Matching Items (347)
Description
This thesis examines media rhetoric promoting neoliberal education reform, including the advancement of school-choice systems and movements towards privatization. Films like Waiting for Superman and Won't Back Down have ushered in new, markedly "progressive" narratives that show neoliberal reform as both a model for a consumer-led culture in education and as a path towards educational equity, a goal typically associated with public schools promoted as a public interest.
ContributorsMorrow, Victoria Rose (Author) / Brass, Jory (Thesis director) / Blasingame, James (Committee member) / Sandlin, Jennifer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Experiential learning is the process of gaining new information by participating in some sort of experience. One way this can occur inside the classroom, as in the inquiry model or problem-based learning. It can also occur outside of the classroom, as in outdoor education or field trips. Recently, virtual experiential learning opportunities have surfaced, including virtual field trips, experiments, and manipulatives. This project aims to define experiential learning, including examples in every context. Then, it describes current elementary school teachers' perceptions of experiential learning via survey results. The final product also includes an Appendix which is made up of experiential learning lesson plans for each context.
ContributorsMccoy, Maddilyn (Author) / Walters, Molina (Thesis director) / Oliver, Jill (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
The specific focus of the curriculum guide is to encourage inquiry and exploration of sustainability with middle school students. Children need to be explicitly taught how to analyze findings, how to work together, and teachers need to begin to lay the foundation of finding ideal solutions that best serve all people. The sooner that we introduce our students to these concepts in conjunction with science concepts the better prepared they will be to face the upcoming challenges and the better developed their scientific literacy.
ContributorsSibley, Amanda Marie (Author) / Walters, Molina (Thesis director) / Oliver, Jill (Committee member) / Kurz, Terri (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The present study was conducted in order to investigate the implementation of the self-regulated learning component of goal-setting in the elementary education classroom. Essential questions posed addressed the reasoning behind why classrooms may not implement goal-setting despite the proven benefits. Also studied was the application of goal-setting within the classroom and what that may look like for educators. Finally, student preferences were observed and taken into consideration during implementation in order to help the study benefit them as much as possible. Participants included 29 fourth grade students at Rover Elementary School. The study was conducted over a six-week period by a student teacher that was completing their Senior Residency in this particular classroom. During study implementation, students were introduced to the concept of goal-setting. Using a series of goal-setting documents, students practiced goal-setting in, first, a Reader's Workshop period then, secondly, in a Writing Block. It was concluded that goal-setting may not be implemented in the classroom due to the amount of time necessary to complete the practice as well as the possibility that educators may not have the knowledge needed to properly make use of the practice. The application of the practice brings to light the need for students to include the setting of process goals in addition to product goals. Through the use of an exit survey, student preferences revealed that initially, they would rather have pre-written process goals to aim towards achieving rather than having to develop their own. In the future, it is suggested to conduct this study over a longer period of time in order to evaluate if students can develop their own goal-setting strategies.
ContributorsPavlovich, Kaitlyn Marie (Author) / Jordan, Michelle (Thesis director) / Barrus, Angela (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This paper is written to describe the results of an undergraduate thesis project which grew from an interest in the various supports teenagers in the foster care system can obtain the city of Phoenix, Arizona. Since graduation rates are quite low for this demographic on a national level, there is a need to research what incentives and supports various high school districts in different cities and towns within Phoenix offer students within the foster care system in order to promote graduation and potentially the pursuit of higher education. Literary texts were analyzed and district and high school officials from around the Phoenix-area were interviewed. Information gathered from these correspondences was followed by contacting local colleges in order to see what those institutions provide in terms of scholarships and housing, since after age 18 these teenagers are no longer considered wards of the state and therefore "age out" of the system. The results of this endeavor are written on the following pages.
ContributorsBornhoft, Megan Ashley (Author) / Gehrke, Rebecca (Thesis director) / Harris, Pamela (Committee member) / Cocchiarella, Martha (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
Despite the vast research and attention given to education, little is known about teacher preparation to raise the quality of education for the honors students. There is an apparent disconnect from the honors students at Arizona State University and the education major. This study uncovers the perspective of the honors students who are majoring in education. Qualitative data was collected using one-on-one interviews. Results showed that all seven interviewed subjects were not satisfied with the education they were receiving as an honors education major.
