ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dundar, Sahin
2014-01-01
The present study was carried out to examine the relationships between elementary school teacher candidates' motivations for choosing the teaching profession, beliefs about the teaching profession, satisfaction with the choice, and burnout. The study was carried out with 171 senior elementary school teacher candidates at one public university in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Marco-Bujosa, Lisa M.; Levy, Abigail Jurist
2016-01-01
Elementary schools are under increasing pressure to teach science and teach it well; yet, research documents that classroom teachers must overcome numerous personal and school-based challenges to teach science effectively at this level, such as access to materials and inadequate instructional time. The elementary science specialist model…
The Profession of Elementary Teaching from the Perspective of School Administrators
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Turan, Mehmet; Turhan, Muhammed
2011-01-01
The purpose of this study was to identify how school administrators perceive the elementary teaching profession and elementary teachers. The population of the study comprised the administrators of elementary schools located in the center of Elazig, Adana and Malatya. A total of 185 questionnaires were sent to the school administrators included and…
Preparing Perservice Teachers to Teach Elementary School Science
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lewis, Amy D.
2017-01-01
The development of scientifically literate citizens begins in the elementary school. Yet elementary school teachers are ill prepared to teach science (Trygstad, Smith, Banilower, Nelson, & Horizon Research, Inc., 2013). The research base on teacher preparation finds that programs designed to prepare elementary teachers are inadequate in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cartwright, Tina; Smith, Suzanne; Hallar, Brittan
2014-01-01
This qualitative study examines the transition of eight elementary preservice teachers into student teaching after participating in a science methods course that included a significant amount of teaching after-school science to elementary grade students. These eight participants had a chance to practice teaching inquiry-based science and to reform…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Karsenti, Thierry P.; Thibert, Gilles
This study took an in-depth, global look at the entirety of the teaching practices of six elementary school teachers in Canada who are known to be highly motivating instructors. The study investigated the interaction between teaching practices and the change in elementary-school student motivation. Three teachers were chosen for their reputation…
TEACHING OF ADVANCED MATHEMATICAL CONCEPTS TO CULTURALLY DISADVANTAGED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
RUPLEY, WILLIAM H.
THE SUCCESS OF DISCOVERY MATHEMATICS TEACHING IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WAS TESTED OVER A 1-YEAR PERIOD. THE PROJECT WAS INTENDED TO SEE IF A TRAINED MATHEMATICIAN WORKING AT AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WITH DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN COULD (1) MOTIVATE THE CHILDREN TO BE INTERESTED IN SCHOOL WORK BY INTERESTING THEM IN MATHEMATICS AND (2) COMMUNICATE WITH…
Integrating E-Books into Science Teaching by Preservice Elementary School Teachers
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lai, Ching-San
2016-01-01
This study aims to discuss the issues of integrating e-books into science teaching by preservice elementary school teachers. The study adopts both qualitative and quantitative research methods. In total, 24 preservice elementary school teachers participated in this study. The main sources of research data included e-books produced by preservice…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Marco-Bujosa, Lisa; Levy, Abigail Jurist; McNeill, Katherine
2018-01-01
Teachers are central to providing high-quality science learning experiences called for in recent reform efforts, as their understanding of science impacts both what they teach and how they teach it. Yet, most elementary teachers do not enter the profession with a particular interest in science or expertise in science teaching. Research also indicates elementary schools present unique barriers that may inhibit science teaching. This case study utilizes the framework of identity to explore how one elementary classroom teacher's understandings of herself as a science specialist were shaped by the bilingual elementary school context as she planned for and provided reform-based science instruction. Utilizing Gee's (2000) sociocultural framework, identity was defined as consisting of four interrelated dimensions that served as analytic frames for examining how this teacher understood her new role through social positioning within her school. Findings describe the ways in which this teacher's identity as a science teacher was influenced by the school context. The case study reveals two important implications for teacher identity. First, collaboration for science teaching is essential for elementary teachers to change their practice. It can be challenging for teachers to form an identity as a science teacher in isolation. In addition, elementary teachers new to science teaching negotiate their emerging science practice with their prior experiences and the school context. For example, in the context of a bilingual school, this teacher adapted the reform-based science curriculum to better meet the unique linguistic needs of her students.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Önal, Nezih; Ibili, Emin; Çaliskan, Erkan
2017-01-01
The purpose of this research is to determine the impact of augmented reality technology and geometry teaching on elementary school mathematics teacher candidates' technology acceptance and to examine participants' views on augmented reality. The sample of the research was composed of 40 elementary school mathematics teacher candidates who were…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Yangin, Selami; Sidekli, Sabri
2016-01-01
The measurement of teacher self-efficacy has a history of more than 30 years. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the development and validation of a new scale to measure the science teaching self-efficacy of elementary school teachers. Therefore, a scale has been created to measure elementary teachers' science teaching self-efficacy and…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Perie, Marianne; And Others
The proportion of time that elementary school teachers use to teach core academic subjects (English/reading/language arts, mathematics, social studies, science) is an important aspect of instruction. Spending a large proportion of time teaching core curriculum subjects may be important not only in terms of school quality, but also in terms of…
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…
Qualitative Analysis of Information Communication Technology Use on Teaching-Learning Process.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Akahori, Kanji
This paper describes some of the features of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and its uses in the teaching-learning process in elementary schools. In most schools, it is difficult for ICT to be used effectively in the teaching-learning process. The author observed many classes using ICT in elementary schools. Qualitative data, such as…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Doganay, Ahmet; Ozturk, Ayse
2011-01-01
This comparative case study aimed to investigate whether experienced elementary school teachers' science and technology teaching processes differed from inexperienced teachers' teaching processes in terms of using metacognitive strategies. 14 elementary school teachers, including 7 experienced and 7 inexperienced, participated in the study. The…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Butler, Y. G.
2004-01-01
Responding to the growing need to foster communicative abilities in English, many Asian countries where English is taught as a foreign language have recently introduced English at the elementary school level. However, the majority of elementary school teachers in such countries might not be adequately prepared to teach English; improving their…
An elective course to engage student pharmacists in elementary school science education.
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.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cartwright, T. J.; Hallar, B.
2018-02-01
In this study, we present the long-term influence of an after school science practicum associated with an elementary science methods course. The practicum or field experience could be considered a community-based service learning programme as it is situated both within and for the community. Study participants included eight third- and fifth-grade teachers who had participated in elementary science methods courses; four of these teachers participated in the after school teaching practicum while four participants experienced a more traditional observation-based elementary science practicum. All of these teachers were in their second or third year teaching which was 3-4 years after taking the methods course. Investigation methods included questionnaires, field observations and semi-structured, individual interviews. Teachers more regularly utilised reform-based teaching strategies and cited the after school teaching practicum as preparing them to use these strategies in their own classrooms. All teachers exhibited a growth mindset to some degree, but the after school practicum participants did demonstrate a wider use of reformed-based teaching strategies and a higher growth mindset. Elementary teachers perceive risk associated with these key aspects of instruction: (1) managing instruction and classroom management, (2) teaching science through guided inquiry, and (3) overcoming adoptions in other 'mandated' curriculum like math and reading.
Inviting Success in the Elementary Classroom: Putting Theory into Practice.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Maaka, Margaret J.; Lipka, Pamela A.
This paper presents one sixth-grade teacher's efforts to advance curriculum at a Hawaii elementary school through continuous monitoring of the effectiveness of her learning and teaching program. Deliberate and careful reflections in personal teaching journals, meetings with an educational consultant, school administrators, and teaching colleagues,…
1988-12-01
Department Campbell, Judy S., Principal Seedling Mile Elementary School Campbell, Kelly, Vice President International Services, Inc. Campbell, Larry...Agency #5 Coverdale, Miles , Principal Baxter Coveyou, Tony, Cowan, Ann, Education Specialist Hanford Science Center Cowan, Margaret, Cowan, Peggy...Science State Department of Education Ezell, James, No. 92 Elementary School Ezzell , Effie, No. 45 Elementary School 09/03/88 NSRC Elementary Science
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…
Teaching College Physics at the Local Elementary School
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hagedorn, Eric A.
2006-12-01
For several years physics faculty at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) have taught physics to pre-service elementary and middle school teachers in an unusual location: the local elementary school! The participating pre-service elementary and middle school teachers are typically in their last semester and are fully immersed in their internships (called "student teaching" elsewhere. See Fig. 1). Rather than bringing the students back to campus for class during four of their field semesters, UTEP sends education, mathematics, and physics faculty out to the schools as part of what is referred to as the "field-based program" (FBP) even though some of this program occurs on campus.
A Study of Implicit Theories and Beliefs about Teaching in Elementary School Teachers.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Marcelo, Carlos
In this study interactive teaching of two math teachers at elementary schools in Spain was observed. Focus was on the description of the principles of the practice which guide the teaching activities of the subjects, because it was felt these principles form the base of teachers' theories with respect to the teaching and the students. During a…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dündar, Sahin
2015-01-01
This study aimed to contribute to the growing literature on learning approaches and teacher self-efficacy beliefs by examining associations between prospective elementary school teachers' learning approaches in a social studies teaching methods course and their social studies teaching efficacy beliefs. One hundred ninety-two prospective elementary…
Elementary Teacher Self-Efficacy in Engineering and Student Achievement in Math and Science
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gorena, Jacquelyn L.
2015-01-01
STEM education is a national priority, and more schools are implementing STEM K-12. Elementary teachers are prepared to teach science, mathematics, and technology, but teachers may not feel as prepared to teach engineering. Engineering is a new genre for elementary schools, and it is not typically a content area included in teacher preparation…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Graeber, Mary
The typical approach to the teaching of an elementary school science methods course for undergraduate students was compared with an experimental approach based upon activities appearing in the Conceptually Oriented Program in Elementary Science (COPES) teacher's guides. The typical approach was characterized by a coverage of many topics and a…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Meng, Lingqi; Muñoz, Marco
2016-01-01
This international study investigated Chinese and American elementary school teachers' perceptions of effective teaching. The sample comprised Chinese (n = 108) and US (n = 110) participating teachers. The Effective Teaching Quality Survey (ETQS) was adopted for this comparative education research, an instrument that operationalized Stronge's…
Art Teaching: Elementary through Middle School
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Szekely, George; Bucknam, Julie Alsip
2011-01-01
"Art Teaching" speaks to a new generation of art teachers in a changing society and fresh art world. Comprehensive and up-to-date, it presents fundamental theories, principles, creative approaches, and resources for art teaching in elementary through middle-school. Key sections focus on how children make art, why they make art, the unique…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
de Groot-Reuvekamp, Marjan; Ros, Anje; van Boxtel, Carla
2018-01-01
The teaching of historical time is an important aspect in elementary school curricula. This study focuses on the effects of a curriculum intervention with "Timewise," a teaching approach developed to improve students' understanding of historical time using timelines as a basis with which students can develop their understanding of…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Yang, Su-Ling; Hsiao, Yun-Ju; Hsiao, Hsi-Chi
2014-01-01
The purpose of this study was to understand how elementary school teachers implemented culturally responsive teaching in their classes in Taiwan. Data were collected through interviews from five teachers with new Taiwanese children in their classes. The results indicated that teachers practised culturally responsive teaching based on the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Avery, Leanne M.; Meyer, Daniel Z.
2012-01-01
Science teaching in elementary schools, or the lack thereof, continues to be an area of concern and criticism. Preservice elementary teachers' lack of confidence in teaching science is a major part of this problem. In this mixed-methods study, we report the impacts of an inquiry-based science course on preservice elementary teachers' self-efficacy…
Integrating Environmental Education into the Elementary School Curriculum
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hua, Bian
2004-01-01
Elementary education in China is mainly subject-based and courses are offered by discipline. Because of this, it is impossible to offer a special course in environmental education in elementary schools. This article explains that the best approach to teach environmental education to elementary schools is to integrate environmental education by…
An Elective Course to Engage Student Pharmacists in Elementary School Science Education
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
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Havu-Nuutinen, Sari
2017-01-01
This study aims to develop team teaching approach at elementary school science by piloting the created model of teachers' collaboration in three different stages. In the research the model of team teaching is seen as teachers' collaboration in which university teachers, elementary school teachers and teacher students are working towards…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic, 2013
2013-01-01
This event focused on the Institute of Education Sciences' practice guide, "Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers" (2012) (see ED533112). Dr. Natalie Olinghouse and Alisha Bollinger presented effective strategies for teaching writing while familiarizing attendees with the recommendations and methods described in the…
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,…
Japanese at Mimosa Elementary School.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Uchihara, Azusa
2001-01-01
Describes the Japanese program at Mimosa Elementary School in Roswell, Georgia. The success of the program has been aided by collaborative team teaching, a spiraled curriculum, creative teaching methods, Teacher -made materials, and communication among teachers, parents, and administrators. he challenges are also discussed. (Author/VWL)
Elementary Mathematics Leaders
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fennell, Francis; Kobett, Beth McCord; Wray, Jonathan A.
2013-01-01
Elementary school mathematics leaders often come to the realization that their position, however titled and determined, although dedicated to addressing needs in math teaching and learning, also entails and directly involves leadership. Elementary school math specialists/instructional leaders (referenced here as elementary mathematics leaders, or…
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…
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)",…
Saudi EFL Teachers' Readiness and Perceptions of Young Learners Teaching at Elementary Schools
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fahd Al Malihi, Joza
2015-01-01
This study aimed to investigate EFL elementary school teachers' perception of their own readiness to teach young learners at Saudi schools as it has been recently introduced at this level. Further, it inspects their major needs that should be considered when developing teacher-training programs. A questionnaire was distributed targeting elementary…
Saudi Elementary School Science Teachers' Beliefs: Teaching Science in the New Millennium
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alghamdi, Amani K. Hamdan; Al-Salouli, Misfer Saud
2013-01-01
This study explored Saudi elementary school science teachers' beliefs about the process of teaching and learning science. This involved the exploration of their views about the new Saudi science curriculum, which emphasizes critical thinking and problem solving. Comprehensive interviews were held in 8 schools with 4 male and 6 female--2 of whom…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Moore, Richard W.
The project described in this report is an attempt to develop scales to assess teachers' attitudes toward teaching elementary school science. The instrument produced, Science Teaching Attitude Scales, consists of six scales, each of which has a statement of the attitude to be assessed and five statements to determine the extent to which the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fisher, John J.; And Others
Described are two studies related to the teaching of mathematics. A sample of 729 teachers who had received teaching certificates in 1965 and an endorsement to teach at the elementary level in Colorado schools were analyzed to determine their college preparation. The college transcripts of these teachers were examined to ascertain how many quarter…
Agriculture in Elementary School: A Challenge
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Crunkilton, John R.
1975-01-01
The article delineates an approach to teaching agriculture in the elementary grades: the extensive development of materials, lesson guides, and teaching aids which elementary teachers could use in their instructional programs, while local agriculture teachers could serve as consultants. (AJ)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Briley, Jason S.
2012-01-01
Ninety-five elementary pre-service teachers enrolled in a mathematics content course for elementary school teachers completed 3 surveys to measure mathematics teaching efficacy, mathematics self-efficacy, and mathematical beliefs. The pre-service teachers who reported stronger beliefs in their capabilities to teach mathematics effectively were…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Richter, N.; Vachula, R. S.; Pascuzzo, A.; Prilipko Huber, O.
2017-12-01
In contrast to middle and high school students, elementary school students in Rhode Island (RI) have no access to dedicated science teachers, resulting in uneven quality and scope of science teaching across the state. In an attempt to improve science education in local public elementary schools, the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences (DEEPS) at Brown University initiated a student-driven science-teaching program that was supported by a NSF K-12 grant from 2007 to 2014. The program led to the development of an extensive in-house lesson plan database and supported student-led outreach and teaching in several elementary and middle school classrooms. After funding was terminated, the program continued on a volunteer basis, providing year-round science teaching for several second-grade classrooms. During the 2016-2017 academic year, New Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were introduced in RI public schools, and it became apparent that our outreach efforts required adaptation to be more efficient and relevant for both elementary school students and teachers. To meet these new needs, DEEPS, in collaboration with the Providence Public School District, created an intensive summer re-design program involving both graduate and undergraduate students. Three multi-lesson units were developed in collaboration with volunteer public school teachers to specifically address NGSS goals for earth science teaching in 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades. In the 2017-2018 academic year DEEPS students will co-teach the science lessons with the public school teachers in two local elementary schools. At the end of the next academic year all lesson plans and activities will be made publically available through a newly designed DEEPS outreach website. We herein detail our efforts to create and implement new educational modules with the goals of: (1) empowering teachers to instruct science, (2) engaging students and fostering lasting STEM interest and competency, (3) optimizing volunteer resources, (4) meeting new state curricular standards, (5) developing publicly available lesson plans for other teachers and outreach programs, (6) institutionalizing the outreach program within the DEEPS community, and (7) cultivating STEM retention at the grassroots level.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Benson, Tammy
2012-01-01
The purpose of this study was to examine two types of school organizational structures: elementary open-enrollment charter schools and elementary traditional public schools. The study examined the degree to which attendance rates (based upon the prior school year's data), class size and average number of years of teaching experience were related…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lee, Hsin-Hsiange; Li, Mao-neng Fred
2015-01-01
This study aimed 1) to describe a school principal's leadership and the context of the school's overall teacher culture that cultivated an award-winning team at an elementary school; 2) to analyze the award-winning team's learning behaviors, shared goals, values, beliefs, mutual interactions or dialogues, and sharing of experiences; and 3) to…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Yuan, Yuan; Lee, Chun-Yi
2012-01-01
This study aims at investigating elementary school teachers' perceptions toward to the use of ICT. Magic Board, an interactive web-based environment which provides a set of virtual manipulatives for elementary mathematics, is used as the case of ICT. After participating in Magic Board workshops, 250 elementary school teachers in Taiwan responded…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Al Sarhan, Khaled Ali; AlZboon, Saleem Odeh; Olimat, Khalaf Mufleh; Al-Zboon, Mohammad Saleem
2013-01-01
The study aims at introducing the features of the computerized educational games in sciences at the elementary school in Jordan according to the specialists in teaching science and computer subjects, through answering some questions such as: What are the features of the computerized educational games in sciences at the elementary schools in Jordan…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ryan, Caitlin L.; Patraw, Jasmine M.; Bednar, Maree
2013-01-01
This study shares the experiences and outcomes of teaching about gender diversity in an elementary school classroom. It outlines how an urban public school teacher included discussions of transgender and gender-nonconforming people within the curriculum and documents the ways in which her students responded to those lessons. By making discussions…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Katz, David L.; Katz, Catherine S.; Treu, Judith A.; Reynolds, Jesse; Njike, Valentine; Walker, Jennifer; Smith, Erica; Michael, Jennifer
2011-01-01
Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a nutrition education program designed to teach elementary school students and their parents, and to distinguish between more healthful and less healthful choices in diverse food categories. Methods: Three schools were assigned to receive the Nutrition Detectives[TM] program and…
Listen to the Fans: Elementary School Teachers Can Pique Students' Interest in Music
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
deVries, Peter
2004-01-01
This article outlines how fandom for popular music can he used to enhance students' music experiences in and out of the classroom. Examples are given from the author's own teaching in elementary school and from an ongoing study he has been conducting with preservice teachers undertaking teaching practicum experiences in schools where there is a…
Your Science Classroom: Becoming an Elementary/Middle School Science Teacher
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Goldston, M. Jenice; Downey, Laura
2012-01-01
Designed around a practical "practice-what-you-teach" approach to methods instruction, "Your Science Classroom: Becoming an Elementary/Middle School Science Teacher" is based on current constructivist philosophy, organized around 5E inquiry, and guided by the National Science Education Teaching Standards. Written in a reader-friendly style, the…
Free Teaching Materials: Classroom and Curriculum Aids for Elementary School Science.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Raimist, Roger J.; Mester, Rose A.
Free teaching materials suitable for elementary school science available from 168 agencies and companies are listed. Materials include booklets, teacher's source books and guides, charts and posters, and concrete materials such as mineral samples. Suggestions and materials for student activities range from experiments to song sheets. Topics…
Conceptual Change in Elementary School Teacher Candidate Knowledge of Rock-Cycle Processes.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Stofflett, Rene Therese
1994-01-01
Investigates the knowledge of elementary school teacher candidates on rock-cycle processes. Three different instructional interventions were used to improve their knowledge: (1) conceptual-change teaching; (2) traditional didactic teaching; and (3) microteaching. The conceptual-change group showed the most growth in understanding, supporting…
Teaching Experimental Design to Elementary School Pupils in Greece
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Karampelas, Konstantinos
2016-01-01
This research is a study about the possibility to promote experimental design skills to elementary school pupils. Experimental design and the experiment process are foundational elements in current approaches to Science Teaching, as they provide learners with profound understanding about knowledge construction and science inquiry. The research was…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ziegler, Robert Edward
This study is concerned with determining the relative effectiveness of a static and dynamic theoretical model in teaching elementary school students to use the particle idea of matter when explaining certain physical phenomena. A clinical method of personal individual interview-testing, teaching, and retesting of a random sample population from…
Departmentalize Elementary Schools
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chan, Tak Cheung; Jarman, Delbert
2004-01-01
In elementary schools today, most students receive their education in a single classroom from one teacher who is responsible for teaching language arts, social studies, math, and science. The self-contained classroom organization is predicated on the assumption that an elementary school teacher is a Jack (or Jill)-of-all-trades who is equally…
Professional Learning for Cultural Mathematics in Papua New Guinea's Elementary Schools
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Owens, Kay; Edmonds-Wathen, Cris; Kravia, Geori; Sakopa, Priscilla
2014-01-01
A design of principles for teacher professional learning was developed to improve the teaching of "Cultural Mathematics" in elementary schools in Papua New Guinea. The design's appropriateness for PNG elementary schools is the focus of the research implemented through week-long workshops using technology enhancement. Implementation has…
Elementary School Teachers and Teaching with Technology
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Varol, Filiz
2013-01-01
This study aims to identify the relationship between elementary school teachers' ICT engagement with their attitudes towards technology. To this end, one hundred elementary school students were asked to fill out questionnaires related to their ICT knowledge, usage, and attitude towards technology. The results show that teachers' ICT knowledge and…
Science FEST: Preservice Teachers link Math and Science in Astronomy Lessons
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
DeMuth, N. H.; Kasabian, J.; Hacking, P. B.
2005-12-01
Funded by the National Science Foundation and corporate sponsored by Northrop Grumman, Science FEST (Science for Future Elementary School Teachers) aims to develop the science content and pedagogy for project participants by connecting their college coursework to the science they will eventually teach. Working individually and in pairs, future elementary and secondary school teachers design a comprehensive module in astronomy that is inquiry-based and reflects national and state science standards. Project participants then teach their module in local elementary or middle school classrooms. Science FEST project participants report gaining a deep understanding of the science they are teaching, learning to engage all students to explore science concepts, and reflecting on their teaching and how it can be improved. The project's website can be found at www.science-fest.org.
A Phenomenological Study on Reflective Teaching Practice
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Disu, Abimbola
2017-01-01
The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of teachers who engage in reflective teaching practice. This study was conducted at two elementary urban charter schools in New York City (NYC). A phenomenological research design was used to investigate the perspectives of twenty-one elementary school teachers who use reflective…
Predicting Elementary Classroom Teaching Practices from Teachers' Educational Beliefs.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bauch, Patricia A.
Using data from the national research project "A Study of Schooling," researchers sought to describe teachers' educational beliefs and to relate those beliefs to the teachers' classroom teaching practices. From 13 elementary schools in the national survey, 182 teachers were selected, based on their scores on two dimensions of belief:…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chang, I-Hua
2012-01-01
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships among principals' technological leadership, teachers' technological literacy, and teaching effectiveness. The survey target population consists of 1,000 teachers randomly selected from Taiwanese elementary schools. The survey asked teachers to measure the effectiveness of principals'…
Observing and Producing Sounds, Elementary School Science, Level Four, Teaching Manual.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hale, Helen E.
This pilot teaching unit is one of a series developed for use in elementary school science programs. This unit is designed to help children discover specific concepts which relate to sound, such as volume, pitch, and echo. The student activities employ important scientific processes, such as observation, communication, inference, classification,…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chien, Chin-Wen
2017-01-01
This study used interviews, observations and documentary evidence to analyze the professional learning of sixteen elementary school English teachers and two expert teachers during the pre-observation conference, observation, and post-observation conference from three-step teaching demonstrations. This study has the following major findings. First,…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Teachers Network, New York, NY.
This CD-ROM provides information on successful teaching strategies for elementary and middle school teachers. One section offers links to curriculum and lesson planning strategies in the areas of English as a Second Language, library, arts, classroom management, English/language arts, foreign languages, global education, health/physical education,…
Teacher Perceptions of Professional Role and Innovative Teaching at Elementary Schools in Taiwan
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hung, Chih-Lun; Li, Feng-Chin
2017-01-01
The purpose of the study is to explore the association between primary school teachers' perceptions of professional role and their innovative teaching in Central Taiwan. Quantitative research methods were employed, and data were collected from 554 Central Taiwanese teachers. The results of the present study indicated that elementary school…
Intercultural Awareness in Rural Title 1 Elementary School Teaching Practices
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Leventhal, Mary Wilson
2012-01-01
The purpose of the study was to examine cultural dissonance between teachers and students with its implications for student achievement in a rural Title 1 elementary school. Most U.S. teachers share a White, monolingual, middle-class, female teaching culture that is a mismatch with their increasingly multicultural student population. That problem…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hsieh, Chuan-Chung; Yen, Hung-Chin; Kuan, Liu-Yen
2014-01-01
This study empirically investigates the relationships among principals' technology leadership, teaching innovations, and students' academic optimism by surveying elementary school educators across Taiwan. Of the total 1,080 questionnaires distributed, 755 valid surveys were returned for a 69.90% return rate. Teachers were asked to indicate the…
Children Exploring Their World: Theme Teaching in Elementary School.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Walmsley, Sean A.
With this book as a guide, elementary school teachers can build classroom themes that offer students substantive encounters with knowledge, literature, and language. The book discusses a rationale for theme teaching; an explanation of the different kinds of themes; a variety of ways in which themes can be treated in the classroom; a detailed…
A case study investigation of practices and beliefs of teachers at a STEM-focused elementary school
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Martin, Billy J.
Proponents of STEM education have highlighted the need for increasing STEM skills among students. To address this need, there have been recommendations to create new STEM-focused schools, a majority of which are to be STEM-focused elementary and middle schools. However, STEM school research remains focused on outcomes at the secondary and postsecondary level, with little attention being given to knowing more about the role that elementary education plays in STEM outcomes. Case study design was used to investigate teachers at one STEM-focused elementary school to identify the practices and beliefs reported as important in STEM teaching and learning. Using survey and in-depth interviews, it was found that designation as a STEM-focused school promotes the use of more inquiry-oriented teaching practices and facilitates the use of strategies for developing confidence and competence in STEM among staff and students. The information uncovered in this study could provide leaders of any organization desiring to become a STEM-focused institution information about specific beliefs and practices that have the greatest potential to support changes in teaching.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Milner, Andrea R.; Sondergeld, Toni A.; Demir, Abdulkadir; Johnson, Carla C.; Czerniak, Charlene M.
