Listed below are previous Neag School of Education Honors thesis topics from 2006 to present:

2024

Gianna Aquino – Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Del Siegle
Push-In Differentiation of Instruction for Gifted Mathematics Education

This honors thesis is an investigation of what one form of push-in instruction for gifted students in mathematics could look like. Through an observation of a school in Florida, I investigated how one classroom was using Project BUMP-UP to build mathematics proficiency and serve gifted students in the classroom. The gifted differentiation was accomplished through content and questioning techniques by a gifted specialist pushing into a general classroom during the mathematics instruction time. Gifted students showed more math discovery than general education students, guided by a 3 Act Math Task and open-ended questioning techniques. Students showed more interest in mathematics tasks and more positive thinking.

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Katie Coleman – Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Doug Kaufman
Multicultural Literature in the Classroom

Discussions surrounding multicultural literature have become more prevalent as book banning continues to be put into the political spotlight in the United States. Though it is believed that multicultural literature is beneficial to students, there is not much literature that has researched the benefits of having multicultural literature in the classroom. Through teacher interviews in which they shared their experiences and opinions on multicultural literature, there were three major themes: (i) Teachers believe that students’ feeling seen in the books being presented was a motivation to include those books in their library. (ii) That district support to include multicultural books helped them to bring these books into the classroom. (iii) Celebration books (Brandon, 2016) were the most commonly used books in these classrooms. These findings would point to further research needing to be done to show that multicultural literature is beneficial to students’ learning.

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Erin Logan – Comprehensive Special Education
Thesis Supervisor: Jennifer Freeman
 Special Education Professionals’ Perceptions and Thoughts about Restraint and Seclusion in Special Education

Restraint and seclusion practices in schools are used disproportionately against students with disabilities and have serious consequences, including injury and death (US Department of Education, 2020). Federally and locally, there is little policy and legislation about restraint and seclusion, and when there is it is often not specific and leaves many decisions to local districts (Freeman & Sugai, 2013; Gagnon et al., 2017; Kern et al., 2021). Given that, the current data sets available to examine restraint and seclusion rates in schools are often inaccurate and underreport such rates (National Council on Disability, 2015; US Government Accountability Office, 2019). Recently there have been bills introduced at both the federal and state level to ban seclusion and reduce the frequency with which restraint can be used (All Info – H.R.3470– 118th Congress, 2023; Washington State Legislature 2023). However, there is almost no data or research on teachers’ perceptions of the policies and practices surrounding restraint and seclusion, even though they are the ones seeing and experiencing restraint and seclusion situations daily. In this survey, we asked special education professionals their thoughts and opinions on 4 areas related to restraint and seclusion: education, training, policy, and practice. The major findings were that most professionals had some education and training and wanted to see specific improvements in those programs. The results also indicated that participants had varying levels of agreement on future policy and guidelines surrounding the use of restraint and seclusion. This study will help inform teacher preparation programs in their education and training and contribute to the growing field of research.

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Emily Rostkowski – Mathematics Education
Thesis Supervisor: Megan Staples
Teachers Leveraging ChatGPT to Implement GAISE Guidelines in High School Statistics Education

Launched in November 2022, ChatGPT is a large language model chatbot that allows users to have conversations with artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Given its rising prevalence, the implementation of ChatGPT in educational settings has gained increasing attention. ChatGPT’s functionalities particularly align with the statistics and data science classroom. As the demand for quantitative skills and statistical literacy in STEM-related careers (and beyond) grows, statistics and data science classrooms must be equipped to meet these demands. Recommendations to meet such demands are outlined in the American Statistical Association’s 2020 Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) report. This paper investigates how ChatGPT can be readily and efficiently implemented within the statistics classroom to meet the GAISE guidelines by implementing integration strategies within a high school statistics classroom. This study compares students’ interest, sample work, and teacher experiences of the ChatGPT lesson with a model lesson to investigate the feasibility and possible avenues to integrate ChatGPT in the high school statistics classroom.

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Ariana Spearin – Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little
Seating in K-6 Classrooms

Classroom organization can contribute to the success of a learning environment, and teachers may consider this to be a key component of classroom management. This organization may include the seating arrangement of a classroom as well as the types of seats that students use. In this study, I surveyed current and former elementary school teachers about the choices they make regarding classroom seating and their perceptions of the effects of different seating options on outcomes such as academic achievement, behavior, participation and collaboration. Classroom arrangements listed in the survey included cluster, horseshoe, and row seating. Types of seats included traditional chairs, stability balls, standing desks and seat cushions. I analyzed responses from 39 teacher participants. Overall, we found that teachers favor cluster seating for most outcomes; this aligns with our finding that teachers prioritize students’ participation and collaboration when arranging their classroom seating. In regards to types of seats, there is no clear preference for any of the options. Teachers also reported that they believe students enjoy picking their own seats and using flexible seating rather than traditional seats.

2023

Jannatul Anika, Secondary Biology Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little
Expanding Teacher Diversity and Learning Achievements: Understanding and Supporting the Teaching Career Decision Making of Minoritized Students

The purpose of this study is to explore how college students of color who are considering (or have considered) the teaching profession describe the internal and external factors that are influencing their career decision. This project translates the observations and experiences around the lack of diversity in the teaching workforce and aims to understand the underlying reasons there is a shortage of teachers of color, with the goal of recommending solutions. In Connecticut during the 2021-22 academic year, 89.9 percent of public school teachers identified as White, while Connecticut’s population of students of color is more than 45 percent (Blanco, 2021; State of Connecticut, 2021). Students of color at two Connecticut universities participated in open ended surveys and interviews to share their reflections. The responses from students were complemented by interviewing current educators of color who shared their perspective on the field and their identities. The methods of this research emphasized the importance and value of listening to college students of color first in identifying points of dissonance in choosing the teaching profession before proposing recruitment policies and programs.

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Jessi Cooper, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little
Autism, Gender, and Identity in College Students

Existing literature on autism’s relationships with identity and gender is sparse, and this study aims to investigate what few have: how do autistic females view these variables and their relationships? This is a qualitative, interview-based study of 10 college students who identify as autistic and identify as female and/or were assigned female at birth. Participants shared their experiences with autism diagnosis, gender identity, and navigating their sense of self. The study found four themes among participants’ responses: (i) Many types of diagnosis obstacles exist, as do mitigating factors for some of these obstacles, (ii) Various motives led participants to camouflage, but negative effects motivated many to reduce camouflaging behavior, (iii) Autism is related to both perceptions and enactions of gender, and (iv) Autism impacts identity in multiple ways outside of gender. These themes largely agree with and build on patterns found in the minimal existing literature.

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Emily Dell’Orfano, Music Education
Thesis Supervisor: Cara Bernard
Mission Statements and the Online Presence of Children’s Choruses: A Content Analysis

The language used in an organization’s mission statement implies the values held by that organization. Common music education values have been top-tier education, musical excellence, and the cultivation of high-achieving, well-rounded individuals. However, during the post-2020 rise in attention to social justice, organizations have either extended or reworded their mission statements to reflect a greater pursuit of equity, inclusion, and accessibility. In recent literature there have been discussions of a conflict between the values of arts organizations, as standards of elite musical excellence are inherently in conflict with community accessibility due to the socioeconomic factors that determine a student’s access to the education, training, and resources that are required for a “high achieving” student. This study examined the mission statements of several well-known children’s choruses, as well as the same choruses’ Facebook pages, to analyze how certain values are projected in the mission statements, and how those values are made manifest in other aspects of online presence.

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Taylor Emmerich, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little
Family Engagement in Connecticut Public Elementary Schools

In this study, I explored how Connecticut public elementary schools foster family engagement, including what patterns may differ based on aspects of school demographics, including indicators of general geographic location (i.e., rural, suburban, urban) and socioeconomic status of the population served. I was focused on examining the different strategies that schools use to foster family engagement and how educators perceive that these efforts may affect student success.

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Carly Marinstein, Secondary Mathematics Education
Thesis Supervisor: Megan Staples
A Study of Math Teachers’ Perspectives on Equity

Equity is a central focus in the educational system. It is part of the conversation in every professional learning context and in any educational article. Math classrooms, in particular, are increasingly entering the dialogue; previously, some thought equity did not apply to mathematics and that math was free of biases. In reality, along with all other subjects, math has barriers to break down to ensure success of all students in the classroom. As educators wrestle with the question of how to make schools more equitable, they must consider what equity means and how stakeholders come to understand it. In this study, I examined aspects of this understanding by exploring what classroom teachers think about equity and how they define it. I analyzed definitions of equity from 19 seasoned Alliance District teachers in Connecticut and compared them to how key researchers are defining equity in the math classroom. I considered these questions: How are current teachers thinking about equity? Do their thoughts overlap with what the literature says about equity? Through my analysis, I found three major themes in the teacher responses: Relevance, fairness, and comfort. The literature describes an equitable math classroom as having four dimensions: Access, achievement, identity, and power. When comparing the three themes from teachers to the themes in the literature, I found many connections. Many commonalities were found when cross coding the data’s three themes to the literature’s four themes. Strong connections were found between identity and relevance, identity and fairness, and access and fairness. The heavy crossover between established works and teacher perspective highlights a set of collective views surrounding equity in mathematics classrooms.

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Derek Mason, Special Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little
Special Education Teachers’ Stress and Stress Management in the Era of COVID-19

Previous research has indicated that teaching is a highly stressful career across subject areas, even before the Covid-19 pandemic. The additional duties and demands that special education teachers face warrant particular attention and investigation into their experience of stress. This study explored the perceived stressors, stress levels, and stress management techniques of current special educators in the field. The influence of the Covid-19 pandemic on how the participants describe their experience of stress and stress management was also examined. 37 special educators across the northeastern United States participated in an anonymous online survey consisting of a 29-item adapted version of the Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI; Fimian, 1988), three researcher-developed open ended questions, and a series of demographic questions. Results indicate that the special educators surveyed shared common stressors and stress management techniques throughout the pandemic and across their careers, the extent to which the teachers claimed the pandemic influenced their stress varied, and the participants ranked their levels of stress descriptively higher than in previous research.

