher and guidance counselor, the program is derived from the literature on self-determination and from the work of Mel Levine. The…

Change over a service learning experience in science undergraduates' beliefs expressed about elementary school students' ability to learn science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goebel, Camille A.

This longitudinal investigation explores the change in four (3 female, 1 male) science undergraduates' beliefs expressed about low-income elementary school students' ability to learn science. The study sought to identify how the undergraduates in year-long public school science-teaching partnerships perceived the social, cultural, and economic factors affecting student learning. Previous service-learning research infrequently focused on science undergraduates relative to science and society or detailed expressions of their beliefs and field practices over the experience. Qualitative methodology was used to guide the implementation and analysis of this study. A sample of an additional 20 science undergraduates likewise involved in intensive reflection in the service learning in science teaching (SLST) course called Elementary Science Education Partners (ESEP) was used to examine the typicality of the case participants. The findings show two major changes in science undergraduates' belief expressions: (1) a reduction in statements of beliefs from a deficit thinking perspective about the elementary school students' ability to learn science, and (2) a shift in the attribution of students, underlying problems in science learning from individual-oriented to systemic-oriented influences. Additional findings reveal that the science undergraduates perceived they had personally and profoundly changed as a result of the SLST experience. Changes include: (1) the gain of a new understanding of others' situations different from their own; (2) the realization of and appreciation for their relative positions of privilege due to their educational background and family support; (3) the gain in ability to communicate, teach, and work with others; (4) the idea that they were more socially and culturally connected to their community outside the university and their college classrooms; and (5) a broadening of the way they understood or thought about science. Women participants stated that the experience validated their science and science-related career choices. Results imply that these changes have the potential to strengthen the undergraduate pursuit of science-related careers and will contribute positive influences to our education system and society at large.

Mathematical intelligence developed in math learning with classical backsound music of the classical era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karlimah

2018-05-01

This study examines the application of classical music backsound in mathematics learning. The method used is quasi experimental design nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group in elementary school students in Tasikmalaya city, Indonesia. The results showed that classical music contributed significantly to the mathematical intelligence of elementary school students. The mathematical intelligence shown is in the cognitive ability ranging from the level of knowledge to evaluation. High level mathematical intelligence is shown by students in reading and writing integers with words and numbers. The low level of mathematical intelligence exists in projecting the story into a mathematical problem. The implication of this research is the use of classical music backsound on learning mathematics should pay attention to the level of difficulty of mathematics material being studied.

An analysis of K--5 teachers' beliefs regarding the uses of direct instruction, the discovery method, and the inquiry method in elementary science education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kowalczyk, Donna Lee

The purpose of this study was to examine K--5 elementary teachers' reported beliefs about the use, function, and importance of Direct Instruction, the Discovery Method, and the Inquiry Method in the instruction of science in their classrooms. Eighty-two teachers completed questionnaires about their beliefs, opinions, uses, and ideas about each of the three instructional methods. Data were collected and analyzed using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square analyses indicated that the majority of teachers reported using all three methods to varying degrees in their classrooms. Guided Discovery was reported by the teachers as being the most frequently used method to teach science, while Pure Discovery was reportedly used the least frequently. The majority of teachers expressed the belief that a blend of all three instructional methods is the most effective strategy for teaching science at the elementary level. The teachers also reported a moderate level of confidence in teaching science. Students' ability levels, learning styles, and time/class schedule were identified as factors that most influence teachers' instructional choice. Student participation in hands-on activities, creative thinking ability, and developing an understanding of scientific concepts were reported as the learning behaviors most associated with student success in science. Data obtained from this study provide information about the nature and uses of Direct Instruction, the Discovery Method, and the Inquiry Method and teachers' perceptions and beliefs about each method's use in science education. Learning more about the science teaching and learning environment may help teachers, administrators, curriculum developers, and researchers gain greater insights about student learning, instructional effectiveness, and science curriculum development at the elementary level.

Elementary school children's science learning from school field trips

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glick, Marilyn Petty

This research examines the impact of classroom anchoring activities on elementary school students' science learning from a school field trip. Although there is prior research demonstrating that students can learn science from school field trips, most of this research is descriptive in nature and does not examine the conditions that enhance or facilitate such learning. The current study draws upon research in psychology and education to create an intervention that is designed to enhance what students learn from school science field trips. The intervention comprises of a set of "anchoring" activities that include: (1) Orientation to context, (2) Discussion to activate prior knowledge and generate questions, (3) Use of field notebooks during the field trip to record observations and answer questions generated prior to field trip, (4) Post-visit discussion of what was learned. The effects of the intervention are examined by comparing two groups of students: an intervention group which receives anchoring classroom activities related to their field trip and an equivalent control group which visits the same field trip site for the same duration but does not receive any anchoring classroom activities. Learning of target concepts in both groups was compared using objective pre and posttests. Additionally, a subset of students in each group were interviewed to obtain more detailed descriptive data on what children learned through their field trip.

A New Approach to Teaching Science to Elementary Education Majors in Response to the NGSS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brevik, C.; Daniels, L.; McCoy, C.