2012-01-01
The impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandated state science assessment on elementary teachers' beliefs about teaching science and their classroom practice is relatively unknown. For many years, the teaching of science has been minimized in elementary schools in favor of more emphasis on reading and mathematics. This study examines the…
Teaching planetary sciences to elementary school teachers: Programs that work
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Lebofsky, Larry A.; Lebofsky, Nancy R.
1993-01-01
Planetary sciences can be used to introduce students to the natural world which is a part of their lives. Even children in an urban environment are aware of such phenomena as day and night, shadows, and the seasons. It is a science that transcends cultures, has been prominent in the news in recent years, and can generate excitement in young minds as no other science can. Planetary sciences also provides a useful tool for understanding other sciences and mathematics, and for developing problem solving skills which are important in our technological world. However, only 15 percent of elementary school teachers feel very well qualified to teach earth/space science, while better than 80 percent feel well qualified to teach reading; many teachers avoid teaching science; very little time is actually spent teaching science in the elementary school: 19 minutes per day in K-3 and 38 minutes per day in 4-6. While very little science is taught in elementary and middle school, earth/space science is taught at the elementary level in less than half of the states. It was pointed out that science is not generally given high priority by either teachers or school districts, and is certainly not considered on a par with language arts and mathematics. Therefore, in order to teach science to our youth, we must empower our teachers, making them familiar and comfortable with existing materials. In our earlier workshops, several of our teachers taught in classrooms where the majority of the students were Hispanic (over 90 percent). However, few space sciences materials existed in Spanish. Therefore, most of our materials could not be used effectively in the classroom. To address this issue, NASA materials were translated into Spanish and a series of workshops for bilingual classroom teachers from Tucson and surrounding cities was conducted. Our space sciences workshops and our bilingual classroom workshops and how they address the needs of elementary school teachers in Arizona are addressed in detail.
Science for All: Empowering Elementary School Teachers
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Plonczak, Irene
2008-01-01
This article addresses issues that are related to the empowerment of elementary teachers through teaching and learning science in socially and culturally meaningful contexts. It is based on the analysis of the attitudes and relationship to science of 10 elementary school teachers from inner city schools in Caracas, Venezuela. In the context of a…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Herwitz, Stanley R.; Guerra, Marion
1996-01-01
Describes a course teaching planetary science to elementary school students in collaboration with a university. Chronicles how a partnership between an elementary school teacher and a university-based research scientist effectively shaped the teacher's understanding of values and attitudes inherent in science education. Presents a model for…
Elementary School Philosophy: A Response
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wartenberg, Thomas E.
2012-01-01
This article is a response to criticism of my book "Big Ideas for Little Kids." The main topics addressed are: Who is the audience for the book? Can people without formal philosophical training can be good facilitators of elementary school philosophy discussions? Is it important to assess attempts to teach philosophy in elementary school? Should…
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Elementary Grade Schools in Bangkok, Thailand
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Saifah, Yotsawee
2012-01-01
The purposes of this study were (a) to examine early elementary grade teachers' developmentally appropriate beliefs and their teaching practices in public schools in Bangkok, (b) to explore the functioning of developmentally appropriate practice in the two chosen early elementary schools, and (c) to determine the factors that influence the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Laherto, Antti; Laherto, Jussi
2018-01-01
Addressing the widely reported deficiencies in elementary teachers' competence in technology use and in inquiry-based science instruction, we present and assess a novel teaching experiment conducted in a university-school collaboration. Preservice elementary teachers planned and produced teaching videos in which they gave instructions on…
Toward Improving the Mathematics Preparation of Elementary Preservice Teachers
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cardetti, Fabiana; Truxaw, Mary P.
2014-01-01
Research suggests the importance of mathematics knowledge for teaching (MKT) for enabling elementary school teachers to effectively teach mathematics. MKT involves both mathematical content knowledge (M-CK) and mathematical pedagogical content knowledge (M-PCK). However, there is no consensus on how best to prepare elementary preservice teachers…
Rural Nebraska Elementary School Educators Teach Nutrition Concepts.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pohlman, H. Darlene; Driskell, Judy A.
2002-01-01
A survey completed by 464 Nebraska elementary teachers found that 68 percent thought the teaching of nutrition had high priority in the elementary curriculum. Teachers in rural, mid-sized, and urban counties did not differ in attitudes toward nutrition instruction, most instructional practices, their own nutritional training, or available…
Challenging the Expanding Environment Model of Teaching Elementary Social Studies.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Palmer, Jesse
1989-01-01
Looks at criticism of the Expanding Environments Model in the elementary school social studies curriculum. Cites recent reports that recommend a history-centered elementary curriculum. States that teaching methods may be the cause of historical, civic, and geographic illiteracy rather than the Expanding Environments Model. (LS)
Teaching about the Middle East in Elementary Schools.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Marek, Rosanne J.
1983-01-01
Most elementary teachers are inadequately prepared to teach about the Middle East. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that elementary texts dehumanize Middle Eastern peoples by reducing them to mere caricatures. Needed are the involvement of Middle Eastern studies experts in writing textbooks and the improvement of teacher's manuals. (RM)
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.…
Student Growth in Elementary Mathematics: A Cross Level Investigation
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kim, Seong Hee
2012-01-01
The primary purpose of this study is to examine the effect of knowledge for teaching mathematics and teaching practice on student mathematics achievement growth. Thirty two teachers and 299 fourth grade students in three elementary schools from one school district in urban area participated in the study. Most of them are Hispanic in origin and…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Myles, Johanne; Cheng, Liying; Wang, Hong
2006-01-01
The Alternative Teacher Accreditation Program for Teachers with International Experience (ATAPTIE) is a special Bachelor of Education program funded by the Ontario government in Canada to provide new immigrants with the skills and knowledge needed to re-certify and find jobs in Ontario elementary schools. This paper presents interview data that…
Methods and Strategies: It's Child's Play
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Leach, Jenay Sharp
2012-01-01
After a few years of teaching high school physics to juniors and seniors, the author decided it was time for a new challenge. That was when she serendipitously saw the opening for an elementary "science resource teacher." Teaching elementary school was going to be messy, in every possible sense. The author realized that what worked for the big…
Teaching, Learning, and Evaluating: Handwriting in Uruguayan Public Elementary Schools in the 1830s
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Viacava, Juan
2017-01-01
This article examines the Uruguayan state approach to the teaching of writing in public elementary education during the 1830s, and is an attempt to explain why state officials advanced new pedagogical methods aimed at increasing rationalisation and standardisation. While many different handwriting styles existed in the past, the school system…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Torelli, Jessica N.; Lloyd, Blair P.; Diekman, Claire A.; Wehby, Joseph H.
2017-01-01
In elementary school classrooms, students commonly recruit teacher attention at inappropriately high rates or at inappropriate times. Multiple schedule interventions have been used to teach stimulus control by signaling to students when reinforcement is and is not available contingent on an appropriate response. The purpose of the current study…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Juma, Dalal Sabri
2013-01-01
In this study the researcher examined the influence between a principal's self-perceived emotional intelligence and the overall organizational climate of one public elementary school as perceived by the principal's followers. These followers included teaching and non-teaching staff. It was not known how self-perceived emotional intelligence of a…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Brand, Wendy
A practicum was designed to place the teaching of writing as a high priority in an elementary school; allow children more opportunities to share their writing; and assist teachers in their knowledge of teaching writing, especially through the writing process. Children's writing was given high visibility through the use of monthly "young…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lefebvre, Sonia; Samson, Ghislain; Gareau, Alexandre; Brouillette, Nancy
2016-01-01
The interactive whiteboard (IWB) is increasingly used for teaching and learning in the classroom. Nevertheless, the ways that teachers incorporate this tool within their teaching practices remain poorly understood. This paper examines elementary and high school teachers' self-reported practices with the IWB. The conceptual framework centers on…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wu, ChienHsing; Liu, Chia-Fang
2015-01-01
Literature has paid limited attention to the preference of instructors to adopt e-teaching/learning system (ET/LS) by considering the cognitive styles. The current study proposes a research model to describe the effects of technology acceptance behavior and innovation diffusion behavior on ET/LS adoption for elementary school instructors. A…
Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School: A Cognitive and Cultural Approach. Second Edition
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Buxton, Cory A.; Provenzo, Eugene F., Jr.
2010-01-01
Featuring an increased emphasis on the way today's changing science and technology is shaping our culture, this Second Edition of "Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School" provides pre- and in-service teachers with an introduction to basic science concepts and methods of science instruction, as well as practical strategies for the…
Teaching the Conceptual Scheme "The Particle Nature of Matter" in the Elementary School.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pella, Milton O.; And Others
Conclusions of an extensive project aimed to prepare lessons and associated materials related to teaching concepts included in the scheme "The Particle Nature of Matter" for grades two through six are presented. The hypothesis formulated for the project was that children in elementary schools can learn theoretical concepts related to the particle…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Goldstein, Olzan
2016-01-01
This paper describes the impact of the project-based learning (PBL) approach on learning and teaching physics from the perspective of pre-service elementary school teacher education students and an instructor. This approach promoted meaningful learning (mainly in the scope of projects), higher motivation, and active involvement of students in…
Discovering Animal Ways, Elementary School Science, Level Three, Teaching Manual.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hale, Helen E.
This pilot teaching unit is one of a series developed for use in elementary school science programs. This unit is designed to promote children's natural curiosity and to help those who show a reluctance to work with animals to overcome some of their fears. The student activities employ important scientific processes, such as observation,…
Examining Teaching Practices in Design and Craft Education in Iceland
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Thorsteinsson, Gisli; Olafsson, Brynjar
2017-01-01
This article reports a survey which aimed to examine the present situation in Design and Craft Education (D&C) in Iceland in terms of teachers' general standing and their teaching inside the Icelandic elementary schools. A questionnaire was sent to 170 D&C teachers in Icelandic elementary schools. The questionnaire was completed by 101…
34 CFR 300.18 - Highly qualified special education teachers.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
... subjects. For any public elementary or secondary school special education teacher teaching core academic... school or secondary school special education teacher teaching in a State, highly qualified requires that..., except that when used with respect to any teacher teaching in a public charter school, highly qualified...
34 CFR 300.18 - Highly qualified special education teachers.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
... subjects. For any public elementary or secondary school special education teacher teaching core academic... school or secondary school special education teacher teaching in a State, highly qualified requires that..., except that when used with respect to any teacher teaching in a public charter school, highly qualified...
34 CFR 300.18 - Highly qualified special education teachers.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-07-01
... subjects. For any public elementary or secondary school special education teacher teaching core academic... school or secondary school special education teacher teaching in a State, highly qualified requires that..., except that when used with respect to any teacher teaching in a public charter school, highly qualified...
34 CFR 300.18 - Highly qualified special education teachers.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
... subjects. For any public elementary or secondary school special education teacher teaching core academic... school or secondary school special education teacher teaching in a State, highly qualified requires that..., except that when used with respect to any teacher teaching in a public charter school, highly qualified...
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Figg, Candace; Jamani, Kamini Jaipal
2011-01-01
Two approaches to teaching with technology to highlight practice-based teacher knowledge and actions for teaching technologically enhanced lessons are presented. Participants were two elementary pre-service teachers teaching during practicum. Qualitative data sources included verbatim transcripts of participant interviews, field notes of planning…
Preparing perservice teachers to teach elementary school science
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lewis, Amy D.
The development of scientifically literate citizens begins in the elementary school. Yet elementary school teachers are ill prepared to teach science (Trygstad, Smith, Banilower, Nelson, & Horizon Research, Inc., 2013). The research base on teacher preparation finds that programs designed to prepare elementary teachers are inadequate in providing both the content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge necessary to teach science effectively (Baumgartner, 2010; Bodzin & Beerer, 2003; Bulunuz & Jarrett 2009). This mixed methods study examined what happened when a science methods course was interactively co-taught by an expert in elementary teaching methods and a physics expert. This study also aimed to discover what aspects of the curriculum pre-service teachers (PSTs) said helped them in developing their understanding of science content and scientific reasoning, and how to implement inquiry practices to teach science. A nested case study of three PSTs provided descriptive portraits of student experiences in the class. A whole class case analysis was used to examine what PSTs learned in terms of science, scientific reasoning skills, and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) from their experiences in the course. It was found that students often conflated science content with the experiences they had in learning the content. Although PSTs felt the interactive co-teaching model effectively created a balance between theory and practice, it was their experiences doing science--conducting physical experiments, developing and discussing scientific models, and the use of inquiry-based instruction--that they credited for their learning. Even with careful curriculum planning, and a course purposely designed to bridge the theory to practice gap, this study found one semester-long methods course to be insufficient in providing the vast content knowledge and PCK elementary school science teachers need.
The Effects of Using Space to Teach Standard Elementary School Curriculum
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
Ewell, Robert N.
1996-01-01
This brief report and recommendation for further research brings to a formal close this effort, the original purpose of which is described in detail in The effects of using space to teach standard elementary school curriculum, Volume 1, included here as the Appendix. Volume 1 describes the project as a 3-year research program to determine the effectiveness of using space to teach. The research design is quasi experimental using standardized test data on students from Aldrin Elementary School and a District-identified 'control' school, which shall be referred to as 'School B.' Students now in fourth through sixth grades will be compared now (after one year at Aldrin) and tracked at least until the present sixth graders are through the eighth grade. Appropriate statistical tests will be applied to standardized test scores to see if Aldrin students are 'better' than School B students in areas such as: Overall academic performance; Performance in math/science; and Enrollments in math/science in middle school.
Anxiety in Elementary School-Aged Students: A Growing Need for Interventions by Classroom Teachers
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Brown, Carla-Dyann
2013-01-01
Anxiety symptoms expressed by elementary school-aged students was a problem in an elementary school south of Atlanta, Georgia. These behaviors were negatively impacting the performance and behaviors of fourth and fifth grade students in and out of the educational environment. The purpose of this study was to determine if teaching anxiety reduction…
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…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Katsuyama, Hitomi; Nishigaki, Chikako; Wang, Jinfang
2008-01-01
The effectiveness of early English education was investigated in this study to determine if English should be taught formally in Japanese public elementary schools. We administered English tests and questionnaires to 1466 elementary school students in 2004 and 2005. The results showed significant differences between the…
"Just Let Us Teach!": Living Literacy Policy in and around Maplewood Elementary School
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Morton-Rose, Cindy Anne
2013-01-01
Through a sociocultural lens this study explored how four teachers, a reading teacher, and their principal lived literacy policy in practice in and around Maplewood Elementary School. This work grew out of three questions: (a) How do six policy stakeholders at one elementary school--four teachers, one administrator, and one reading teacher-make…
Elementary and High School Teachers: Birds of a Feather?
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Marston, Susan H.; Brunetti, Gerald J.; Courtney, Victoria B.
2005-01-01
How similar to and different from each other are public elementary and high school teachers with respect to selected issues and values that define their practice? The present study attempted to shed light on this question by examining the motivations of three groups of teachers, two elementary and one high school, for remaining in teaching. The…
Urban Elementary Teachers' Perspectives on Teaching Science to English Language Learners
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lee, Okhee; Maerten-Rivera, Jaime; Buxton, Cory; Penfield, Randall; Secada, Walter G.
2009-01-01
This descriptive study examined urban elementary school teachers' perceptions of their science content knowledge, science teaching practices, and support for language development of English language learners. Also examined were teachers' perceptions of organizational supports and barriers associated with teaching science to nonmainstream students.…
Teaching Planetary Sciences in Bilingual Classrooms
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lebofsky, L. A.; Lebofsky, N. R.
1993-05-01
Planetary sciences can be used to introduce students to the natural world which is a part of their lives. Even children in an urban environment are aware of such phenomena as day and night, shadows, and the seasons. It is a science that transcends cultures, has been prominent in the news in recent years, and can generate excitement in young minds as no other science can. It also provides a useful tool for understanding other sciences and mathematics, and for developing problem solving skills which are important in our technological world. However, only 15 percent of elementary school teachers feel very well qualified to teach earth/space science, while better than 80% feel well qualified to teach reading; many teachers avoid teaching science; very little time is actually spent teaching science in the elementary school: 19 minutes per day in K--3 and 38 minutes per day in 4--6. While very little science is taught in elementary and middle school, earth/space science is taught at the elementary level in less than half of the states. Therefore in order to teach earth/space science to our youth, we must empower our teachers, making them familiar and comfortable with existing materials. Tucson has another, but not unique, problem. The largest public school district, the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD), provides a neighborhood school system enhanced with magnet, bilingual and special needs schools for a school population of 57,000 students that is 4.1% Native American, 6.0% Black, and 36.0% Hispanic (1991). This makes TUSD and the other school districts in and around Tucson ideal for a program that reaches students of diverse ethnic backgrounds. However, few space sciences materials exist in Spanish; most materials could not be used effectively in the classroom. To address this issue, we have translated NASA materials into Spanish and are conducting a series of workshops for bilingual classroom teachers. We will discuss in detail our bilingual classroom workshops and how they address the needs of elementary school teachers in Arizona.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Flores, Ingrid M.
2015-01-01
Thirty preservice teachers enrolled in a field-based science methods course were placed at a public elementary school for coursework and for teaching practice with elementary students. Candidates focused on building conceptual understanding of science content and pedagogical methods through innovative curriculum development and other course…
Suggestions for Teaching the Principles of Continental Drift in the Elementary School
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Glenn, William H.
1977-01-01
Provides a brief overview of current geographic ideas regarding continental drift and plate tectonics and suggests techniques for illustrating continental motions to elementary school pupils. (Author/DB)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Abaoud, Abdulrahman A.
2013-01-01
The present study was designed to measure differences in elementary school teachers' attitudes toward willingness to teach students with ADHD in their classrooms in Riyadh City in Saudi Arabia through a descriptive non-experimental quantitative research instrument. The study examined relationships among many variables through teachers' level of…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Leptokaridou, Elisavet T.; Vlachopoulos, Symeon P.; Papaioannou, Athanasios G.
2016-01-01
The present study examined the efficacy of autonomy-supportive teaching during elementary school physical education (PE) in influencing pupils' enjoyment, fear of failure, boredom and effort. A sample of 54 pupils attending fifth and sixth grades comprised the control group (typical instruction; n = 27) and the experimental group…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Eisenberg, Michael B.; Berkowitz, Robert E.
This book about using the Big6 information problem solving process model in elementary schools is organized into two parts. Providing an overview of the Big6 approach, Part 1 includes the following chapters: "Introduction: The Need," including the information problem, the Big6 and other process models, and teaching/learning the Big6;…
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…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kenworthy, Leonard S., Ed.; And Others
This guide for elementary and middle school teachers, curriculum specialists, and administrators answers 40 questions most frequently asked about global concerns and the work of the United Nations. Topics include the importance of teaching about the world and the United Nations; the need for beginning international understanding in the home;…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Harlow, Danielle B.
2014-01-01
This paper reports the results of an investigation of how a professional development content course based on the Physics and Everyday Thinking (PET) curriculum affected the teaching practices of five case study elementary school teachers. The findings of this study highlight different ways that teachers use what they learn in content courses to…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lucey, Thomas A.; Laney, James D.
2009-01-01
Teaching for economic justice can be challenging for upper elementary and middle school teachers. Many teachers may feel uncomfortable with the subject matter and thus avoid addressing sensitive social issues related to economic/financial inequities. This article describes how selected songs and works of visual art, expressions of social protest…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dobrovolná, Alena
2015-01-01
The contribution brings part of the research results on using interactive boards in teaching English at lower-secondary stage of elementary schools in the Czech Republic. The whole research focused on ways of using this modern device, on types of interaction and mainly tried to find out whether there is sufficient space for developing…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Meier, Paulette; McPherson, Beth
Provided in this guide are annotated lists of teacher and student resources for teaching and learning about nuclear issues in the elementary/junior high school (grades K-8). Resources are grouped into five major sections. The first section (background reading for teachers) contains books and articles focusing on nuclear issues (nuclear war; arms…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Daniel, Shannon M.; Pray, Lisa
2017-01-01
Using Jarvis's (2009) framework of adult learning, this study examines how in-service elementary school teachers make sense of instruction that is responsive to multilingual learners. Case studies of two teachers reveal their nuanced attempts to improve practice during a 1-year, graduate-level, add-on certification program for teaching English…
ScienceFEST: Preservice Teachers link Math and Science in Astronomy Lessons
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
DeMuth, N. H.; Kasabian, J.
2005-05-01
Funded by the National Science Foundation, Science FEST (Science for Future Elementary School Teachers) aims to develop the science content and pedagogy for project participants by connecting their college coursework to the science they will eventually teach. Working individually and in pairs, future elementary and middle school teachers design a comprehensive module in astronomy that is inquiry-based and reflects the national and state science standards. Project participants then teach their modules in local elementary or middle school classrooms. Science FEST project participants report gaining a deep understanding of the science they are teaching, learning to engage all students to explore science concepts, and reflecting on their teaching and how it can be improved. The session presenters will share some of the instructional materials developed by the college students and how their experiences in Science FEST have enhanced their pre-professional development. The project's website can be found at www.science-fest.org.
Tips for Teaching Math to Elementary Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Scarpello, Gary
2010-01-01
Since most elementary school teachers do not hold a degree in mathematics, teaching math may be a daunting task for some. Following are a few techniques to help make teaching and learning math easier and less stressful. First, know that math is a difficult subject to teach--even for math teachers. The subject matter itself is challenging. Second,…
Common Threads: Teaching Immigration in Elementary Classrooms.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McBee, Robin Haskell; Bone, Kristine; Mossop, Gail; Owens, Carrie
1998-01-01
Brings together ideas on teaching about immigration from a number of elementary-school teachers in New Jersey and summarizes common themes. Outlines three specific projects based on the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, family history, and children's fiction. Includes a brief list of children's literature and other teaching resources. (DSK)
Associations between Perceived Teaching Behaviours and Affect in Upper Elementary School Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Barnard, Allison D.; Adelson, Jill L.; Pössel, Patrick
2017-01-01
We explored the associations between student-perceived teaching behaviours and negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) in upper elementary age students, both before and after controlling for perceived parenting behaviours. The Teaching Behaviour Questionnaire, the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule…
Case Study of Instructional Innovation among Elementary Teachers
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McCracklin, Patricia
2012-01-01
In one mid-western elementary school, teachers received training designed to change their teaching methods in their classrooms. Research has shown teachers have difficulty changing teaching behaviors. The research questions addressed teachers' beliefs and understandings of teaching in a new way. The theoretical framework for this study is…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Harlow, Danielle B.
2014-02-01
This paper reports the results of an investigation of how a professional development content course based on the Physics and Everyday Thinking (PET) curriculum affected the teaching practices of five case study elementary school teachers. The findings of this study highlight different ways that teachers use what they learn in content courses to teach science to elementary children. While some teachers transferred pedagogical practices along with the content, others transformed the content to be useful in already existing pedagogical frameworks, and still others show little or no evidence of transfer. The range of transfer is explained by considering how each teacher interacted with the learning context (the PET curriculum) and their initial ideas about teaching science.
Strategies for Teaching Elementary and Junior High Students.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Consuegra, Gerard F.
1980-01-01
Discusses the applications of Piaget's theory of cognitive development to elementary and junior high school science teaching. Topics include planning concrete experiences, inductive and hypothetical deductive reasoning, measurement concepts, combinatorial logic, scientific experimentation and reflexive thinking. (SA)
Men in a Women's World: A Study of Male Second Career Teachers in Elementary Schools.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Freidus, Helen
Although mature males who make mid-career changes into elementary school teaching share some experiences with their female counterparts, there appear to be variations in their experiences which are specific to males. Data from a cross case analysis that focuses on the career transitions of 10 second career men who became elementary school teachers…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Simmons, Timothy Joshua
2016-01-01
The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to understand how first-career skills were utilized by highly effective second-career elementary school teachers in northeast Tennessee. The guiding research question for the study was: How do the skills acquired in a first career affect second-career elementary school teachers? The…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Unal, Zafer; Unal, Aslihan
2009-01-01
The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether a difference in teachers' classroom management styles exists based on years of teaching experience. Data were collected from 282 elementary school teachers employed by 11 elementary schools in Turkey. The Attitudes and Beliefs on Classroom Control Inventory was used to collect the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Green, Linda D.
2017-01-01
This quantitative study examined the relationships between instructional leadership practices of elementary school principals in high-poverty schools and changes in teachers' ELA instructional practices. This research sought to identify principals' perceptions about their use of instructional leadership practices and the teaching practices used in…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Pringle, Rose M.; Martin, Sarah Carrier
2005-09-01
In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education in the United States issued a report called A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. This report and other policy initiatives such as the No Child Left Behind Legislation recommended that the individual states institute assessments to hold schools accountable. This research explored the potential impact of impending standardised testing on teaching science in elementary schools in one school district in Florida. We explored the teachers' concerns about the upcoming high-stakes tests in science, possible impact on their curriculum and what changes, if any, will be made in the approach to science teaching and learning in their classrooms. As the teachers look toward the implementation of high-stakes testing in science, they have recognised the need to teach science. This recognition is not borne out of the importance of science learning for elementary school children, but rather out of fear of failure and the effects of tangible rewards or punishments that accompany high-stakes testing. In anticipation, the teachers are preparing to align their teaching to the science standards while aggressively searching for test preparatory materials. Schools are also involved in professional development and structural changes to facilitate teaching of science.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Aksoy, Naciye
Overwhelming scientific and anecdotal evidence indicates that the elementary school experience significantly shapes children's lives. This report examines the history of elementary education, and describes alternatives such as nongraded schools. The first part of the report describes the roots of elementary education in the United States,…
Running an Elementary School Astronomy Club: Engaging Children in the Wonders of Space
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Mayo, L.; Odenwald, S.; Lundberg, C.; Dimarco, A.