ContributorsHan, In-Hye (Author) / Jimenez-Silva, Margarita (Thesis director) / Lambson, Dawn (Committee member) / Borden, Ryen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The creative project, The Tiniest Tumbleweed, produces a piece of children's literature in the form of a fully illustrated e-book that can serve as a model for parents, caretakers, and teachers to bring awareness to the importance of imparting positive self-efficacy concepts to young children. The project uses the work of acclaimed psychologist Albert Bandura in the field of self-efficacy as the theoretical foundation of the story. The theme is clearly stated as striving to be all YOU can be and that achieving one's personal best, "is just fine, just fine indeed." By creating a children's picture book, two things are accomplished; first, children hear an endearing story of a tumbleweed and a sparrow that use principles of positive self-efficacy to overcome adversities in their lives. Second, those who teach children have a tool to use to deliver the message over and over again. The Tiniest Tumbleweed also presents a link to science with photographs of the growth patterns of tumbleweeds and house sparrows in their natural environment.
ContributorsPeach, Kathy (Co-author) / Yost, Ashley (Co-author) / Oakes, Wendy (Thesis director) / Ralston, Laurie (Committee member) / Harris, Pamela (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The study compares the pretest and posttest results of three groups of second-grade students studying a phonics rule to determine the effect of using music as an instructional aid. For two groups in the study, the teachers used melodies to instruct students, while the third group was held to direct instruction with no music to use for assistance. The study groups were three second-grade classes at Ishikawa Elementary School, where I was serving as a student teacher. Parental consent was received for each of the students participating in the study. The duration of the study was one week. The first test group was given a familiar melody with new lyrics to reflect the content of the phonics rule "I before E except after C." The second test group was given a melody composed specifically to accompany the phonics rule and to reflect the appropriate phonics content. On the first day of the study, students were given a pretest; these scores were recorded and then compared to the posttest scores from the end of the week. The data that were collected compared groups as a whole through composite scores from pretest to posttest to determine most effective methodology. The groups that were instructed using music demonstrated greater growth and had higher posttest scores.
ContributorsFrazee, Madison Marie (Author) / Schildkret, David (Thesis director) / Stauffer, Sandy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This research looks at a group of students from Tumaini Children's Home in Nyeri, Kenya. The purpose of this paper is to explore why this particular group of students is so academically successful. Quantitative research was taken from the average 2013 test scores of Tumaini students who took the Kenyan Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam in comparison to the scores of students who are not residing in the orphanage. Qualitative research involves interviews from those students who live in Tumaini and interviews from adults who are closely connected to the orphanage. The purpose is to understand why the students are performing so well academically and what support they have created for themselves that allows them to do so.
ContributorsTooker, Amy Elizabeth (Author) / Puckett, Kathleen (Thesis director) / Cocchiarella, Martha (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
The incorporation of electronic books (e-books) into the classroom and home of young children has been shown to have positive effects on the acquisition of early literacy skills. Dialogic reading methods, which include interactive conversations between caregiver and child about a story as it is being read, additionally are known to improve skills that lead to improved literacy during the school years. No research to date, however, has examined e-books and dialogic reading when used together. This study examines how using dialogic reading with a child reading an e-book will impact the acquisition of emergent literacy skills, particularly vocabulary knowledge and story recall ability. Twenty-three children aged 3 to 5 took part in a matched pairs experiment that included reading a select e-book four times in which half received a dialogic reading intervention. The children who received the intervention scored significantly higher in the story recall measure of the posttest than those in the control group. No differences were found between the experimental and control groups on the vocabulary measure, although mutual gains were found among both groups from the pretest to the posttest. The results suggest that dialogic reading when incorporated with e-books may improve a child's ability to recall a story. Further, the results indicate that repeated reading of the same e-book may increase vocabulary knowledge.
ContributorsFallon, Ashley Elizabeth (Author) / Connor, Carol (Thesis director) / Kupfer, Anne (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2014-12