2015-12-01

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) place an equal emphasis on science process skills and science content. The goal is to have K-12 students "doing" science, not just "learning about" science. However, most traditional college science classes for elementary education majors place a much stronger emphasis on science content knowledge with the hands-on portion limited to a once-a-week lab. The two models of instruction are not aligned. The result is that many elementary school teachers are unprepared to offer interactive science with their students. Without additional coaching, many teachers fall back on the format they learned in college - lecture, handouts, homework. If we want teachers to use more hands-on methods in the classroom, these techniques should be taught to elementary education majors when they are in college. Dickinson State University has begun a collaboration between the Teacher Education Department and the Department of Natural Sciences. The physical science course for elementary education majors has been completely redesigned to focus equally on the needed science content and the science process skills emphasized by the NGSS. The format of the course has been adjusted to more closely mirror a traditional K-5 classroom; the course meets for 50 minutes five days a week. A flipped-classroom model has been adopted to ensure no content is lost, and hands-on activities are done almost every day as new concepts are discussed. In order to judge the effectiveness of these changes, a survey tool was administered to determine if there was a shift in the students' perception of science as an active instead of a passive field of study. The survey also measured the students' comfort-level in offering a hands-on learning environment in their future classrooms and their confidence in their ability to effectively teach science concepts to elementary students. Results from the first year of the study will be presented.

What's in a Word? Elementary Students Learn a Lesson in the Language of Respect. Los Estudiantes de Primaria Aprenden una Leccion en el Lenguaje del Respeto.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maddalozzo, Rebecca

2001-01-01

Describes how one elementary teacher helped students in her class and in the entire school see through ethnic biases and feel proud of being bilingual or having bilingual friends. Her efforts taught the children that bilingual students are very much like their non-bilingual classmates in being unique people with talents that should be respected.…

Using a Field Trip Inventory to Determine If Listening to Elementary School Students' Conversations, While on a Zoo Field Trip, Enhances Preservice Teachers' Abilities to Plan Zoo Field Trips

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patrick, Patricia; Mathews, Cathy; Tunnicliffe, Sue Dale

2013-10-01

This study investigated whether listening to spontaneous conversations of elementary students and their teachers/chaperones, while they were visiting a zoo, affected preservice elementary teachers' conceptions about planning a field trip to the zoo. One hundred five preservice elementary teachers designed field trips prior to and after listening to students' conversations during a field trip to the zoo. In order to analyze the preservice teachers' field trip designs, we conducted a review of the literature on field trips to develop the field trip inventory (FTI). The FTI focussed on three major components of field trips: cognitive, procedural, and social. Cognitive components were subdivided into pre-visit, during-visit, and post-visit activities and problem-solving. Procedural components included information about the informal science education facility (the zoo) and the zoo staff and included advanced organizers. Social components on student groups, fun, control during the zoo visit, and control of student learning. The results of the investigation showed that (a) the dominant topic in conversations among elementary school groups at the zoo was management, (b) procedural components were mentioned least often, (c) preservice teachers described during-visit activities more often than any other characteristic central to field trip design, (d) seven of the nine characteristics listed in the FTI were noted more frequently in the preservice teachers' field trip designs after they listened to students' conversations at the zoo, and (e) preservice teachers thought that students were not learning and that planning was important.

Effects of Constructing versus Playing an Educational Game on Student Motivation and Deep Learning Strategy Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vos, Nienke; van der Meijden, Henny; Denessen, Eddie

2011-01-01

In this study the effects of two different interactive learning tasks, in which simple games were included were described with respect to student motivation and deep strategy use. The research involved 235 students from four elementary schools in The Netherlands. One group of students (N = 128) constructed their own memory "drag and…

Exploration of a Blended Learning Approach to Reading Instruction for Low SES Students in Early Elementary Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schechter, Rachel; Macaruso, Paul; Kazakoff, Elizabeth R.; Brooke, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

This study investigated the potential benefits of a blended learning approach on the reading skills of low socioeconomic status students in Grades 1 and 2. Treatment students received English language arts instruction that was both teacher-led and technology-based. Comparisons were made with control students who received the same English language…

Performance of Hispanic Educable Mentally Retarded, Learning Disabled, and Nonclassified Students on the WISC-RM, SOMPA, and S-KABC: Short-Term Study One. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rueda, Robert; And Others

The study examined performance of limited-English proficient Hispanic students on a battery of psychometric instruments designed to appropriately assess linguistic minority students. Subjects consisted of three groups: 44 nonhandicapped, 45 learning-disabled, and 39 mildly mentally retarded elementary-level students. Instruments included the…

Increasing Public Awareness of the Needs of Students with Learning Disabilities in the Elementary Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roualdes, Melissa Merle

2013-01-01

Students with varying backgrounds and learning disabilities enter today's classrooms. Teachers may not be prepared to recognize and handle the needs of these students. The purpose of this study is to examine the research on teacher preparedness with the goal of increasing public awareness of the needs of this student population. A review of the…

Getting the Bugs out with PESTS: A Mnemonic Approach to Spelling Sight Words for Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howard, Sue; DaDeppo, Lisa M. W.; De La Paz, Susan

2008-01-01

Difficulties with spelling can impact students' reading acquisition and writing, having a critical impact on overall literacy development. Students with learning disabilities (LD) often struggle with spelling. We describe a case study with three elementary-aged students with LD using a mnemonic approach to spelling sight words. Our approach,…

Learning styles and approaches to learning mathematics of students majoring in elementary education: a three-year study.