2000-10-01
``At the elementary school level, children are motivated by two things, dinosaurs and space" (Dr. Harold Williams, Montgomery College Planetarium Director). Yet, many elementary school science objectives include only the most basic astronomical concepts. Some ignore the subject all together in favor of more traditional courses (e.g. math and reading) or Earth science based curricula such as weather and local ecosystems. In addition, most elementary school teachers are unfamiliar with astronomical concepts and are poorly equipped to teach the subject. With teacher requirements increasing due to increasing class sizes, state competency exams, and a back to basics political climate, there is often little room to capitalize on the natural sense of curiosity children have about the universe during the normal school day. An after school astronomy club can provide a solution. In this paper, we present a model for setting up and running an after school astronomy club for students in grades 3-6. Our model was developed at two Maryland schools, Sligo Creek Elementary and Holy Redeemer Elementary/Middle School and incorporates national education standards as well as NASA OSS guidelines for effective education outreach programs. We propose here, a Community Based Learning (CBL) approach with the goal of engaging multiple elements of the community in the learning process including local amateur astronomy clubs, industry, community colleges, parents, and teachers. Methods for using astronomy as a basis for teaching reading, writing, math, and presentation skills are introduced. Resources, teaching methods, preparation guidelines, discipline, and safety are discussed and a list of grade appropriate, hands-on astronomy activities is presented along with procedures and expected outcomes.
Investigating the Self-Perceived Science Teaching Needs of Local Elementary Educators
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Carver, Cynthia G.
Elementary teachers in one school system have expressed low self-efficacy teaching science and desire more support teaching science. However, little research has been conducted on how best to meet these teachers' needs. The theories of perceived self-efficacy, social cognition, and behaviorism make up the conceptual framework of this study. The focus of this qualitative project study was on the needs of local elementary educators. These teachers were asked what they felt they needed most to be more effective science educators. The methodology of phenomenology was used in this study in which local elementary teachers were questioned in focus groups regarding their own science teaching efficacy and perceived needs. Using inductive analysis, data were coded for links to discussion questions as well as any additional patterns that emerged. Findings indicated that local elementary teachers desire improved communication among administrators and teachers as well as better science content support and training. Focus group participants agreed that teacher self-efficacy affects the time spent, effort toward, and quality of elementary science education. Using the results of the study, a science mentor program was developed to support the needs of elementary teachers and increase teacher self-efficacy, thus improving local elementary science education. Implications for positive social change include the development and support of elementary science programs in other school systems with the goal of improving science education for elementary students.
Rees-Punia, Erika; Holloway, Alicia; Knauft, David; Schmidt, Michael D
2017-12-01
Recess and physical education time continue to diminish, creating a need for additional physical activity opportunities within the school environment. The use of school gardens as a teaching tool in elementary science and math classes has the potential to increase the proportion of time spent active throughout the school day. Teachers from 4 elementary schools agreed to teach 1 math or science lesson per week in the school garden. Student physical activity time was measured with ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers on 3 garden days and 3 no-garden days at each school. Direct observation was used to quantify the specific garden-related tasks during class. The proportion of time spent active and sedentary was compared on garden and no-garden days. Seventy-four children wore accelerometers, and 75 were observed (86% participation). Children spent a significantly larger proportion of time active on garden days than no-garden days at 3 of the 4 schools. The proportion of time spent sedentary and active differed significantly across the 4 schools. Teaching lessons in the school garden may increase children's physical activity and decrease sedentary time throughout the school day and may be a strategy to promote both health and learning.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Akarsu, Bayram
2007-01-01
This study investigates relationships between understanding of nature of science and four key factors elementary science teachers possess, which are: (1) Their specializations in different science areas (Physics, chemistry, and biology), (2) Gender issues, (3) How long they have been teaching in elementary school environments, (4) Their…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Greca, Ileana M.
2016-01-01
Several international reports promote the use of the inquiry teaching methodology for improvements in science education at elementary school. Nevertheless, research indicates that pre-service elementary teachers have insufficient experience with this methodology and when they try to implement it, the theory they learnt in their university…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Waldron, Chad H.
2014-01-01
This descriptive, mixed method study investigated the literacy-related contextual factors and local curricular decision-making of experienced elementary literacy teachers in one large U.S. public school district. The study's guiding research question was: How do elementary in-service teachers teach literacy within the contexts of required literacy…
Science as Experience, Exploration, and Experiments: Elementary Teachers' Notions of "Doing Science"
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Murphy, Ashley N.; Luna, Melissa J.; Bernstein, Malayna B.
2017-01-01
Much of the literature on science teaching suggests that elementary teachers lack relevant prior experiences with science. This study begins to reframe the deficit approach to research in science teaching by privileging the experiences elementary teachers have had with science--both in and out of schools--throughout their lives. Our work uses…
"Elementary, My Dear Shakespeare." Producing a Shakespearean Festival in the Elementary Schools.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Engen, Barbara; Campbell, Joy
Intended to give teachers usable information and prepared materials that are ready-to-reproduce for students, this book compiles research, tips, and teaching ideas into a sourcebook on teaching and producing William Shakespeare's plays in the elementary classroom. It is designed to bring the student into an awareness of Shakespeare's art and…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chambris, Christine
2018-01-01
This paper examines the existence and impact of theoretical mathematical foundations on the teaching and learning of whole numbers in elementary school in France. It shows that the study of the New Math reform--which was eventually itself replaced in the longer term--provides some keys to understanding the influence of mathematical theories on…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Evertsson, Jakob
2014-01-01
This article considers the emergence of classroom wall charts as a teaching technology in Swedish elementary schools in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, using Biblical history teaching as an example. There has been some work done internationally on wall charts as an instructional technology, but few studies have looked at their…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wu, Wen-Chi Vivian; Wang, Rong-Jyue; Chen, Nian-Shing
2015-01-01
This paper presents a design for a cutting-edge English program in which elementary school learners of English as a foreign language in Taiwan had lively interactions with a teaching assistant robot. Three dimensions involved in the design included (1) a pleasant and interactive classroom environment as the learning context, (2) a teaching…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Levine, Gavrielle
This investigation traced changes in anxiety for teaching mathematics (ATM) among pre-service elementary school teachers (n=36) enrolled in a mathematics methods course by analyzing their weekly journal entries. Journal entries were coded for high level of ATM (ATM-high) or absence of ATM (ATM-absent) during the first class session, as well as…
Active Ways to Teach Health Concepts in the Elementary Setting
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gregory, Julie
2015-01-01
This article provides three movement-based activities for teaching health concepts to elementary school students. Two activities focus on nutrition concepts and the other focuses on teaching body systems. Diagrams are provided to show the setup of activities, as well as links for accessing materials to help implement the activities.
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…
Abstract Algebra for Algebra Teaching: Influencing School Mathematics Instruction
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wasserman, Nicholas H.
2016-01-01
This article explores the potential for aspects of abstract algebra to be influential for the teaching of school algebra (and early algebra). Using national standards for analysis, four primary areas common in school mathematics--and their progression across elementary, middle, and secondary mathematics--where teaching may be transformed by…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Halat, Erdogan; Peker, Murat
2011-01-01
The purpose of this study was to compare the influence of instruction using WebQuest activities with the influence of an instruction using spreadsheet activities on the motivation of pre-service elementary school teachers in mathematics teaching course. There were a total of 70 pre-service elementary school teachers involved in this study. Thirty…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Peoples, Shelagh M.; O'Dwyer, Laura M.; Wang, Yang; Brown, Jessica J.; Rosca, Camelia V.
2014-01-01
This article describes the development, validation and application of a Rasch-based instrument, the Elementary School Science Classroom Environment Scale (ESSCES), for measuring students' perceptions of constructivist practices within the elementary science classroom. The instrument, designed to complement the Reformed Teaching Observation…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Braun, Joseph A., Jr.
1992-01-01
Reviews approaches to teaching values in elementary schools. Describes a model consistent with the core values of the United States. Recommends an elementary curriculum resting on three cornerstones: (1) caring, (2) citizenship, and (3) conscience. Points out that controversial issues must be discussed openly within such a curriculum. (CFR)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Haeseler, Lisa Ann
2009-01-01
Many elementary school children may cope with difficult life struggles such as disabilities, abuse, loss, and identity issues. This article details original, student generated, biblio-therapeutic book creations and how this genre teaches positive ways for children at-risk to cope with tough life circumstances. Pre-service, elementary college…
Toward a New Vision of Equality: Perspectives of Male Teachers in the Elementary Music Classroom
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lesser, Andrew
2017-01-01
Research concerning men working in predominantly female environments has suggested that stereotyping can occur when gender norms are violated, such as men teaching at the elementary school level. The present study investigated the presence and perspectives of male elementary school music teachers in specific geographical regions of the…
Studying Peace in Elementary Schools: Laying a Foundation for the "Peaceable Kingdom."
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tabachnick, B. Robert
1990-01-01
Examines peace education at the elementary school level, stressing the need to include interpersonal and international relations when teaching peace. Suggests peace education can lead children to prosocial behavior. Sees peace as a positive of being. Urges the infusion of peace education throughout the elementary social studies curriculum. (CH)
Science for the Elementary School. Third Edition.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Victor, Edward
This book has been revised to reflect changes that have taken place in elementary science and to present the latest thinking and philosophy for teaching science in the elementary school. The book is intended to be useful for both prospective and experienced teachers to organize and conduct meaningful science learning experiences in the elementary…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Peralta, Louisa R.; Dudley, Dean A.; Cotton, Wayne G.
2016-01-01
Background: School-based programs represent an ideal setting to enhance healthy eating, as most children attend school regularly and consume at least one meal and a number of snacks at school each day. However, current research reports that elementary school teachers often display low levels of nutritional knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills to…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Cason, Maggie A.
This investigation utilized life history methodology (Armstrong, 1987; Bogdan & Biklen, 1998; Lawrence-Lightfoot, 1977; Marshall & Rossman, 1995; Patton, 1987; Taylor & Bogdan; 1984) to examine lifelong science experiences of two elementary education teacher candidates at a land grant institution with a large, undergraduate teacher education program. Purposive sampling techniques (Bogdan & Biklen, 1998) led to the selection of two teacher candidates who reported high science anxiety when they began university coursework. The investigation focused on five broad questions: (a) What were key experiences in the elementary teacher education program which contributed to a positive change in attitude toward science? (b) What science experiences, in and out of school, did the teacher candidates encounter while they were in elementary school, junior high school, high school, and college? (c) How did the elementary education program's science course structure, professors, and field experiences contribute to the change in attitude toward science? (d) How much time was involved in the change in attitude toward science? and (e) What were the effects of the change in attitude on the teaching of science in the elementary classroom? Each candidate completed approximately twenty hours of interviews yielding rich descriptions of their lifelong science experiences. Data also included interviews with science and science education professors, journaling, and observations of student teaching experiences. Data analysis revealed four over-arching themes with implications for teacher educators. First, data showed the importance of relationship building between professors and teacher candidates. Professors must know and work with teacher candidates, and provide a structure that encourages question asking. Second, course structure including hands-on teaching strategies and students working in small groups over an extended period of time was vital. Third, integrating language arts with science proved important because the generally high comfort level experienced by elementary teacher candidates toward language arts may be extended to the teaching of science. Teacher candidates realize the benefits for both teaching and learning when the two subjects are integrated. Last, the study revealed the powerful effects of field experiences which include teaching science in the public schools and demonstrated the drawbacks of field experiences which do not include teaching science.
A Diagnosis of English Language Teaching in Public Elementary Schools in Pasto, Colombia
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Alirio Bastidas, Jesús; Muñoz Ibarra, Gaby
2011-01-01
English teaching in Colombian primary schools became a requirement because of the promulgation of the Law of Education in 1994. Taking into account that this decision produced some difficulties in the schools, a study was conducted to diagnose the state of English language teaching in primary schools in Pasto, Colombia. Data were gathered through…
Online Software Applications for Learning: Observations from an Elementary School
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tay, Lee Yong; Lim, Cher Ping; Nair, Shanthi Suraj; Lim, Siew Khiaw
2014-01-01
This exploratory case study research describes the integration of Information Communication Technology (ICT) into the teaching and learning of English, mathematics and science in an elementary school in Singapore. The school in this case study research is one of the first primary-level future schools that was set up under the…
Principals and School Factors that Impact Elementary School Student Achievement
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gieselmann, Sharon
2009-01-01
This study examined principals and school factors associated with elementary school student achievement. Nine predictor variables were analyzed to determine their impact on student state assessment scores: (a) years of principal experience, (b) years of teaching experience by the principal, (c) years of principal experience at present site, (d)…
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:…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Shin, Annalise Grace
2010-01-01
Within the framework of language socialization, this dissertation uses conversation analytic and ethnographic methods to examine the interactional practices used by the adult safe school educator at a progressive elementary school to socialize students into beliefs and practices associated with the school's Cool Tools Safe School Program. Cool…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Greenberg, Julie; Jacobs, Sandi
2009-01-01
As a follow up to National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ's) national studies of how well elementary teachers are prepared to teach reading and mathematics, NCTQ looks at preparation in both subjects in all undergraduate teacher preparation programs in New Mexico. This analysis evaluated New Mexico's eight undergraduate elementary teacher…
Peralta, Louisa R; Dudley, Dean A; Cotton, Wayne G
2016-05-01
School-based programs represent an ideal setting to enhance healthy eating, as most children attend school regularly and consume at least one meal and a number of snacks at school each day. However, current research reports that elementary school teachers often display low levels of nutritional knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills to effectively deliver nutrition education. The purpose of this review was to understand the availability and quality of resources that are accessible for elementary school teachers to use to support curriculum delivery or nutrition education programs. The review included 32 resources from 4 countries in the final analysis from 1989 to 2014. The 32 resources exhibited 8 dominant teaching strategies: curriculum approaches; cross-curricular approaches; parental involvement; experiential learning approaches; contingent reinforcement approaches; literary abstraction approaches; games-based approaches; and web-based approaches. The resources were accessible to elementary school teachers, with all the resources embedding curriculum approaches, and most of the resources embedding parental involvement strategies. Resources were less likely to embed cross-curricular and experiential learning approaches, as well as contingent reinforcement approaches, despite recent research suggesting that the most effective evidence-based strategies for improving healthy eating in elementary school children are cross-curricular and experiential learning approaches. © 2016, American School Health Association.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kandel, I. L.
1915-01-01
The accompanying report deals with the mathematical training of prospective teachers in elementary schools as described in the reports submitted by the International Commission of the Teaching of Mathematics to the Fifth International Congress of Mathematicians, held at Cambridge, England, in August, 1912. A comparative study of the facts…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dmour, Ahmad
2015-01-01
This paper aims at investigating the effect of using Arabic language for teaching English as a Foreign Language in a Jordanian context at elementary school stages in Al-Karak Directorate of Education. English language teachers usually intend to focus on using English in their classes, but they come across a big problem which is the lack of…
34 CFR 674.53 - Teacher cancellation-Federal Perkins, NDSL and Defense loans.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR
2011-07-01
...-time teaching in an elementary or secondary school serving low-income students. (1)(i) An institution... on or after July 23, 1992, for full-time teaching in a public or other nonprofit elementary or... Federal Perkins, NDSL or Defense loan made prior to July 23, 1992, for teaching service performed on or...
34 CFR 674.53 - Teacher cancellation-Federal Perkins, NDSL and Defense loans.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR
2014-07-01
...-time teaching in an elementary or secondary school serving low-income students. (1)(i) An institution... on or after July 23, 1992, for full-time teaching in a public or other nonprofit elementary or... Federal Perkins, NDSL or Defense loan made prior to July 23, 1992, for teaching service performed on or...
34 CFR 674.53 - Teacher cancellation-Federal Perkins, NDSL and Defense loans.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR
2013-07-01
...-time teaching in an elementary or secondary school serving low-income students. (1)(i) An institution... on or after July 23, 1992, for full-time teaching in a public or other nonprofit elementary or... Federal Perkins, NDSL or Defense loan made prior to July 23, 1992, for teaching service performed on or...
34 CFR 674.53 - Teacher cancellation-Federal Perkins, NDSL and Defense loans.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-07-01
...-time teaching in an elementary or secondary school serving low-income students. (1)(i) An institution... on or after July 23, 1992, for full-time teaching in a public or other nonprofit elementary or... Federal Perkins, NDSL or Defense loan made prior to July 23, 1992, for teaching service performed on or...
34 CFR 674.53 - Teacher cancellation-Federal Perkins, NDSL and Defense loans.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR
2012-07-01
...-time teaching in an elementary or secondary school serving low-income students. (1)(i) An institution... on or after July 23, 1992, for full-time teaching in a public or other nonprofit elementary or... Federal Perkins, NDSL or Defense loan made prior to July 23, 1992, for teaching service performed on or...
Viewpoint 1. Superbaby Syndrome Can Lead to Elementary School Burnout.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Elkind, David
1987-01-01
Maintains that there is a danger that prekindergarten and kindergarten children may experience learning problems (stress and "educational burnout") in elementary school if they are exposed to developmentally inappropriate teaching methods in early childhood programs. (BB)
An Elementary School Museum Celebrates Community Diversity.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Branen, Karen; Congdon, Kristin
1994-01-01
Asserts that multicultural approaches to art education have increased in number and variety in recent years. Describes an in-school museum elementary art program that teaches students to appreciate the everyday art found in their ethnically diverse homes. (CFR)
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)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wilson, Norean; Esposito, James
The objectives described in this report were to develop and implement an elementary school curriculum to meet students' needs and an inservice training program to show the teachers how to teach career development to the students. The six elementary schools in the Newport Independent School District are in a high poverty area with all of the…
Physician as teacher: promoting health and wellness among elementary school students.
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.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gibbons, Beatrice Lowney
2002-01-01
The purpose of this study was to develop an evaluation instrument to be used by elementary school administrators in the promotion of constructivist teaching of elementary science for English Learners using a qualitative and quantitative design that identified effective instructional strategies to be included on the evaluation instrument. This study was conducted in fifth grade classrooms of predominately English Learners whose teachers are CLAD-certified, tenured teachers with at least three years of teaching experience. The classroom observations took place within a multicultural school district with predominantly Hispanic and Filipino students in the Southern San Joaquin Valley of California. The evaluation instrument was used to observe these teachers teach elementary science lessons to classrooms of predominately English Learners. The frequency of the use of the ELD/SDAIE instructional strategies were noted on the evaluation instrument with a check mark, indicating the fact that an instructional technique was employed by the teacher. These observation visits revealed what type of instructional strategies were being utilized in the teaching of science to fifth grade English Learners, whether these CLAD-certified teachers were using ELD strategies, and whether the incidence of ELD/SDAIE constructivist instructional techniques increased with the repeated use of the evaluation instrument. As a result of this study, an evaluation instrument to be utilized by school administrators in the evaluation of elementary science instruction to English Learners was developed. The repeated use of this evaluation instrument coupled with preobservation and postobservation conferences may result in the increase in frequency of ELD/SDAIE methodology and constructivist strategies listed on the evaluation instrument in the elementary science classroom.
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…
Humanities in the Elementary School: A Handbook for Teachers.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fuchs, Lucy
The humanities, an area of study often left out of the elementary curriculum, is essential as society becomes more global in nature. Because of the time restrictions in elementary teaching schedules, the humanities must be incorporated into the school program, not as an extra class, but as an enrichment of what is already taught. The purpose of…
Using Smart Boards and Manipulatives in the Elementary Science Classroom
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Martin, Susan F.; Shaw, Edward L., Jr.; Daughenbaugh, Lynda
2014-01-01
This study summarizes the results of a survey administered to 48 elementary schools in the largest school district in a southeastern U.S. state, conducted by university faculty to evaluate the use of SMART Boards and hands-on experiences, the objectives of which were to identify preparedness of elementary classroom teachers in teaching elementary…
The Bear Den: An Elementary Teaching Team.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McGoogan, Gail
2002-01-01
Describes how a vertical teaching team established a school-within-a-school for grades 1 to 4 at Narcoossee Community School in St. Cloud, Florida. Includes planning, space allocation, curriculum content, and across-grade coordination. Describes benefits to teachers and students. (PKP)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kubota, Ryuko; Catlett, Shawna
2008-01-01
Teaching Spanish has become increasingly popular in the United States due to demographic shifts. This study focuses on a Spanish-only initiative for an existing Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) program proposed by a southeastern public school district's school board. It analyzes discourses underlying the policymakers' rationales…
Attitudes and Beliefs of Upper Elementary Teachers Regarding the Teaching of Cursive Handwriting
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Myers, Dorothy
2013-01-01
This study surveyed current third-, fourth- and fifth-grade teachers in two small school districts in the southeast. One school district has initiated a technology initiative in its elementary schools. The other school district involved in the study incorporates technology but does not have a specified technology initiative. This dissertation was…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gruber, Kerry J.; Wiley, Susan D.; Broughman, Stephen P.; Strizek, Gregory A.; Burian-Fitzgerald, Marisa
2002-01-01
Provides an overview of 1999-200 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) data and describes selected findings on school safety, class size, school programs, teacher salaries, prior teaching experience of principals, professional development, and school library media specialists. The SASS is the most extensive survey of elementary and secondary schools…
Practicing and Pre-Service Elementary Teachers' Representations of Matter
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Weller, Jessica Kristine
2012-01-01
This qualitative exploratory study investigated practicing and pre-service elementary teachers' representations of the nature of matter and the ways in which those representations were transformed into teaching representations. Seven practicing elementary teachers from a rural elementary school and five pre-service elementary teachers were…
An analysis of elementary teachers' perceptions of teaching science as inquiry
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Domjan, Heather Nicole
The purpose of this study is to describe elementary school teachers' perceptions of science as inquiry in science instruction. A descriptive survey research design was used to collect data regarding elementary science teachers' knowledge and beliefs related to inquiry and its role in science education. The written section of the survey was analyzed and interpreted descriptively through phenomenological data and the constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). The researcher used the constant comparative method to identify statements, perceptions, and impressions that occurred over time during the study (Janesick, 1994). Ninety-two elementary school teachers who teach science in a large suburban district southwest of Houston, Texas were administered a three part Understanding Science as Inquiry Survey (USAI) developed by the researcher. Participants communicated in writing personal definitions of inquiry in elementary science as well as determined to what extent inquiry was used in four elementary science classroom scenarios. The survey items were based on the following four components of inquiry described by Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards (2000): (1) conceptual knowledge, (2) process skills, (3) nature of science, and (4) affect. The study describes elementary school teachers' perceptions about science as inquiry. Conclusions for Part A of the USAI Survey indicate that participants define inquiry as: mostly process skills, some conceptual knowledge, and very little affect with no perception of the nature of science. The Likert scale ratings for the scenarios in Part B of the USAI Survey reveal that participants have varied perceptions regarding teaching science as inquiry. The written section of Part B reveals participants' perceptions to be similar to that of their Likert scale ratings except in scenario one. The researcher concludes that the participants in this study appear to have an incomplete understanding of teaching science as inquiry. This study suggests that elementary teachers might benefit from increased and sustained professional development programs centered on inquiry teaching strategies. Professional development activities on teaching science as inquiry create opportunities for teachers to confront and develop ways of thinking about inquiry and ultimately enhance inquiry-based teaching in their classrooms.
ENRICHMENT - CLASSROOM CHALLENGE.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
GIBBONY, HAZEL L.
SUGGESTIONS FOR ENRICHMENT TEACHING ARE PRESENTED. THE SUGGESTIONS ARE DIVIDED UNDER ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM AND SECONDARY SCHOOL SUBJECTS. SOME OF THE SUGGESTIONS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ARE BULLETIN BOARDS, FIELD TRIPS, INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS, AND DISCUSSIONS. THESE SUGGESTIONS APPLY TO LANGUAGE ARTS, SOCIAL STUDIES, SCIENCE, ARITHMETIC AND FOREIGN…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ingersoll, Richard; Merrill, Lisa
2017-01-01
This report utilizes the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) to examine changes in the elementary and secondary teaching force in the United States over the quarter century from 1987-88 to 2011-12. The report focuses on three key demographic characteristics: the size of the teaching force, the level of teaching experience…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cole, Mark R.
2014-01-01
The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the observations of elementary school music teachers regarding the level of preparation of their most recent student teachers at the beginning of their student teaching experience. Twenty-seven elementary music teachers participated in a survey rating the preparedness of their student teacher in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mataka, Lloyd M.; Cobern, William W.; Grunert, Megan L.; Mutambuki, Jacinta; Akom, George
2014-01-01
This study investigate the effectiveness of adding an "explicit general problem solving teaching strategy" (EGPS) to guided inquiry (GI) on pre-service elementary school teachers' ability to solve heat transfer problems. The pre-service elementary teachers in this study were enrolled in two sections of a chemistry course for pre-service…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Han, Alyson Kim
According to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (2001), one in three students speaks a language other than English. Additionally, the Commission stated that a student is considered to be an English learner if the second language acquisition is English. In California more than 1.4 million English learners enter school speaking a variety of languages, and this number continues to rise. There is an imminent need to promote instructional strategies that support this group of diverse learners. Although this was not a California study, the results derived from the nationwide participants' responses provided a congruent assessment of the basic need to provide effective science teaching strategies to all English learners. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of elementary science teaching practices used with English learners in kindergarten through fifth grade in public mathematics, science, and technology-centered elementary magnet schools throughout the country. This descriptive research was designed to provide current information and to identify trends in the areas of curriculum and instruction for English learners in science themed magnet schools. This report described the status of elementary (grades K-5) school science instruction for English learners based on the responses of 116 elementary school teachers: 59 grade K-2, and 57 grade 3-5 teachers. Current research-based approaches support incorporating self-directed learning strategy, expository teaching strategy, active listening strategies, questioning strategies, wait time strategy, small group strategy, peer tutoring strategy, large group learning strategy, demonstrations strategy, formal debates strategy, review sessions strategy, mediated conversation strategy, cooperative learning strategy, and theme-based instruction into the curriculum to assist English learners in science education. Science Technology Society (STS) strategy, problem-based learning strategy, discovery learning strategy, constructivist learning strategy, learning cycle strategy, SCALE technique strategy, conceptual change strategy, inquiry-based strategy, cognitive academic language learning approach (CALLA) strategy, and learning from text strategy provide effective science teaching instruction to English learners. These science instructional strategies assist elementary science teachers by providing additional support to make science instruction more comprehensible for English learners.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Walfish, Ruth A.; Brody, David L.
2018-01-01
Bible teachers in contemporary society confront serious problems related to the nature of the biblical text and the socio-cultural context of their teaching. This study, based on semi-structured interviews, examines the problems that five expert religious Israeli elementary school teachers encounter in their teaching and the solutions they employ.…
Mathematics for the Elementary School, Unit 15, Addition and Linear Translations.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Clark, Julia, Ed.; Myers, Donald E., Ed.
The Minnesota School Mathematics and Science Teaching (MINNEMAST) Project is characterized by its emphasis on the coordination of mathematics and science in the elementary school curriculum. Units are planned to provide children with activities in which they learn various concepts from both subject areas. Each subject is used to support and…
Preventing Tobacco and Alcohol Use among Elementary School Students through Life Skills Training.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Botvin, Gilbert J.; Griffin, Kenneth W.; Paul, Elizabeth; Macaulay, Araxi P.