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Stephanie Millicker, Secondary Mathematics Education
Thesis Supervisor: Del Siegle
An Examination of Elementary School Students’ Opinions About Mathematics

Math is a class every student takes in school each year. Some students love math, some students hate math, and many students lay somewhere on the spectrum between those two extremes. To learn more about students’ opinions surrounding math, we surveyed Florida elementary school students at the beginning of the school year with questions related to their enjoyment and self-perceptions of their math ability. During the school year, an additional survey was administered after each math unit that asked them to quantify their levels of interest, challenge, engagement, and amount of new information learned in each unit. The survey results were examined to find correlations between categories and between a category and students’ grades in their math class. Eight statistically significant relationships were found. The relationships were between students’ self-perception of their math ability and perceived challenge of math lessons, self-perception of their math ability and enjoyment of math, self-perception of math ability and scores on math unit tests, perceived enjoyment of math and interest in math units, perceived engagement in math class and amount of new math learned, perceived engagement in math class and interest in math, and amount of new math learned and interest in math.

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Chuck O’Coin, Secondary Mathematics Education
Thesis Supervisor: Del Siegle
Higher Education Burnout: The Effect of Burnout on Students

Burnout is a syndrome that has stark negative effects on multiple populations, including students in higher education. Burnout among students can be sourced from lofty expectations, heavy workloads, feeling unimportant, having high levels of empathy, personal struggles outside of the classroom, and experiencing depression or related mental illnesses, and it can drastically change the outcome of students’ time in school. The purpose of this study was to analyze the extent of burnout among students at UConn and whether differences exist in burnout experiences by student’s gender identity, academic year, and field of study. The outcome measures were the three core categories of burnout – exhaustion, cynicism, and self-efficacy. We found no difference between males and females with any categories of burnout. Education majors experienced lower cynicism levels and higher self-efficacy rates than majors not categorized into STEM, Arts/Humanities, or Education, and Education majors also experienced higher self-efficacy rates compared to STEM majors. There was no difference among any majors regarding exhaustion. Lastly, Juniors in college experienced higher levels of exhaustion than Graduate students, and Seniors experienced higher levels of self-efficacy than Freshman.

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Alexa Schwartz, Special Education with a minor in American Sign Language
Thesis Supervisor: Hannah Dostal
An Evaluation of A Year-Long Instructional Writing Approach in Relation to the Spelling Skills of Elementary Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

Through assessing the spelling skills of 40 deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students in grades 3-5, the goal of this study is to evaluate a year-long instructional writing approach called Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI). Students were administered the WJ III Subtest 3, Spelling, which measures a person’s ability to correctly write words that are said orally. The 40 students were administered the spelling subtest at the beginning and end of the academic year as a pretest and posttest to measure student growth. The Multilinguistic Coding System (MLC) was used to analyze the students’ pretests and posttests. The hope of this research is to bring more knowledge regarding emergent writing development, specifically spelling skills, to educators who work with DHH students in the educational system. Additionally, through assessing the impact of the intersection of identities, such as deafness, bilingualism, and disability, a more holistic understanding of emergent development will be achieved.

 

2022

Micaela Collins
Elementary Education
“Really? You’re Puerto Rican?”: An Autoethnographic Exploration of a Multiracial Preservice Teacher
Advisor: Grace Player

This thesis is an autoethnographic look by a multiracial pre-service teacher at her experiences in both K-12 classrooms and higher education, as a multiracial student and future teacher. The paper highlights some of the critical moments in the researcher’s life as they relate to her identity as a multiracial woman. These critical moments are then be used to further explore and explain the research that has already been done around multiracial students’ perspectives, with the hopes of expanding upon the research and offering another perspective and experience to the existing scholarship. The hope of the researcher is that the work presented here will help her to reflect on how her experiences have affected, and will affect, who she is as a teacher, show other pre-service and in-service teachers the importance of understanding multiracial student experiences, and add another account of a multiracial perspective to the growing literature around the issues presented in this paper.

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Michael Flaherty
English Education
Educators’ Transfer of Educational Technology Skills From the COVID-19 Pandemic
Advisor: Del Siegle

The Covid-19 pandemic presented unforeseen and completely unprecedented challenges for educators. With the entire world in lockdown, educators and students were forced to adapt on the fly to fully remote instruction utilizing a variety of technologies and applications to fit districts’ individual needs. However, as we eagerly return to the in-person classroom it is worth reflecting on the skills educators and students gained regarding specific educational technologies. There has been evidence that, when correctly implemented, technology integration improves student understanding of content area material as well as their relevant technology skills as required by state standards. We surveyed a variety of educators who attended the University of Connecticut iPad conference to see how working educators utilized technology during the pandemic and how they have used technology upon returning to the in-person classroom. Keeping with current research, some uses of technology have increased student engagement and help students stay organized in the midst of the semester and have seen continued success in the in-person classroom. However, utilizing technology for every student in every activity can be misguided, as risks of burnout and disengagement were found when students were asked to be on their devices for 7 hours a day, as during the pandemic. While this survey had a limited demographic, some of these larger concepts might guide teachers looking to incorporate technology wisely in their in-person classroom.

 

2021

Francesca DePalma
Elementary Education
Female Representation in Popular Children’s Literature
Advisor: Catherine Little

Female representation in literature is an important topic of study. Representation is important for many reasons, including the ways people connect with and see themselves in what they read. It is important for children to connect to characters and to see role models in what they read; such connections may support children emotionally and encourage them to read more. This study was a content analysis of a sample of popular children’s texts published over the last 40 years. The book sample included best-selling children’s and young adult literature in each decade from the 1980s to the 2010s, including stand-alone novels and novels that were part of a series. Each book was reviewed to document aspects of female representation. Some of the questions answered include frequency of male to female characters included in titles, the types of jobs that the protagonist’s guardians have, whether female characters need “saving” by male characters, and whether a female plays a key role in the plot of the story. While there were not significant changes to patterns over time, some results overall showed patterns. Some areas that show a pattern include jobs of female guardians, which tended to be fewer and less well described than jobs of male guardians, and female characters needing to be saved, which happened on a fairly regular basis across texts.

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Madison Levine
Biology Education
Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions in the Pandemic
Advisor: Catherine Little

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching as a profession is going through changes, as teachers and students alike learn to navigate distance and hybrid learning, technology, and entirely new ways of teaching and learning. While some teachers are viewing the pandemic as a way to reimagine education, others are struggling with the changing demands of online learning. Teacher shortages are not a new problem, but now have the possibility of worsening due to the new challenges that have surfaced during the pandemic. Preservice teachers are in the position of observing all of these events and challenges while engaging in professional preparation programs, and they also are experiencing unexpected challenges related to their access to schools and classrooms and the expectation to learn their future work under great uncertainty. A survey of preservice teachers and their attitudes towards their career choice shows findings of new factors that may play a role in their want to continue on this career path. Those factors include issues specific to the pandemic and other current events, such as safety concerns, adapting to virtual teaching and learning, student interaction, the uncertainty of school in the future, and antiracist teaching. These factors are situated within broader ideas that have changed or resurfaced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, such as support and protection of teachers, classroom environment, student interactions, and equity concerns. Again, these are situated within persisting factors that influence the retention of teachers such as classes and materials, student relationships, community, and shaping future generations.

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Natalie Y. Wong
Music Education
The Role of Extracurricular Activities in the College-Decision Making Process
Advisor: Catherine Little

Extracurricular activities play a vital role in a student’s education. Studies have shown that extracurricular activities improve educational outcomes, organizational skills, communication abilities, and social awareness. In this study, we asked college students how they recall prioritizing extracurricular activities in their college decision-making process. We also wanted to know if students who did participate in extracurricular activities continued from high school to college and why. The data were collected through a survey with both multiple choice and open ended questions. There were 285 participants who were either in college or had recently graduated. We used five main categories of extracurricular activities for our survey: prosocial activities, team sports, school involvement activities, performing arts, and academic clubs. Participants said they did consider extracurricular activities in their decision-making process, but such activities were not the main deciding factor for most participants. We also found that participants did continue their extracurricular involvement, most often because they enjoyed their activity in high school and wanted to continue it. When asked why they enjoyed participating, respondents cited social enjoyment, academic success, and connections in their career field.

2020

Kiana K.A. Foster-Mauro
Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Grace Player
Mirrors of Our Own: Multiracial Representation in Children’s Picture Books

In this study, I analyzed the representation of multiracial individuals in children’s picture books, ages newborn-8. Specifically, this study closely analyzed 75 board and picture books published in the United States between the years 2009 and 2019 that feature mixed race characters. The identified texts were analyzed in a critical content analysis using a framework based upon Critical Race Theory. Through this framework, the researcher examined how multiracial characters in the texts are portrayed, the power dynamics, and what the texts say about various aspects of culture, including race, class, and gender. The researcher also analyzed the authors and illustrators of the selected texts, looking closely at the role that this plays in the dynamics of the texts. This study provides a closer look at representation within children’s picture books and children’s picture book authors/illustrators.

 

Kayla Fuhst
Music Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Little
A Study of Teacher Questioning in an Elementary Mathematics Classroom

In this study, I examined patterns in teacher questioning in an elementary mathematics classroom. The focus was on transcribed recordings of lesson components in which instruction was specifically focused on mathematical vocabulary within the context of the curriculum unit in use. The primary participant was a kindergarten teacher teaching in a summer enrichment program for students referred by their teachers for showing evidence of advanced academic potential in the classroom.  Twelve rising first graders registered for the summer class, which was provided as an intervention component of Project SPARK. Several patterns emerged in the teacher’s questions over the 3-week curriculum. After several rounds of coding, the findings demonstrated that the intersection of question form and question intent resulted in overlapping patterns, such as Eliciting Additional Response questions, or talk moves, generally being classified as Building Conversation questions, and the majority of closed and leading questions aligning with the Building Content Understanding questions.

 

Jonah Garcia
Music Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Cara Bernard
Teaching Practices, Institutional Cultures, and Access to Music Learning

The mission of the National Association for Music Education is “to advance music education by promoting the understanding and making of music by all” (NAfME, n.d.-b). Despite these aspirations of equality, research suggests that both demographics and geography have a role in determining who is able to participate and who will choose to participate in school music (Elpus & Abril, 2019; Salvador & Allegood, 2014). This study examined the factors that influence school music participation and the representation of student populations in the music programs of two Connecticut secondary schools. Names of schools and participants have been changed to preserve anonymity. This study utilized a collective case study approach, and participants included four music educators and the principals of the two schools. Data were collected through a document review and semi-structured interviews with each participant. Using a cross-case analysis, data showed that factors at the community, school, and program levels affected access to music classes and student interest in music learning opportunities. The findings suggest that certain teacher and administrator philosophies, policies, and practices are particularly effective in preserving and expanding music programs that serve socioeconomically diverse populations.