PubMed

Alkhateeb, Haitham M; Mji, Andile

2009-10-01

The goal of this 3-yr. study was to explore the learning styles and approaches to learning mathematics of elementary education majors. Two questionnaires, the Learning Style Inventory and the Approaches to Learning Mathematics Questionnaire, were administered to 149 women and 32 men (M = 20.1 yr., SD. = 2.1; range = 18-31). All were in their first or second years of college and enrolled in Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers at a Midwestern U.S. university. Results on the Learning Style Inventory indicated that a majority scored as either Accommodators, i.e., they primarily followed learning modes involving Active Experimentation and Concrete Experience, or as Divergers, i.e., approaching learning by focusing on Concrete Experience and Reflective Observation. A weak but statistically significant association was observed on the Approaches questionnaire between the Surface Approach and Reflective Observation.

Teachers' perceptions of the benefits and the challenges of integrating educational robots into primary/elementary curricula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khanlari, Ahmad

2016-05-01

Twenty-first century education systems should create an environment wherein students encounter critical learning components (such as problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills) and embrace lifelong learning. A review of literature demonstrates that new technologies, in general, and robotics, in particular, are well suited for this aim. This study aims to contribute to the literature by studying teachers' perceptions of the effects of using robotics on students' lifelong learning skills. This study also seeks to better understand teachers' perceptions of the barriers of using robotics and the support they need. Eleven primary/elementary teachers from Newfoundland and Labrador English Schools District participated in this study. The results of this study revealed that robotics is perceived by teachers to have positive effects on students' lifelong learning skills. Furthermore, the participants indicated a number of barriers to integrate robotics into their teaching activities and expressed the support they need.

Home-School Networking To Support Constructivist Learning in a Rural Elementary School: Lessons from Families, Schools, and Researchers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ehrich, Roger W.; McCreary, Faith; Reaux, Ray; Rowland, Keith; Ramsey, Amy

The U.S. Department of Education is supporting a 3-year program involving Virginia Tech's computer department and a rural public elementary school. The project seeks to determine whether immersive access to networked computing by students and their families has measurable effects on long-term student achievement. A fifth-grade classroom was…

Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance, Uplift, and Elementary Students: An Example of School and Community Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powell, Frankie Denise; Fields, Larry D.; Bell, Edwin D.; Johnson, Gwendolyn S.

2007-01-01

Dr. Larry D. Fields, the former principal of Rowland H. Latham Elementary, led the development of a complementary learning model that became known as the Latham Way. The Latham Way produced remarkable academic success among poor minority students. The chi-square of the expected and the actual scores in reading and mathematics were significant at p…

Modeling the Influences of Upper-Elementary School Students' Digital Reading Literacy, Socioeconomic Factors, and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Shin-Feng

2017-01-01

Background: Reading is an interactive and constructive process of making meaning by engaging a variety of materials and sources and by participating in reading communities at school or in daily life. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the factors affecting digital reading literacy among upper-elementary school students. Method: A…

Assessing Decoding Ability: The Role of Speed and Accuracy and a New Composite Indicator to Measure Decoding Skill in Elementary Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morlini, Isabella; Stella, Giacomo; Scorza, Maristella

2015-01-01

Tools for assessing decoding skill in students attending elementary grades are of fundamental importance for guaranteeing an early identification of reading disabled students and reducing both the primary negative effects (on learning) and the secondary negative effects (on the development of the personality) of this disability. This article…

Bridging the Opportunity Gap: How Washington Elementary Schools Are Meeting Achievement Standards. Research Report #2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington School Research Center, 2002

2002-01-01

The 4th and 7th grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) scores for the past several years have indicated that the percentage of students meeting the new higher standards is not satisfactory, although improvement is being shown every year. There are indications, however, that while some elementary and middle/junior high schools are…

(Re)Envisioning Mathematics Education: Examining Equity and Social Justice in an Elementary Mathematics Methods Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koestler, Courtney

2010-01-01

In this dissertation, I present my attempts at designing an elementary mathematics methods course to support prospective teachers in developing an understanding of how to teach all students in learning powerful mathematics. To do this, I introduced them to teaching mathematics for equity and social justice by discussing ways to support students'…

Let Freedom Ring: Using the "Circle of Knowledge" Strategy to Examine American Symbols

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Scott L.

2013-01-01

With the advent of Common Core standards that focus on speaking and listening, discussion should be a tool in every elementary teacher's tool belt. As they discuss a topic, elementary students learn not just the content, but also the skills and social norms they need to become contributing members of our society. Discussion helps students to…

The American Cowboy: Developing Small Group Social Studies Interaction Experiences in the Elementary Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmes, Edward, Jr.

Appropriate for elementary school students, this resource unit on the American cowboy provides four activities for small group work. The unit also lists objectives and discusses the organization and dynamics of small groups. The general objective is for the student to learn how to work within groups and how to resolve group conflict. The…

Does Math Achievement "h'APP'en" when iPads and Game-Based Learning Are Incorporated into Fifth-Grade Mathematics Instruction?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carr, Jennie M.