2003-01-01
Study examined effectiveness of a substance abuse prevention program in preventing tobacco and alcohol use among elementary school students in grades 3 through 6. Program teaches social resistance skills and general personal and social competence skills. Findings indicate a school-based substance abuse prevention approach previously found to be…
Instructional Materials Commonly Employed by Foreign Language Teachers at Elementary Schools
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Çakir, Ismail
2015-01-01
This study aimed to determine the teachers' choices of instructional materials in teaching English at elementary schools. The reasons behind preferring or not preferring some certain instructional materials specified within the research were analysed. To this end, during the course of School Experience, 68 prospective English teachers observed 38…
The Long-Term Impact of Effective Teaching
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tymms, Peter; Merrell, Christine; Bailey, Katharine
2018-01-01
This paper investigates the impact of effective schooling in the 1st year of elementary school on later academic outcomes and equal educational opportunity. A large longitudinal dataset from England was used to estimate the importance of the 1st year of elementary school for academic outcomes up to age 16. Multilevel models, controlling for…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Miele, Anthony
2007-01-01
English Language Development (ELD) and Academic English Development (AED) curricula in most public schools lack a communicative method and consist mostly of dry, meaningless grammar lessons devoid of relevance and authentic context. The purpose of this project is to develop guidelines to teach English language to elementary school children…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Yazici, Ersen; Peker, Murat; Ertekin, Erhan; Dilmac, Bulent
2011-01-01
Introduction: The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between the pre-service teachers' mathematical values and teaching anxieties in mathematics. Method: The research was carried out on 359 teacher candidates attending the elementary school mathematics, secondary school mathematics and primary school teaching programs. To this end,…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Petry, Karla L.
1981-01-01
Describes successful experiment in teaching of medieval literature to elementary French language classes in the Cincinnati public schools. Purpose was to strengthen linguistic awareness and expand social studies unit on medieval France. (BK)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Herbert, Patrick C.; Whitney, Elizabeth A.
2016-01-01
The purpose of this article is to describe a tested teaching idea that can be implemented in elementary schools to introduce young children to fruits and vegetables that they may not be familiar with.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Verdelhan, Michele; Verdelhan, Michel
1978-01-01
Examines the variety of approaches currently found in the teaching of French as a native language in the French elementary school system and in teacher colleges, in the wake of the rise of linguistics. (AM)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
School Science Review, 1984
1984-01-01
Presents (1) suggestions on teaching volume and density in the elementary school; (2) ideas for teaching about floating and sinking; (3) a simple computer program on color addition; and (4) an illustration of Newton's second law of motion. (JN)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jacobson, Linda
2004-01-01
As science gets squeezed in the elementary curriculum, at least two Florida districts are trying a new approach to keeping hands-on lessons a part of pupils' experiences. This article reports how Broward and Palm Beach county districts have increased the number of science specialists working in their elementary schools--teachers who, like physical…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hoover, Barbara Grambo
Many factors influence teacher choices concerning the frequency, instructional methods, and content of science teaching. Although the role of gender in science learning has been studied extensively, the gender of elementary teachers as it intersects their teaching of science has not been investigated. In this ethnographic study, I focused on five male preservice elementary teachers as they experienced their student teaching internship, aiming to understand their underlying beliefs about science and science teaching and how those beliefs influenced their practice. In an attempt to illuminate the complex interplay of personality, experience, interests, and gender in the professional lives of these men, this study emphasized the importance of context in the formation and expression of their science beliefs and pedagogy. For this reason, I collected data from a number of sources. From September, 2001 to May, 2002, I observed my participants in their science methods courses and on multiple occasions as they taught science in elementary classrooms in a suburban school district. I reviewed journal entries required for the science methods class and examined documents such as handouts, readings and teacher guides from their elementary teaching experience. I conducted semi-structured and informal interviews. I analyzed data from these sources using grounded theory methodology. Although these five men had many similarities, they differed in their love of science, their exposure to science, their avocational interests, and their views of science pedagogy. This study, however, revealed a unifying theme: each participant had his own set of personal and academic resources that he carried into the classroom and used to construct a distinctive science learning environment. Some of these resources intersect with gender. For example, several men had science-related avocational interests. There was a common emphasis on creating a relaxed, enjoyable, hands-on teaching environment as reported in other studies of male elementary teachers. These findings have implications for elementary school science teaching and recruitment goals for elementary teachers that should be further explored in additional studies.
The Ohio Business Teacher, Volume XLIV.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Porreca, Anthony G., Ed.; Cross, Beverly E., Ed.
1984-01-01
This volume of the Ohio Business Teacher contains articles on teaching business education, especially in the secondary schools, although some articles also include information on teaching business-related material to elementary school children and to adults. Eight of the articles concern classroom teaching techniques for the electronic office,…
Teaching about Religion in Public Schools.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Piediscalzi, Nicholas, Ed.; Collie, William E., Ed.
Sixteen articles written by various authors are contained in this book about teaching religion in public schools. Developed for both elementary and secondary programs, the articles detail current practices. Models and units of study are suggested for teaching religion in different subject areas, including language arts, humanities, and social…
An Elementary School with a Global Perspective: The Building as a Teaching Tool
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
O'Donnell, Sean; Cuthbert, Marjorie; Cronin, Abbie; Urbieta, Melissa Nosal
2011-01-01
Just 19 months after the start of design, Stoddert Elementary School's modernized and expanded campus in northwest Washington, DC reopened, welcoming back the school and its community. Featuring spaces that had been missing since the school was founded in 1932, such as a gym, cafeteria, and library/media center and up-to-date building systems and…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Haselhuhn, Charlotte W.; Al-Mabuk, Radhi; Gabriele, Anthony; Groen, Marc; Galloway, Sarah
2007-01-01
This study was prompted by previous research showing a decline in motivation as students transition from elementary to middle school. The decline in motivation may be associated with changes in the achievement goal structures of their classrooms and schools. This study describes a survey of 69 elementary and 28 middle school teachers that explored…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Zitomer, Michelle R.
2017-01-01
Teachers are key players in creating inclusive dance education environments. Guided by a conceptual framework of relational ethics, this qualitative study explored the perceptions and practices of four elementary school dance teachers teaching in public schools in two large school districts in Western Canada. Data collection involved interviews,…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Evertsson, Jakob
2015-01-01
It was in the late nineteenth century that teaching in Sweden's elementary schools began its transformation from a religious education to a broader, national citizenship education that included history and geography. International research has pointed to a connection between the introduction of school inspections and the reform of public education…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Zeringo, Thomas A.; Baldwin-LeClair, Jack
The past 20 years have witnessed a significant metamorphosis with regard to clinical gender neutrality within the classrooms of public schools. However, the beginning and formative years of a child's formal entry into public school are overseen by female teachers. Men comprise only 12% of the teaching force in elementary school, and this 12% of…
Teaching Elementary Particle Physics: Part I
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hobson, Art
2011-01-01
I'll outline suggestions for teaching elementary particle physics, often called "high energy physics," in high school or introductory college courses for non-scientists or scientists. Some presentations of this topic simply list the various particles along with their properties, with little overarching structure. Such a laundry list approach is a…
Self-Efficacy, an Oriental Twist
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jack, Brady M.; Liu, Chia-Ju; Chiu, Hoan-Lin
2005-01-01
This paper presents the results of a case study involving Taiwanese elementary teachers who teach science at the elementary grade school level. It advocates the position that a teacher's personal science efficacy belief influences his or her science teaching outcome expectations. It also points to an important metamorphosis that is taking place…
A Comparison of Concerns of Secondary and Elementary Student Teachers.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mahan, James M.
Elementary and secondary school student teachers were tested before, during, and after their teaching experiences to determine if there were changes in their concerns about teaching. Three categories of concerns, each with eight items, were ranked: methods concerns, pertaining to instructional skills and content knowledge; cultural concerns,…
Teachers' Use of Technology in Elementary Reading Lessons
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McDermott, Peter; Gormley, Kathleen A.
2016-01-01
Proponents claim technology will transform classroom teaching and improve children's engagement and learning. Opponents argue that such benefits are oversold because little evidence exists that technology improves teaching and learning. We examined how elementary teachers in an urban school that was well resourced with technology used it when…
Improving Written Expression in the Elementary Schools; A Rationale and Plan.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Brouillet, Frank B.
This booklet is intended to help people establish goals, objectives, activities, and evaluation tools for teaching elementary writing. The following topics are discussed: practical writing, invention, writing games, voice, personal writing, strategies and techniques teachers can use to enhance personal writing, teaching grammar and writing,…
Teaching about the Child and World Environment: Elementary Teacher's Kit.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Morris, Donald M.
Three environmental education units relating environmental concerns to elementary school students' own experiences are described in this materials packet. Emphasis is on helping students become more sensitive to human and personal dimensions of environmental upset. Designed to teach children about themselves and their air, water, and land…
Preparing Elementary Mathematics-Science Teaching Specialists.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Miller, L. Diane
1992-01-01
Describes a professional development program to train math/science specialists for the upper elementary school grades. Using results from an interest survey, 30 teachers were chosen to participate in a 3-year program to become math/science specialists. Presents the teaching model used and the advantages for teachers and students in having subject…
Imagery Teaches Elementary Economics Schema Efficiently.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McKenzie, Gary R.
In a complex domain such as economics, elementary school students' knowledge of formal systems beyond their immediate experience is often too incomplete, superficial, and disorganized to function as schema or model. However, visual imagery is a good technique for teaching young children a network of 10 to 20 propositions and the relationships…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Norman, Patricia J.; Nordine, Jeffrey
2016-01-01
The challenges of teaching elementary mathematics and science, particularly in urban settings, have been well documented. While evidence exists that sustained professional development in mathematics and science can promote inquiry-oriented instruction and bolster student achievement, little has been written about the particular challenges…
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.
The Elementary School Experience of Children from Mexico.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Strom, Robert D.; Johnson, Aileen
1981-01-01
Presents instructional aspects of elementary education classrooms in Mexico. Topics addressed are conditions of instruction, instructional priorities, types of instruction, evaluation of instruction, teacher-pupil relationships, and home-school relationships. Implications are given for teachers in the United States who teach transfer students from…
Students as Teachers: A Tool for Improving School Climate and Productivity.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hedin, Diane
1987-01-01
One-to-one tutoring is an exceptionally effective teaching method. Adding a well-designed peer or cross-age teaching component to an elementary or secondary school program has the potential for significantly augmenting the school's capability to promote academic achievement and interpersonal growth. (LHW)
Music without a Music Specialist: A Primary School Story
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
de Vries, Peter A.
2015-01-01
This case study focuses on generalist primary (elementary) school teachers teaching music in an Australian school. With the onus for teaching music moving away from the specialist music teacher to the generalist classroom teacher, this case study adds to a growing body of literature focusing on generalist primary school teachers and music…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Rabbidge, Michael; Chappell, Philip
2014-01-01
The teaching of English as a foreign language in South Korean public schools has seen the implementation of a number of new innovations. One such innovation, the teaching of English through English, dubbed TETE, is a government-initiated policy that requires public schools to teach English by only using English. Nevertheless, studies reveal that…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Russell-Bowie, Deirdre
2009-01-01
Current preservice teacher education students are tomorrow's teachers and what they believe about the priority and challenges of music education in elementary schools is important, as it will impact on their attitudes and practice when they are teaching in schools. This study examines the state of primary music education and investigates the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gazit, Avikam; Patkin, Dorit
2012-01-01
The article aims to check the way adults, "some who are" practicing mathematics teachers at elementary school, "some who are" academicians making a career change to mathematics teachers at junior high school and the "rest who are" pre-service mathematics teachers at elementary school, cope with the solution of…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Okumura, Shinji
2017-01-01
In Japan, English will be officially taught as an academic subject for elementary fifth and sixth graders from 2020. This is a strong initiative of language-in-education policy, aiming at efficient articulation between elementary and junior high schools and targeting the development of English proficiency from early ages simultaneously. However,…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McGarvey, Lynn M.; Sterenberg, Gladys Y.; Long, Julie S.
2013-01-01
The authors elucidate what they saw as three important challenges to overcome along the path to becoming elementary school mathematics teacher leaders: marginal interest in math, low self-confidence, and teaching in isolation. To illustrate how these challenges were mitigated, they focus on the stories of two elementary school teachers--Laura and…
Terra Firma: "Physics First" for Teaching Chemistry to Pre-Service Elementary School Teachers
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
More, Michelle B.
2007-01-01
A pre-service elementary school teacher chemistry class that incorporates the physics first idea is described. This class is taught basic physics followed by introductory chemistry and the students' response indicates that both science literacy and science interest increase using this method.
Evaluating the Impact of Departmentalization on Elementary School Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chang, Florence C.; Muñoz, Marco A.; Koshewa, Sheila
2008-01-01
The increasing accountability demands are leading some districts to departmentalize or consider departmentalizing at the elementary school level (Delviscio & Muffs, 2007). Departmentalization allows teachers to specialize and teach one content area in-depth which may, in turn, lead to higher accountability test scores. Although, due to…
Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of Departmentalization of Elementary Schools
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Liu, Fuchang
2011-01-01
This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of departmentalization of elementary schools, with an emphasis on teaching mathematics, as perceived by preservice teachers who shared their opinions through online discussion. Advantages include teachers' enthusiasm about and focused attention on the specialized area and students' easier…
Methods in Elementary School Foreign Language Teaching.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Curtain, Helena
1991-01-01
A brief overview of the importance of the use of appropriate methodologies for elementary school foreign language instruction precedes a description of several strategies involving total physical response, story telling, games and songs, props, small-group work, role-play, content-based instruction, cultural and global awareness, language…
Japanese Elementary School Teachers and English Language Anxiety
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Machida, Tomohisa
2016-01-01
"Foreign language activities" (English) officially began in Japanese elementary schools in April 2011. Since that starting date, and despite insufficient knowledge and preparation, classroom teachers have been required to instruct in English. They also have been required to team-teach with native-English-speaking assistant language…
Health Science Education in Elementary Schools.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Stier, William F., Jr.
Concern surrounding the status of health education in elementary schools centers around (1) a lack of agreement concerning content, scope, and sequence, (2) its interdisciplinary character, (3) poor teacher preparation, and (4) reliance on incidental teaching and learning situations. Improvement depends upon: (1) defining the areas of concern for…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Petersen, Christie M.
2012-01-01
This qualitative study was designed to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of the principal in successfully improving English Language Learner (ELL) educational outcomes in high poverty schools based on interviews with five elementary principals who were employed by Hillsboro School District during the SET-R grant from school years…
Watts, Sheldon O; Piñero, Domingo J; Alter, Mark M; Lancaster, Kristie J
2012-01-01
To assess the extent to which nutrition education is implemented in selected counties in New York State elementary schools (kindergarten through fifth grade) and explore how nutrition knowledge is presented in the classroom and what factors support it. Cross-sectional, self-administered survey. New York State elementary schools in selected counties. New York State elementary school teachers (n = 137). Hours spent teaching nutrition; nutrition topics, methods of teaching, education resources, and aspects of the school environment that may influence nutrition education. Crosstabs with a chi-square statistic and ANOVA. Eighty-three percent of teachers taught some nutrition (9.0 ± 10.5 hours) during the academic year. Teachers taught lessons about finding and choosing healthy food (61%), relationship between diet and health (54%), and MyPyramid (52%) most often. Suburban teachers (12.4 ± 12.5 hours) taught significantly (P = .006) more hours of nutrition than rural teachers (4.2 ± 3.9 hours). Teachers at schools with fewer than 80% nonwhite students taught significantly (P = .02) more (10.4 ± 11.4 hours) compared to schools with greater than 80% nonwhite students (5.6 ± 6.4 hours). Teachers reported that nutrition education is important and that they are willing to teach nutrition. Efforts should be made that support integrated nutrition topics, methods of instruction, and availability of resources. Copyright © 2012 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Clark, Ian
The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between K-5 elementary school teachers' perceptions of principal instructional leadership and their science teaching efficacy. The influence of background variables on both leadership and efficacy is also analyzed. A sequential mixed methods approach was used in this study. The survey sample was comprised of teachers in the elementary divisions of schools from the nine international school regional associations. Teacher participation was obtained through an email containing an online survey link. Following the analysis of survey responses (N=356), in-depth interviews (N=17) were conducted. Reliability for the instructional leadership scale was found to be .94 (coefficient alpha) and .69 for the personal science teaching efficacy (PSTE) scale. The results show a significant correlation between elementary school teachers' perceptions of principal instructional leadership and their PSTE levels, with the most significant correlation that between the study of a science-related major or minor at college and higher PSTE scores. Strong correlations were also found between PSTE levels and having principals who discussed goals at faculty meetings, participated in science curricular review, supported recognition of student progress, encouraged new skills and concepts, discussed student progress with faculty, and used assessments to see science progress towards easily understood goals. PSTE levels were also higher in schools where principals had grade or school level science coordinators in place and where they supported the use of science kits.
Enhancing Self-Efficacy in Elementary Science Teaching with Professional Learning Communities
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mintzes, Joel J.; Marcum, Bev; Messerschmidt-Yates, Christl; Mark, Andrew
2013-01-01
Emerging from Bandura's Social Learning Theory, this study of in-service elementary school teachers examined the effects of sustained Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) on self-efficacy in science teaching. Based on mixed research methods, and a non-equivalent control group experimental design, the investigation explored changes in…
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…
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…
Effects of Elementary Teacher Preparation and Support on Retention
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Turpin-Padberg, Sarah
2017-01-01
With the start of every school year, new teachers enter classrooms across our country filled with excitement surrounding the impact they hope to have on students. Some teachers discover that teaching at the elementary level can often times involve more than teaching and loving children. The expectations, demands, and time constraints put on new…
Rockets: A Teaching Guide for an Elementary Science Unit on Rocketry.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Vogt, Gregory L.
Utilizing simple and inexpensive equipment, elementary and middle school science teachers can conduct interesting, exciting, and productive units on rockets, the oldest form of self-contained vehicles in existence. This teaching guide contains the following: (1) a brief history of experimentation and research on rockets and rocket propulsion from…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Irmen, Anne
After a brief description of three Piagetian stages (pre-operational, transition to concrete operations, and concrete operations), the author identifies 12 key statements from Piaget's writings. These statements, together with related implications for teaching elementary school mathematics, methods of diagnosing stage acquisition, and examples are…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Raymond, Allen; Broderick, Patricia
2006-01-01
Members of Teaching K-8's staff describe their visit to Brigantine Elementary School in Brigantine, NJ, where they were introduced to so many outstanding educators and enthusiastic volunteers that they wondered whether this was the "perfect school." Acknowledging that the school has some flaws, the Teaching K-8 staff note that Brigantine…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Roberts, Sara Hayes
The primary purpose of this action research study was to explore an elementary science program and find ways to support science education as an administrator of an elementary school. The study took place in a large suburban school system in the southeastern United States. Seven teachers at a small rural school volunteered to participate in the study. Each participant became an active member of the research by determining what changes needed to take place and implementing the lessons in science. The study was also focused on teacher collaboration and how it influenced the science instruction. The data collected included two interviews, ten observations of science lessons, the implementation of four science units, and informal notes from planning sessions over a five month period. The questions that guided this study focused on how teachers prepare to teach science through active learning and how instruction shifts due to teacher collaboration. Teachers were interviewed at the beginning of the study to gain the perceptions of the participants in the areas of (a) planning, (b) active learning, (c) collaboration, and (d) teaching science lessons. The teachers and principal then formed a research team that determined the barriers to teaching science according to the Standards, designed units of study using active learning strategies, and worked collaboratively to implement the units of study. The action research project reviewed the National Science Education Standards, the theory of constructivism, active learning and teacher collaboration as they relate to the actions taken by a group of teachers in an elementary school. The evidence from this study showed that by working together collaboratively and overcoming the barriers to teaching science actively, teachers feel more confident and knowledgeable about teaching the concepts.
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 Teachers' Involvement in Firearm Safety Education.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Price, James H.; Murnan, Judy; Thompson, Amy J.; Dake, Joseph A.; Telljohann, Susan K.
2005-01-01
This national study assessed elementary, school teachers' (n = 352)firearm safety education activities and perceptions using a 3-wave mailing survey. One percent of the teachers reported receiving undergraduate training regarding firearm safety. Yet, 12% claimed to be well prepared or very well prepared to teach firearm safety. Most teachers had…
Designing Classroom Spaces to Maximize Social Studies Learning
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
O'Mahony, Carolyn; Siegel, Suzanne
2008-01-01
Many elementary school teachers with a passion for teaching social studies are finding that the administratively defined time for direct instruction in social studies is becoming increasingly restricted. Fortunately for the teacher who is convinced that social and civic education should be at the center of the elementary school curriculum, where…
Healthy Reading: Teaching Strategies for Integrating Health and Literacy Education
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cummings, Carol A.; Obel-Omia, Carolyn
2016-01-01
Across the world, development of health literacy skills with elementary school students improves health outcomes, reduces health risks, and increases academic success. As elementary school classroom teachers are often responsible for delivering the health curriculum to their students, this article examines ways to integrate health literacy with…
Wanted: A Revolution in Elementary Science Teaching.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education, College Park, MD.
Children come to school with a foundation for formal learning from their early experiences with interactions of the natural and technological world. Failure of elementary schools to build on this experience can discourage children, especially those who do not identify readily with the science establishment (girls, blacks, Hispanics, and the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tuval, Smadar; Orr, Emda
2009-01-01
Based on "Social representations theory", this ethnographic research examines the processes by which two Israeli elementary schools represented some children, but not others, as "weak" students and in need of remedial teaching. This approach differs from most current research regarding children with disabilities, which mainly…
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…
Young Foreign Language Learners' Interactions during Task-Based Paired Assessments
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Butler, Yuko Goto; Zeng, Wei
2014-01-01
Despite the popularity of task-based language teaching (TBLT) in foreign language (FL) education at elementary school, it remains unclear how young learners' FL abilities can best be evaluated with tasks. The present study seeks to understand developmental differences in interactions among elementary-school students during task-based language…
A Guide to Flammable Products and Ignition Sources for Elementary Schools.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC.
This guide is intended as a resource manual and activity sourcebook for elementary school teachers, librarians, administrators, curriculum planners, and teacher educators for teaching proper methods for selecting, using, maintaining, and disposing of flammable products and ignition sources. Basic product safety messages are developed for matches,…
The Efficacy of Institutionally Dispensed Rewards in Elementary School Teaching.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kasten, Katherine Lewellyn
1984-01-01
Teachers' attitudes towards incentives should be analyzed before programs involving such incentives as merit pay or master teachers are implemented. Elementary school teachers were interviewed to help identify the value and effectiveness of institutional rewards. The interaction between personal life events and career choices was also examined.…
Inservice Elementary and Middle School Teachers' Conceptions of Photosynthesis and Respiration
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Krall, Rebecca McNall; Lott, Kimberly H.; Wymer, Carol L.
2009-01-01
The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate inservice elementary and middle school teachers' conceptions of photosynthesis and respiration, basic concepts they are expected to teach. A forced-choice instrument assessing selected standards-based life science concepts with non-scientific conceptions embedded in distracter options was…
Elementary/Middle School Keyboarding Strategies Guide.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
National Business Education Association, Reston, VA.
Developed through a cooperative effort of many teachers and researchers, this guide is intended to supplement existing elementary and middle school materials on keyboarding. The guide contains sections that are designed for stand-alone use. Topics cover a wide range of strategies, including teaching special needs students. The U.S. Postal Service…
A Multi-Media Approach to Teaching Elementary School Gymnastics.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Annarino, Anthony A.; And Others
The introduction of the open classroom concept, individualized instruction, independent study, use of technology, and other innovations provide supportive evidence that there may be new ways to minimize the limitations imposed on elementary school physical education programs by teachers, students' ability, or facilities. In view of this, a…
Teaching science as argument: Prospective elementary teachers' knowledge
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Barreto-Espino, Reizelie
For the past two decades there has been increasing emphasis on argumentation in school science. In 2007, the National Research Council published a synthesis report that emphasizes the centrality of constructing, evaluating, and using scientific explanations. Participating in argumentation is seen as fundamental to children's science learning experiences. These new expectations increase challenges for elementary teachers since their understanding of and experiences with science are overwhelmingly inconsistent with teaching science as argument. These challenges are further amplified when dealing with prospective elementary teachers. The current study was guided by the following research questions: (1) What are the ways in which preservice elementary teachers appropriate components of "teaching science as argument" during their student teaching experience? (2) To what extent do components from prospective elementary teachers' reflections influence planning for science teaching? (3) What elements from the context influence preservice elementary teachers' attention to teaching science as argument? This study followed a multi-participant case study approach and analyses were informed by grounded theory. Three participants were selected from a larger cohort of prospective elementary teachers enrolled in an innovative Elementary Professional Development School (PDS) partnership at a large Northeast University. Cross-case analysis allowed for the development of five key assertions: (1) The presence of opportunities for interacting with phenomena and collecting first hand data helped participants increase their emphasis on evidence-based explanations. (2) Participants viewed science talks as an essential mechanism for engaging students in the construction of evidence-based explanations and as being fundamental to meaning-making. (3) Participants demonstrated attention to scientific subject matter during instruction rather than merely focusing on activities and/or inquiry processes. (4) Scaffolded protocols positively influenced participants' attention to having students construct evidence-based explanations during science planning and teaching. (5) Teachers' beliefs about children's science capabilities influence their attention to and adoption of practices associated with teaching science as argument. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for teacher education, such as the use of coherent conceptual frameworks to guide coursework and field experiences and the development of video-based cases that represent "images of the possible" associated with challenging reform-oriented teaching practices.
The Four Keys to Teaching Golf in Elementary School
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Vasil, Jay
2006-01-01
Golf is a lifetime sport that can have a positive influence on children in many ways. Golf provides physical educators a means of teaching character education, etiquette, and interdisciplinary concepts such as math, in addition to physical education objectives such as motor skills, coordination, and flexibility. When teaching golf in schools,…
Teaching and Learning about Solid Waste: Aspects of Content Knowledge
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cinquetti, Heloisa Chalmers Sisla; de Carvalho, Luiz Marcelo
2007-01-01
This paper investigates aspects of content knowledge related to teaching and learning about solid waste, focusing on the processes of learning and teaching by Elementary School teachers in Brazil, in two modalities of continuing education: courses and school-based meetings. We analyse elements of teachers' reflections whilst referring to three…
Spotlight on General Music: Teaching Toward the Standards
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2005
2005-01-01
General music teachers at all levels--elementary, middle school, and high school--will find ideas, suggestions, and lesson plans for teaching to the National Standards in this new addition to the popular Spotlight series. It includes sections on teaching each of the nine standards, as well as chapters about secondary general music, assessment, and…
Federal Student Aid TEACH Grant Program
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Federal Student Aid, US Department of Education, 2015
2015-01-01
The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program provides grants of up to $4,000 per year to students who agree to teach for four years at an elementary school, secondary school, or educational service agency that serves students from low-income families and to meet other requirements. This brief report…
In the Beginning of the Middle: Curriculum Considerations for Middle School General Music
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Giebelhausen, Robin
2015-01-01
Middle school general music is an experience that numerous music educators feel underprepared to teach. Because many undergraduate programs spend little time on this teaching scenario and because the challenges of middle school general music are different from those of elementary general music or middle school ensembles, teachers often lack the…
Niebuhr, Dewey, and the Ethics of a Christian Pragmatist Public Elementary School Teacher
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mackey, David R.