 

Elizabeth George
Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Richard Gonzales
How Teachers Manage Resource Inequity in Different Educational Contexts: A Case Study and Recommendations

This study explores how teachers make decisions and navigate different contexts to support their students. I investigated how teachers use agency, ownership, and learning in the positive, adaptive choices they make to achieve better student outcomes. The purpose of this honors thesis is to surface ideas about how teachers can serve students in different schools with various needs and different amounts of resources.

The research questions framing the study are as follows: (1) How do teachers make choices about how to utilize their professional support network? (2) How do teachers make choices about their instructional approach to support students? (3) How do teachers make choices to demonstrate they like, care, and think about their students? In the study, four practicing teachers from two different school districts are surveyed on their teaching experiences in their given district.

Overall, the results showed some common themes about decisions teachers make based on the interviews conducted. When discussing how they use their professional support network, many teachers mentioned the importance of collaboration with colleagues, as well as feeling supported, and meeting the needs of educators. In terms of instructional approach, teachers discussed their focus on students and the importance of having professional choice. When demonstrating care for students, teachers mentioned a love for the community and taking time to learn about students and their culture. In conclusion, the results show that regardless of the district and varying resources available, teachers used similar methodology when making decisions to support their students. The results are important as they show how teachers manage resource inequity in different contexts with similar beliefs and teaching practices.

 

Emily Rakers
Special Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Joseph Madaus
Examination of Online Accommodation Information for College Students with Disabilities in New England

The purpose of this study is to report on the status of information available to college students with disabilities on the websites of New England colleges’ centers for students with disabilities. Primarily, this study focused on information about the application process for a student to receive accommodations. Data was generated by compiling a list of common factors on the websites of centers for students with disabilities at colleges not in New England, and then searching the New England websites to see if they included these factors on their own websites. Three separate categories of schools were included in the study: 2-year schools, 4-year public schools, and 4-year private schools. The data was analyzed to find what information is most common on centers for students with disabilities websites and to describe any patterns by specific types of schools. The most common features on the websites were guidelines for disability documentation and a phone number or email address for a point of contact at the center for students with disabilities. Most schools also stated on their websites that IEPs, 504-Plans, and Summaries of Performance would not be sufficient documentation. It is hoped that the findings from this study will inform transitioning high school students with disabilities when they are researching the accommodation process in college.

 

Jillian Rutstein
Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Dorothea Anagnostopoulos
Helping Beginning Elementary Teachers Teach Mathematics Ambitiously: Resources and Impediments

As beginning teachers, novices often strive to find the most productive teaching strategies to support their students’ learning. Those practices involve conceptual, procedural, modeling, and feedback skills, all encompassed in the term ambitious teaching. As educators move towards developing the practices of ambitious teaching, they push past methods of memorization to engage their students in deeper, more conceptual thinking and problem solving. This study examines how one beginning teacher develops ambitious teaching practices during his first three years of teaching. It seeks, in particular, to understand the resources and materials that enable him to do so. Specifically, we seek to understand which social, conceptual, and concrete materials enable the beginning teacher to teach ambitiously in mathematics and which impede his efforts to do so.

 

The data for this study include interviews and observations. During his first three years of teaching, the novice teacher participated in seven interviews. Interviews asked about the resources and support the teacher used in his teaching, his views of students’ engagement, and learning in mathematics. Researchers observed the teacher teach nine mathematics lessons, three each year. Scores rated the ambitiousness of his instruction using the Protocol for Language Arts Teaching Observation (PLATO) adapted for mathematics instruction. PLATO scores showed an overall increase in ambitiousness from the first to third years of teaching and especially in the domains of instructional strategies and representation of content. The increase was supported by a consistent mathematics curriculum and resources from colleagues that supported teaching procedural skills. Despite the increase, we noted that the teacher struggled to teach conceptual strategies. This appears to be related to a decrease in support from instructional coaches and an increased focus on standardized test preparation from administration. The findings of this study help identify the resources that can support beginning teachers in teaching mathematics ambitiously.

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2019

Samantha Cronin
Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little

Teacher Perceptions of Inclusive Pedagogies

Broad changes in demographics in the U.S. are also altering classroom compositions, such that teachers are now responsible for a much more diverse group of students. Although teachers often recognize the importance of responding to a wide range of student needs, they may express difficulty in actually doing so. In this study, I explored the ways in which teachers define and implement three prominent inclusive pedagogical approaches toward education: multicultural education, teaching for social justice, and culturally responsive teaching. By surveying elementary school teachers from across the United States, I was able to analyze the ways in which teacher definitions connect to actual practice, as well as the associated challenges with implementation in general. Overall, the participating teachers appeared to have only a basic understanding of inclusive pedagogies in practice. They tended to focus on content integration instead of deep-rooted, fundamental changes to school and social structure. This demonstrates a need for professional learning opportunities in which teachers are encouraged to expand their understanding of inclusive pedagogies in reasonable increments.

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Nicole Gerardin
English Education
Thesis Supervisor: Hannah Dostal

An Interdisciplinary Education: Just a Bridge Away

U.S. high school classrooms may not be reflective of what students will encounter outside of their walls. Many high schools separate subject area teaching and learning and, therefore, may not thoroughly provide students with multiple, discipline-specific and authentic lenses for interpretation to understand important concepts and solve complex problems. Existing discussions on the topic of providing students with an interdisciplinary secondary education note various benefits of the implementation of units that are inclusive of more than one discipline.

In this qualitative study, I sought to further my understanding of the benefits of and barriers to implementation of interdisciplinary units in five Connecticut high school classrooms. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and these interviews were then transcribed and coded. Following the initial coding of the interviews, codes were categorized under three major themes: benefits of interdisciplinary units, barriers to implementation of interdisciplinary units, and aids and effective strategies for implementation. Commonly purported benefits included an increased level of student independence and choice in the classroom, an enhanced and more authentic educational experience, and the ability to provide students with multiple lenses for interpretation. Barriers to implementation included departmentalized and restricted interaction between teachers, lack of specified professional development opportunities, and teacher skepticism.

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Kathrine Grant
Secondary English Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Elizabeth Howard

Investigating the Influence of Peer Tutoring for Supporting Students Learning English as an Additional Language

This project explored the use of peer-to-peer tutoring for students learning English as an Additional Language by surveying high school students currently participating in such a program at a local high school. The mixed methods study relied on student and teacher interviews as well as survey data to investigate the perceptions of peer tutors, tutees, and the teacher facilitator of the program on the academic benefits of the program, the contextual factors that supported their learning of English, and their recommendations for continual programmatic growth. Key findings indicate that the academic benefits include language learning, content knowledge, and leadership. Important contextual factors that affect students learning English were identified as shared identity, motivations, importance of peer relationships, socialization component of the club, and discomfort that was experienced in other academic and social situations. The study concludes with suggestions for programmatic improvement.

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Isabella Horan
Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dorothea Anagnostopoulos

It’s Hard to Do Everything: Keeping Beginning Teachers of Color in the Profession

Beginning teachers are leaving the profession at higher rates than in the past (Lloyd & Sullivan, 2012). Teachers of color are leaving at even higher rates than their white colleagues; one in five teachers of color state will leave the profession within their first five years (Ahmad and Boser, 2014). With the increase of culturally and linguistically diverse students in the nation’s public schools, it is imperative that we both increase the number of teachers of color and enable them to stay in teaching (Dilworth & Coleman, 2014).  In this research study, we sought to identify some of the conditions that help teachers of color stay in teaching through the case study of Angel, an early career teacher of color. The data includes seven interviews with Angel over his first three years of teaching, collected as part of a larger study of beginning teachers’ preparation for ambitious instruction.  Analysis of these interview data show how Angel’s relationships with his students, colleagues, and principal were important to his staying in teaching.  These relationships provided him with a sense of professional competence and purpose as well as support and resources to develop his teaching practices.  Early opportunities for school leadership also helped integrate Angel into the school community.  At the same time, tensions with colleagues related to race and gender as well as mounting frustrations stemming from district and school testing mandates somewhat diminished Angel’s enthusiasm for teaching.  The study concludes by identifying the implications of these findings for research and practice.

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Clarey Pass
Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little

Teacher Perceptions of Book Selection Practices in Reading Instruction

Leveled text systems are extremely common in elementary schools today. These systems group texts in order to guide students through a sequence of texts to improve their fluency and accuracy. While leveled text systems are meticulously designed to support students’ skill development, there is no real emphasis on motivation or enjoyability within these texts. It is well-documented that appropriate level of texts is important in supporting students’ skill development. Leveled texts place great importance on a book being challenging enough to promote problem-solving skills in reading, but not so difficult that it causes frustration or poses an impossible task to developing readers. However, it is also well-documented that motivation is a big factor in helping students gain skills in reading. These different emphases in reading instruction led to questions about how teachers felt about books they were selecting for their students, as well as their perceptions of what their students felt were important in selecting books. This research study seeks to find patterns in factors that teachers use when selecting books for their students to read, as well as their thoughts on what their students hold as important when self-selecting books. Teachers are also asked about their experiences working with leveled text systems, and their feelings of strengths and weaknesses within those systems. The findings of this study include that the promotion of skill development within a book as well as the interest level of the reader were two of the most prevalent factors teachers took into consideration when selecting books for students.

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Clarissa Tan
English Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little

A Paradox of Identities: Perspectives of East and Southeast Asian American Students on Living and Learning in Predominantly White Communities

Many educators and policymakers—and society at large—view the Asian American experience through the narrowed lens of the model minority myth, which defines these students around academic success. While seemingly positive, these conjectures problematically oversimplify this student population’s experience. In this qualitative study, I sought to add to existing discussions and strengthen educator understanding of how East and Southeast Asian American students in predominately White schools interpret their own educational experiences with relation to their cultural identity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with second- and third-generation East and Southeast Asian American undergraduates, who read Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese as a study text used to further facilitate discussions. Open-ended interview responses were coded and analyzed for common themes. Common trends included that students perceived the model minority stereotype as both beneficial and detrimental. Due to negative encounters, lack of visibility, and the absence of community in their educational environments, students struggled to accept and reconcile their cultural identities as Asians and as Americans. Students frequently described an existing need for culturally aware, inclusive, and proactive teachers and education systems.