2012-01-01

After 10 years of No Child Left Behind standards-focused education, mathematics scores have improved only marginally for elementary-aged students. Students who developed a solid conceptual mathematics foundation at the elementary level succeeded later in higher-level mathematics courses; thus, educators have sought ways to increase mathematics…

Environmental Camp as a Comprehensive Communication Tool to Promote the RRR Concept to Elementary Education Students at Koh Si Chang School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Supakata, Nuta; Puangthongthub, Sitthichok; Srithongouthai, Sarawut; Kanokkantapong, Vorapot; Chaikaew, Pasicha

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to develop and implement a Reduce-Reuse-Recycle (RRR) communication strategy through environmental camp as a comprehensive communication tool to promote the RRR concept to elementary school students. Various activities from five learning bases including the folding milk carton game, waste separation relay, recycling…

Thinking Styles: Teaching and Learning Styles in Graduate Education Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, Tricia A.; Lesh, Jennifer J.; Trocchio, Jennie S.; Wolman, Clara

2010-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between two intellectual styles approaches: Sternberg's thinking styles of teachers and Felder and Silverman's learning styles. Ninety-five graduate students majoring in special education, reading, educational leadership and curriculum, and elementary education completed the Thinking Styles in Teaching…

Live Storybook Outcomes of Pilot Multidisciplinary Elementary Earth Science Collaborative Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soeffing, C.; Pierson, R.

2017-12-01

Live Storybook Outcomes of pilot multidisciplinary elementary earth science collaborative project Anchoring phenomena leading to student led investigations are key to applying the NGSS standards in the classroom. This project employs the GLOBE elementary storybook, Discoveries at Willow Creek, as an inspiration and operational framework for a collaborative pilot project engaging 4th grade students in asking questions, collecting relevant data, and using analytical tools to document and understand natural phenomena. The Institute of Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), a GLOBE Partner, the Outdoor Campus, an informal educational outdoor learning facility managed by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, University of Sioux Falls, and All City Elementary, Sioux Falls are collaborating partners in this project. The Discoveries at Willow Creek storyline introduces young students to the scientific process, and models how they can apply science and engineering practices (SEPs) to discover and understand the Earth system in which they live. One innovation associated with this project is the formal engagement of elementary students in a global citizen science program (for all ages), GLOBE Observer, and engaging them in data collection using GLOBE Observer's Cloud and Mosquito Habitat Mapper apps. As modeled by the fictional students from Willow Creek, the 4th grade students will identify their 3 study sites at the Outdoor Campus, keep a journal, and record observations. The students will repeat their investigations at the Outdoor Campus to document and track change over time. Students will be introduced to "big data" in a manageable way, as they see their observations populate GLOBE's map-based data visualization and . Our research design recognizes the comfort and familiarity factor of literacy activities in the elementary classroom for students and teachers alike, and postulates that connecting a science education project to an engaging storybook text will contribute to a successful implementation and measurable learning outcomes. We will report on the Fall 2017 pilot metrics of success, along with a discussion of multi partner collaborations, project scale-up and sustainability.

Science and fun in a Magic Show of Light from optical demonstrations on an overhead projector for elementary school students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lones, Joe J.; Maltseva, Nadezhda K.; Peterson, Kurt N.

2007-06-01

We seek methods of stimulating young school children to develop an interest in science and engineering through a natural curiosity for the reaction of light. Science learning now begins fully at middle school. Reading skills develop with activity at home and progress through the elementary school curriculum, and in a like manner, a curious interest in science also should begin at that stage of life. Within the ranks of educators, knowledge of optical science needs to be presented to elementary school students in an entertaining manner. One such program used by the authors is Doug Goodman's Optics Demonstrations With the Overhead Projector, co-published by and available from OSA (Optical Society of America) and SPIE-The International Society of Optical Engineering. These demonstrations have found their way into middle and high schools; however, as a special approach, the authors have presented selected Goodman demonstrations as a "Magic Show of Light" to elementary schools. Both students and faculty have found the show most entertaining! If optical knowledge is utilized to stimulate science learning in the coming generation at elementary school level, there's a good chance we can sow some fertile seeds of advancement for all future segments of the workforce. Students can enjoy what they are doing while building a foundation for contributing gainfully to society in any profession. We need to explore expanding exposure of the "Magic Show of Light" to elementary schools.

Collaboration Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harlow, Danielle; Otero, Valerie K.