2010-01-01
This conceptual study asks how a Christian public elementary school teacher might go about teaching in a classroom in ways that reflect or draw upon said teacher's personal Christian beliefs while also maintaining the secular character required of a public school classroom in a pluralistic democracy. In other words, I ask how a Christian educator…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Annetta, Leonard A.; Minogue, James
2004-01-01
The first year of a 5 year professional development project for elementary teachers in two mid-western states integrated a bridge of two distinctly different distance education networks (T-1 and fiber optics) to provide science professional development for elementary school teachers in rural communities. "Interactive television" (ITV), the title…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Swars, Susan L.; Smith, Stephanie Z.; Smith, Marvin E.; Carothers, Jody; Myers, Kayla
2018-01-01
Many in the field of mathematics education call for elementary schools to have elementary mathematics specialists (EMSs) who provide needed mathematical expertise and support for children and teachers. EMSs serve as a reasonable, immediate alternative to the challenges generated by elementary teachers needing improved mathematical knowledge for…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
DENEMARK, GEORGE W.; METZOW, MARION
TRENDS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM, SCHOOL ORGANIZATION, TEACHING METHODS AND MATERIALS, STAFF UTILIZATION, AND SCHOOL-COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS REFLECT THE NATION'S GROWING CONCERN FOR EDUCATION AND, PARTICULARLY, FOR THE EDUCATION OF DISADVANTAGED LEARNERS. NOW, INSTEAD OF THE TRADITIONAL EMPHASIS UPON THE STANDARD…
Should gun safety be taught in schools? Perspectives of teachers.
Obeng, Cecilia
2010-08-01
Gun-related injuries and deaths among children occur at disproportionately high rates in the United States. Children who live in homes with guns are the most likely victims. This study describes teachers' views on whether gun safety should be taught to children in the preschool and elementary years. A total of 150 survey questionnaires were distributed to public and private school teachers in preschools and elementary schools in 2 counties of a Midwestern state. In total, 62% of the 102 respondents indicated that they favored the teaching of gun safety, while 13% disapproved and 25% had no opinion. Overall, 28.4% of the respondents supported the teaching of gun safety in grades pre-K (pre-kindergarten) through first grade. About 54% indicated that police or trained military personnel should do the teaching of this subject in schools, while 6.9% suggested that teachers should do the teaching. With a majority of the teachers in favor of teaching gun safety in the schools, a larger study should be conducted that explores the introduction of gun safety into the curriculum in preschool through grade 6. Such a study should evaluate the efficacy of teaching gun safety as a measure to prevent gun violence and injuries involving guns.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Stein, Morton
Elementary school is a key time for students to develop their understanding of basic science concepts as well as their attitudes towards science and science learning. Yet many elementary teachers do not feel comfortable teaching science; as a result, they are likely to devote less time on that subject and to be less effective as science teachers. The literature suggests that weaknesses in elementary teachers' knowledge of science could be a main cause of this problem and, furthermore, that current elementary teacher preparation programs have contributed to this weakness. This study aims at gaining more knowledge about how elementary teachers who are successful in teaching science have acquired their science content knowledge and how such knowledge could be best acquired, with the ultimate goal of informing the design of more effective elementary teacher preparation programs. More specifically, this study addresses the following research questions: Which science learning experiences for elementary teachers seem most conducive to develop the kind of science content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge needed to support the teaching of science as called for by the most recent national and state standards? Which of these experiences should be included in elementary teacher preparation programs, and how? The core of this study consists of case studies of eight elementary school teachers who were identified as successful in teaching science. These subjects were selected so as to ensure differences in their teacher preparation programs, as well as gender and years of teaching experience. Information about each teacher's self-efficacy and motivation with respect to teaching science, history of pre-service and in-service preparation with respect to science, and how his/her current science knowledge was acquired, was sought through a series of interviews with each subject and triangulated with data collected from other sources. A cross-case analysis revealed some interesting similarities and differences in how these successful elementary science teachers developed their science knowledge, and identified the following main sources of science learning opportunities: (a) science content courses; (b) methods courses; (c) student teaching; (d) in-service workshops; (e) opportunities to work with colleagues on the design and/or delivery of science units. Based on what was learned from these case studies, a preliminary set of recommendations to improve elementary teacher's science learning opportunities was identified. Two focus groups were held---one with elementary teachers and another with teacher educators---to share these preliminary recommendations and gather feedback and additional suggestions. Informed by the information gathered in these focus groups, a final set of recommendations to improve elementary teacher's preparation to teach science was articulated.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sewart, Bethany Bianca
Teacher education knowledge, skills, and dispositions have recently become a well-discussed topic among education scholars around the nation, mainly due to its attention by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) over the past few years. Accrediting agencies, such as NCATE and the Interstate New Teacher and Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), have sought to improve the quality of teacher education programs by examining knowledge, skills, and dispositions as factors in preparing highly-qualified teachers. There is a paucity of research examining these factors for elementary science teachers. Because these factors influence instruction, and students are behind in scientific and mathematical knowledge, elementary science teachers should be studied. Teacher knowledge, skills, and dispositions should be further researched in order to ultimately increase the quality of teachers and teacher education programs. In this particular case, by determining what schools of education and public schools deem important knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to teach science, higher education institutions and schools can collaborate to further educate these students and foster the necessary qualities needed to teach effectively. The study of knowledge, skills, and dispositions is crucial to nurturing effective teaching within the classroom. Results from this study demonstrated that there were prominent knowledge, skills, and dispositions identified by teachers, administrators, and science teacher educators as important for effective teaching of elementary science. These characteristics included: a willingness to learn, or open-mindedness; content knowledge; planning, organization, and preparation; significance of teaching science; and science-related assessment strategies. Interestingly, administrators in the study responded differently than their counterparts in the following areas: their self-evaluation of teacher effectiveness; how the teaching of science is valued; the best approach to science teaching; and planning for science instruction. When asked of their teaching effectiveness while teaching science, principals referred to enjoying science teaching and improving their practice, while teachers and science teacher educators discussed content knowledge. Administrators valued conducting experiments and hands-on science while teaching science, while their educational counterparts valued creating student connections and providing real-life applications to science for students. In their professional opinions, administrators preferred a hands-on approach to science teaching. Teachers and science teacher educators stated that they view scientific inquiry, exploration, and discovery as effective approaches to teaching within their classrooms. Administrators predicted that teachers would state that lack of resources affects their lesson planning in science. However, teachers and science teacher educators asserted that taking time to plan for science instruction was most important.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Vick, Raymond
The implications of space science terminology and concepts for elementary science teaching are explored. Twenty-two concepts were identified which elementary and junior high school teachers were invited to introduce in their teaching. Booklets explaining the concepts were distributed together with report forms for teacher feedback. The numbers of…
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…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Korur, Fikret; Vargas, Rocío Vargas; Torres Serrano, Noemí
2016-01-01
Elementary school teachers' having a positive attitude toward science teaching might encourage students to develop positive attitudes toward science learning. This cross-cultural study aimed to validate the seven-factor structure of the Dimensions of Attitude toward Science (DAS) scale by applying it in two countries. Moreover, it aimed to…
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.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Smetana, Lara K.; Coleman, Elizabeth R.; Ryan, Ann Marie; Tocci, Charles
2013-01-01
Loyola University Chicago's Teaching, Learning, and Leading With Schools and Communities (TLLSC) program is an ambitious break from traditional university-based teacher preparation models. This clinically based initial teacher preparation program, fully embedded in local schools and community organizations, takes an ecological perspective on the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Steinberg, Matthew P.; Sartain, Lauren
2015-01-01
Chicago Public Schools initiated the Excellence in Teaching Project, a teacher evaluation program designed to increase student learning by improving classroom instruction through structured principal-teacher dialogue. The pilot began in forty-four elementary schools in 2008-09 (cohort 1) and scaled up to include an additional forty-eight…
CURRENT RESEARCH IN SOCIAL STUDIES. BULLETIN OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, INDIANA UNIVERSITY.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
MASSIALAS, BYRON G.; SMITH, FREDERICK R.
THIS REVIEW OF RESEARCH IN SOCIAL STUDIES SUMMARIZES THE MAJOR FINDINGS REPORTED IN THE LITERATURE DURING THE PERIOD 1959-1963. THE RESEARCH DESCRIBED IS PRESENTED UNDER SEVEN DIFFERENT HEADINGS--(1) OBJECTIVES, (2) CURRICULUM, (3) TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, (4) TEACHING SOCIAL STUDIES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS, (5) CONTROVERSIAL…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Bursal, Murat
Four case studies in two American and two Turkish science methods classrooms were conducted to investigate the changes in preservice elementary teachers' personal science teaching efficacy (PSTE) beliefs during their course periods. The findings indicated that while Turkish preservice elementary teachers (TR sample) started the science methods course semester with higher PSTE than their American peers (US sample), due to a significant increase in the US sample's and an insignificant decline in the TR sample's PSTE scores, both groups completed the science methods course with similar PSTE levels. Consistent with Bandura's social cognitive theory, describing four major sources of self-efficacy, the inclusion of mastery experiences (inquiry activities and elementary school micro-teaching experiences) and vicarious experiences (observation of course instructor and supervisor elementary teacher) into the science methods course, providing positive social persuasion (positive appraisal from the instructor and classmates), and improving physiological states (reduced science anxiety and positive attitudes toward becoming elementary school teachers), were found to contribute to the significant enhancement of the US sample's PSTE beliefs. For the TR sample, although some of the above sources were present, the lack of student teaching experiences and inservice teacher observations, as well as the TR samples' negative attitudes toward becoming elementary school teachers and a lack of positive classroom support were found to make Turkish preservice teachers rely mostly on their mastery in science concepts, and therefore resulted in not benefiting from their science methods course, in terms of enhancing their PSTE beliefs. Calls for reforms in the Turkish education system that will include more mastery experiences in the science methods courses and provide more flexibility for students to choose their high school majors and college programs, and switch between them are made. In addition to the mastery experiences contributing to the PSTE beliefs, this study reported that preservice elementary teachers' unawareness of their science misconceptions also results in enhancing their self-efficacy, which is troublesome. Revisions in science content courses to employ inquiry activities, designed for addressing and correcting students' misconceptions, are recommended to overcome teacher candidates' lack of science competency and negative attitudes toward science.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Foster, Donald Carey
The purpose of this case study was to identify barriers that limit the effectiveness of elementary teachers in the teaching of science. It is of the utmost urgency that barriers be first identified, so that possible solutions can be explored to bring about the improvement of elementary science education. This urgency has been imposed by the scheduled national testing of students in science by 2007, as mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Using qualitative case study methods, the researcher conducted interviews with 8 elementary teachers from two schools within one school district who taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. These interviews were designed to gain insight into barriers these elementary teachers perceived as factors limiting their effectiveness in teaching science and preparing students for high-stakes testing. Barriers in the areas of teacher background, typical teaching day, curriculum, inservices, and legislative influences were explored. This study concluded that the barriers explored do have a substantial negative affect on the teaching and learning of science in the elementary grades. Specifically, the barriers revealed in this study include the limited science background of elementary teachers, inadequate class time devoted to science, non-comprehensive curriculum, ineffective or lack of inservice training, and pressures from legislated mandates. But it is also clear that these barriers are so intertwined that one cannot remove these barriers one at a time. It will take a collective effort from all involved, including legislators, administrators, teachers, parents, and students, to alleviate these barriers and discover effective solutions to improve elementary science education.
Inservice Elementary and Middle School Teachers' Conceptions of Photosynthesis and Respiration
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Krall, Rebecca Mcnall; Lott, Kimberly H.; Wymer, Carol L.
2009-02-01
The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate inservice elementary and middle school teachers’ conceptions of photosynthesis and respiration, basic concepts they are expected to teach. A forced-choice instrument assessing selected standards-based life science concepts with non-scientific conceptions embedded in distracter options was utilized to assess 76 inservice elementary and middle school teachers from the central Appalachian region. Outcomes from four tasks assessing photosynthesis and respiration concepts are discussed. Findings revealed similarities between non-scientific conceptions the teachers demonstrated and non-scientific conceptions reported in the research literature on elementary and middle school students’ understanding of the concepts. Findings also informed subsequent inservice teacher professional development efforts in life science and the development of a biology course for preservice elementary teachers.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
White, Michael Robert
This study reports the results of research designed to explore the impact of industrial volunteer/school partnerships on elementary science teaching behaviors and students' attitudes about future science study. Since these partnerships involved teachers and students in hands-on or laboratory-type science experiences, the study will add an elementary school component to a series of other studies conducted through the Science Education Program at Temple University that have addressed how to improve the learning outcomes from these experiences. Three suburban elementary schools were randomly selected by a single school district's science supervisor to be involved in this study. Two of the buildings were designated as the experimental schools and teachers worked directly with the researcher as an industrial partner. The third school served as a control with no organized industrial partner. An additional school building in a second suburban school district was selected to serve as a comparison school and a second scientist participated as an industrial volunteer. Unlike the researcher, this scientist had no formal training in science education. Each phase of the study included instruments piloted and reviewed by experienced elementary teachers for appropriateness or by objective experts in the field of education. A student attitude survey and selected tasks from the Inventory of Piagetian Developmental Tasks were administered to all students involved in the study. Empirical data collected through videotaped analysis using the validated Modified-Revised Vickery Science Teacher Behavior Inventory led to the development of a pattern of the most frequently used behaviors during elementary science instruction. A profile of each participating teacher was developed through the use of a validated attitude survey, notes taken during classroom interactions and from information collected during ethnographic interviews. A major conclusion drawn from this study is that neither type of partnership influenced the types of teaching behaviors used by elementary teachers during science instruction. Especially significant is that neither questioning wait-time nor level of questions asked was affected by the partnership experience. Furthermore, the partnership did not lead to teachers exhibiting a more constructivist-oriented approach to science instruction. However, teacher members of both partnerships expressed a strong wish for the partnership activities to continue.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Tomoyuki, U.; Matsumoto, I.
2012-12-01
The importance of field learning has been increasing at elementary school and junior high school in Japan. However, In Japan, it is little actual situation that there is in an opportunity for the field learning enforced in the school science lesson. This tendency is strong as much as school of the city and that circumference. I think that this cause is that there are few suitable places for educational tool to observe geological field near the school. Children learn about "Function of running water" in Grade 5 of elementary school in Japan. Therefore, In this study, We remark the river called "Hiikawa-river" which flow in Izumo city, Shimane prefecture as the science teaching materials. Hiikawa is the river which flowing through the granitic rock district. Therefore We can observe granitic rock from in the upper stream, midstream, to the down stream. That is, we can observe the function of running water and diameter (size) of granitic boulders. It is mean that Hiikawa is the one of good educational tool for Children to learn the function of running water. Though it is the place where nature is comparatively rich even in Japan, it can't be said that field learning is relatively popular in Shimane prefecture. I think that teacher has to learning experience at field, because teacher should settle confidence to guide to the student at the field. That is, if it is not, you can not teach children with truly important of curriculum view point of natural and field science. In this research, we introduce practice of geological field learning at the public elementary school of the Shimane prefecture by using of Hiikawa as educational tool which children learn about the function of running water in grade 5, elementary school. In addition, we hope that this study contribute to teachers teaching method and to children natural science literacy.
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…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Detroit Public Schools, MI. Dept. of Curriculum Development Services.
Seventy documents including primary source materials, simulations, mock trials, short stories, vignettes, and statistical data are provided for the implementation of the elementary, middle, and high school human rights curriculum. Original documents include: (1) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (2) the Declaration of the Rights of the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Shimahara, N. Ken
2001-01-01
Focuses on the system of further vocational education for Japanese teachers that is based on a network of cooperation among colleagues. Demonstrates how the Japanese conception of teaching as a craft determines the professional career of teachers within elementary and secondary schooling. (CMK)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Latham, Nancy I.; Vogt, W. Paul
2007-01-01
This article describes the findings from a study of professional development schools (PDS) and traditional student teaching elementary education graduates between 1996 and 2004. Specifically, the effects of teacher preparation experiences on persistence in elementary education employment were examined. The study involved mining previously…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Owens, Sallye Applewhite
2013-01-01
Burnout, an ever-present concern in the teaching profession, is arguably related to principals' leadership effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between elementary school teachers' levels of burnout and their perceptions of their principals' leadership effectiveness. Data were gathered using the Maslach Burnout…
Lifeskills Program Evaluation at Mammoth Heights Elementary School
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tanner, Emma Moss
2016-01-01
This study is a program evaluation of the Life Skills Program at Mammoth Heights Elementary in the Douglas County School District. The overall goal of the Life Skills Program is to increase students' independent and daily living skills through the teaching of communication, social-emotional skills and academic skills. Students in the Life Skills…
Grouping Pupils for Language Arts Instruction.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ediger, Marlow
A major task involved in teaching pupils is to group them wisely for instruction. Most elementary schools group learners in terms of a self-contained classroom. While it may seem extreme, all curriculum areas on each grade in the elementary school may be departmentalized. In some ways, departmentalization harmonizes more with a separate subjects…
ICT and an Exploratory Pedagogy for Classroom-Based Chinese Language Learning
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Zhao, XingLong; Wang, MinJuan; Wu, Juan; He, KeKang
2011-01-01
This paper reports on a new pedagogy for Chinese language teaching and learning at elementary schools through exploratory classroom instruction using Information and Communication Technologies. The study used quantitative method to collect data from two elementary schools of China. The results showed that: (1) the three-in-one pedagogy of…
Application of Research to the Teaching of Basketball at the Elementary School Level.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Turkington, H. David
This paper explores what has been reported by several researchers in an attempt to make recommendations on the most effective method of introducing basketball to elementary school age children. Based on this review the following observations are brought forward for consideration. Factors which significantly affected student success include: height…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Philipp, Randolph A.
2008-01-01
Elementary school children in the United States are not developing acceptable levels of mathematical proficiency (National Center for Education Statistics, 1999), and a major concern of teacher educators is that teachers lack the depth and flexibility of mathematical understanding and the corresponding beliefs they need to teach for proficiency…
Preferences Regarding School Sexuality Education among Elementary Schoolchildren's Parents
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dake, Joseph A.; Price, James H.; Baksovich, Christine M.; Wielinski, Margaret
2014-01-01
Background: A comprehensive review of the literature failed to find any studies to assess elementary school parents' preferred philosophical approach to teaching sexuality education and sexuality education topics discussed by parents. All previous research reported parent data for grades K-12 or grades 9-12 only. Methods: A random sample of 2400…
Language Arts Concepts for Elementary School Teachers.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Burns, Paul C., Ed.; And Others
An anthology of literature on elementary school language arts concepts is presented. Its purpose is to provide specific content that may help prospective and practicing teachers to recognize the role of language content in teaching. The anthology is divided into seven parts. Part One presents a general picture of the language arts curriculum that…
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…
"Espanol para ti": A Video Program That Works.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Steele, Elena; Johnson, Holly
2000-01-01
Describes the development of "Espanol para ti," a video program for teaching Spanish at the elementary school level. The program was designed for use in Clark County, Nevada elementary schools and is taught by a certified Spanish teacher via video twice a week, utilizing comprehensible input through visuals, games, and songs that are conducive to…
Conservation Education Improvement. Final Report.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Diem, Kenneth L.; Hennebry, Howard M.
In an attempt to improve the teaching of conservation in elementary and junior high schools, a set of integrated sequential core units was formulated and tested in five Wyoming school districts during the fall and early winter of 1968. Based on a total sample of 840 elementary students (38% usable response) and 960 junior high students (49% usable…
Ideas and Insights: Language Arts in the Elementary School.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Watson, Dorothy J., Ed.
Intended to provide elementary school language arts teachers with new and interesting teaching activities, this book contains over 100 teacher-tested classroom activities that are based on the whole language approach to learning. Chapters discuss the following: (1) a world of language in use; (2) literature points the way (including themes and…
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…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Allen, Ann Sundstrom; Topolka-Jorissen, Kathleen
2014-01-01
This qualitative methods study examined a rural North Carolina elementary school that implemented teacher learning walks as a method of professional development. Adapted from the practice of principal walkthroughs, teachers followed a protocol for collaboratively observing colleagues' classrooms and reflecting on teaching and learning. The…
Observing Emotional Interactions between Teachers and Students in Elementary School Classrooms
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Yan, Elizabeth M.; Evans, Ian M.; Harvey, Shane T.
2011-01-01
Fostering emotional skills in the elementary (primary) school classroom can lead to improved learning outcomes, more prosocial behavior, and positive emotional development. Incorporating emotional skill development into the naturalistic and implicit teaching environment is a key feature of what is meant by the emotional climate of the classroom.…
Teaching English as a Second Language in the Elementary School. No. 63.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Folkes, Florence; And Others
In addition to discussions on language structure, lesson structure, sentence patterns, and oral pattern drills, this curriculum guide presents specific lesson plans for various subject areas--social studies, mathematics, science, music, and culture--for English as a Second Language (ESL) in elementary schools. The guide begins with a section on…
Ready, Set, Respect! GLSEN's Elementary School Toolkit
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), 2012
2012-01-01
"Ready, Set, Respect!" provides a set of tools to help elementary school educators ensure that all students feel safe and respected and develop respectful attitudes and behaviors. It is not a program to be followed but instead is designed to help educators prepare themselves for teaching about and modeling respect. The toolkit responds to…
From inside the black box: Teacher perceptions of science instruction at the elementary level
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Ferrini, Cynthia D.
Science education reform projects aimed at elementary school children arose in the 1960's. The most prevalent of these reforms utilized the inquiry, or hands-on, science method. Billions of dollars have been invested in these reforms. Yet, reports indicate that science is not being taught at the level one might expect in elementary schools. This research was an analysis of the problems and concerns teachers at one school district faced as they tried to implement and sustain elementary inquiry science instruction. The district chosen was a large suburban district in the Western United States. The population was ninety percent Caucasian with a slightly more ethnically diverse school population. This district was chosen because it had an elementary science program for over twenty years and had received national acclaim for that program. The district had a stable and homogeneous staff there was a low administrator and teacher turnover rate and the elementary teaching population was ninety percent Caucasian and ninety percent female. Interviews with administrators and teachers were conducted. Data were collected from focus groups of teachers and science partners. Observations of elementary science classroom instruction and professional development sessions were made. Results of this research indicated that one important key to elementary science reform rests in the hands of teachers. Once the door to the classroom is closed, the teacher can decide to teach or not to teach science. The findings of this research illustrate that teachers hold ideas about science and science instruction that are antithetical to some tenets of inquiry science. Until these ideas are addressed it will be difficult, if not impossible, to implement a systemic elementary inquiry science program. This study demonstrates that professional development for elementary teachers in science needs to change from a focus on the mechanical usage of individual units to a focus on teacher expectations for student achievement. Professional development for teachers in inquiry science must address the cognitive foundations for inquiry science and the benefits students derive from this educational approach. Institutions delivering pre-service training for elementary teachers in science must change the curriculum to reflect these needs.
Teaching Assistants and Nonteaching Staff: Do They Improve Student Outcomes? Working Paper 169
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Clotfelter, Charles T.; Hemelt, Steven W.; Ladd, Helen F.
2016-01-01
This paper examines the role of teaching assistants and other personnel on student outcomes in elementary schools during a period of recession-induced cutbacks in teachers and teaching assistants. Using panel data from North Carolina, we exploit the state's unique system of financing its local public schools to identify the causal effects of…
Immigration beyond Ellis Island: Suggestions for Teaching about Immigration in the Now
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hossain, Kazi I.
2014-01-01
America's history books abound with stories of immigrants who contributed to the development of this country. In terms of social studies curriculum, all states require schools to teach about immigration. However, the question is how to teach this topic in a manner that will give students--elementary through high school--a better understanding of…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
James, Mark Charles
Novice teachers with little prior knowledge of science concepts often resort to teaching science as a litany of jargon and definitions. The primary objective of this study was to establish the efficacy of analogy-based pedagogy on influencing the teaching performance of preservice elementary teachers, a group that has been identified for their particular difficulties in teaching science content. While numerous studies have focused on the efficacy of analogy-based instruction on the conceptual knowledge of learners, this was the first study to focus on the influence of analogy-based pedagogy instruction on the teaching performance of novice teachers. The study utilized a treatment/contrast group design where treatment and contrast groups were obtained from intact sections of a university course on methods of teaching science for preservice elementary education students. Preservice teachers in the treatment group were provided instruction in pedagogy that guided them in the generation of analogies to aid in the explanation phase of their learning cycle lessons. The process of generating and evaluating analogies for use in teaching was instrumental in focusing the preservice teachers' lesson planning efforts on critical attributes in target concepts, and away from misplaced concentrations on jargon and definitions. Teaching performance was primarily analyzed using coded indicants of Shulman's (1986) six stages of pedagogical reasoning ability. The primary data source was preservice teachers' work submitted for a major course assignment where the preservice teachers interviewed an elementary school student to gauge prior knowledge of Newtonian force concepts. The culmination of the semester-long assignment was the design of an individualized lesson that was presented by the preservice teachers to individual elementary school students. The results of this study strongly suggest that instruction in methods to include analogy-based pedagogy within a learning cycle lesson format can positively influence the pedagogical reasoning ability of some elementary preservice teachers. The study also provided insights into techniques that can be utilized to introduce analogy-based pedagogy to elementary preservice teachers.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Carter-Blocker, Vickie R.
2012-01-01
The purpose of this study was to examine the factors impacting teacher attrition in high-performing and low-performing elementary rural schools in South Carolina. Several factors were identified that interfered with teachers returning to the teaching profession. School districts in rural areas need to be better informed of the factors that affect…
Interdisciplinary action supporting sexual assault prevention efforts in rural elementary schools.
Hayward, K S; Pehrsson, D E
2000-01-01
The purpose of this study was to evaluate if knowledge is gained by rural, elementary school-aged children of sexual assault prevention concepts following implementation of an interdisciplinary prevention program. Rural children (N = 294 pretest and N = 301 posttest) were tested before and after delivery of a theater program developed for teaching sexual assault prevention concepts. The program was delivered to children enrolled in the 3rd and 4th grades of 3 rural elementary schools. Analysis of variance results indicate an increase in knowledge gained in all age groups. Significant difference in knowledge gained occurred in concept areas related to touch by authority figures, secrets, uncomfortable touch by individuals known to them, strangers, and boys' risk of abuse. Results support the need for ongoing interdisciplinary efforts to teach children sexual assault prevention concepts.