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Jami Zolotor
Special Education
Thesis Supervisor: Jennifer Freeman

The Educational Outcomes of 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: A Comprehensive Literature Review

Despite the prevalence of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS), there is still very little known about the educational outcomes of students with this genetic syndrome. Without knowing the educational outcomes of students, teachers and other educational professionals do not know how to intervene to improve the educational success of students with 22q11.2DS. There is a multitude of research that focuses on a particular area of weakness or strength in children and adolescents with 22q11.2DS, but there are no articles that describe the overall educational outcomes. Describing the educational outcomes of students with 22q11.2DS is a necessary first step in better understanding how to meet the educational needs of students with the genetic syndrome. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to gather descriptive information on what is known about the educational outcomes of students with 22q11.2DS. This study examined both qualitative and quantitative articles published about students with 22q11.2DS and systematically reviewed those sources using a mixed methods review to describe what is known about the educational outcomes of the students. This research found that students with 22q11.2DS have specific impairments in working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, visuospatial ability, motor ability, social skills, communication skills, intellectual ability, and academic achievement that impact the educational outcomes of children with 22q11.2DS. Implications for further research include using this knowledge of educational outcomes to implement interventions and accommodations related to the specific impairments and testing the effectiveness of these interventions and accommodations.

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2018

Amy Hetherington-Coy, Secondary Science Education – Biology
Patrick Pierce, Secondary Science Education – Physics
Thesis Supervisor: Todd Campbell
Negotiating Coherent Science Teacher Professional Learning Experiences across University and School Settings
This research investigates the assumptions underlying the work of a research practice partnership (RPP) made up of university science teacher educators and mentoring science teachers. With increased attention to what have been described as significant shifts proposed in science teaching and learning connected to recent standards documents in the U.S., increased attention and possibilities exist for collaborative work with inservice mentoring teachers to not only focus on professional learning connected to these standards documents, but to do so in ways that can increase the coherence between science teacher education programs and the local schools in which preservice science teachers find themselves navigating as they learn to teach. Drawing on the design-based research paradigm connected to conjecture mapping, this research articulated and tested, through qualitative methods, the design conjectures underlying mentor teachers’ experience within professional learning as part of the RPP. In the end, design conjectures that supported teachers to take on “learner hat” experiences in early stages of the RPP followed by engagement in curriculum co-design and implementation supported mentor teachers in beginning to reconceptualize visions of their teaching and learning, while also appropriating and tuning high-leverage tools to support a focus on student ideas in science classrooms. Finally, issues related to the complexity of teacher education programs were identified for needed increased attention into the future.

Bryan Kirby, Secondary Science Education – Biology
Thesis Supervisor: Del Siegle
Controversial Topics and State Approved Biology Texts: More Talk than Walk
This study was a content analysis of how seven controversial topics were covered in four biology textbooks, half of which were the national editions while the other half were versions made specifically for the states of South Carolina and Texas.  The books were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively for scientific accuracy, depth of coverage, level of discussion encouraged, and overall number of pages covered. The seven issues examined were climate change, race, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), evolution, stem cells, vaccines, and the health effects of technology. Overall, there were few differences between the state adopted book and the national editions, as well as between both national editions in their coverage of the seven controversial issues.

Annie MacLachlan, Comprehensive Special Education
Thesis Supervisor: Del Siegle
Preservice Teachers’ Referral of Students for Special Education
The purpose of this study was to understand which students teachers nominate for special education services, and what student qualities influence the nomination. Specifically, in this study, we investigated whether a student’s ethnicity and classroom behavior influence his or her nomination for special education. We created six profiles in which we varied ethnic names and classroom behaviors, and asked juniors and seniors in a selected teacher preparation program to evaluate the profile they were given. They were then asked to indicate whether or not they would refer their given hypothetical student for special education services, and to provide justification for their choice. The major quantitative findings of this study were that, in the selected teacher preparation program, there was not a statistically significant influence of (a) student race, (b) student behavior, or (c) the interaction of the two on preservice teachers’ referral decisions. The participants’ qualitative responses agreed with the quantitative results with regards that student race did not have an impact on referral. However, many preservice teachers cited student behavior in their open-ended justification statements as a significant influencer of their referral choices. The information from this study will help better prepare teachers to serve students with diverse learning needs.

Eva-Maria Maher, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dorothea Anagnostopoulos
Examining the Relationship between Clinical Placements and Pre-service Teachers’ Attitudes towards Diversity and Multicultural Education
The purpose of this study was to determine, using survey data, whether undergraduate pre-teaching students experienced a change in racial bias/attitudes after taking a multicultural education course, and whether there was a difference in attitude change between students who were placed in urban, suburban, or rural settings for their clinical observation hours. Educators’ racial bias is becoming an increasingly important issue as demographics in America’s public schools are shifting, while the majority of American teachers are white (NCES, 2014). Because many preservice teachers lack genuinely diverse experiences before entering teacher education programs, many of these programs have been attempting to prepare pre-service teachers to work with diverse student populations by offering coursework and field experiences specifically designated for multicultural or diversity education (Valenti, 2006). Because multicultural or diversity education courses are often the first experience that preservice teachers have with diversity education, it is important to research whether or not these courses have the desired effect of creating culturally responsive teachers. This data reflected a statistically significant decrease in racial bias from the beginning of the semester to the end of the semester for the whole group. Of the three groups of pre-service teachers, suburban teachers experienced the most significant decrease in racial bias.

Anna McCormick, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Jean Marsden
Exploring Problems and Resolutions in Multicultural Children’s Literature
Children’s literature can serve as a mirror, reflecting children’s own lives or cultures, and as a window helping them to see and understand other cultures (Naidoo, 2014). When children don’t see their culture or other cultures represented it can send messages that that culture is not important enough to include, but many cultural groups are still underrepresented in children’s literature. Specific awards exist to bring light to some of these much-needed multicultural children’s books and the authors that write them. For this study, I selected 50 children’s books that had received awards for diverse children’s literature within the past 10 years and I performed a content analysis of key elements of the text, looking at specific aspects of character, problem and resolution to identify patterns regarding character identity and role in the problem and resolution. My findings indicated that across these texts the cultural identities of the characters tended to be critical to the problem and resolution. A common pattern in books where external growth occurred was that the environment and people in the environment became more accepting of and knowledgeable about differences and diversity, and in most of the books the characters had agency in resolving their problems. This study might serve to help teachers, librarians, and parents identify books that follow patterns of award winning literature in areas that are typically underrepresented and seek and find quality multicultural literature to share with children.

Benjamin Murray, Secondary History and Social Studies Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little
Perceptions of Advanced Courses in Relation to Gifted Secondary Education
High school students are taking a large number of advanced and AP courses, and at an ever-increasing rate. Yet there has been little research into the effectiveness of these programs at supporting gifted secondary students. This study addressed the research question “In what ways do administrators and educators in secondary education perceive advanced courses such as Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or Early College Experience (ECE) to meet or fail to meet the needs of secondary gifted students?” I conducted a survey of administrators in public school districts in Connecticut about these perceptions. Survey respondents frequently expressed beliefs that the entry-level college experience and challenging level of coursework offered by AP, IB, and ECE programs were these programs’ greatest benefits, while commonly expressed drawbacks of these programs included strict curriculum alignment and pacing, as well as over-enrollment. Benefits of other gifted program components included a higher level of challenge for students, as well as offering increased opportunities for student choice and independence. Limitations of other programs largely centered around logistical difficulties with funding and personnel.

Jacqueline Ose, Secondary Science Education – Biology
Thesis Supervisor: Morgaen Donaldson
Effects of Project Opening Doors on AP Enrollment and Passing Rates in Connecticut High Schools
Project Opening Doors, an Advanced Placement Incentive Program in Connecticut, aimed to increase access to Advanced Placement courses and exams for low-income and minority students. This study evaluates the effect of Project Opening Doors on the total number of AP exams taken, the total number of AP exams passed, and the percentage of total AP exams passed. It evaluates a longevity effect between pre, during, and post enrollment and passing rate data. Based on the results of this study, Project Opening Doors was successful in significantly increasing the number of exams taken and the number of exams passed from pre-program to post-program. Unexpectedly, after funding was removed, participation and success rates on AP exams did not fluctuate. The average passing rate of all AP exams taken across all school districts was consistent and did not change significantly between pre, during, and post program years.

Molly Pines, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Douglas Kaufman
Teacher Perceptions of Arts Integration into General Education Curriculum
In elementary schools, art is often taught as a supplement to general education, and it is frequently separated from academic subjects with “pullout programs.” However, incorporating arts into the general education classroom, and into academic subjects can potentially have positive outcomes such as allowing students to broaden their conceptions of the world and themselves and to make authentic connections across disciplines. The purpose of this research study was to examine teacher reports of the frequency and quality of arts integration into general education curriculum, as well as what teachers perceived to be its benefits or drawbacks. Thirty-one educators associated with a large university in the northeast United States completed a survey. The educators are special educators, specials teachers (educators who facilitate pullout programs for the arts, languages, or physical education), and classroom teachers. Most participants indicated that they saw the need for arts integration in general education curricula, although many described feeling constraints from district or curriculum requirements. Results show that most educators view the arts as beneficial for students’ cognitive retention of material, understanding of material, or emotional intelligence.

Abigail Plouffe, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little
An Analysis of Education Apps
The use of apps on phones and tablets is on the rise for children, and many parents and teachers looking for educational ways for children to spend their screen time download apps from the education category of the app store. However, the labeling of an app as an “education app” does not actually mean that it has educational value. This study analyzed the top 30 apps listed in the iTunes app store to determine if the apps demonstrated key elements of learning theory, as well as curriculum alignment. Using a study by Hirsh-Pasek et al. as a framework, I developed a coding system to determine the level with which these key elements were present in each app. Each app was coded in four categories: Active Learning, Engagement, Meaningful Learning, and Social Interaction, with three criteria analyzed in each. The apps were also analyzed for Curriculum Alignment. Results revealed a high amount of Active Learning and a low amount of Social Learning. There  was a greater spread of Engagement and Meaningful Learning across the apps. About two-thirds of the apps lacked Curriculum Alignment. These results emphasize that consumers need to research or engage with apps more diligently to determine their educational value instead of merely purchasing based on the top lists on the app store.