2005-01-01

What happens when university curriculum developers are mixed with motivated elementary teachers? ? An awesome learning collaboration that benefits researchers, teachers, and students! That's what the authors discovered when they--university researchers involved in the Physics for Elementary Teachers (PET) project--teamed up with local elementary…

Pre-service elementary teachers' understanding of scientific inquiry and its role in school science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macaroglu, Esra

The purpose of this research was to explore pre-service elementary teachers' developing understanding of scientific inquiry within the context of their elementary science teaching and learning. More specifically, the study examined 24 pre-service elementary teachers' emerging understanding of (1) the nature of science and scientific inquiry; (2) the "place" of scientific inquiry in school science; and (3) the roles and responsibilities of teachers and students within an inquiry-based learning environment. Data sources consisted primarily of student-generated artifacts collected throughout the semester, including pre/post-philosophy statements and text-based materials collected from electronic dialogue journals. Individual data sources were open-coded to identify concepts and categories expressed by students. Cross-comparisons were conducted and patterns were identified. Assertions were formed with these patterns. Findings are hopeful in that they suggest pre-service teachers can develop a more contemporary view of scientific inquiry when immersed in a context that promotes this perspective. Not surprisingly, however, the prospective teachers encountered a number of barriers when attempting to translate their emerging ideas into practice. More research is needed to determine which teacher preparation experiences are most powerful in supporting pre-service teachers as they construct a framework for science teaching and learning that includes scientific inquiry as a central component.

Self Reflections of Undergraduate Students on Using Web-Supported Counterintuitive Science Demonstrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, David Devraj; Dunn, Jessica

2018-03-01

Analysis of self-reflections of undergraduate education students in a project involving web-supported counterintuitive science demonstrations is reported in this paper. Participating students (N = 19) taught science with counterintuitive demonstrations in local elementary school classrooms and used web-based resources accessed via wireless USB adapters. Student reflections to seven questions were analyzed qualitatively using four components of reflection (meeting objectives/perception of learning, dynamics of pedagogy, special needs accommodations, improving teaching) deriving 27 initial data categories and 12 emergent themes. Overall the undergraduates reported meeting objectives, engaging students in pedagogically relevant learning tasks including, providing accommodations to students with special needs, and gaining practice and insight to improve their own teaching. Additional research is needed to arrive at generalizable findings concerning teaching with web-supported counterintuitive science demonstrations in elementary classrooms.

The Impact of School Design and Arrangement on Learning Experiences: A Case Study of an Architecturally Significant Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Churchill, Deirdre Lyne

2014-01-01

This qualitative study examined the impact of architectural design and arrangement on the learning experiences of students. Specifically, it examined how school design and arrangement foster interactions and relationships among students and adults relevant to integral learning experiences. This case study was limited to the breadth of knowledge…

A Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Application in Elementary Science and Technology Lessons: Physical and Chemical Changes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tarhan, Leman; Ayyildiz, Yildizay; Ogunc, Aylin; Sesen, Burcin Acar

2013-01-01

Background: Cooperative learning is an active learning approach in which students work together in small groups to complete an assigned task. Students commonly find the subject of "physical and chemical changes" difficult and abstract, and thus they generally have many misconceptions about it. Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the…

A Study of Fifth Graders' Environmental Learning Outcomes in Taipei

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lai, Ching-San

2018-01-01

Environmental education has recently received much more attention than before among elementary school students' science learning in Taiwan. The major purpose of this study is to explore the learning outcomes on environmental education for 5th graders in Taipei. A quasi-experimental design with a single group was used in this study. Students in the…

Parental Autonomy Support and Student Learning Goals: A Preliminary Examination of an Intrinsic Motivation Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Froiland, John Mark

2011-01-01

In a seven week quasi-experimental study, parents (n = 15) of elementary school students (n = 15) learned autonomy supportive communication techniques that included helping their children set learning goals for homework assignments. Treatment vs. comparison group (n = 30) ANCOVA analyses revealed that the parents in the treatment group perceived…

Examining the Influence of a Mobile Learning Intervention on Third Grade Math Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiger, Derick; Herro, Dani; Prunty, Deb

2012-01-01

Third grade students at a Midwestern elementary school participated in a 9-week mobile learning intervention (MLI). Two classrooms used Everyday Math and daily practice using flashcards, etc., to learn multiplication. Two other classrooms used Everyday Math and web applications for the iPod touch for daily practice. MLI students outperformed…

Rebecca's in the Dark: A Comparative Study of Problem-Based Learning and Direct Instruction/Experiential Learning in Two 4th-Grade Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drake, Kay N.; Long, Deborah

2009-01-01

Seeking improved student performance in elementary schools has led educators to advocate inquiry-based teaching approaches, including problem-based learning (PBL). In PBL, students simultaneously develop problem-solving strategies, disciplinary knowledge bases, collaborative skills, and dispositions. Research into the efficacy of PBL in elementary…

Counteracting Summer Slide: Social Capital Resources within Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slates, Stephanie L.; Alexander, Karl L.; Entwisle, Doris R.; Olson, Linda S.

