My dissertation is structured as follows: introduction, background, methods, findings in the form of a PowerPoint presentation designed for teachers at my school and "Reading Teacher" article, and implications. Introduction: In response to my students underperforming in language arts I developed my research question; How can I use…

Educational research has been around for over one hundred years and has faced periods of optimism, pessimism, and skepticism. Currently, there is a plethora of educational research available for teachers and districts to use. However, there is a research-practice gap. This gap refers to the amount of research available and educators using the…

Influenced by current legislation calling for full alignment to the science of reading, literacy instruction in Ohio has started shifting. Additionally, Ohio has devoted funds for literacy coaching to improve students' literacy achievement outcomes on state assessments. This correlative study analyzed the relationship between school districts that…

This improvement project was designed to ensure students enrolled in elementary schools with a high poverty index received literacy instructional strategies that promoted literacy achievement. When analyzing Graham County School data, I noticed third-grade students attending high poverty elementary schools were not achieving literacy success at…

In today's digitally interconnected world, one's ability to collaboratively create with others and compose multimodal texts is essential. Yet, high-stakes standardized assessments that value individualistic print centric conceptions influence instruction, leading schools to often undervalue the multimodal and collaborative composing processes and…

Administrators in school systems strive to ensure that the identification of giftedness in elementary students results in proportional demographic representation. Overly stringent or biased gifted identification results in deserving students receiving fewer opportunities-to-learn and exacerbates the excellence gap. My aim in this action research…

Improving foundational academic skills for elementary level students continues to be a challenge for classroom teachers. This study implemented weekly progress monitoring procedures using curriculum-based measurement assessments in conjunction with weekly individual student-teacher graphing and goal-setting conferences to determine the effect the…

Most bilingual programs are built around a clear separation between the two languages used throughout the school day. However, in bilingual research centers (BRCs), a key component of the Gomez and Gomez Dual Language Enrichment model, students can choose which language to use. This is what sparked my interest, because I wanted to understand more…

This study explores the outcomes of policy implementation from the perspective of the policy makers and the educators who are charged with implementation, specifically examining the decision-making process for district leaders during implementation. The study identifies the outcomes from the perspective of the policy-maker utilizing accountability…

This qualitative case study relates to the area of word study. The research examines how specific strategies support academic progress when students are stunted at one orthographic stage on the language continuum. Teachers and reading specialists who support language development for students in first through third grades were interviewed as…

The purpose of this study was to explore differences in teacher perceptions of RTI based on years of teaching experience and educational setting, and the correlation between teacher perceptions and student performance on the third through eighth grade MAAP ELA and mathematics assessments. Data was obtained directly from participants, utilizing a…

Reading is one of the primary goals of the early elementary grades. When students start to struggle with this complex skill, educators and parents search for solutions to rectify quickly mounting gaps before a child falls too far behind. In the State of Oklahoma, lawmakers have passed a law requiring mandatory 3rd grade retention for students who…

The purpose of this action research study is to identify, implement, and evaluate best practices in reading improvement in third grade at Greenleaf Upper Elementary (pseudonym) in support of a process of continuous improvement. The study followed a mixed methods design. The student participants in this study were 47 third grade students who…

This dissertation examines the complexity involved in teachers' perceptions and experience of time on school-related activities. The Intensification Theory explains that test-based accountability has caused a time crunch for teachers, increasing their stress level and burnout rate. Research literature has shown that teachers experiencing high…

Basic multiplication fact fluency is an expected outcome of most third grade classrooms throughout the United States. Students need to know their multiplication facts. This statement does not seem to be under question; it is more about how will students learn their multiplication facts. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of…