2017

Jacqueline Bickley, Secondary English
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little
High School English Teacher Perceptions of the Use of Academic Journaling
In this qualitative study, individual interviews were used to explore high school English teachers’ beliefs about the purposes and benefits of reflective academic journaling and to uncover the ways in which they might implement this practice. The purpose of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of the purposes and practice of reflective academic journaling within the classroom, and to explore teachers’ perceptions of this practice in light of their teaching experience. Major findings included the discovery of reflection itself as the primary purpose for reflective academic journaling, followed by content and skill-related journaling. I also found that a prevalent indirect benefit is the improvement of student-teacher relationships, as well as the fostering of self-expression. It was more common for teachers to tie journaling to a specific artifact, as opposed to allowing students to free-write, and to create a dialogue that most commonly exists between students and teachers. I also found that many reflective academic journals are used in teachers’ assessment of students, and have an intentional academic focus. The most frequently mentioned significant challenge presented by reflective academic journaling is a lack of student motivation and understanding of its purpose.

Rachel Elizabeth Forte, Secondary History/Social Studies Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little
Teacher Perceptions of the Purposes of Social Studies Education
Social studies as a subject in schools covers so many disciplines and has been so broadly defined that much debate has occurred over the way it should be taught. The way in which a subject is taught is directly relational to why it is taught, and thus this study established social studies teachers’ beliefs about the purposes of social studies education for students. Nine practicing social studies teachers and one current instructional coach from the Northeast United States participated in this study. Participants were interviewed in person and asked to consider their personal beliefs about the purposes of social studies education and how those beliefs manifest in their instructional practices, and they were additionally asked to rank in order of importance a set of purposes given to them. Based on the information obtained from interviews, the study concluded that the most frequently top-rated choices for possible purposes of social studies education from the teachers were promoting empathy, preparing students for civic engagement in a democratic society, and promoting critical thinking skills. Furthermore, all ten participants placed the purpose of instilling a sense of patriotism or national pride in students as the least important purpose (of a provided set of 10) in their classroom. Additionally, discussion with teachers highlighted certain tensions that some felt influenced their decisions, including educational system expectations of teachers and the current political climate’s role in the classroom. These findings matter because teacher reflection on the purposes of teaching social studies can help teachers to reexamine how these purposes explicitly appear in their instructional practices which directly affects how students learn in their classrooms.

Kelsey Ann Iwanicki, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little
Teacher Interpretation of High-Potential Behaviors during Critical and Creative Thinking Response Lessons
Educators and researchers in gifted education are exploring multiple ways of addressing issues of underrepresentation of some populations of students in gifted programs. Multi-dimensional approaches to identification include working with teachers to recognize and to elicit high-potential academic behaviors from students. In this study, research team members conducted critical and creative thinking “Response Lessons” in K-2 classrooms while teachers observed for behaviors that might indicate high academic potential in their students. Teachers completed a pre-lesson survey indicating behaviors they anticipated and a post-lesson survey indicating what they observed. The purpose of the surveys was to demonstrate how teachers are interpreting high potential and to what extent a relationship exists between the behaviors indicated in the written lesson and the actual behaviors exhibited by students. Across surveys completed by 30 teachers, results indicated high consistency between expected behaviors and observed behaviors, and the behaviors expected and observed most frequently related to students’ curiosity, ability to learn quickly and easily, and inventiveness, while the least expected and observed behaviors included making advanced connections. Study results will inform ongoing efforts to support teachers’ observation of critical and creative thinking in young students.

Kaitlin Kamalei Jenkins, Elementary Education and English
Thesis Supervisors: Doug Kaufman and Victoria Ford Smith
Empathy and Empowerment in K-2 Read Aloud Sessions:
An Analysis of the Inclusion of Multicultural Children’s Literature
This study explored K-2 teachers’ perspectives on the use of multicultural children’s literature as read aloud books and those books’ connection to cross cultural empathy and cultural empowerment. It was guided by the following research questions: (1) Are teachers using multicultural children’s literature (MCL) for their read aloud books? Why or why not?; (2) How are teachers using MCL during their read aloud sessions?; (3) To what degree are teachers considering the development of cross cultural empathy in their students while picking out read aloud books?; (4) To what degree are teachers considering the development of cultural empowerment in their students while picking out read aloud books?; (5) What character elements of the MCL read aloud books promote the development of cross cultural empathy and cultural empowerment? How do they do so?; and (6) What character elements of the MCL read aloud books work against the development of cross cultural empathy and cultural empowerment? The data demonstrated that teachers do consider the development of cross cultural empathy and cultural empowerment through multicultural children’s literature. They do use multicultural children’s literature, but not frequently, because of a lack of resources. A model for multicultural children’s literature was developed at the end of this study to aid teachers.

Julia Kipphut, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Del Siegle
Parent Attitudes Regarding K-5 Homework
The goal of this study was to provide educators with insight into parents’ perceptions of homework practices in K-5 education. Specifically, I was curious to see the role that parents had in their child’s homework and their perceptions of homework assignments. The results showed families who reported homework having a higher impact on them saw it as less beneficial. Families who saw communication between teachers and parents as clearly defined found homework more beneficial. Additionally, fathers thought that homework had less of a negative impact on families than mothers.

Amanda MacDonald, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little
Teacher Perceptions of Math Anxiety in Themselves and their Students
Math anxiety is generally defined as a nervousness and a condition in which a person has an adverse response to a mathematically-related task or activity either physically or mentally that obstructs that person’s mathematical performance and learning experience. Prior research suggests that math anxiety is a real concern for students, as it may potentially harm their performance in the subject as well as deter them from many math-related activities in their lives due to the negative reactions that the anxiety can cause them physically, emotionally, or mentally. While many students may develop math anxieties in elementary school, it is also important to recognize that their teachers might also share some of these same math anxieties. The purpose of this study was to gather information on teachers’ perceptions of both their own and their students’ math anxiety. The research questions focused on (a) to what degree and in what contexts teachers perceive students to have math anxiety, (b) to what degree and in what contexts teachers perceive themselves to have math anxiety, and (c) what teachers know about addressing math anxieties. Fifty-eight teachers completed a two-part online survey with closed- and open-ended questions. Key findings showed that in general, teachers have a good idea about what math anxiety is and that it can negatively affect student learning, and about two thirds of participants reported teaching students who show signs of math anxiety. Nearly all participants were interested in learning ways to assist their students. About 40% of responding teachers reported having math anxiety themselves at least occasionally, and 30% reported having math anxiety while teaching math. The implications of this study include the importance of teachers’ preparation around math instruction and specifically around ways in which they can address math anxiety in the classroom context.

Jake Mulé, Secondary Science – Physics
Thesis Supervisor: Del Siegle
Perceived Benefits of Marching Band Participation for College Students
College students have a limited amount of time to devote to a multitude of activities, and thus understanding the benefits of certain activities can prove invaluable. This study investigated the perceived benefits of participation in a college marching band for students. Members of the University of Connecticut Marching Band completed a survey about their perceived benefits of marching band participation. Based on the survey results, the study concluded that participants experience many positive benefits from participating in the collegiate marching band, the most prominent being social benefits. Furthermore, female participants reported higher levels of commitment, time investment, and physical health benefits than male participants. Many of the benefits were related to each other.  Only GPA was not correlated with any other category. The findings of this study are important because they can help guide students in selecting activities to participate in and highlight the benefits of marching band participation.

Jennifer Lynn O’Brien, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Catherine Little
A Study of Parent Perceptions of Advanced Academic Potential in the Early Grades
Parents are key stakeholders in children’s education; this project, which is part of a larger study about effects of early identification of high potential, focused on parent awareness of the behaviors that indicate high potential and the kinds of resources that would support developing academic potential in the early grades (grades K-2). This project consisted of an online parent survey and a parent workshop with a card sort component in which parents indicated what kinds of resources would be priorities. The study took place in three school districts with large populations of families from low-income backgrounds. A total of 38 parents completed the survey, and 57 card sets were collected during workshops. Findings demonstrated that parents emphasized several key behaviors indicating high potential such as being highly curious; learning quickly and easily; and finding useful, often original ways to spot and solve problems. Overall, parents thought it was important to allow for independence, creativity, and critical thinking; as well as time together for fun and academics. Parents were interested in learning more about the best parenting practices for gifted students, ways to teach their children academic skills at home, and ways to partner with their children’s schools.

Emma Pavano, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Morgaen Donaldson
Teacher Evaluation: Methods and Perspectives
While much to do with the current education system is constantly in flux, the main goals of teacher evaluation have been present for decades. While phrased in a variety of ways, the purpose of teacher evaluation is generally defined by researchers as twofold: teacher accountability and professional development. In the past, these objectives have been met inadequately, but through our research into New Haven, Connecticuts’s TEVAL program we hope to shed some light on how other districts can improve their evaluation methods to better reach these goals.

2016

Erica Ambrogio, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Brandi Simonsen
The Effects of Self-Monitoring on the On-Task Behavior of a Student in the General Education Classroom
The current study served to expand upon previous research about managing the off-task behavior of students who exhibit off-task behavior in the general education classroom. Self-monitoring has been identified as an effective and reliable strategy for increasing on-task behavior in various settings with students. The 6-year old, first grade student was selected by referral from his general education teacher and school staff. He attended an elementary school in an urban school district in Connecticut. The study employed an alternating treatments design with a baseline phase.  Specifically, after an orientation for both the student and teacher in using the Direct Behavior Rating tool to record behavioral data, the student was randomly assigned to self-monitor during one of two observation periods each day (during the unassigned period, he did not engage in self-monitoring).  Data did not support a functional relation between self-monitoring and off-task behavior; however, limitations related to data collection may have affected study results.  These limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

Alexandria Bottelsen, Secondary English Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Tom Deans
Defining Writing: Teacher Perceptions of High School Writing Centers under the Common Core
This study examines how secondary school teachers see the relationships among the Common Core State Standards for writing, their own teaching practices, and peer writing centers. Through conducting interviews with teachers across subject areas at two high schools with peer writing centers, the researcher discovered a paradox: that most teachers praised the concept of writing centers in general even as they saw them as not especially relevant for their own students and subject areas. While the standards did not appear to have a meaningful impact on teacher practices, the way these teachers defined writing significantly affected how they viewed the writing center as it pertained to their students. While all the participants highly valued writing as a process, they believe it is an individual—or otherwise non-social—process that differs significantly from subject to subject. Based on these findings, several implications and suggestions can be made for both schools and writing centers to better improve their relationship and the overall culture of writing across the curriculum.