2012-01-01

Research on summer learning has shown that children from a higher socioeconomic status (SES) continue to learn during the summer months of elementary school, but lower-SES students tend to stagnate or lose ground. However, not all low-SES students experience summer learning loss. Drawing on the Beginning School Study (BSS), a longitudinal study of…

Empowering Personalized Learning with an Interactive E-Book Learning System for Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Yueh-Min; Liang, Tsung-Ho; Su, Yen-Ning; Chen, Nian-Shing

2012-01-01

Today various types of tablet computers are used, including iPad and Android Tablets. These individual portable digital devices can be used as e-book readers to support mobile personalized learning. Though many studies have investigated e-books by targeting undergraduate students, yet less attention has been paid to children. Therefore, an…

Improving science inquiry with elementary students of diverse backgrounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cuevas, Peggy; Lee, Okhee; Hart, Juliet; Deaktor, Rachael

2005-03-01

This study examined the impact of an inquiry-based instructional intervention on (a) children's ability to conduct science inquiry overall and to use specific skills in inquiry, and (b) narrowing the gaps in children's ability among demographic subgroups of students. The intervention consisted of instructional units, teacher workshops, and classroom practices. The study involved 25 third- and fourth-grade students from six elementary schools representing diverse linguistic and cultural groups. Quantitative results demonstrated that the intervention enhanced the inquiry ability of all students regardless of grade, achievement, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), home language, and English proficiency. Particularly, low-achieving, low-SES, and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) exited students made impressive gains. The study adds to the existing literature on designing learning environments that foster science inquiry of all elementary students.

Powerful and Purposeful Teaching and Learning in Elementary School Social Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Social Education, 2009

2009-01-01

If American young learners are to become effective participants in a democratic society, then social studies must be an essential part of the curriculum in each of the elementary years. The purpose of elementary school social studies is to enable students to understand, participate in, and make informed decisions about their world. Social studies…

A Multi-Year Study of the Impact of the Rice Model Teacher Professional Development on Elementary Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diaconu, Dana Viorica; Radigan, Judy; Suskavcevic, Milijana; Nichol, Carolyn

2012-01-01

A teacher professional development program for in-service elementary school science teachers, the Rice Elementary Model Science Lab (REMSL), was developed for urban school districts serving predominately high-poverty, high-minority students. Teachers with diverse skills and science capacities came together in Professional Learning Communities, one…

A Cursive Handwriting Skills Program for LD Students To Be Used by Regular and LD Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMillan, Ida L.

Many learning disabled students attending Avocado Elementary School in Homestead, Florida, were unable to write legibly when taught with available cursive handwriting programs. To redress the problem, a complete, sequential cursive handwriting program was devised for use with learning disabled and other students. The program combined tracing and…

Teaching Handwriting to Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities: A Problem-Solving Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Datchuk, Shawn

2015-01-01

Problems with handwriting can negatively impact the writing of students with learning disabilities. In this article, an example is provided of a fourth-grade special education teacher's efforts to assist a new student by using a problem-solving approach to help determine an efficient course of action for special education teachers who are trying…

Preservice Elementary School Teachers' Knowledge of Fractions: A Mirror of Students' Knowledge?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Steenbrugge, H.; Lesage, E.; Valcke, M.; Desoete, A.

2014-01-01

This research analyses preservice teachers' knowledge of fractions. Fractions are notoriously difficult for students to learn and for teachers to teach. Previous studies suggest that student learning of fractions may be limited by teacher understanding of fractions. If so, teacher education has a key role in solving the problem. We first reviewed…

Service Learning in Germany: A Four-Week Summer Teaching Program in Saxony-Anhalt

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ducate, Lara

2009-01-01

This article describes a four-week service learning abroad program. Students from a U.S. university assist and teach in elementary school English classes for one month in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany while living with their German partner teachers. The program description and students' feedback illustrate that this program provides students with the…

Reading Achievement, Mastery, and Performance Goal Structures among Students with Learning Disabilities: A Nonlinear Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sideridis, Georgios D.; Stamovlasis, Dimitrios; Antoniou, Faye

2016-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine the hypothesis that a nonlinear relationship exists between a performance-classroom climate and the reading achievement of adolescent students with learning disabilities (LD). Participants were 62 students with LD (Grades 5-9) from public elementary schools in northern Greece. Classroom climate was…

School-Community Gardening: Learning, Living, Earning, and Giving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallavan, Nancy P.; Bowles, Freddie A.

2012-01-01

Elementary teacher Ms. Huff realized that her third grade students were limited in their knowledge and experiences related to gardening. Most of today's young learners in the United States do not live on farms, and few families maintain gardens. Only a few of Ms. Huff's students could say they had a family garden. In schools, students learn about…

Language Learning Motivation in Early Adolescents: Using Mixed Methods Research to Explore Contradiction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wesely, Pamela M.

2010-01-01

This mixed methods study with an Explanatory Design is an exploration of students' language learning motivation as it relates to their attrition from a language immersion program. A total of 131 students who had graduated from five public elementary immersion schools responded to surveys, and 33 of those students were interviewed. Data analysis…

The Impact of Cooperative and Traditional Learning on the Academic Achievement of Third Grade Students in Selected Rural School Districts in Northeast, South Carolina

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Shawn Lamont L.

