Young learners were observed in a summer literacy program at a southern university in order to identify and understand literacy entanglements and how they contributed to the way children developed literacy. Data collection consisted of observations, researcher journals with extensive field notes, and a collection of artifacts relating to…

This case study (Stake, 1995) investigated children's learning experiences in a media-inspired summer camp. The purpose of the study was to explore how educational media can be used to extend children's learning experiences "across" the screens (television, mobile, tablet) and "beyond" these screens through hands-on maker…

As standardized testing becomes more prevalent, the urgency of allocating a designated time for children to play has diminished. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the amount of play children receive and standardized test scores in conjunction with the variable of anxiety. The population used consisted of…

Math proficiency rates are strikingly low for children from high poverty communities. Therefore, it is urgent to find solutions that help them develop basic math skills. Given theoretical considerations about math learning, a potentially promising option is to target children's cognitive engagement. In this study, I investigate a program that was…

Direct Behavior Rating (DBR) has emerged as a useful assessment method to identify behavioral risk and monitor behavioral progress. The development of an online training module has provided an option for low cost training accessible to a wide variety of users at their convenience. Although evaluation of the DBR online training module has…

The effects of long school breaks, such as summer vacation, on students' achievement has been an area of interest among educators and researchers for many years (e.g. Austin, Rogers & Walbesser, 1972; Ballinger, 1987, 1988; Borman, Benson & Overman, 2005; White, 1906). Research specific to children and youth with disabilities and the…

This study investigated whether the level of instructional guidance affected student learning and science self-efficacy when nine- and ten- year old children learn to design unconfounded experiments using control of variable strategies (CVS). Specifically, the goal of this study was to replicate and extend prior research that examines the impact…

This dissertation addresses the question of how structured out-of-school-time settings, such as afterschool programs and summer camps, are positioned to support children's engagement and learning in science. This study addresses a gap in the research literature that does not fully specify the nature of the out-of-school-time (OST) setting and that…

My research assistant and I employed participant observation to study graduate tutors and children in a literacy camp setting. Research questions were: What types of literacy instruction do nine children receive from graduate education major tutors in a community of interest summer literacy camp? How do nine children respond to literacy…