Isabella Chantel Denay Gauthier, Special Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Rachael Gabriel
Gender and Reading Proficiency: Is There a Significant Relationship for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders?
School achievement studies have consistently shown that female students demonstrate higher levels of reading achievement and intrinsic reading motivation when compared to male students (Schwabe, McElvany, & Trendtel, 2015). Many studies tend to focus on the general education population when comparing scores between female and male students, and not the special education population. The purpose of this honors thesis is to provide quantitative data that will explore the relationship of reading achievement scores and gender with students who have been diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorders. The study methodology includes a quantitative two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results from the study indicate that there is no significant difference between the grades, or between genders, or with the interaction of the two when looking at reading achievement scores of students who have been diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorders.

Michelle Heyder, Secondary Mathematics Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Little
Sources and Experiences of Math Anxiety in Post-Secondary Students
Math anxiety is experienced on a regular basis throughout the country. In this study, I explored possible sources and experiences of math anxiety in post-secondary students, so as to inform the practice of teachers and those who are affected by math anxiety. For this study, university students completed a survey detailing their reported age of development, current frequency, and predicted frequency of math anxiety. From survey respondents, participants were purposefully selected to be interviewed to expand on their responses to the survey. Survey and open-ended interview responses were coded and analyzed for common themes, while multiple choice survey responses were analyzed for themes among frequency data. Common trends included that students often compared themselves to high-performing peers and considered having the inability to do math part of their identity. Students also frequently claimed that relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, as well as positive relationships with teachers and role models helped them manage their math anxiety best.

Alexandra Jabick, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Tamika La Salle
Examining the Relationship between Student Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Gender and Kindergarten School Readiness
Early childhood education is a topic of great interest. As gaps in achievement persist, policy makers are looking for ways to help children enter into school better prepared to succeed. A recent study lead by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) examines the effects of attending Connecticut’s state-funded preschool program on a child’s future school readiness skills. The current study extracts a subset of data from this study to examine early achievement in kindergarteners from across Connecticut, specifically to determine whether a child’s socioeconomic status, as defined by free or reduced lunch status, gender, or race have an effect on the child’s early academic skills. Significant differences in performance were only found between lower and higher SES groups and SES was a significant predictor of performance on PPVT-4, Oral Language, Math Facts, and Calculation.

Jessica Liu, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Little
Classroom Discourse: Teacher Questioning and Student Participation in a Mathematics Summer Enrichment Program
The purpose of this study was to observe what classroom discourse looks like within the context of a summer program for high ability students from underrepresented backgrounds. Fifteen classroom observations were conducted across three teachers’ classrooms to document teacher and student engagement in class discussions. Teacher statements and questions were classified into five major categories: informing, directing, deepening, connecting, and guiding. Results demonstrated that when teachers model talk moves, such as linking, students are more prone to use these strategies as well.

Pam McDonald, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Rachael Gabriel
Literacy Across Disciplines: An Investigation of Text Used in Content-Specific Classrooms
This pilot study focused on literacy within the higher grades, where classes are content-specific and organized into varying levels. Teacher views on literacy instruction as well as the types of texts used across the disciplines and course levels were explored. The following research questions guided the study: 1) Do early high school teachers view their class’ reading tasks as more discipline- or content-focused? 2) Does the complexity of the texts assigned in early high school vary across the various course levels? 3) Does the complexity of the texts assigned in early high school vary across the disciplines? 4) Does the authenticity of the texts assigned in early high school vary across the various course levels? Interviews from a total of 21 ninth and tenth grade teachers were analyzed, as well as sample texts from their classes. Teacher interviews were examined to determine their views—either more content-area based or disciplinary based— on literacy instruction within their content-area classrooms. The sample texts’ Lexile levels were analyzed across discipline (Language Arts, Math, Science, Spanish, and Social Studies) and course level (A, B, DI) in order to find any relationships that existed between text complexity and discipline or level. Finally, the authenticity of the sample texts—in relation to the course level they were being used in—was explored. Results indicated that most content-specific teachers view their literacy instruction as having a more content-area focused purpose rather than a disciplinary focus. Although no relationship was found between the complexity levels of texts across the course levels, a relationship was found between the complexities of texts in certain disciplines. Lastly, results did not show any significant relationship between the authenticity of a text and its course level.

Hannah Ragonese, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Little
The Underrepresentation of Minorities in Gifted and Talented Programs: Educators’ Perceptions of Giftedness and Educator Referral Systems
This study focuses on the underrepresentation of minority populations in gifted and talented programs, and more specifically teacher perceptions of high potential as they might relate to referrals of minority students for gifted and talented programs. In this study, 37 teachers of grades K-2 completed a survey about their perceptions of high potential. The survey also explored whether teachers were more or less likely to refer hypothetical students of different backgrounds to gifted programs. Findings indicated that teachers tended to look for physical academic output as the most important characteristic of giftedness. Findings also indicated that teachers participating in this survey were not influenced by students’ demographic characteristics (race, socioeconomic status, or English language skills) in making referrals to gifted programs. Suggestions for future research are noted regarding teacher role within the larger issue of underrepresentation.

Jessica Stargardter, Elementary Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. E. Jean Gubbins
Underrepresentation of Minorities in Gifted and Talented Programs: A Content Analysis of Five District Program Plans
Many educators and researchers recognize the issue of underrepresented minority groups in gifted and talented education programs. Since the landmark Supreme Court case Brown vs Board of Education in 1954, policies, laws, and standards have been attempting to establish equity in educational programs. This content analysis explores how select districts in the metropolitan region of Colorado align with the NAGC’s standard 2. The research showed that the majority of these districts followed NAGC’s standard 2, but the underrepresentation of minority groups within the metropolitan region of Colorado continued. National, state, and local districts need to do more to promote equity and diversity.

Anthony Steady, Secondary Social Studies Education
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Alan Marcus
Engagement in the Social Studies Classroom
Social studies education literature has indicated that students are not engaged in their social studies classes.  Within this view are a variety of theories attempting to explain why students are not engaged.  Surveys were administered to 184 suburban high school students in order to answer the question of which of these different views on how to engage students in the social studies classroom were most accurate.  The results from the survey showed that students found social studies to be more engaging than previously indicated, and that within students who either enjoy or do not enjoy social studies, there are common trends of instructional and curricular strategies that should be considered for improving engagement.  Among these strategies were more focused history courses, different classes based on preferred learning methods, and a need to continue researching methods to engage students despite the encouraging results that were found.

2015

Daniel Arndt, Secondary Biology Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Jonathan Plucker
Evaluation of Gifted Education using A-F School Grading Accountability Systems

A recent trend in accountability systems in the United States has been grading schools on an A-F scale. Some of the evaluation components included in these systems are standardized test proficiency rates and student growth measures. Traditionally, these systems have not emphasized accountability for gifted education programming or services. The accountability systems of the sixteen states in the U.S. under these A-F systems were analyzed for indicators that involve gifted education, which does not have a federal mandate or centralized decision-making. The frequencies of evaluation components were compared at the high school and elementary school levels. The only gifted education-specific components were based on AP and IB testing in high school. The lack of gifted education inclusion into these systems represents the current climate for gifted education in the United States.

 

Terra Briody, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little
Parent Perceptions of Children’s Learning About Nutrition

At both the preschool and young adolescent age, modeling has a significant influence on the nutritional habits and physical activity levels of children. Parents set up the first routines regarding the availability of food, meal structure, and eating practices in the home, and they are also the primary models for young children. This study explored parent perceptions of elementary-aged children’s eating habits, with a specific focus on breakfast as a sample of eating behaviors, and the parents’ perceptions of themselves as nutritional models. The study also explored how parents engage children in nutrition-related activities. A total of 81 parents completed an online survey. Results indicated that parents support children’s engagement with nutrition by giving children support for making informed choices about food and by having children help with preparing food. Parents also demonstrated some awareness of themselves as models, but about a third of responses indicated that they rarely or never eat breakfast with their children.

 

Andrew Catanese, Secondary Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Del Siegle
Investigating the Mozart Effect with University Students

The purpose of this study was to shed further light on the concept of the Mozart Effect. This is the debated phenomenon that listening to Mozart may cause temporary increases in cognitive ability in certain kinds of tasks. Forty-two students from the University of Connecticut participated in a test involving mental rotation tasks; approximately half listened to Mozart while taking the test, and the other half took the test in silence. There was not a statistically significant difference between these two groups. However, the sample size was relatively small. The average test scores of the Mozart group was approximately 8.16, as opposed to approximately 5.87 for the group not listening to Mozart. Given this difference, it is possible that a study performed on a larger sample size would have enough power to show that a statistically significant difference exists.

 

Rachael Cerutti, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Michael Coyne
Study of Teacher Perspectives on Vocabulary Instruction

Direct vocabulary instruction is a key component of an early reading program, and effective vocabulary instruction may be significant in raising student achievement in reading. This qualitative study investigated kindergarten through 3^rd grade teachers’ perspectives of their reading programs’ vocabulary instruction. The study took place across 3 different schools, all of which use the same core reading program. The study aims to discover the participating teachers’ overall opinions of the quality of the vocabulary instruction, as well as other factors including time available to complete instruction, level of difficulty of the given vocabulary words, and the teachers’ own fidelity of instruction.

 

Amy Christensen, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Tutita Casa
An Investigation of Grade Three Students’ Vocabulary Usage in Written Mathematical Communication

While the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has long emphasized communication in the teaching and learning of mathematics, renewed attention is being given to this process with the advent of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Not only does the CCSS for Mathematics encourage teachers to have their students develop expertise in constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others, but the CCSS for English language arts stresses writing across academic areas. The CCSS-related assessments’ claim that they will measure students’ ability to communicate their reasoning cements the importance of this practice. Writing particularly about one’s mathematical reasoning naturally calls for students’ use of academic vocabulary. The Project M³ units, developed for mathematically promising upper elementary students, emphasize reasoning-based oral and written communication, which includes mathematical vocabulary. This study investigates the differences between intervention and comparison groups of third graders’ vocabulary use in their writing on an open-response assessment, including formal and informal mathematical language. Intervention group students had been exposed to a communication-rich math curriculum, while comparison group students were instructed with their existing traditional math curriculum. Results showed comparison group students used slightly more precise language, while intervention group students tended to write more, and about more mathematical concepts.