2013-01-01

This study examined the impact that cooperative learning and traditional learning have on the academic performance of elementary school students in rural school districts. Cooperative learning is considered a typical model that can maximize the effectiveness of constructivism. Slavin (1991, p. 71) completed a synthesis of research on cooperative…

Development of a Learning Model for Enhancing Social Skills on Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Traisorn, Rattanaporn; Soonthornrojana, Wimonrat; Chano, Jiraporn

2015-01-01

The goals of this study were: 1) to study the situation, problems and needs for a learning model to enhance the social skills of sixth grade students; 2) to develop a learning model that would address those needs; 3) to study the effectiveness of that learning model; 4) to compare performance on pretests and posttests of social skills; and 5) to…

An Exploration of the Effects of a Literature-Based Socialemotional Learning Curriculum on the Kindergarten Classes in a Large K-5 Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werkheiser, Susan N. Gravle

2014-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to explore the effects of a literature-based social-emotional learning curriculum on kindergarten students' social-emotional behaviors, awareness, and early reading skills in a large elementary school. The study examined beliefs/perceptions of kindergarten teachers in regards to what reading skills students…

Coping by Caring.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lidstone, Sheila S.

1992-01-01

Describes a Texas elementary school's efforts to cope with the special needs of Kenneth, a fourth grader slowly dying of kidney cancer. Besides learning their subjects like other students, Kenneth's classmates learned how to care. Every student volunteered to be Kenneth's assistant and was enriched by the boy's positive attitude and determination…

From Fake to Fiction: Young Children Learn about Writing Fiction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taberski, Sharon

1987-01-01

Presents five strategies for helping elementary school students learn to write fiction: (1) stress topic selection; (2) use literature to teach fiction writing; (3) stress main character change or problem solving; (4) emphasize reality-based stories; and (5) encourage students to research their fiction. (SKC)

Effects of Illustrations on Learning Disabled Students' Reading Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Terry L.; Robinson, Helen H.

1984-01-01

Analysis of relative effects of illustrations on oral reading in context and comprehension accuracy of five elementary-school learning disabled students showed no apparent relationship between the presence or absence of illustrations and changes in oral reading rates or response accuracy of comprehension questions. (Author/CL)

Remediating Handwriting Skills for Learning Disabled Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Highsmith, Victoria

The paper describes strategies for teaching six different handwriting skills to learning disabled (LD) elementary students. A rationale for each strategy precedes step-by-step procedural descriptions. Strategies in the following areas are described: (1) introducing LD children with motor coordination deficits to alphabetic symbols using sandpaper…

The Power of Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bray, Wendy S.

2009-01-01

Achieving equity in elementary school mathematics instruction involves meeting a diverse range of student learning needs that are inevitably present in mixed-ability classrooms. An instructional strategy that the author has found useful in working toward equity in mathematics class is to introduce opportunities for students to learn to make good…

Elementary Students' Learning of Materials Science Practices Through Instruction Based on Engineering Design Tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wendell, Kristen Bethke; Lee, Hee-Sun

2010-12-01

Materials science, which entails the practices of selecting, testing, and characterizing materials, is an important discipline within the study of matter. This paper examines how third grade students' materials science performance changes over the course of instruction based on an engineering design challenge. We conducted a case study of nine students who participated in engineering design-based science instruction with the goal of constructing a stable, quiet, thermally comfortable model house. The learning outcome of materials science practices was assessed by clinical interviews conducted before and after the instruction, and the learning process was assessed by students' workbooks completed during the instruction. The interviews included two materials selection tasks for designing a sturdy stepstool and an insulated pet habitat. Results indicate that: (1) students significantly improved on both materials selection tasks, (2) their gains were significantly positively associated with the degree of completion of their workbooks, and (3) students who were highly engaged with the workbook's reflective record-keeping tasks showed the greatest improvement on the interviews. These findings suggest the important role workbooks can play in facilitating elementary students' learning of science through authentic activity such as engineering design.

Inspire Day

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bohach, Barbara M.; Meade, Birgitta

2014-01-01

The authors collaborated on hosting a "Spring Inspire Day." planned and delivered by preservice elementary teachers as a social studies/science methods project. Projects that have authentic application opportunities can make learning meaningful for prospective teachers as well as elementary students. With the impetus for an integrated…

Conceptualizing RTI in 21st-Century Secondary Science Classrooms: Video Games' Potential to Provide Tiered Support and Progress Monitoring for Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marino, Matthew T.; Beecher, Constance C.

2010-01-01

Secondary schools across the United States are adopting response to intervention (RTI) as a means to identify students with learning disabilities (LD) and provide tiered instructional interventions that benefit all students. The majority of current RTI research focuses on students with reading difficulties in elementary school classrooms.…

Bridging Realty to Virtual Reality: Investigating Gender Effect and Student Engagement on Learning through Video Game Play in an Elementary School Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Annetta, Leonard; Mangrum, Jennifer; Holmes, Shawn; Collazo, Kimberly; Cheng, Meng-Tzu

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine students' learning of simple machines, a fifth-grade (ages 10-11) forces and motion unit, and student engagement using a teacher-created Multiplayer Educational Gaming Application. This mixed-method study collected pre-test/post-test results to determine student knowledge about simple machines. A survey…

Using a Modified Argument-Driven Inquiry to Promote Elementary School Students' Engagement in Learning Science and Argumentation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Hsiang-Ting; Wang, Hsin-Hui; Lu, Ying-Yan; Lin, Huann-shyang; Hong, Zuway-R

2016-01-01

This study explored the effects of a modified argument-driven inquiry approach on Grade 4 students' engagement in learning science and argumentation in Taiwan. The students were recruited as an experimental group (EG, n?=?36) to join a 12-week study, while another 36 Grade 4 students from the same schools were randomly selected to be the…

