This dissertation examines students' social-emotional experience with knowledge building pedagogy from the lenses of grit and growth mindset. The goal of this dissertation is to understand how interest, perseverance of effort and growth mindset oriented feedback engage students social emotionally in knowledge building to sustain and deepen their…

The current study aimed to contribute to the literature by implementing an intervention that examines the effects of explicit metacognitive strategy training and prompts embedded within a Game-Based Learning Environment (GBLE), "Missions with Monty," on metacognitive monitoring accuracy, game performance, and science knowledge of…

This study was conducted to explore US elementary teachers' perceptions of their experiences using rubrics as a tool for student self-assessment and metacognition (assessment for learning) to improve elementary students' achievement and their instructional decision-making at a private American elementary school in South Florida. The constructivist…

The Mind-on-Breathing (MOB) intervention is a mindfulness-breathing exercise that aims to help promote student academic engagement (AE) and reduce off-task behaviors (OFT). MOB is designed from simple, shared technical features common to meditation, mindfulness, and breathing-related exercises that can be implemented in one-on-one settings with…

This current study explored outcomes of SEL competencies including self-efficacy toward classroom performance, emotion regulation, stress, and the use of breathing and mindfulness strategies after implementing SEL-based yoga programming among youth Grades 3 through 5 (N=403). Findings indicate that SEL-based yoga programs support stress reduction…

Efforts taken to promote self-regulated learning (SRL) in elementary school have positive effects on learning outcomes. Few studies examine the role of motivation in relation to other SRL components, namely cognition and metacognition. Additionally, few SRL studies involving elementary students focus on motivational supports. Interventions that…

Children spend much of the day in the classroom with their teachers and peers. There is an alarming growth rate of mental health issues in young children that do not usually present themselves until adolescence. Educators must now examine what can be done to remedy social and emotional problems in elementary-aged children. The problem addressed in…

Students have always faced the challenge of focusing their wandering minds. Today, the ubiquitous presence of technology makes this task more difficult. This study sought to help students harness their attention in the face of distraction using Zimmerman's model of self-regulated learning (SRL), mindfulness practice, and the Pomodoro Technique for…

This study aimed to determine if metacognitive strategies help increase reading comprehension in fifth grade students. Participants included a control group of 31 fifth grade students who were not taught metacognition reading strategies, and a comparable treatment groups of 43 fifth grade students who were taught metacognition reading strategies.…

For decades, urban public schools have been plagued by systemic and structural challenges that continue today. Scholars, policymakers, and the general public have pointed to problems of learning in urban schools and to low expectations for urban students' learning, but little attention has been given to how urban students themselves conceptualize…

With Common Core State Standards (CCSS), all students are held to the same high expectations, including students learning English and other learners who may have academic difficulties. Many students learning English have trouble writing and need effective writing strategies to meet the demands the standards present. Ten fourth and fifth grade…

Students living in poverty are now the majority of the K-12 student population in the United States. Growing up in poverty results in lower self-regulation, executive function, and readiness to learn. Researchers suggest that mindfulness practices, such as yoga, can enhance student self-regulation and executive function, thereby increasing student…

In a phenomenological case study, the author sought to gain an awareness of the lived experiences of 4th and 5th grade ESL students, their parents, and their teachers who participated in the MindUp mindfulness curriculum. The author was interested in the relationship between the mindfulness curriculum and SEL based on the perspective of all three…

This qualitative single exploratory case study explored instructional practices of third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers to explore how Florida students with learning disabilities at the elementary school level perform on statewide mathematics assessments of learning following both cognitive and metacognitive skills development. Theoretical…

Students who have the ability of working through text, while at the same time comprehending what they read, increase the likelihood of school success and lifelong learning (Johnson, 2006). In primary grades, teachers understand that students are learning how to read and in intermediate grades, students are reading to learn new knowledge about a…