Learning from the best: Overcoming barriers to reforms-based elementary science teaching
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Banchi, Heather May
This study explored the characteristics of elementary science teachers who employ reforms-based practices. Particular attention was paid to the consistency of teachers' practices and their beliefs, the impact of professional development experiences on practices, and how teachers mitigated barriers to reforms-based instruction. Understanding how successful elementary science teachers develop fills a gap in the science reforms literature. Participants included 7 upper elementary science teachers from six different schools. All schools were located within two suburban school districts in the south-Atlantic United States and data was collected during the spring of 2008. Data collection included use of the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) to evaluate the level of reforms-based instruction, as well as 35 hours of classroom observation field notes and 21 hours of audio-taped teacher interviews. The variety of data sources allowed for triangulation of evidence. The RTOP was analyzed using descriptive statistics and classroom observations and interview data were analyzed using Erickson's (1986) guidelines for analytic induction. Findings indicated (a) reforms-based elementary science teaching was attainable, (b) beliefs and practices were consistent and both reflected reforms-based philosophies and practices, (c) formal professional development experiences were limited and did not foster reforms-based practices, (d) informal professional development pursued by teachers had a positive impact on practices, (e) barriers to reforms-based instruction were present but mitigated by strong beliefs and practical strategies like curriculum integration. These findings suggest that there are common, salient characteristics of reforms-based teachers' beliefs, practices, and professional development experiences. These commonalities contribute to an understanding of how reforms-based teachers develop, and inform efforts to move all elementary teachers in the direction of reforms-based science teaching.
Toward Better Classroom Teaching.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Grew, James H.
1964-01-01
Designed for the inexperienced language teacher, this summary of effective language teaching techniques is based on observations made in high school French classes, but is applicable also to elementary school and beginning college language programs. Consideration is given to maintaining interest and classroom control, using realia, and giving each…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Holmes, Madelyn, Ed.
1997-01-01
Articles on second language education include: "Foreign Languages in Schools" (Madelyn Holmes), an overview of the benefits of language instruction in elementary and secondary education; "Japanese across the Miles" (Elizabeth Reiken), describing a high school distance learning program in Japanese; "Teaching Spanish as a Community Service" (Rita A.…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Upadhyay, Bhaskar; Calabrese Barton, Angela; Zahur, Rubina
2005-09-01
In this paper, we draw from a narrative life history approach to report in depth on the experiences of one teacher, Shagufta, in a high-poverty urban elementary school in Lahore, Pakistan. The purpose of reporting Shagufta's story is twofold. First, we want to make sense of her role as a science teacher - what should the children in her school learn in science, and why, if these children are expected by Pakistani society to leave formal education before the eighth grade? Second, what core tensions mark Shagufta's story as she has tried to craft her science teaching practice?
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dunn, Marvin; And Others
A study was conducted of teachers of disadvantaged children during the 1979-80 school year in Dade County, Florida. The study involved nearly 100 inner city elementary teachers who were identified as being the most effective teachers in their schools. The teachers responded to a lengthy questionnaire which asked very detailed questions about how…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Rich, Peter Jacob; Jones, Brian; Belikov, Olga; Yoshikawa, Emily; Perkins, McKay
2017-01-01
STEM, the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics is increasingly being promoted in elementary education. However, elementary educators are largely untrained in the 21st century skills of computing (a subset of technology) and engineering. The purpose of this study was to better understand elementary teachers'…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Doruk, Bekir Kürsat
2014-01-01
This research aimed to identify the educational approaches that pre-service elementary mathematics teachers adopt for their first teaching practice (TP) and the reasons for their choices. It was carried out with thirteen pre-service teachers (PTs). These PTs were observed during their first TP in a real school setting, and interviews were…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Baker, Scott; Lesaux, Nonie; Jayanthi, Madhavi; Dimino, Joseph; Proctor, C. Patrick; Morris, Joan; Gersten, Russell; Haymond, Kelly; Kieffer, Michael J.; Linan-Thompson, Sylvia; Newman-Gonchar, Rebecca
2014-01-01
As English learners face the double demands of building knowledge of a second language while learning complex grade-level content, teachers must find effective ways to make challenging content comprehensible for students. This updated English learner practice guide, "Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Coleman, Mari Beth; Cherry, Rebecca A.; Moore, Tara C.; Yujeong, Park; Cihak, David F.
2015-01-01
The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of teacher-directed simultaneous prompting to computer-assisted simultaneous prompting for teaching sight words to 3 elementary school students with intellectual disability. Activities in the computer-assisted condition were designed with Intellitools Classroom Suite software whereas traditional…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Haley-James, Shirley M.
A committee of the National Council of Teachers of English collected data on the elementary composition teaching perspectives observed in literature between 1900 and 1950. The committee's report on two categories of their collected data--position statements and state-of-the art reviews--shows that English teachers have trended from emphasizing…
The Teaching of Food Guide Pyramid Concepts by Nebraska Elementary School Educators.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Martin, H. Darlene; Driskell, Judy A.
2001-01-01
In an analysis of food selection education using the Food Guide Pyramid for students in grades 1-4, over two-thirds of teachers (n=464) responded that nutrition should be a high priority in the elementary curriculum. Fewer than half teach pyramid concepts consistently or frequently, younger teachers (20-29) more rarely than older teachers.…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Riley, John F.
This longitudinal study examined elementary teachers' perceptions of the collaborative planning and decision-making process and their role in it. Nine teachers participated in grade- level teaming. Teachers ranged in experience from 1-9 years, with 3 teachers new to the team and 5 in their first or second year of teaching. Participants completed…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Easterly, Jean L.
Outstanding elementary school teachers (N=24) were interviewed about their attitudes, values, and perceptions of themselves and their work. Question topics were: (1) influences on the decision to become a teacher; (2) student teaching experience; (3) special pride in incidents or events; (4) effective teaching approaches or techniques; (5)…
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.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Wang, Ya-Ling; Tsai, Chin-Chung; Wei, Shih-Hsuan
2015-09-01
This study aimed to investigate the factors accounting for science teaching self-efficacy and to examine the relationships among Taiwanese teachers' science teaching self-efficacy, teaching and learning conceptions, technological-pedagogical content knowledge for the Internet (TPACK-I), and attitudes toward Internet-based instruction (Attitudes) using a mediational model approach. A total of 233 science teachers from 41 elementary schools in Taiwan were invited to take part in the study. After ensuring the validity and reliability of each questionnaire, the results indicated that each measure had satisfactory validity and reliability. Furthermore, through mediational models, the results revealed that TPACK-I and Attitudes mediated the relationship between teaching and learning conceptions and science teaching self-efficacy, suggesting that (1) knowledge of and attitudes toward Internet-based instruction (KATII) mediated the positive relationship between constructivist conceptions of teaching and learning and outcome expectancy, and that (2) KATII mediated the negative correlations between traditional conceptions of teaching and learning and teaching efficacy.
How Schools Are Teaching about Labor. A Collection of Guidelines & Lesson Plans. Third Edition.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Washington, DC.
This collection of outlines, lesson plans, and classroom materials is intended to help teachers and curriculum specialists in teaching students about the contribution of organized labor to the development of the United States. Units suitable for the elementary, middle school, and high school levels are included. The first of the 12 units, which…
Project MET. A Trainer's Guide. Management for Effective Teaching, A Title IV-C Project.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fairfax County Public Schools, VA. Dept. of Instructional Services.
This guide provides trainers with a format and process for conducting inservice education programs for elementary school teachers on the use of the Management for Effective Teaching (MET) support kit. Project MET is a program developed to aid teachers in the Fairfax County (Virginia) public schools in implementing the school district curriculum,…
9 National Standards, 1 Composition Project
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Riley, Patricia
2006-01-01
St. Mary's School is a training ground for prospective music teachers enrolled at the Crane School of Music, State University of New York at Potsdam. Students from the Crane School taking the Practicum in Teaching Elementary General Music course teach half-hour collaborative lessons twice each week to children at St. Mary's. In the fall of 2003,…
A Greater Fairness: May Justus as Popular Educator.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Loveland, George W.
May Justus started teaching at elementary schools in Appalachia in the 1930s. She believed that mountain schools were the center of community life and drew subject matter from the needs of the students rather than imposing a curriculum designed by professional educators. Teaching arts and crafts and operating a communal soup pot at the school, she…
Teaching Practices and Strategies to Involve Inner-City Parents at Home and in the School
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lewis, Leontye; Kim, Yanghee A.; Bey, Juanita Ashby
2011-01-01
Few studies have observed what teachers actually do in the classroom to encourage parental involvement in their children's education. Over the school year, the various teaching practices and strategies of two teachers in an inner-city elementary school that has had public recognition in its efforts to involve parents were gathered through…
Partners in Physics with Colorado School of Mines' Society of Physics Students
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Moore, Shirley; Stilwell, Matthew; Boerner, Zach
2011-04-01
The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) Society of Physics Students (SPS) revitalized in 2008 and has since blown up with outreach activity, incorporating all age levels into our programs. In Spring 2010, CSM SPS launched a new program called Partners in Physics. Students from Golden High School came to CSM where they had a college-level lesson on standing waves and their applications. These students then joined volunteers from CSM in teaching local elementary school students about standing waves beginning with a science show. The CSM and high school students then helped the children to build make-and-take demonstrations incorporating waves. This year, rockets are the theme for Partners in Physics and we began with demonstrations with local middle school students. In Spring 2011, CSM SPS will be teaching elementary school students about projectile motion and model rockets along with these middle school students. Colorado School of Mines Department of Physics
Integrating Music into the Elementary Classroom. Fourth Edition.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Anderson, William M.; Lawrence, Joy E.
This book emphasizes the importance of enriching children's lives by making music a central part of the elementary school curriculum. The book provides guidelines for elementary teachers with limited experience as well as music specialists. The book is comprehensive, covering music fundamentals as well as materials and methods for teaching music…
A Collaborative Approach for Elementary Science
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Nelson, George D.; Landel, Carolyn C.
2007-01-01
The authors question whether elementary students will have access to effective science and mathematics instruction within the current structure of elementary schools, in which each classroom teachers is expected to possess the expertise to teach all subjects well. They review research showing that good teachers are the key to student achievement…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Livers, Stefanie D.; Paxton, Minda; O'Grady, Nicole; Tontillo, Michael
2018-01-01
This article discusses a collaborative effort to implement curriculum compacting activities with elementary students in conjunction with developing teacher candidates' abilities to teach mathematics. This endeavor included a partnership between a university and a local elementary school. All stakeholders benefited from this project: The elementary…
Wonder as a Tool to Engage Preservice Elementary Teachers in Science Learning and Teaching
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gilbert, Andrew; Byers, Christie C.
2017-01-01
This exploratory project considers the use of "wonder" as a pedagogical tool with preservice elementary teachers (PSETs). An ongoing vexation facing science teacher educators is helping future elementary teachers overcome anxiety and negative associations with science due to their own school science experiences, while simultaneously…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Parret, Margaret; And Others
1972-01-01
The Fall 1972 issue of this publication focuses on oral interpretation, readers theatre, and creative dramatics. The lead article is on the subject of readers theatre for teaching interpretation to elementary school children. Two articles discuss the roles of creative dramatics and readers theatre in the high school curriculum. Relationships…
The Affordance of Speech Recognition Technology for EFL Learning in an Elementary School Setting
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Liaw, Meei-Ling
2014-01-01
This study examined the use of speech recognition (SR) technology to support a group of elementary school children's learning of English as a foreign language (EFL). SR technology has been used in various language learning contexts. Its application to EFL teaching and learning is still relatively recent, but a solid understanding of its…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wilburne, Jane M.; Napoli, Mary
2008-01-01
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics calls for students to see relationships and connections with mathematics (2000). This study examined the influences on eight pre-service elementary school teachers' beliefs and knowledge of teaching mathematics through literature. The semester long project involved both the language arts and…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wang, Cixin; Couch, Lauren; Rodriguez, Geovanna Rosas; Lee, Catherine
2015-01-01
The current study evaluated the effectiveness of the Bullying Literature Project on social-emotional and behavioral outcomes among elementary school students. The Bullying Literature Project is a five-session classroom-wide intervention that uses children's literature as a springboard to promote adaptive social-cognitive process, teach social…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Day, Harlan R.
Economic literacy is important because economics is such an integral part of daily existence. Individuals who understand basic economic concepts will be better equipped to make the important decisions that effective citizenship requires. The 15 economics lessons in this booklet are designed for elementary and middle school students. Each lesson…
Elementary and Junior High School Teachers' Promotion of Self-Determination in Taiwan
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Chao, Pen-Chiang; Chou, Yu-Chi
2017-01-01
The purpose of this study was to conduct a national survey, aiming to (a)explore how self-determination instruction is implemented by elementary and junior high school teachers; (b)examine the frequency with which the components of self-determination are taught; and (c)investigate whether teachers' gender, class setting, and teaching experience…
What Can You Learn about Writing in School?: A Case Study in an Elementary Classroom.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Florio, Susan; And Others
A two-year study investigated writing in the elementary school. Data collected included field notes from observation of a second/third grade classroom, videotapes of selected classroom activities, weekly journals kept by the teacher reflecting her thoughts on teaching in general and on writing in particular, interviews with the teacher about the…
Teaching K-6 Science in Small Schools on a Financial Shoestring. ERIC Digest.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Votaw, Thom A.
There are ways in which elementary teachers in general and rural elementary teachers in particular can overcome inadequate science preparation and can upgrade the science program resources of their small schools. Parents and children should be involved in obtaining free and inexpensive science-related materials throughout the year. These can be…
Effects of Applying Blogs to Assist Life Education Instruction for Elementary School Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lou, Shi-Jer; Kao, Mei-Chuan; Yen, Hsiu-Ling; Shih, Ru-Chu
2013-01-01
The purpose of this study aims to explore the effects of applying blog-assisted life education instruction to fifth grade elementary school students. The subjects were 30 fifth-grade students from southern Taiwan. The teaching experiment lasted 10 weeks with three sessions conducted each week. In the experiment, instructional effectiveness and the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Urbina, Angela; Polly, Drew
2017-01-01
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how elementary school teachers integrated technology into their mathematics teaching in classroom settings that were one-to-one computer environments for most of the day. Following a series of classroom observations and interviews, inductive qualitative analyses of data indicated that teachers felt…
Holocaust Studies in Austrian Elementary and Secondary Schools
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mittnik, Philipp
2016-01-01
This article presents arguments in support of teaching about the Holocaust and Nazism in Austria at an early age. To accomplish this, Austrian and German elementary school textbooks were analyzed for the amount of content dealing with the Holocaust and Jews; the results showed that since 1980 the amount of content on the Holocaust increased in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lydon, Mary C.; Cheffers, John T. F.
1984-01-01
This article reports on a study that sought to determine the effects of variable decision-making teaching models upon the development of body coordination and self-concept of elementary school children. Results indicated that level of motor skill achievement was maintained when students were given decision-making responsibility. (Author/DF)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cho, Younsoon; Chung, Hye Young; Choi, Kyoulee; Seo, Choyoung; Baek, Eunjoo
2013-01-01
This research explores the emergence of student creativity in classroom settings, specifically within two content areas: science and social studies. Fourteen classrooms in three elementary schools in Korea were observed, and the teachers and students were interviewed. The three types of student creativity emerging in the teaching and learning…
Elementary Preservice Teachers' Science Vocabulary: Knowledge and Application
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Carrier, Sarah J.
2013-01-01
Science vocabulary knowledge plays a role in understanding science concepts, and science knowledge is measured in part by correct use of science vocabulary (Lee et al. in "J Res Sci Teach" 32(8):797-816, 1995). Elementary school students have growing vocabularies and many are learning English as a secondary language or depend on schools to learn…
Reading with Junior: A Project in Family Literacy
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Beauregard, France; Carignan, Isabelle
2012-01-01
Reading with Junior is a program that teams up a Grade 3 male elementary school pupil with reading difficulties--or with no motivation to read--with a parent (preferably a father) and a male student in a preschool and elementary school teaching program. The pupil's role was simply to participate in the project; the university student's role was to…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hu, Helen; Garimella, Uma
2017-01-01
This proceeding paper will report about a study that investigated how a group of elementary school teachers responded to a professional development training on Science and Technology as demonstrated in their perceived preparedness and comfort with teaching science, and their subsequent implementation with K-4 students. The results from the study…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lopez, Alexandra
2017-01-01
This study focused on discovering what instructors' experiences help elementary school students develop not only academically but also socially. This qualitative multiple case study method was guided by Yin, and the purpose of the study was to investigate effective instruction strategies from the perspective of instructors who worked in an…
Elementary Teacher Knowledge of and Practices for Teaching Reading to African American Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Little, Camille
2017-01-01
State standardized tests results indicated that between 2012 and 2016, fewer African American students at a rural, Title I elementary school met state standards in reading compared with other racial/ethnic groups of students. A gap in practice existed because the school and district had not conducted studies to understand teacher knowledge and…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Rosenbush, Marcia H., Ed.
1995-01-01
The first ten years (30 issues) of the newsletter for Iowa teachers of foreign language in the elementary school (FLES) contain a variety of articles on both curricular and extracurricular FLES programs and teaching. Topics addressed include: teacher certification; summer language camps; multicultural education and cultural awareness; program…
Slow off the Mark: Elementary School Teachers and the Crisis in STEM Education
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Epstein, Diana; Miller, Raegen T.
2011-01-01
Prospective teachers can typically obtain a license to teach elementary school without taking a rigorous college-level STEM class such as calculus, statistics, or chemistry, and without demonstrating a solid grasp of mathematics knowledge, scientific knowledge, or the nature of scientific inquiry. This is not a recipe for ensuring students have…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Rodriguez, Karen Margaret
2012-01-01
This qualitative study centered on science instruction and learning that occurred in a Title I elementary school in a suburban district in southeast Texas. Twelve teachers were interviewed in order to understand their perceptions of their classroom practices in terms of science instruction and learning for English Language Learners (ELL). This…
STATE OF NEW YORK STANDARD PLAN TYPE A-1, ONE-STORY 14-21 CLASSROOM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
King and King, Syracuse, NY.
THE PROGRAM FOR AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FACILITY REQUIRED 14 CLASSROOMS WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR ACCOMMODATING AN INCREASE OF SEVEN CLASSROOMS. THE EXPANSION POTENTIAL ALSO INVOLVED ADDITION OF A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF NON-TEACHING AREAS. THE DESIGN FEATURED A CENTRAL CORE CONTAINING ADMINISTRATION, PLAYROOM, CAFETERIA, AND KITCHEN FACILITIES WITH TWO…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Noguchi, Mary Goebel
Increasingly, foreign nationals living in Japan are sending their children to Japanese elementary schools. This requires that the children's native language be taught outside of school, most often at home. While teaching oral language is not difficult for parents, teaching reading requires different skills. Some difficulties in this process are…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lu, Chow-Chin; Chen, Yueh-Yun; Chen, Chen-Wei
2011-01-01
The central focus of this study was the development, use and evaluation of CD-ROM picture books in elementary school science teaching. Three CD-ROM picture books based on the Campus Insects unit from the new elementary school science curriculum in Taiwan were developed. A quasi-experimental method was used to compare the use of the CD-ROMs and…
The Scary World of Middle School: How to Be Sure Your Kids Are Ready
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Adams, Caralee
2008-01-01
Middle school, which is generally thought of as sixth to eighth grades, is not easy for anybody. It is a rough time to be a student, and a tough age to teach. Teachers are expected to ease the transition of students from elementary to middle school. However, if you are an elementary teacher, you may not know what kids will be facing in middle…
Sustaining Reform-Based Science Teaching of Preservice and Inservice Elementary School Teachers
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sullivan-Watts, Barbara K.; Nowicki, Barbara L.; Shim, Minsuk K.; Young, Betty J.
2013-08-01
This study examined the influence of a professional development program based around commercially available inquiry science curricula on the teaching practices of 27 beginning elementary school teachers and their teacher mentors over a 2 year period. A quantitative rubric used to score inquiry elements and use of data in videotaped lessons indicated that education students assigned to inquiry-based classrooms during their methods course or student teaching year outperformed students without this experience. There was also a significant positive effect of multi-year access to the kit-based program on mentor teaching practice. Recent inclusion of a "writing in science" program in both preservice and inservice training has been used to address the lesson element that received lowest scores—evaluation of data and its use in scientific explanation.
Administrative Climate and Novices' Intent to Remain Teaching
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Pogodzinski, Ben; Youngs, Peter; Frank, Kenneth A.; Belman, Dale
2012-01-01
Using survey data from novice teachers at the elementary and middle school level across 11 districts, multilevel logistic regressions were estimated to examine the association between novices' perceptions of the administrative climate and their desire to remain teaching within their schools. We find that the probability that a novice teacher…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
SHRIVER, JOHN R.
BECAUSE A KNOWLEDGE OF CLASSICAL GREEK IS NECESSARY FOR UNDERSTANDING MODERN THOUGHT AND LITERATURE, IT SHOULD BE PART OF THE SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM. A PROBLEM IS GETTING TEACHERS OF GREEK, AND PROBABLY MOST OF THE TEACHING SHOULD BE DONE BY COLLEGE PROFESSORS WHO TEACH THE HIGHLY MOTIVATED STUDENTS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL. AN ELEMENTARY COURSE…
Elementary School Teachers' Use of Technology during Mathematics Teaching
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Polly, Drew
2014-01-01
Various educational technologies have been advanced as potential vehicles to transform teaching and learning. Still, research studies have documented that primary school teachers struggle to integrate technology in meaningful ways. This article presents the findings of a year-long study in which the author frequently observed three primary school…
Mapping Arguments: A Self-Monitoring Composing Strategy.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Rosenberg, Ruth
Because graduating high school seniors and college freshmen have difficulty writing persuasive arguments, elementary and secondary school writing curricula must teach students how to create a persuasive argument by producing evidence or support for their claims. One strategy for teaching persuasive writing that has proven to be successful is a…
Exploring Learning and Teaching Profiles of Elementary Physical Educators in Different Contexts
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ko, Bomna
2014-01-01
Teachers learn many of the teaching practices they use to survive and sustain their teaching careers within their school context. This study explored teaching practices and teachers' learning of their teaching practices among teachers in different contexts. A concurrent mixed-model research design was used to identify the teaching profiles of…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Killian, Janice L.; Wayman, John B.
2015-01-01
The importance of music education in American schools is well established, with 93% of Americans agreeing that music should be a part of a well-rounded education (Harris, 2005). Students preparing to teach in the elementary classroom (elementary education majors) in American colleges and universities typically take a music class (sometimes two) as…
Science teachers' knowledge, beliefs, values, and concerns of teaching through inquiry
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Assiri, Yahya Ibrahim
This study investigated elementary science teachers' knowledge, beliefs, values, and concerns of teaching through inquiry. A mixed-methods research design was utilized to address the research questions. Since this study was designed as a mixed-methods research approach, the researcher gathered two type of data: quantitative and qualitative. The study was conducted in Mohayel School District, Saudi Arabia. The information was collected from 51 participants using a questionnaire with multiple choice questions; also, 11 participants were interviewed. After collecting the data, descriptive and comparative approaches were used. In addition, themes and codes were used to obtain the results. The results indicated that the mean of elementary science teachers' knowledge was 51.23%, which was less than 60% which was the acceptable score. Also, the qualitative results showed that science teachers had a limited background of teaching through inquiry. In addition, the elementary science teachers had a high level of belief to teach science through inquiry since the mean was 3.99 out of 5.00. These quantitative results were confirmed by the qualitative data. Moreover, the overall mean of elementary science teachers was 4.01, which indicated that they believed in the importance of teaching science through inquiry which was also confirmed by the responses of teachers in the interviews. Also, the findings indicated that elementary school science teachers had concerns about teaching science through inquiry since the overall mean was 3.53. In addition, the interviewees mentioned that they faced some obstacles when they teach by inquiry, such as time, resources, class size, and the teachers' background. Generally, the results did not show any significant differences among elementary science teachers' knowledge, beliefs, values, and concerns depending on gender, level of education, and teaching experience. However, the findings indicated there was one significant difference which was the level of teaching experience between groups: (6-10) years and (11-15) years, and (16- more) and (11-15) years. In addition, the implications and suggestions for future research were provided to enhance teaching science through inquiry.
Peer Teaching as a Strategy for Conflict Management and Student Re-Engagement in Schools
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Burton, Bruce
2012-01-01
This article reports on a major action research program that experimented with the use of cross-age peer teaching in schools to assist teachers to manage conflict issues in their classrooms, and to re-engage disaffected students in learning. The research, which was conducted in a range of elementary and secondary schools in Australia, was part of…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
de Medeiros Silva, Suzana Cinthia Gomes; de Oliveira, Maria Marly; de Oliveira, Gilvaneide Ferreira
2017-01-01
This study is part of a dissertation which aims to explore and understand the role of play in the teaching-learning process at elementary level in a public school at Pernambuco, Brazil. We opted for a qualitative approach, using the interactive methodology, interviews by the technique of hermeneutic-dialectical circle, observations of science…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McCaughtry, Nate; Barnard, Sara; Martin, Jeffrey; Shen, Bo; Kulinna, Pamela Hodges
2006-01-01
The purpose of this study was to analyze how the challenges of urban schools influence physical education teachers' emotional understanding and connections with their students and the implications on their teaching. Sixty-one elementary physical educators from an urban school district in the midwestern U.S. were interviewed multiple times (N =…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
An, Song A.
2017-01-01
The purpose of the study is to explore how elementary preservice teachers' mathematics-science integrated teaching strategies changed as a result of participating in exemplary interdisciplinary activities with multiple themes across school curricula. The participating elementary preservice teachers (n = 28) were recruited for this study from the…
Elementary Teachers' Thinking about a Good Mathematics Lesson
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Li, Yeping
2011-01-01
In an effort to gain a better understanding of Chinese classroom teaching culture, this study aimed to examine elementary teachers' views about a good mathematics lesson in China. Through analyzing 57 teachers' essays collected from 7 elementary schools in 2 provinces, it is found that Chinese teachers emphasized the most about students and their…
The Titmouse Effect. Occasional Paper #3
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fluellen, Jerry E., Jr.