The analysis of probability task completion; Taxonomy of probabilistic thinking-based across gender in elementary school students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sari, Dwi Ivayana; Budayasa, I. Ketut; Juniati, Dwi

2017-08-01

Formulation of mathematical learning goals now is not only oriented on cognitive product, but also leads to cognitive process, which is probabilistic thinking. Probabilistic thinking is needed by students to make a decision. Elementary school students are required to develop probabilistic thinking as foundation to learn probability at higher level. A framework of probabilistic thinking of students had been developed by using SOLO taxonomy, which consists of prestructural probabilistic thinking, unistructural probabilistic thinking, multistructural probabilistic thinking and relational probabilistic thinking. This study aimed to analyze of probability task completion based on taxonomy of probabilistic thinking. The subjects were two students of fifth grade; boy and girl. Subjects were selected by giving test of mathematical ability and then based on high math ability. Subjects were given probability tasks consisting of sample space, probability of an event and probability comparison. The data analysis consisted of categorization, reduction, interpretation and conclusion. Credibility of data used time triangulation. The results was level of boy's probabilistic thinking in completing probability tasks indicated multistructural probabilistic thinking, while level of girl's probabilistic thinking in completing probability tasks indicated unistructural probabilistic thinking. The results indicated that level of boy's probabilistic thinking was higher than level of girl's probabilistic thinking. The results could contribute to curriculum developer in developing probability learning goals for elementary school students. Indeed, teachers could teach probability with regarding gender difference.

'That's What Scientists Have To Do': Preservice Elementary Teachers' Conceptions of the Nature of Science during a Moon Investigation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abell, Sandra; Martini, Mariana; George, Melissa

2001-01-01

Describes a science methods course for elementary education majors in which students investigated the phases of the moon. Concludes that students did not make direct connections between their science learning activities and the nature of science. Provides a set of recommendations related to the nature of science and moon study. (Contains 27…

A Semiotic Study of Elementary Teachers' Beliefs about Learning and Teaching of Minority and Latino/a Immigrant Students: The Encounter of Different Umwelten

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baratta Posada, Ana Elisa

2012-01-01

Semiotic paradigm and Carspecken's (1996) critical ethnography were used in a qualitative research study of elementary teachers' beliefs about minority and Latino/a immigrant students and the role of life experiences, culture and Umwelt in the formation and influence of beliefs. The participants were a kindergarten, first grade, and second grade…

Improving Elementary School Quality through the Use of a Social-Emotional and Character Development Program: A Matched-Pair, Cluster-Randomized, Controlled Trial in Hawai'i

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snyder, Frank J.; Vuchinich, Samuel; Acock, Alan; Washburn, Isaac J.; Flay, Brian R.

2012-01-01

Background: School safety and quality affect student learning and success. This study examined the effects of a comprehensive elementary school-wide social-emotional and character education program, Positive Action, on teacher, parent, and student perceptions of school safety and quality utilizing a matched-pair, cluster-randomized, controlled…

Learned Helplessness and the Elementary Student: Implications for Counselors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greer, John G.; Wethered, Chris E.

1987-01-01

Explores the topic of learned helplessness in children. Discusses these counselor strategies for helping children with learned helplessness: develop realistic attributions, provide feedback, provide success experiences, provide microcomputer experiences, and set realistic goals and expectations. (ABL)

The effectiveness of a popular science promotion program on nanotechnology for elementary school students in I-Lan City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Show-Yu; Wu, Ming-Ta; Cho, Ya-I.; Chen, Hui-Huang

2015-01-01

Background:Nanotechnology education has become an urgent priority to nurture skilled human resources for the rapidly developing nanotechnology-related industries. The promotion of popular science education focusing on nanotechnology is an ideal approach to bridge the gaps in formal curricula, and to stimulate curiosity about and interest in nanotechnology among schoolchildren. Purpose:The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Nanotechnology-based Popular Science Education Promotion and Teaching (NPSEPT) program through camp activity that was implemented in elementary schools in I-Lan City, Taiwan. Program description:To create a competitive advantage, a human resources development program was implemented as one of the nanotechnology incubation projects in Taiwan and focused on developing an appropriately-skilled professional workforce as well as promoting popular science education. Sample:The volunteer research participants were 323 sixth grade students in four elementary schools in I-Lan City, Taiwan, who were evaluated at the beginning and the end of the nanotechnology-based popular science promotion camp activity. Design and methods:A research tool called the 'NPSEPT test' was designed specifically for this study and was approved by experts who evaluated its content and face validity. The questionnaire was divided into three aspects: 'Nanophenomena in the natural world'; 'Nanomaterials and their scaling effects'; and 'Definition, characteristics, and applications of nanotechnology.' The effectiveness of learning among the students was analyzed using descriptive statistics, a paired sample t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a post hoc comparison. Results:The results of the three-part 'NPSEPT test' revealed that NPSEPT significantly advanced nanotechnology learning performance and outcomes among students in the four participating elementary schools. Of the 15 questions included in the NPSEPT test, positive change for more than 30% of students was achieved for eight questions related to nanotechnology concepts.