 

Emily Gauthier, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little
Teacher Perceptions of Students from Background Information

Teacher expectations influence student experiences in the classroom. This thesis explored teacher expectations; specifically, the study focused on the types and sources of information teachers purposely look at and use to form expectations of their incoming students prior to the beginning of the school year. The study also included exploration of whether or not those choices vary by the grade levels at which teachers have experience, as well as how teachers perceive conflicts between student performance and expectations of student performance. A total of 85 participants responded to a survey of open- and closed-ended questions. Results demonstrated that teachers attend to academic information over behavioral, that teachers avoid certain information to give students “fresh starts,” and that teachers’ choices regarding the information they use vary somewhat by the grade level experiences they report.

 

Julie Grossman, Secondary Social Studies Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Alan Marcus
Political Cartoons as Tools for Developing Historical Empathy in Social Studies Classrooms

Political cartoons are visually complex, abstract images which citizens are frequently exposed to as a part of American civic life. Evaluating them is a necessary skill for productive citizenship and is one that should be taught in school. Social studies classes are perfect settings for students to analyze political cartoons because of their focus on effective citizenship and their use of historical thinking skills such as historical empathy. This skill is what allows students to emotionally engage with the discipline by understanding historical events from multiple perspectives and in the context of the appropriate time period. There is a dearth of research on the use of political cartoons to help foster historical empathy and that is where this research lies. Data were collected from 13 ninth grade students analyzing a set of political cartoons about slavery and a set of cartoons about police brutality. Their responses were coded for accuracy, recognition of the varied perspectives featured in the political cartoons, and reconciliation of personal opinions with the opinions of the political cartoons. One major result was that five out of thirteen students referred to slaves from the 19th century anachronistically as “African-Americans.” This showed that students struggled to think beyond the modern era and within the time period of the cartoons. Another major finding was that a majority of students chose the cartoon which aligned with their personal views instead of a more balanced perspective when asked to choose the cartoon which best portrayed the issue. This represented an inability and possibly an unwillingness of students to recognize the validity of perspectives besides their own and to think empathetically. Political cartoons, visual and biased representations of multiple perspectives, are challenging for students whose default thought processes are deeply situated in the present day and largely dependent on their own personal opinions. Social studies teachers should consider these issues when using political cartoons.

 

Alison Labaire, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little
Teachers’ Perceptions of Student Reading Patterns

Reading motivation has been shown to have an effect on overall academic performance, with a strong positive relationship with reading achievement. Currently, there is a lot of concern about literacy achievement specifically pertaining to boys. This study surveyed teachers about their perceptions of students’ reading preferences and reading behaviors. We asked teachers to share supports and barriers to reading behaviors as well as students’ preferred books and genres. The genres most frequently reported as popular with boys were Comedy, Fantasy, and Science Fiction. The genres most frequently reported as popular with girls were Fantasy, Realistic Fiction, and Historical Fiction. Participants surveyed reported that having a range of topics, using props, and having engaging literature with relatable characters were all successful ways to increase interest to their students.  Participants reported that a wide selection of texts not only increases interest for students but also allows for differentiation, self-selection, and increased literary independence, according to participants.

 

Jennifer Moore, Secondary Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Del Siegle
Underachieving Gifted Students’ Achievement Patterns Beyond High School

The purpose of this study was to follow-up with underachieving middle school students from an NRC/GT Increasing Academic Achievement study, who are now of college age or slightly older. We were interested in determining how well they performed in high school and college, whether they turned around their academic underachievement, and what factors they perceived influenced their achievement or lack of achievement. Out of the 280 students who previously participated in the study, we located 90, and seven completed a survey. Out of those seven, five students were chosen. These five students, who were identified as underachieving gifted students in middle school, indicated that their academic achievement never improved throughout their school career and early into life because they failed to find meaning and value in their tasks. They wished their teachers had understood them better and reported being happy, but not fulfilled in their current work positions.

 

Bailey Muchin, Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Mary Truxaw
Self-talk+ and Strategic Teacher Moves Aimed at Cognitive Advancement in Linguistically Diverse Elementary Mathematics Classrooms

This study’s objective was to determine the purposes of self-talk and related forms of talk (self-talk+) in linguistically diverse elementary mathematics classrooms, teacher moves that are often associated with self-talk+, and the relationship between self-talk+ and strategic teacher moves. This study analyzed transcripts, audio recordings, and video recordings from several elementary mathematics classrooms in dual language programs in order to determine the relationship among self-talk+ and strategic teacher moves. This study specifically focused on the purposes of self-talk+ that contributed to, or had the potential to impact, student cognitive advancement. The results of data analysis were mapped in order to visualize the relationships among self-talk+, strategic teacher moves, and cognitive advancement. The results associated with each research question were grouped by topic: purposes of self-talk+, teacher moves related to self-talk+, and relationship among self-talk+ and strategic teacher moves. The purposes of self-talk+ identified and aligned with the literature were found to include the following: ruminate on a difficult matter, increase understanding of a novel concept, redirect/restructure thought process, focus on technical aspects of a skill, effectively engage with a task, and increase understanding of a novel concept. Teacher moves used in conjunction with self-talk+ were found to include wait time, modeling, and prompting. Finally, it was found that when self-talk+ and these strategic teacher moves were used together, students were more likely to make significant cognitive advancements.

 

Jorie Predmore, Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Joseph Madaus
Self-Concept of a High School Student with Cerebral Palsy in the General Education Classroom and Resource Room

This paper explores the different domains of self-concept for a student in high school with cerebral palsy. This case study provides a qualitative analysis of the self-concept of a specific student in the resource room versus this student in the general education classroom. The domains of self-concept examined were academic self-concept, social self-concept and general self-concept. The study also researched the difference in importance beliefs of academics and socialness in the two educational settings. The student’s academic and general self-concept appeared to be similar across the two settings, but his social self-concept was higher in the general education classroom. His importance beliefs about academics and socialness were also higher in the general education classroom.

 

Matthew Rescsanski, Music Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Joseph Abramo
High School Musicians and their Perceptions of Music in Academic and Non-Academic Settings

Contemporary research has shown that school music programs have increasingly struggled with relevancy in recent years, as students primarily experience music outside of school through informal practices of popular music and culture. It is therefore extremely important for music educators to better understand the perceptions their students have of music in both of these settings. In this study, students were asked via survey and interview about their perceptions of the music they make in school and in other settings, such as at home, with friends, or as a part of a religious activity. Findings included a wide range of statements and numerical data from students about preferences and perceived differences between in school and out of school music, suggesting that a mixture of informal and formal classroom practices are needed in all music classrooms in order to better reach students with diverse musical experiences outside of school.

 

Melissa Scarbrough, Secondary World Languages: French
Thesis Advisors: Dr. Catherine Little and Dr. Valerie Saugera
Use of Phonetics in the Beginner French Classroom: A Look at Textbooks

World Language classrooms, as a result of their subject matter, delve heavily into Linguistics, most specifically in an area of Applied Linguistics known as Second Language Acquisition (SLA). This subcategory emphasizes determining learning differences between a first language and a second language. Within this, there is the focus of Phonology, and Phonetics, which analyzes how sound information affects SLA. Recent research has shown that explicit training in the phonetics of a second language supports overall growth in learning and using a second language. In this study, three of the most commonly used French as a foreign language textbooks were examined to determine the prevalence of exercises and activities from these books that support phonetics teaching. Results demonstrated a strong emphasis on the practicing of phonetic information, through speaking exercises, but limited instruction and support of phonetic principles.

 

2014

John A. Bengston, Social Studies Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Alan Marcus
Teaching Genocide: Problems and Possible Solutions

If students are to have a complete and well-rounded social studies education, there will be histories covered that are both disturbing and painful, and thus, controversial. This study examines how teachers teach a specific kind of controversial issue, genocide, to demonstrate the difficulties and methods involved. In branching out to teachers from different backgrounds and school districts, I sought to describe how specific individuals approach teaching genocide and how they solve various challenges surrounding this type of instruction. Such a description may inform other teachers about how to teach genocide effectively. Helping teachers recognize these issues would serve to open genocide education issues to both discussions and solutions that can only increase the quality of student education.

 

Kimberly Burk, Elementary Education, and Kathryn Fernberg, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little
Influential Factors in Teacher-Student Relationships in the Classroom

We investigated practicing teachers’ perceptions of their relationships with their students in general and also focused on how their perceptions varied based on their gender and teaching experience. We surveyed teachers using the Problems in Schools Questionnaire, along with several researcher-generated questions. We received 252 responses to the survey from teachers with a wide range of levels of experience. We found few differences related to teacher gender, although when asked to describe a negative relationship they had had with a student, most teachers described a male student. Teacher experience was significantly negatively related to an approach that emphasized control in the classroom as opposed to student autonomy, suggesting that teachers may become less control-oriented and possibly more autonomy-oriented with more experience. Results also indicated that teachers considered trust, respect, communication, and a safe classroom environment to be critical to developing positive relationships with students.

 

Rebecca Duchesneau, Social Studies Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little
The Content of Teacher Questions in Individualized Reading Conferences

This study examined reading instruction in third through fifth grade classrooms, by analyzing individualized reading conferences conducted by five different teachers. Each teacher recorded conferences with three students: a struggling reader, an average level reader, and an advanced or higher level reader. I sought to examine what types of content teachers were addressing in these conferences, at what level teachers were asking students to analyze the text, and how teachers were differentiating for students with differing reading abilities. The results showed that teachers were addressing the follow content: plot, character, author, genre, setting, reading behavior, and vocabulary, with the largest emphasis on plot, character, and reading behavior. Teachers asked students to analyze the text on the surface, go further within the text, and go further beyond the text. Surface was the most popular out of this category, and even when teachers asked students to go beyond the text it was mostly to make connections. Lastly, while there was some differentiation, particularly with the low level readers, it did not seem systematic or planned.