2007-01-01
What happens when standards, teaching for understanding, research based strategies for improving student achievement, and teacher inquiry become a whole? Power Teaching results. A prototype in development at an urban, elementary school in the South, power teaching connects the dots of state standards, Harvard Project Zero's teaching for…
A Parent Volunteer Program for the 5th and 6th Grades To Teach Spanish: The Phoenix Experiment.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Acquafredda, Miriam
A Madison School District (Phoenix, Arizona) program in which parent volunteers teach Spanish to fifth and sixth graders is described. The program originated with the author, who as a parent volunteer had been teaching Spanish to her child's class. First, a brief account is given of the history of foreign languages in the elementary school (FLES)…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Harding-DeKam, Jenni L.; Reinsvold, Lori; Olmos, Antonio; Song, Youngjin; Franklin, Elizabeth; Enríquez, Mariana; Higgins, Teresa
2014-01-01
The MAST-EL University and School Partnership supports a strategic infrastructure for preparing preservice and in-service teachers ensuring high quality mathematics and science instruction for English learners (ELs). The partnership in its second year consists of thirty-two in-service elementary teachers, three instructional coaches, thirty…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Springer, George
This guide describes the content of a proposed mathematics course for prospective elementary school teachers. It is the result of a two-year study at Indiana University in which three existing courses were integrated and coordinated. For each unit of instruction, there are (1) remarks for motivation of study, (2) remarks on methods of teaching,…
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…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Higgins, Joanna; Bonne, Linda
2011-01-01
Purpose: This article examines how and why four leadership functions are enacted in an elementary school, with a focus on hierarchical and "heterarchical" configurations of leadership. Research Design: The data were collected using an exploratory 2-year case study approach, and the data set comprises one-on-one interviews and relevant school…
Metrics for Elementary and Middle Schools: The Curriculum Series.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kurtz, V. Ray
This book is designed for teachers in elementary and middle schools who need explanations of problems and questions concerning the metric system and a source of classroom activities to aid in teaching the metric system. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is a primer of information designed to help a teacher in answering the many…
The Classroom Language Use of a Korean Elementary School EFL Teacher: Another Look at TETE
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kang, Dae-Min
2008-01-01
The continued interest in better EFL pedagogy for elementary school students has led to many interesting suggestions, one of which is TETE, Teaching English through English. Notwithstanding the importance of the method (policy), though, few studies have been conducted to describe and explain a non-native EFL teacher's practice of TETE in the…
Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice, 2006
2006-01-01
The Catholic bishops of the United States and the entire Catholic community continue their journey through the twenty-first century, it remains their duty to model the Person of Jesus Christ, to teach the Gospel, and to evangelize their culture. They are convinced that Catholic elementary and secondary schools play a critical role in this…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Paik, Seoung-Hey
2015-01-01
The purpose of this study was to explore how examples used in teaching may influence elementary school students' conceptions of evaporation and boiling. To this end, the examples traditionally used to explain evaporation and boiling in Korean 4th grade science textbooks were analyzed. The functions of these published examples were explanation…
Northern California Elementary School Principals' Perceptions of Teacher Equity Characteristics
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Serrato, Victor
2017-01-01
The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand elementary school principals' perceptions about what teachers need to know and be able to do in the classroom in order to teach all students equitably. In addition, this study sought to understand what attitudes and belief systems are needed by teachers in order for them to effectively meet…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Davis, Beth; Murphy, M. Shaun
2016-01-01
This paper inquires into the experiences of an early childhood educator named Claire who taught a young girl with a chronic illness at East Willows Elementary School, a western Canadian elementary school. Using narrative inquiry as the methodology, Claire's experiences in her curriculum making alongside Madeline a young girl with Turner syndrome…
Exploring U.S. Westward Expansion in the Elementary and Middle School Curriculum through Tall Tales
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Almerico, Gina M.; Martin, Nicole; Masuck, William; Strickland, Cynthia; Thomas, Jessica
2012-01-01
Teaching social studies in the elementary and middle school curriculum is enhanced by incorporating quality children's and adolescent literature and strategies that bring the human element into play. American tall tales are a genre unique to the history of our nation and provide a glimpse into the way early settlers of the west envisioned heroism…
A Fair Play Unit for Elementary School: Getting the Whole School Involved
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Johnson, Lynn V.
2005-01-01
Teaching elementary aged students about the importance of fair play and being a good sport is becoming a much more difficult task. Professional athletes, once touted as positive role models, have become increasingly poor examples for children. So, while physical educators often deal with issues of fair play in their classes, it has become a larger…
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…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Poon, Chew-Leng; Lee, Yew-Jin; Tan, Aik-Ling; Lim, Shirley S. L.
2012-01-01
In this paper, we characterize the inquiry practices of four elementary school teachers by means of a pedagogical framework. Our study revealed core components of inquiry found in theoretically-driven models as well as practices that were regarded as integral to the success of day-to-day science teaching in Singapore. This approach towards…
Zhao, Jing; Joshi, R Malatesha; Dixon, L Quentin; Huang, Liyan
2016-04-01
The present study examined the knowledge and skills of basic language constructs among elementary school teachers who were teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in China. Six hundred and thirty in-service teachers completed the adapted Reading Teacher Knowledge Survey. Survey results showed that English teachers' self-perceived ability to teach vocabulary was the highest and self-perceived ability to teach reading to struggling readers was the lowest. Morphological knowledge was positively correlated with teachers' self-perceived teaching abilities, and it contributed unique variance even after controlling for the effects of ultimate educational attainment and years of teaching. Findings suggest that elementary school EFL teachers in China, on average, were able to display implicit skills related to certain basic language constructs, but less able to demonstrate explicit knowledge of other skills, especially sub-lexical units (e.g., phonemic awareness and morphemes). The high self-perceived ability of teaching vocabulary and high scores on syllable counting reflected the focus on larger units in the English reading curriculum.
Looking back and moving forward: A mixed methods study of elementary science teacher preparation
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Hulings, Melissa
This study sought to understand how science learning experiences, and their potential influence, had on preservice elementary teachers' self-efficacy and perceptions of science teaching and learning at the beginning of their science methods course. Following an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, this study first involved the collection of quantitative data and then the collection of more in-depth qualitative data. In the first phase, the quantitative data included the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C) and the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) of preservice elementary teachers (n = 69). Findings from this phase indicated preservice elementary teachers had a higher level of belief in their abilities to teach science (PSTE subscale) than to affect student outcomes in science (STOE subscale). However, the STOE was not found to be a reliable measure for this group of preservice elementary teachers and was not included in any further analysis. Findings from the DASTT-C images indicated the majority of these drawings could not be classified as student-centered. In the second phase of this study, the researcher explored selected science autobiographies written by these same preservice elementary teachers (n = 19), based on extremely high or low scores on the PSTE subscale and DASTT-C. Analysis of the science autobiographies revealed commonalities and differences. Commonalities included (a) the difficulty in remembering science from elementary school; (b) a mixture of positive and negative experiences in secondary school and college science classes; (c) the descriptions of good science days and good science teachers; and (d) the descriptions of bad science days and bad science teachers. Differences included (a) the people who influenced their attitudes toward science; (b) the types of experiences, when remembered, from elementary school; and (c) visions of their future classrooms. Based on these findings, these preservice elementary teachers used their past experiences with science as a foundation for how they perceived science and its instruction in the elementary classroom. Overall, it appears preservice elementary teachers have a desire to make the elementary experience a positive one for their future students.
How to Build an Effective Co-Teaching Relationship between Teachers
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Indelicato, Julietta
2014-01-01
Collaborative teaching is an option worth exploring at the elementary school level. The problem is many teachers lack the knowledge to effectively make these co-teaching relationships work. The purpose of this study is to identify effective co-teaching strategies to enhance collaborative teaching relationships. The study documents 1st through 4th…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Logerwell, Mollianne G.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a summer science camp teaching experience on preservice elementary teachers' science teaching efficacy, science content knowledge, and understanding of the nature of science. Master's degree students enrolled in the elementary Fairfax Partnership Schools (FPS, n = 21) cohort served as the treatment group, while those enrolled in the Loudoun Partnership Schools (LPS, n = 15) and Professional Development Schools (PDS, n = 24) cohorts at George Mason University served as the control groups. The treatment group planned for and taught a two-week inquiry- and problem-based summer science camp as part of their science methods course, while the control groups did not. The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI), a science content assessment, a personal data questionnaire, and a modified version of the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS-C) were administered to the participants at the beginning and end of their science methods course. Analyses revealed significant increases for the FPS group in general science teaching efficacy, personal science teaching efficacy, science teaching outcome expectancy, general science knowledge, biology content knowledge, chemistry content knowledge, and understanding of NOS; the LPS group in general science teaching efficacy, personal science teaching efficacy, chemistry content knowledge, and understanding of NOS; and, the PDS group in general science teaching efficacy, personal science teaching efficacy, and chemistry content knowledge. Additionally, the FPS group had significantly higher general science teaching efficacy than both control groups, personal science teaching efficacy than the PDS group, and understanding of NOS than the LPS group. Overall, the findings indicate that course length is not as important for developing preservice teachers' teaching efficacy and understanding of content as having connected, authentic field-based teaching experiences that are based on best-practices research and coupled with methodological instruction.
Teaching Children Science. Second Edition.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Abruscato, Joseph
This book focuses on science teaching at the elementary school level. It includes chapters dealing with various science content areas and teaching processes including: (1) what is science; (2) why teach science; (3) process skills as a foundation for unit and lesson planning; (4) how to plan learning units, daily lessons, and assessment…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wehman, Therese; Savage, Michael; White, Jeanne; Lee, Nancy; Grimes, Judy
2011-01-01
This interdisciplinary cross-cultural research project surveyed teachers in elementary schools in five countries: South Africa, Australia, Jamaica, England, and the United States. This study attempted to define and identify best practices used in teaching children considered to be "at-risk" in these five countries: Three research…
Factors Affecting Canadian Teachers' Willingness to Teach Sexual Health Education
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Cohen, Jacqueline N.; Byers, E. Sandra; Sears, Heather A.
2012-01-01
Non-specialist teachers in Canada are increasingly required to teach sexual health topics. However, research suggests that they do not always do so willingly. This study examined the associations between the characteristics of non-specialist elementary and middle school teachers (n = 294) in Canadian schools and their willingness to provide sexual…
4-H Chickquest: Connecting Agri-Science with STEM Standards in Urban Schools
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Horton, Robert L.; Krieger, Jackie; Halasa, Katrina
2013-01-01
While young students are more capable of scientific inquiry than previously believed, elementary school teachers are often inexperienced in and lack confidence with teaching science. ChickQuest is a 4-H-created embryology curriculum for third-graders that meets Ohio state science standards, teaches STEM skills, and promotes ongoing interaction…
Double TNT: Targeting New Teachers and Teaching by Novel Techniques.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Williams-Robertson, Lydia
A program developed by the Austin (Texas) Independent School District under a 2-year grant from the National Science Foundation is described and evaluated. The primary objectives of the program were to: interest minority and female students in science; attract these groups to the teaching of science; enrich the elementary school science…
Relationships among Burnout Factors and Occupational Stressors in the Teaching Profession.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Adams, Ronald D.; And Others
This study sought to determine if relationships exist among various factors pertaining to measured burnout and the life and teaching events perceived as stressors by practicing teachers. The subjects were 220 full-time public school teachers from five school districts, both urban and rural, divided evenly between elementary and secondary levels.…
Teaching Scholar Partnerships: A Fresh Approach to College/School Collaborations
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bearce, W. Hutchinson
2004-01-01
This document is intended to be a handbook for independent college and university leaders interested in learning about a fresh approach to cooperation with local elementary, middle, and high schools. It draws from the Teaching Scholar Partnerships (TSP) program, a successful demonstration project that involved ten private institutions working in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Rodriguez-Valls, Fernando
2012-01-01
School accountability has funnelled educational practices into a path where teaching practices are heavily centred in Language Arts instruction. Focusing learning almost exclusively in the aforesaid area develops a one-dimensional process that could hold back certain students from a well-balanced education. This article presents a model of…
The Teach for America Evaluation
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Raymond, Margaret; Fletcher, Stephen
2002-01-01
Since 1990 the New York-based Teach for America (TFA) program has placed more than 7,000 teachers in some of the nation's most challenging school districts. Most TFA recruits serve in schools that qualify for funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act due to their high concentrations of students living in poverty. These…
Cultural Consciousness in Teaching General Music.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Campbell, Patricia Shehan; And Others
1992-01-01
Addresses the need to present a multiculturalist approach in elementary and secondary school general music classes. Suggests connections between particular music teaching methods and ethnic musical traditions. Includes lesson plans concerning the teaching of Native American, African-American, Filipino, and Latin American music. (SG)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Gomez, Mary Louise; Tabachnick, B. Robert
1992-01-01
Telling teaching stories assists prospective teachers in becoming effective teachers of elementary school children. It offers preservice teachers and teacher educators the challenge of seeing themselves and the opportunity to reflect on their goals and practices. (IAH)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Koc, Isil
The present study was conducted to investigate the extent to which preservice elementary teachers held alternative conceptions in fundamental elementary science concepts from earth/space science, life science, and physical science along with their self-efficacy beliefs about science teaching and to determine the relationship between these two issues. Eighty-six preservice elementary education majors enrolled in the four sections of the course titled "07E:162 Methods Elementary School Science" offered in the Science Education Center, College of Education, the University of Iowa during the 2005-2006 academic year participated in this study. Twelve preservice elementary teachers participated in follow-up interviews. Data were collected through the use of Alternative Conceptions in Science Instrument constructed by Schoon and Boone (1998), Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) constructed by Enochs and Riggs (1990), a participant information form, and through utilization of interviews. The results from the alternative conception instrument indicated that the majority of preservice elementary teachers held a number of alternative conceptions with most being in the physical sciences followed by earth/space, and then life science. Various sources of alternative conceptions emerged during the interview sessions. Participants mainly cited science teachers, science textbooks, and previous science experiences as sources of their alternative conceptions. On the other hand, the analysis of the self-efficacy instrument and follow-up interviews revealed generally positive self-efficacy beliefs. Findings from the study also confirmed that science courses completed in high school and college do not seem to have influenced participants' number and types of alternative conceptions regarding earth/space science, life science, and physical science and self-efficacy beliefs about science teaching. The results also indicate that participants with the lowest number of alternative conceptions regarding earth/space science, physical science, and life science have a relatively high personal science teaching efficacy. Overall, the results of the study regarding self-efficacy beliefs propose that consideration be given to identification and modification of preservice elementary teachers' science alternative conceptions if they are expected to teach science effectively.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Welington, Cerqueira, Jr.; dos Santos Almeida, Robenil; do Santos da Conceição, Regiane; Dutra, Glênon
2015-12-01
This work attempts to identify the level of confidence of some students of the course in Pedagogy of a public University located in the interior of the Bahia state, for the teaching of contents of Astronomy in the initial years of the Elementary School. The data was obtained from the application of a questionnaire, answered by 16 students. The analysis of these results took into account several factors, like the framework of the curriculum of the graduation course in Pedagogy, the reading profile of the students and the level of experience regarding their teaching in classroom. The obtained results point to a great insecurity of the students regarding the teaching of contents of Astronomy, being compatible with previous findings of other investigators of the area.
Teaching English to Young Learners Through Indonesian - Translated Songs
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Sukirmiyadi
2018-01-01
As an international language, English is taught and learnt by almost all of the people in the world. In Indonesia for example, English has been introduced since the learners are studying at the elementary school. Even many of the Kindergarten Schools too, have already introduced this language to their students. However, we cannot deny that teaching foreign language is not such an easy thing due to the fact thatmany of the learners are not capable of speaking English very well although they have been learning it for more than ten years (Elementary: 6 years, Junior and Senior High School: 6 years). In line with this problem, this study aims at providing a solution by offering one teaching technique which seems to make the learners (especially young learners) enjoy learning through singing songs (Kasihani, 1999).Furthermore, Phillips(1995) said that young learners really enjoyed learning and singing songs with highly motivating. Based on those two researches andin efforts to make it easier in English language learning, especially to young learners, the writer translated the very common and popular Indonesian kid songs into English. Thesetranslated songswere then used to teach the students of Kindergarten up to Elementary ones of the first and second grade. This meant that before a teacher started to teach, s/he had to translate the Indonesian kid songsat first into English.Due to its popularity and familiarity, it was expected that this teaching technique would be more effective and efficient to apply especially to young learners.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McNaught, Margaret S.
1918-01-01
Realizing the difficulty of teaching morals and manners, subjects which the laws of many States require to be taught, this bulletin on good manners has prepared as a help to elementary teachers. Though written for the teachers, it is addressed to the children and may be used in various way: It may be read silently by the teacher and discussed with…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
An, Song A.; Tillman, Daniel A.
2015-01-01
The purpose of the current research was to examine the effects of a sequence of classroom activities that integrated mathematics content with music elements aimed at providing teachers an alternative approach for teaching mathematics. Two classes of third grade students (n = 56) from an elementary school in the west coast of the United States…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wu, Li-Chen; Chao, Li-ling; Cheng, Pi-Yun; Tuan, Hsiao-Lin; Guo, Chorng-Jee
2018-01-01
The purpose of this study was to probe the differences of perceived professional teaching competence between elementary school math/science teachers in Taiwan who are majored in math/science and those who are not. A researcher-developed Math/Science Teachers' Professional Development Questionnaire was used in a nationwide survey, using a two-stage…
The Ideology and Practices of "Seikatsu-Tsuzurikata": Education by Teaching of Expressive Writing
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hiraoka, Satsuki
2011-01-01
Seikatsu-Tsuzurikata is an educational method related to teaching of written expression for children that was pioneered in elementary school education settings throughout the 1920s and 1930s, and which was widely adopted in Japan in the 1930s. It is a unique method developed in Japan that uses both school and non-school resources, not only in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Lester, Benjamin T.; Ma, Li; Lee, Okhee; Lambert, Julie
2006-01-01
As part of a large-scale instructional intervention research, this study examined elementary students' science knowledge and awareness of social activism with regard to an increased greenhouse effect and global warming. The study involved fifth-grade students from five elementary schools of varying demographic makeup in a large urban school…
Reports from the Field: Elementary Teacher Candidates Describe the Teaching of Social Studies
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Sunal, Cynthia Szymanski; Sunal, Dennis W.
2008-01-01
Recent research indicates that social studies is being de-emphasized in the elementary school, particularly in favor of greater attention to reading. Historically, there is evidence that social studies has not been a strong component of the curriculum in elementary classrooms although it often appears in state and local courses of study. In the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Fletcher, Tim; Mandigo, James; Kosnik, Clare
2013-01-01
Background: In many contexts, elementary physical education (PE) classes are taught by the classroom teacher rather than by a PE specialist. Elementary classroom teachers often cite negative attitudes resulting from experiences as school pupils and inadequate pre-service PE teacher education as barriers to teaching a quality PE programme. Purpose:…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Naidoo, Kara
2013-01-01
Elementary teachers are criticized for failing to incorporate meaningful science instruction in their classrooms or avoiding science instruction altogether. The lack of adequate science instruction in elementary schools is partially attributed to teacher candidates' anxiety, poor content and pedagogical preparation, and low science teaching…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hug, J. William
2010-01-01
This article is an auto-ethnographic account of the development of a children's literature book critique assignment by a science teacher educator sharing instructional dilemmas and pedagogical responses. Prospective elementary teachers enrolled in an elementary school science teaching methods course in the US selected and evaluated children's…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Moore, Tara Sheehan
2014-01-01
Although researchers have investigated teachers' perceptions of their preparedness to instruct English language learners (ELLs) and value student culture in the classroom, there has been a lack of studies at an elementary school level. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of elementary teachers about their use…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hall, Donald A.
One of the primary goals in many teacher education programs is to design and to implement specific courses, strategies, and methods that promote positive attitude toward science and science teaching among elementary education majors. This paper describes the effects of a biology content course, patterned after innovative elementary school science…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
EdSource, 2007
2007-01-01
This guide informs parents about some instructional practices that work well for all elementary school students, in particular English learners. It includes questions parents can ask teachers and principals to help them understand how their children's school approaches teaching and learning. Both English and Spanish versions of the document are…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jimenez Lozano, Blanca; And Others
This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1500 words) of a new approach to the teaching of mathematics in Mexican elementary schools. Three aspects of mathematical reform are discussed: (1) syllabus content; (2) teaching methods; and (3) the question of introducing the pupil to modern mathematics at the earliest possible stage…
SCHOOLS WITHOUT WALLS. PROFILES OF SIGNIFICANT SCHOOLS.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Educational Facilities Labs., Inc., New York, NY.
A SUCCESSFUL APPROACH TO SCHOOL HOUSING FOR THE ELEMENTARY GRADES HAS BEEN MADE IN OPEN SPACE SCHOOLS. DURING THE LAST THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA, 75 PERCENT OF ALL SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION INCLUDES SOME OPEN TEACHING SPACE, 20 PERCENT CONTAINS NOTHING BUT. OPEN SPACE SCHOOLS PROVIDE AN ENVIRONMENT WHICH ENCOURAGES INNOVATION AND INTERACTION. PROBLEMS…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Araiza, Ricardo
2011-01-01
Purpose: The purpose of this replication study was to determine the degree to which teachers and administrators in selected low-achieving Title I elementary schools: 1. Report that they teach the following test-taking skills to prepare their students to take the CST: establishing an appropriate student attitude toward testing, familiarity with the…
Module Cluster: TLA-004.00 (GSC) Teaching Language Arts in the Elementary School.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Mignogna, William D.
The purpose of this module cluster is to enable students to a) identify the areas that the language arts focus on in the elementary school; b) analyze and synthesize expressive and receptive skills as they relate to the language arts program; c) demonstrate a knowledge of and skill in the use of a variety of techniques and materials for teaching…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McIntyre, Patrick Joseph
The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of three different types of visual devices in an instructional program designed to teach an understanding of selected theoretical science concepts to elementary school children. The visual devices were prepared using Bruner's three modes of representation (enactive, iconic, and…
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…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Martino, Wayne; Cumming-Potvin, Wendy
2016-01-01
This paper is based on research that is concerned to provide insight into the pedagogical potential for interrupting heteronormativity and addressing the politics of gender expression/embodiment in the elementary school classroom. It is informed by an engagement with queer and trans theoretical literature that raises questions about restrictive…
A Regression Analysis of Elementary Students' ICT Usage vis-à-vis Access to Technology in Singapore
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tay, Lee Yong; Nair, Shanthi Suraj; Lim, Cher Ping
2017-01-01
This paper explores the relationship among ICT infrastructure (i.e., computing devices and Internet), one-to-one computing program and student ICT activities in school. It also looks into the differences of how ICT is being used in the teaching of English, mathematics and science at the elementary school level in relation to the availability of…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Demery, Marie
A model for teaching elementary school art contains a rationale that outlines the interrelationship between self-esteem and constructive creativity as promoted in well-designed art activities. Self-esteem is defined, and characteristics of a child with high self-esteem are outlined. Conditions contributing to the development of high self-esteem…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kucukozer, Huseyin; Korkusuz, M. Emin; Kucukozer, H. Asuman; Yurumezoglu, Kemal
2009-01-01
This study has examined the impact of teaching certain basic concepts of astronomy through a predict-observe-explain strategy, which includes three-dimensional (3D) computer modeling and observations on conceptual changes seen in sixth-grade elementary school children (aged 11-13; number of students: 131). A pre- and postastronomy instruction…
Transformative Professional Development: Relationship to Teachers' Beliefs, Expertise and Teaching
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Kose, Brad W.; Lim, Eun Young
2010-01-01
Although scholarship demonstrates the value and need for teaching grounded in equity, diversity and social justice, little research has explored the relationship between transformative professional development and transformative teaching. This survey research study conducted in 25 US diverse elementary schools investigated statistical…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Lowery, Maye Norene Vail
1998-12-01
The purposes of this study were to further the understanding of how preservice teacher construct teacher knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge of elementary mathematics and science and to determine the extent of that knowledge in a school-based setting. Preservice teachers, university instructors, inservice teachers, and other school personnel were involved in this context-specific study. Evidence of the preservice teachers' knowledge construction (its acquisition, its dimensions, and the social context) was collected through the use of a qualitative methodology. Collected data included individual and group interviews, course documents, artifacts, and preservice teaching portfolios. Innovative aspects of this integrated mathematics and science elementary methods course included standards-based instruction with immediate access to field experiences. Grade-level teams of preservice and inservice teachers planned and implemented lessons in mathematics and science for elementary students. An on-site, portable classroom building served as a mathematics and science teaching and learning laboratory. A four-stage analysis was performed, revealing significant patterns of learning. An ecosystem of learning within a constructivist learning environment was identified to contain three systems: the university system; the school system; and the cohort of learners system. A mega system for the construction of teacher knowledge was revealed in the final analysis. Learning venues were discovered to be the conduits of learning in a situated learning context. Analysis and synthesis of data revealed an extensive acquisition of teacher knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge through identified learning components. Patience, flexibility, and communication were identified as necessities for successful teaching. Learning components included: collaboration with inservice teachers; implementation of discovery learning and hands-on/minds-on learning; small groupwork; lesson planning; classroom management; and application of standards-based instruction. Prolonged, extensive classroom involvement provided familiarity with the ability levels of elementary students. Gains in positive attitudes and confidence in teaching mathematics and science were identified as direct results of this experience. This may be attributed to the immersion in the school-based setting (hands-on) and the standards-based approach (minds-on) methods course. The results are written in case study form using thick description with an emphasis on preservice teachers.
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Gazit, Avikam; Patkin, Dorit
2012-03-01
The article aims to check the way adults, some who are practicing mathematics teachers at elementary school, some who are academicians making a career change to mathematics teachers at junior high school and the rest who are pre-service mathematics teachers at elementary school, cope with the solution of everyday real-world problems of buying and selling. The findings show that even adults with mathematical background tend to make mistakes in solving everyday real-world problems. Only about 70% of the adults who have an orientation to mathematics solved the sample problem correctly. The lowest percentage of success was demonstrated by the academicians making a career change to junior high school mathematics teachers whereas the highest percentage of success was manifested by pre-service elementary school mathematics teachers. Moreover, the findings illustrate that life experience of the practicing mathematics teachers and, mainly, of the academicians making a career change, who were older than the pre-service teachers, did not facilitate the solution of such a real-world problem. Perhaps the reason resides in the process of mathematics teaching at school, which does not put an emphasis on the solution of everyday real-world problems.
Science as experience, exploration, and experiments: elementary teachers' notions of `doing science'
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Murphy, Ashley N.; Luna, Melissa J.; Bernstein, Malayna B.
2017-11-01
Much of the literature on science teaching suggests that elementary teachers lack relevant prior experiences with science. This study begins to reframe the deficit approach to research in science teaching by privileging the experiences elementary teachers have had with science - both in and out of schools - throughout their lives. Our work uses identity as a lens to examine the complexities of elementary teachers' narrative accounts of their experiences with science over the course of their lives. Our findings identify components of teachers' science-related experiences in order to lay the groundwork for making connections between teachers' personal experiences and professional practice. This work demonstrates that teachers' storied lives are important for educational researchers and teacher educators, as they reveal elements of teaching knowledge that may be productive and resourceful for refining teachers' science practice.
