Educational Studies Poster Session

The Art of Integrating the Arts: An Examination of Integrating the Fine Arts into Reading and Writing Instruction

Christine Szukalla, '10 et al. — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:00:00 PDT

This inquiry was motivated by my student teaching experiences during which I integrated the arts into the curriculum on a daily basis. The following questions were explored: 1) What does art integration look like in a third grade classroom? 2) How can I incorporate the arts into the teaching of all curricular areas? 3) How can the arts be used to promote literacy in the classroom? I adopted a self-study model of inquity, supplemented by lesson plans, student work, video tapes of my lessons, and field notes. My self-study involved developing and teaching a series of lessons focused on art integration. Through my study I concluded that the most effective way to use art integration is through a co-equal cognitive integration approach whereby students actively engage in the arts to deepen their understanding of the curriculum.

Ways to Integrate Science into the Language Arts Curriculum

Jenny Zyks, '10 et al. — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:00:00 PDT

In this inquiry I sought to answer the question: How can I effectively integrate science into the language arts curriculum? I planned and implemented lessons that combined science, reading and writing while student teaching in a second grade classroom. I combined all three of those subjects through a variety of different activities and lessons. Data collection included lesson plans, writing activities that I created, and written reflections on the effectiveness of the lessons. In this final report, I analyze the extent to which the integrated instruction I implemented was effective, and the significant factors contributing to more or less effective integrated learning experiences in science and language arts. I conclude with some reflections for future practice.

Integrating Cooperative Learning in the Classroom

Natalie Boesche, '10 et al. — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:00:00 PDT

This inquiry is a collaborative study of the benefits of integrating cooperative learning into the classroom. Specifically, we attempt to answer the following questions: 1) How can we effectively integrate cooperative learning into the classroom? 2) In what ways will cooperative learning benefit the students in our classroom? In our inquiry, we discuss the three types of cooperative learning: partner work, group work, and whole class collaboration, which we implemented in the classroom. We used lesson, plans, field notes, reflections, photographs, student work, and literature to support our inquiry. We analyzed our data to determine the benefits as well as limitations of using cooperative learning in the classroom. We address how this inquiry has influenced our teaching philosophies and how it will impact our future classroom practices.

Adolescent Attitudes Toward Literature

Anne Marie Casa, '10 et al. — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:00:00 PDT

The purpose of this study was to gather information about what adolescent students like to read and why. Participants included grade nine students enrolled in a Literature and Composition course. Data collected included reading logs written by the students, notes about class discussions, and recorded conversations with students about reading and reading material. The results revealed students' interests regarding the books that they enjoy reading. Findings also revealed how students related to and understood texts required by the school. While most students enjoyed reading a book of their own choice, they indicated that they struggled with and did not particularly enjoy school required texts. This data will inform the selection of literature I win undertake in the future in order to promote enjoyment of and connections with required and elective readings.

Responding to the Challenges of Teaching High School Journalism

Emily Houk, '10 et al. — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:00:00 PDT

In this inquiry, I address the challenges of teaching high school journalism classes in which the students vary in prior knowledge of and experience with journalism, as well as in age and academic ability. The heterogeneity of the students and the variety of tasks that are involved in publication create an environment that poses certain challenges for the teacher/adviser in terms of effectively individualizing instruction with the common class goal of producing the newspaper. During student teaching, I implemented and examined different pedagogical strategies in exploring how to help students meet learning goals specific to each level of the course. Through analysis of my written reflections on student participation and learning, along with student feedback, I have reached conclusions as to which strategies are most effective in the journalism classroom. I have also gained insight as to what journalism students find meaningful about their learning in the class.

Supporting Student's Success in Reading

Emily Haager, '10 et al. — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:00:00 PDT

This inquiry follows my growth as a teacher and my students' growth as readers and learners. I tell this story as I strive to answer the question, "How can I best support students' success in reading while motivating them to take responsibility for completing their school work?" Through reflection and collection of student work, lesson plans, and video, I examine how my practices as a teacher, the choice of text, and students' needs affect students' success and motivation. My examination of this material has led me to a more holistic view of reading instruction and will inform my future practices as a teacher.

Real Life Connections: Integrating Social Justice into the Elementary Mathematics Classroom

Caitlin Barnes, '10 et al. — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:00:00 PDT

For this inquiry, I integrated social justice issues into the mathematics curriculum in a fourth grade classroom. My inquiry questions are: In what ways do children understand real life connections between math and social issues? How can I create meaningful learning experiences about specific social issues using mathematics? To answer these questions, I created lessons and held class discussions about three different social justice issues relevant to students' lives: money, equality, and sweatshops. The data I collected included student work, my own written reflections on lessons I taught, and field notes of child observations. Preliminary findings indicate that students understand real life connections between math and social issues. I also found that the students had a better understanding of the mathematics concepts from the inclusion of social justice issues.

Motivating Effective Revision Through Teacher Feedback

Katie Utesch, '10 et al. — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:00:00 PDT

This is a study the effectiveness of teacher feedback throughout the writing process and its ability to stimulate student revision. My inquiry focuses on the following questions: 1. What types of written comments result in the most effective revision? 2. Do instructional strategies such as multiple drafting and individual conferencing increase effective revision? I examine ten students' writing folders, coding my feedback into five categories and assessing whether or not students made revisions based on comments. After looking at the percent of change for each category and overall, I then consider whether the revision was positive to determine what types of comments result in the most effective revision. Additionally, I compare the results of students who completed multiple drafts and/or individual conferencing to evaluate the effect of these instructional strategies on revision. Finally, I reflect on the limitations of my study and how these conclusions will influence my future teaching practices.

Methods to Engage Students in Their Mathematical Learning Experience

Mari Mermelstein, '10 et al. — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:00:00 PDT

In 2005 Park studied the effects of different classroom variables and engagement on students' achievement He found that there was a positive correlation between student engagement and student achievement We conducted our self study research in Geometry and Pre-Calculus classes with the goal of answering the question: what teaching methods can we use to engage students and facilitate their learning of thematical concepts? Our study required planning lessons that elicited student engagement and then evaluating the effectiveness of these lessons. This process included reflecting, learning, and extending our knowledge to make decisions about our future practice. We found the most successful activities were goal oriented: students performed immediately to answer specific questions. Another characteristic of engaging lessons was when students took leading roles in the lesson while we acted as facilitators. As this research focused on students' short-term retention of concepts, an interesting extension could evaluate the effect engaging lessons had on long-term retention of mathematical concepts.

Beyond DIBELS: Adding Comprehension Questions to a Fluency Based Reading Test

Cathy Gembara, '10 et al. — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:00:00 PDT

DIBELS test is a widely used reading assessment in the elementary grades to determine students' reading ability; however, it does not include a reading comprehension component. According to Baumann, Hooten, and White (1999), students have a greater understanding of what they read when reading comprehension components are added to reading instruction. My goal for this research was to supplement DIBELS test, which solely measures fluency, by adding comprehension questions to assess students' reading ability. DIBELS test is used to determine the level of additional reading support each student needs. However, the test results do not give information on the type of support needed by students based on their DIBELS score. I added reading comprehension questions to the supplemental instructional tool, Six Minute Solutions, which has an identical setup to the DIBELS test. I analyzed the different types of comprehension questions used to determine the reading strengths and weaknesses of my fourth grade students. I found that comprehension questions provided a better insight about the reading skills of students who needed additional instruction. DIBELS scores were not sufficient tools in determining reading ability and identifying instructional support in developing students' reading comprehension.