Emotions and elementary school science teaching: Postmodernism in practice
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Zembylas, Michalinos
This is an ethnographic study about an elementary school teacher's emotions in her science teaching and pedagogy. This study is an interdisciplinary account of emotions in teaching and draws both methodologically and theoretically from a variety of disciplines: philosophy, sociology, psychology, anthropology, cultural studies and feminist studies. The account developed here is based on my understanding of the role of one teacher's (Catherine) emotions in her classroom life for three years. I describe my approach in terms of what I call emotional genealogies of teaching; referring to an account of the events, objects, persons and their relationships that are present or absent in the realization of emotions, and the ways that these emotions are experienced in relation to the self (individual reality), the others (social interactions) and the world in general (sociopolitical context). Applied to my study, an emotional genealogy of Catherine's science teaching seeks not to trace the gradual evolution of her emotions but to record the singularity of various events that make some emotions present and others absent. My study shows how certain emotions are constructed in the science classroom and how they are transformed over the years (as mediated by values, philosophies, beliefs and so on). Catherine's emotions in science teaching is a "history of the present," a history of her emotions' "presences and absences" in her daffy interactions with her students, parents and administrators in the context of the science classroom. This work raises important questions that go beyond the meaning and interpretation of teachers' emotions: How can teachers' emotions become a legitimate topic in (science) education as well as in efforts for science curricular reform? Further, how can educational institutions (universities and schools) and elementary school science teachers themselves support their personal and professional emotional growth?
School Suspension Alternatives.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ewashen, George, Jr.; And Others
1988-01-01
Describes Calgary's Behavior Intervention Centre (BIC), which provides short and long term counseling and teaching services to disruptive elementary and junior high school students and their parents. Discusses psychological assessment, family counseling, and school reintegration strategies contributing to BIC's 81 percent success rate. (SV)
The Big Brown Bus: Teaching Future Elementary School Teachers about Mass Production.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Linnell, Charles C.
1996-01-01
Describes a project that helps teachers introduce the concept of mass production in the elementary classroom. Provides instructions for the activity in which students produce "buses" made of juice containers and brown paper on an assembly line. (JOW)
Some Observations of Mathematics Teaching in Japanese Elementary and Junior High Schools.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Becker, Jerry P.; And Others
1990-01-01
Discussed is the educational system in the nation of Japan with a special emphasis on elementary mathematics instruction. The amount of time spent on various subjects, observations in Japanese classrooms, Juku, and the use of technology are discussed. (CW)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Wang, Ya-Ling; Tsai, Chin-Chung; Wei, Shih-Hsuan
2015-01-01
This study aimed to investigate the factors accounting for science teaching self-efficacy and to examine the relationships among Taiwanese teachers' science teaching self-efficacy, teaching and learning conceptions, technological--pedagogical content knowledge for the Internet (TPACK-I), and attitudes toward Internet-based instruction (Attitudes)…
The Impact of the Student Teaching Experience on the Development of Teacher Perspectives.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tabachnick, B. Robert; Zeichner, Kenneth M.
1984-01-01
The influence of student teaching in the teacher socialization process was observed in a study of students in an elementary school student teaching program. Findings suggest that what student teachers bring to their teaching experience gives direction to socialization but does not determine the outcome of the process. (DF)
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Uygun, Mehmet; Kunt, Halil
2014-01-01
This study aimed to analyze the relationship between primary school prospective teachers' thinking styles and their attitudes to teaching profession. The study group for the research consisted of fourth-grade Primary School of Elementary Education, Social Sciences Education and Science Education students studying at Dumlupinar University Education…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Jackson, C. Kirabo; Bruegmann, Elias
2009-01-01
Using longitudinal elementary school teacher and student data, we document that students have larger test score gains when their teachers experience improvements in the observable characteristics of their colleagues. Using within-school and within-teacher variation, we further show that a teacher's students have larger achievement gains in math…
Voices of Reform: Infusion of Standards-Based Mathematics and Science Teaching in an Urban District.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Huinker, DeAnn; Coan, Cheryl; Posnanski, Tracy
This study examined the impact of a systemic reform initiative to implement standards-based mathematics and science teaching and learning in one urban school district, noting its effect on teachers, principals, students, and classroom practice. Participants were a sample of elementary and secondary schools involved in the Milwaukee Urban Systemic…
Teaching about the Soviet Union. ERIC Digest No. 42.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Citti, Lori A.
Given the global significance of Soviet-U.S. relations, elementary and secondary school students should learn about the Soviet Union, but most students graduate from high school with little knowledge and many misconceptions about this country. It is important to teach about the Soviet Union because of: (1) its emphasis in the U.S. media; (2) its…
A Tribute to Teaching: Putting It on the Line
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Berk, Ronald A.
2009-01-01
When the author retired from teaching after thirty-seven years, he had taught elementary school, junior high school, and thirty years at Johns Hopkins University. He always loved being in the classroom with his students. They energized him, inspired him, humbled him, and taught him in many ways. He learned more from them than they learned from…
The Implementation of the Mixed Techniques in Teaching English in Public Elementary Schools
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Al Darwish, Salwa
2017-01-01
Kuwait, an Arabic-speaking country in which English serves important functions, has adopted so many methods in teaching EFL in public schools which in 1993 started with the Grammar-Translation and continued until 2005 the eclectic method was applied. In 2005 the emphasis on communicative techniques and almost entirely through listening and…
The Chicago Handbook for Teachers: A Practical Guide to the College Classroom. Second Edition
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Brinkley, Alan; El-Fakahany, Esam; Dessants, Betty; Flamm, Michael; Forcey, Charles B., Jr.; Ouellett, Mathew L.; Rothschild, Eric
2011-01-01
Those who teach college students have extensive training in their disciplines, but unlike their counterparts at the high school or elementary school level, they often have surprisingly little instruction in the craft of teaching itself. "The Chicago Handbook for Teachers, Second Edition", is an extraordinarily helpful guide for anyone facing the…
34 CFR 300.156 - Personnel qualifications.
Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR
2010-07-01
... children with disabilities. (c) Qualifications for special education teachers. The qualifications described in paragraph (a) of this section must ensure that each person employed as a public school special education teacher in the State who teaches in an elementary school, middle school, or secondary school is...
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Instituto Nacional de Pedagogia (Mexico).
This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1500 words) of a guide based on the results of experiments conducted by the Instituto Nacional de Pedagogia in its pilot school and other schools in Mexico, D. F. The foreword points out that there are two aspects of language teaching in elementary schools--the first year class to read…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ministerio de Educacion Nacional, Bogota (Colombia). Instituto Colombiano de Pedagogia.
This document provides statistical data on the distribution and education of teaching personnel working the elementary schools of Cordoba, Colombia, between 1958 and 1967. The statistics cover the number of men and women, public and private schools, urban and rural location, and the amount of education of the teachers. For overall statistics in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ministerio de Educacion Nacional, Bogota (Colombia). Instituto Colombiano de Pedagogia.
This document provides statistical data on the distribution and education of teaching personnel working in the elementary schools of Narino, Colombia, between 1958 and 1967. The statistics cover the number of men and women, public and private schools, urban and rural location, and the amount of education of the teachers. For overall statistics in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ministerio de Educacion Nacional, Bogota (Colombia). Instituto Colombiano de Pedagogia.
This document provides statistical data on the distribution and education of teaching personnel working in the elementary schools of Cauca, Colombia, between 1958 and 1967. The statistics cover the number of men and women, public and private schools, urban and rural location, and the amount of education of the teachers. For overall statistics in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ministerio de Educacion Nacional, Bogota (Colombia). Instituto Colombiano de Pedagogia.
This document provides statistical data on the distribution and education of teaching personnel working in the elementary schools of Caldas, Colombia, between 1958 and 1967. The statistics cover the number of men and women, public and private schools, urban and rural location, and the amount of education of the teachers. For overall statistics in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ministerio de Educacion Nacional, Bogota (Colombia). Instituto Colombiano de Pedagogia.
This document provides statistical data on the distribution and education of teaching personnel working in the elementary schools of Boyaca, Colombia, between 1958 and 1967. The statistics cover the number of men and women, public and private schools, urban and rural location, and the amount of education of the teachers. For overall statistics in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Ministerio de Educacion Nacional, Bogota (Colombia). Instituto Colombiano de Pedagogia.
This document provides statistical data on the distribution and education of teaching personnel working in the elementary schools of Huila, Colombia, between 1958 and 1967. The statistics cover the number of men and women, public and private schools, urban and rural location, and the amount of education of the teachers. For overall statistics in…
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Spillane, James P.; Diamond, John B.; Walker, Lisa J.; Halverson, Rich; Jita, Loyiso
2001-10-01
This article explores school leadership for elementary school science teaching in an urban setting. We examine how school leaders bring resources together to enhance science instruction when there appear to be relatively few resources available for it. From our study of 13 Chicago elementary (K-8) schools' efforts to lead instructional change in mathematics, language arts, and science education, we show how resources for leading instruction are unequally distributed across subject areas. We also explore how over time leaders in one school successfully identified and activated resources for leading change in science education. The result has been a steady, although not always certain, development of science as an instructional area in the school. We argue that leading change in science education involves the identification and activation of material resources, the development of teachers' and school leaders' human capital, and the development and use of social capital.
The Efficacy of Conflict-Mediation Training in Elementary Schools.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Campbell, Karen
2003-01-01
Conflict resolution training teaches students to manage interpersonal conflict more constructively. This approach to safe schools has benefits but needs more research to demonstrate effectiveness. Alberta's Safe and Caring Schools project is a replicable example. (Contains 25 references.) (SK)
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
van Zee, Emily H.; Jansen, Henri; Winograd, Kenneth; Crowl, Michele; Devitt, Adam
2013-06-01
The ability to listen closely, speak clearly, write coherently, read with comprehension, and to create and critique media offerings in science contexts is essential for effective science teaching. How might instructors develop such abilities in a physics course for prospective elementary and middle school teachers? We describe here such a course, involving collaboration among physics, science education, and literacy faculty members and two graduate assistants. Meeting twice a week for 10 weeks, the course emphasized questioning, predicting, exploring, observing, discussing, writing, and reading in physical science contexts. We report common themes about aspects that fostered or hindered science and literacy learning, changes in views about science teaching and learning, and positive shifts in interest in science and intended teaching practices.
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…
An Exploration of the Impact of Accountability Testing on Teaching in Urban Elementary Classrooms
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Bisland, Beverly Milner
2015-01-01
This study explores accountability testing in the elementary schools of New York City with particular emphasis on the impact of a statewide social studies test on the value given to social studies instruction in comparison to other subjects. The attitudes of a group of elementary teachers are examined. Some of the teachers taught all subjects in…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Nielsen, Wendy; Hoban, Garry
2015-01-01
This research studied a group of three preservice elementary teachers creating a narrated stop-motion animation (Slowmation) from start to finish in 3?hours to explain the challenging concept of "phases of the moon" to elementary school children. The research questions investigated the preservice teachers' learning before and after the…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Aydeniz, Mehmet; Brown, Clara Lee
2010-01-01
This study explored the impact of a reflective teaching method on pre-service elementary teachers' conceptual understanding of the lunar phases, reasons for seasons, and simple electric circuits. Data were collected from 40 pre-service elementary teachers about their conceptual understanding of the lunar phases, reasons for seasons and day…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Intrator, Sam; Park, Soyoung; Lit, Ira
2015-01-01
This case study is one of five publications from the larger study, "Teaching for a Changing World: The Graduates of Bank Street College of Education." Established in 1989, Midtown West is a New York City public elementary school serving approximately 350 students from kindergarten through grade five. With the support of Tony Alvarado,…
Elementary Keyboarding Software Product Reports.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Northwest Regional Educational Lab., Portland, OR.
This report provides detailed product descriptions of 45 software programs designed to teach or improve the keyboarding skills of elementary school students that were identified by the MicroSIFT (Microcomputer Information and Software for Teachers) staff. The descriptions include program titles, producer names, costs, grade levels, hardware,…
The Evaluation of Project SEED, 1990-91.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Webster, William J.; Chadbourn, Russell A.
Project Special Elementary Education for the Disadvantaged (SEED) is a national program in which professional mathematicians and scientists from universities and industry teach abstract, conceptually oriented mathematics to full-sized classes of elementary school children as a supplement to their regular mathematics instruction. In the Dallas…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Stuebing, Susan; And Others
This paper reviews an ongoing study on the physical settings of education with technology at the elementary and high school levels. The study, which is multi-disciplinary in nature, is based in sites in the process of change in teaching strategies, using learning technology as a catalyst for this change to take place. The focus of the study is on…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Draper, Michele; Appregilio, Seymour; Kramer, Alaina; Ketcherside, Miranda; Campbell, Summer; Stewart, Brandon; Rhodes, Darson; Cox, Carol
2015-01-01
Media literacy education teaches youth to critically examine the influence of media messages on health and substance use behavior. A small group of low-achieving middle school students at high risk for substance abuse attending an afterschool academic remediation program received a media literacy intervention intended for elementary students in a…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Korkmaz, Murat; Esen, Binnaz Kiran
2013-01-01
The aim of this study is to design and evaluate a peer-training program about changing students' internet use habits. This study was conducted with students from two different elementary schools in Mersin, Turkey, who were enrolled in 7th or 8th grade in the 2009-2010 academic year. A total of 24 students participated in the program, 12 of whom…
Science education in Elementary school by using of "Geopark", Oki Islands, Japan
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Oku, S.; Matsumoto, I.
2012-12-01
The Oki islands are located at Japan sea coast side of southwest Japan and belonging to Shimane Prefecture. And there is rich Nature which is consist of mainly alkaline volcanic rocks and metamorphic rocks. Aiming at authorization "Geopark" authorization of Oki Islands, Geologist, Biologist, and residents of Oki Islands are doing investigation and advertisement. Promotion of the science education which utilized the precious Nature, or environmental education is very important in the viewpoint of the science literacy which can protect a Nature and the earth. In this presentation, we mainly propose activity at an elementary school about how to advance the science education by using of this precious Nature. Children learn about the geology which constitutes the ground, and its petro-genesis in the Science of the sixth grade of elementary school. The viewpoint of having been formed by volcano, Earthquake, etc, in long global time is important for the precious and beautiful geology which constitutes the ground. It is at the same time important for a global change to teach also about often doing serious damage to human beings or a living thing with an Earthquake, a volcano, tsunami, etc. That is, we can push (teaching beautiful geology and a precious living thing using "Geopark"), and can learn about the blessing and disaster of a Nature. Moreover, teaching materials and teaching tools like a local textbook or a signboard with which a teacher and a resident can teach them to a child are required.
Teaching and Learning Primary Mathematics in Singapore.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Seng, SeokHoon
Noting that current views of mathematical learning and teaching focus on the child as a responsible student who attends to instruction and who constructs what is taught in a personal and meaningful way, this paper examines scaffolding and mediation strategies and describes the learning and teaching of elementary school level mathematics in…
Pokémon GO: Implications for Literacy in the Classroom
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Howell, Emily
2017-01-01
This teaching tip gives teachers practical applications of the game Pokémon GO for literacy teaching and learning. The author discusses applications of the game for teaching multimodality in upper elementary-school classrooms. The author situates these applications in relevant theoretical perspectives as well as current literacy research.
Teaching Nutrition in the Elementary School.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Banks, Mary Alice; Dunham, Margaret A.
This teaching manual is divided into three sections: (1) basic information on nutrition for teachers, (2) activities for learning about nutrition, suitable for first through third grades and fourth through sixth, and (3) sources of teaching aids and information on nutrition. Subjects include the four food groups, nutrients and principal food…
Artful Teaching and Science Investigations: A Perfect Match
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
McGee, Christy
2018-01-01
Tomlinson's explanation of Artful Teaching and her 2017 expansion of this concept The Five Key Elements of Differentiation provide the theoretical framework of this examination of the need for science investigations in elementary schools. The Artful Teaching framework uses an equilateral triangle with vertices labeled The Teacher, The Student, and…
The Study of Number Sense and Teaching Practice
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Tsao, Yea-Ling; Lin, Yi-Chung
2011-01-01
The goal of this study was to investigate understanding of inservice elementary school teachers in Taiwan about number sense, teaching strategies of number sense and the development of number sense of students; and the profile of integrating number sense into mathematical instruction , and teaching practice. Data was gathered through interviews of…
Teaching Yugoslavia the Cooperative Way: An Upper Elementary/Middle School Social Studies Unit.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Hilke, Eileen Veronica
1992-01-01
Suggests methods for teaching about Yugoslavia. Recommends assigning students to maintain journals of news clippings about developments in Yugoslavia. Proposes forming cooperative-learning groups for researching the country's various regions. Offers activities for teaching about language arts, fine arts, reading and literature, religion,…
Teaching To Give Students Voice in the College Classroom. Thematic Session.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Koerner, Mari E.; Hulsebosch, Patricia
This study followed six "culturally aware" elementary school teachers through student teaching and their first two years of teaching to look at how their life experiences as minority people affected their classroom practices. The study was a qualitative inquiry based on reciprocal and interactive relationships. The approach was…
Self-Efficacy and Music Teaching: Five Narratives
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
de Vries, Peter
2017-01-01
This article examines generalist primary (elementary) school teachers' self-efficacy in teaching music. Five teachers, each with five years teaching experience, were interviewed for the study. Using this interview data narratives were constructed for each of the five teachers. These narratives focused on what factors contributed to the level of…
Game Multimedia in Numeracy Learning for Elementary School Students
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Rohendi, D.; Sumarna, N.; Sutarno, H.
2017-03-01
Numeracy is one of the basic skills for elementary students to understand further concepts of mathematics. However teaching numeracy is still using recitation that can overload student’s memory and make them reluctant to learn mathematics, so an innovative way by using multimedia to attract student interest in numeracy is needed. Therefore, the purpose of this study are: 1) to develop numeracy learning multimedia for elementary school students; and 2) to find out whether the implementation of numeracy learning multimedia can improve the students numeracy skills, and how is the response of elementary school students by using multimedia in learning numeracy? The results showed that multimedia can improve students’ numeracy skill which is quit medium and the student response by using multimedia in numeracy learning are good.
Language of poverty strategies: Implemented in the urban elementary science classroom
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Jeanpierre, Bobby Jo
2000-08-01
This research study reports the results of school-based staff development models used at three urban elementary schools that had liaison teachers assisting classroom teachers in implementing instructional strategies in science teaching from "Language of Poverty," a curriculum framework designed to address the academic needs of disadvantaged students. The case study of two urban elementary schools and six classroom teachers, and survey and interview data results of a third school, uncovered insights into several areas of science teaching in urban settings. One conclusion is that in spite of substantial allocation of resources and assistance, teachers did not translate instructional strategies from "Language of Poverty" curriculum into their classroom practices in a way that would foster urban disadvantaged students' understanding of "big science concepts." A second conclusion is that the school-based staff development models were limited in their ability to address the diverse professional needs of all of its staff. Third, as it relates to students, discipline issues occurred in these urban classrooms across ethnicity and gender. And in addition to teachers being knowledgeable of relevant social and cultural group norms' application of this knowledge in an appropriate and consistent manner is needed to effectively address discipline concerns.
Astronomy in the early years of elementary education: a partnership between university and school
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Barai, A.; Carvalho Neto, J. T.; Garrido, D.; Ityanagui, G.; Navi, M.
2016-12-01
This paper describes the interaction and partnership experience between a school and one of the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar)campi, both located in Araras, SP, aiming to teach and promote astronomy and astronautics knowledge among students of the first five years of Elementary Education. This initiative made use of Brazilian Olympiad of Astronomy and Astronautics as a motivating event for the theme exploration. The actions were divided into two fronts: an improvement course for the school teachers conducted by university professors and lectures for students by UFSCar students under the guidance of university teachers and the school coordinators. By the observed results, we noticed the importance of narrowing the distance school-university, promoting learning for both institutions and helping to raise the level of education from elementary school to college.
A Philosophically Informed Teaching Proposal on the Topic of Energy for Students Aged 11-14
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Papadouris, Nicos; Constantinou, Constantinos P.
2011-01-01
Learning about energy is recognized as an important objective of science teaching starting from the elementary school. This creates the need for teaching simplifications that compromise the abstract nature of this concept with students' need for a satisfactory qualitative definition. Conventional teaching approaches have failed to respond to this…
Hands-on Science. How Do Sea Critters Make Their Moves?
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
VanCleave, Janice
1998-01-01
Three science experiments teach elementary school students about marine-life locomotion. One teaches primary students how octopi and jellyfish move, using balloons and umbrellas. Another teaches K-6 students the up and down movement of fish in water, using condiment packets. A third teaches 4-6 students about the effect of fish swim bladders,…
Dynamic Physical Education for Elementary School Children.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Dauer, Victor P.; Pangrazi, Robert P.
This guide offers a functional, child-tested physical education program for elementary students. Chapters in the book discuss the following topics: (a) current educational and sociological trends; (b) rationale for the program; (c) guidelines for program planning; (d) organization for effective teaching; (e) basis of movement learning and…
The Evaluation of Project SEED, 1989-90.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Webster, William J.; Chadbourn, Russell A.
Project Special Elementary Education for the Disadvantaged (Project SEED) is a nationwide program in which mathematicians and scientists from academia and industry teach abstract, conceptually oriented mathematics to full-sized classes of elementary school students as a supplement to their regular arithmetic classes. A Socratic group-discovery…
García, Susana V
2007-01-01
In this study we analyze the organization of natural science teaching within the Argentinian school context starting with teaching practices and material support in the late XIX century. By that time, school staff and teachers fostered modernization and nationalization of teaching by using collections with national issues and the foundation of museums within the schools. In particular, we examine the official debates over the mineralogical collections offered for sale by the naturalist Enrique de Carlés, and the "school museums" by professors Pedro Scalabrini and Guillermo Navarro. These account for the tension between searching for modern didactic materials associated with foreign models, and the importance of counting on elements that represented the country nature and industry.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Yoon, Irene H.
2011-01-01
This dissertation investigates how the intersections of race, class, and gender operate in the everyday teaching and professional norms of middle-class White women teachers--particularly in schools such as the one in this study, where a majority of middle-class, White women teachers serve predominantly low-income, racially and ethnically diverse…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Westphal, Patricia B., Ed.; And Others
The 13 selected papers included in this conference report are: "Achieving Curriculum Fit for That 'Horrible' Second Year" (Lorraine A. Strasheim); "Project Partnership: French Culture and Language in the Elementary School" (Susan Turner); "A Middle School Exploratory Course" (Kay Thorp); "Creative and…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Salazar, Minerva Mungia
2013-01-01
Providing a meaningful and experiential learning environment for all students has long created a concern for alternate ways to teach students who are reportedly demonstrating non-mastery on state standardized assessments. As the benchmark for showing successful academic achievement increases, so does the need for discovering effective ways for…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Davidovitch, Nitza; Sinuany-Stern, Zilla
2014-01-01
Teachers in academia are usually not required to have teacher training but must often be evaluated by their students who expect them to have much better teaching qualifications than their high school teachers. However, teachers in elementary and high schools are required to go through several years of teacher training, resulting in a teaching…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Shymansky, James A.; Yore, Larry D.; Henriques, Laura; Dunkhase, John A.; Bancroft, Jean
This study took place within the context of a four-year local systemic reform effort collaboratively undertaken by the Science Education Center at the University of Iowa and the Iowa City Community School District. The goal of the project was to move teachers towards an interactive-constructivist model of teaching and learning that assumes a…
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Davis, Zain
2016-01-01
Anthropological approaches to studying the contextual specificity of mathematical thought and practice in schools can productively inform descriptions and analyses of mathematical practices within and across different teaching and learning contexts. In this paper I argue for an anthropological methodological orientation that takes into…
Impact of instructional Approaches to Teaching Elementary Science on Student Achievement
NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
Kensinger, Seth H.
Strengthening our science education in the United States is essential to the future success of our country in the global marketplace. Immersing our elementary students with research-based quality science instruction is a critical component to build a strong foundation and motivate our students to become interested in science. The research for this study pertained to the type of elementary science instruction in correlation to academic achievement and gender. Through this study, the researcher answered the following questions: 1. What is the difference in achievement for elementary students who have been taught using one of the three science instructional approaches analyzed in this study: traditional science instruction, inquiry-based science instruction with little or no professional development and inquiry-based science instruction with high-quality professional development? 2. What is the difference in student achievement between inquiry-based instruction and non-inquiry based (traditional) instruction? 3. What is the difference in student achievement between inquiry with high quality professional development and inquiry with little or no professional development? 4. Do the three instructional approaches have differentiated effects across gender? The student achievement was measured using the 2010 fourth grade Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) in Science. Data was collected from 15 elementary schools forming three main groupings of similar schools based on the results from the 2009 third grade PSSA in Mathematics and student and community demographics. In addition, five sub-group triads were formed to further analyze the data and each sub-group was composed of schools with matching demographic data. Each triad contained a school using a traditional approach to teaching science, a school utilizing an inquiry science approach with little or no professional development, and a school incorporating inquiry science instruction with high quality professional development. The five schools which provided its students with inquiry science and high quality professional development were Science Its Elementary (SIE) schools, as provided through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). The findings of the study indicated that there is evidence to suggest that elementary science achievement improves significantly when teachers have utilized inquiry instruction after receiving high-quality professional development. Specifically, the analysis of the whole group and the majority of the triad sub-groupings did result in a consistent trend to support science instruction utilizing inquiry with high-quality professional development compared to a traditional approach and an inquiry-based approach with little or no professional development. The gender analysis of this study focused on whether or not girls at the elementary school level would perform better than boys depending upon method of science instruction. The study revealed no relationship between approach to teaching science and achievement level based on gender. The whole group results and sub-group triads produced no significant findings for this part of the data analysis.
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France).
The document comprises three articles which analyze roles and tasks of teachers in innovative elementary schools in the United States, Netherlands, and England. Innovative schools are interpreted as schools which favor educational practices such as open classrooms, team teaching, parent involvement, nongraded classes, global orientation,…
Middle School Students' Beliefs about Matter
ERIC Educational Resources Information Center
Nakhleh, Mary B.; Samarapungavan, Ala; Saglam, Yilmaz
2005-01-01
The objective of this study was to examine middle school students' developing understanding of the nature of matter and to compare middle school students' ideas to those of elementary schools students, as was done by Nakhleh and Samarapungavan ["J Res Sci Teach" 36(7):777-805, 1999]. Nine middle school students were interviewed using a scripted,…