 

Sarah Forte, English Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little
Time Patterns in Teacher Questions and Student Response

For this honors thesis, I conducted a qualitative and quantitative study to examine individualized reading conferences between five elementary school teachers and their students. Expanding from previous study, audio recordings of the one-on-one conferences were coded, timed, and analyzed. This study focused on the patterns between teacher talk and student talk, specifically on questioning, types of questions asked, and student responses. Three research questions were examined in this study: 1.What are the patterns evident in ratios of teacher talk time to student talk time in individualized one-on-one conferences? 2. What relationships are evident between function of teacher question and length of student response, as measured in words spoken and time elapsed? 3. What are the patterns evident among students of different reading levels in individualized conferences? Several key findings emerged from the study. Teachers talked for a greater percentage of time than their students, though students of a higher reading level generally spoke more during individualized conferences than students at average or lower levels of reading performance. The types of questions that got students to speak for a longer amount of time and speak more words were not always the questions that students were most often being asked to respond to. Questioning is an essential classroom practice, and this study suggests implications for teacher practice in the classroom and further research.

 

Laura Kent, Comprehensive Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Joseph Madaus
Impact of Introduction to Exceptionality and Collaboration Course

The inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom requires that all teachers have the ability to teach students with disabilities and the ability to collaborate within the school environment with a variety of staff members within the school. Teacher preparation programs must incorporate the teaching of these skills into their curriculum. This study focused on determining the effects a class on exceptionality and collaboration had on preservice teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching students with disabilities and understanding of professional collaboration in schools. A survey was administered to a population of special education majors attending a university at the beginning and the end of their first semester in a teacher education program. Analysis of these surveys found that there was a statistically significant improvement in the preservice teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching students with disabilities, but there was not a large development in the understanding of professional collaboration in schools. While the preservice teachers did demonstrate an increase in understanding about the environment of professional collaboration in school, the understanding in other domains was limited. There did also seem to be a slight increase in knowledge of educational terminology that allowed the respondents to express their knowledge in different ways. The results from this study can be used to hone further studies on the influences on preservice teachers’ preparation for the field, and to influence how to improve preservice teachers’ understanding of professional collaboration in schools.

 

Jeffrey T. Moore, Comprehensive Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Del Siegle
Honors Preparation: Examining Honors Students’ Perceptions of Preparation for Their Honors Program

Gifted students are some of the most promising learners in the country. This group contributes 6% of the total student population. Programming for these gifted students varies from school to school. Because there is no universal program for gifted students, they enter college with very different experiences. This study aimed to investigate which experiences and services in high school programs best prepared these gifted students for their college Honors courses and conversions. Juniors and Seniors in the UConn Honors Program completed a survey regarding their perceptions of their high school and college programs. Students’ perceptions of preparation for college Honors courses and conversions were related to feelings of challenge in high school classes, high school classes requiring complex thinking, and having a high level of choice in the content of college Honors courses and conversions. The number of Honors or AP classes that students completed in high school was not related to their feelings of preparation. There were no differences based on gender, class standing, and the time of acceptance to the UConn Honors Program.

 

Kelly Nelson, Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Morgaen Donaldson
Satisfaction with Teacher Preparation and Movement of Beginning Teachers

Keeping quality teachers in the classroom is a concern of policy makers, administrators, and other members of the education community. Teacher preparation programs strive to prepare graduates for the myriad challenges that teachers encounter in their profession and help graduates stay in education. This study seeks to determine what factors associated with teacher movement are reported by graduates of a teacher preparation program with two different populations of graduates. Recent alumni of the program were surveyed about their current job status, reasons for any decisions to change careers or schools, and satisfaction with their preparation program. Responses from 149 alumni were analyzed. Satisfaction ratings of the program were also examined to determine whether those who left the field of education or moved within the field of education felt differently about the quality of the program than those who stay in their first school. While there were no significant differences between satisfaction responses of the leavers, movers and stayers in education, other factors associated with teacher movement that were reported align with those found in the literature.

 

Camille Thomas, Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little
Middle School Student Perceptions of Homework in Mathematics

Homework has been a source of debate in schools for the past several decades and will continue to be an important topic in the future. It is a traditional part of education but some debate its importance in the classroom. This study explored student perception of homework and their reported performance in middle school mathematics. The research questions focused on student attitudes about homework, the relationship of students’ self-efficacy and support resources to their homework completion, and the relationship of students’ general level of achievement in mathematics to their attitudes about homework. The study involved a survey of 230 middle school students and their mathematics teachers. The survey did not demonstrate reliable measurement of the hypothesized factors of purpose, self-efficacy, and support resources related to students’ overall perceptions about homework. However, overall, students reported positive attitudes and grades in math class. Gender and general level of achievement in mathematics class did show a relationship with certain aspects of students’ responses regarding homework.

 

Glen Ullman, Music Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Del Siegle
Aspects of the High School Music Program and their Relationship with the College Marching Band Experience

A quality musical ensemble requires the director to be attentive to the needs and abilities of its members. This study examined various aspects of students’ musical and academic preparation in relation to their current experience with music in college. With more insight about the backgrounds of college musicians, and the way those backgrounds relate to their experiences in performing ensembles, music directors will be better able to tailor instruction to the needs of their musicians. For this study, a survey was distributed to members of the University of Connecticut Marching Band about their demographics, education, past musical experiences, and current attitudes toward music and marching. The study found that most participants were majoring in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. However, participants who studied in these areas did not report any greater confidence in learning new formations than did participants in other majors. While a sizeable portion of the band comprised music, drama, and art majors, they were concentrated in the woodwind and brass sections, rather than percussion and color guard. The study also found that among the music activities participants completed prior to coming to college, the duration of private music study made a significant difference in students’ acceptance to the travelling pep band, whose members are selected based on their musical ability. The results suggest that individualized instruction is more effective than large group rehearsals for the purposes of developing individual musical ability. They also suggest that college marching bands might consider recruiting in underrepresented majors such as humanities.

 

James Wendt, Jr., Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Megan Staples
Developing Justification Skills in Middle School Mathematics

This study sought to examine justification learning in secondary school mathematics. It is often the case that students graduate from high school with few to no mathematical proof and reasoning skills. The goal of this study was to identify teacher practices in secondary school math classes that aided or hindered students’ learning of justification skills. This study was an examination of existing research data from a larger, NSF-funded project titled JAGUAR (Justification and Argumentation: Growing Understanding of Algebraic Reasoning). Data for this study comprised student pre- and post-tests as well as transcripts of lessons from seventh- and eighth-grade classes. Student pre- and post-tests for twenty-two classes were used to identify classes that could be compared meaningfully through a comparative case study. In-depth analyses of four focal classes and their implementations of JAGUAR justification tasks were conducted to identify practices that support or hinder students’ growth in justification and reasoning in middle school math classes. Across the four focal classes, frequent funneling by the teacher and acceptance of incomplete or less rigorous arguments was associated with little student learning of justification skills, while more pressing from the teacher coupled with a demand for higher-level arguments was associated with enhanced student learning of justification skills.

 

 

2013

Comparing Students’ Abilities to Conduct Online Research and Teacher Internet Use in Two States: A One-to-One Laptop State and a State Without a One-to-One Laptop Program
Jennifer Berke, Comprehensive Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Donald J. Leu

New online literacies, through which individuals read and understand information on the Internet, are becoming essential for today’s students to develop, so that they can be proficient at using the Internet to locate, synthesize, evaluate, and communicate information online. While an achievement gap traditionally exists among today’s students in economically advantaged and disadvantaged states when examining offline reading comprehension test scores, it is important to examine students’ online reading abilities to determine whether an achievement gap exists in this area as well. This research study focuses on students and teachers in two states of differing economic statuses, Connecticut and Maine. While Connecticut is an economically advantaged state, Connecticut’s students do not have access to a one-to-one laptop to student ratio. On the other hand, while Maine is an economically challenged state, its students have access to a one-to-one laptop to student program. This indicates that students in Maine have 24/7 access to laptops & the Internet. This study examines whether or not a one-to-one laptop program can help to overcome the traditional achievement gap found among economically advantaged and disadvantaged states, by looking at Connecticut and Maine students’ online research comprehension scores on an assessment called the ORCA. It also examines teachers’ Internet practices in Maine and Connecticut, through a Teacher Internet Use Survey (TIUS), to determine whether or not teacher Internet practices have an effect on their students’ online reading comprehension abilities. The results of the study demonstrate that overall, there is no mean difference between the ORCA scores of students in Connecticut and in Maine. Additionally, the results indicate that teachers in Maine more frequently use the Internet for class assignments, and that they explicitly teach their students how to locate information online more often than teachers in Connecticut. These results suggest that teacher Internet practices, in addition to having full access to laptops and Internet, may help students perform better on online reading comprehension assessments.

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Academic Self-Concept and Student Preferences for Grouping Formats in Elementary Reading Instruction
Lindsay Brand, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Susan Payne

This study explored the relationship between students’ perceptions of grouping practices used in reading instruction and their academic self-concept levels. This study sought to identify students’ preferences regarding a variety of grouping formats, with specific attention paid to same- versus mixed-ability grouping, and to determine whether these preferences were related to differing levels of academic self-concept. Participants were 36 third grade students enrolled at an urban Connecticut elementary school. Data were collected using two questionnaires that surveyed participants about their attitudes toward different types of reading instruction and their self-ratings regarding ability and enjoyment in reading and in school in general, respectively. Subsequent quantitative analyses and qualitative comparisons were used to investigate the significance of this relationship. The goal of this study was to provide data and draw conclusions that would aid classroom teachers at the test site in identifying and implementing the types of reading instruction that their students preferred and found most desirable, with an eye to promoting student engagement. Students reported that same-ability groups were most well liked, followed by mixed-ability groups, whole-class instruction, and same-ability pairs. Working independently was liked the least. Same-ability groups were viewed as most desirable for nonreaders and least desirable for poor readers. No significant relationship was found between students’ preferences for grouping practices or perceptions of these groups and their academic self-concept levels. However, correlations between responses to pairs of individual items as well as key descriptive differences between the preferences and perceptions of students of high, middle, and low academic self-concept were further discussed.

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Defining Mathematics: Academic, Social, and Personal Factors that Influence How Students Conceptualize Mathematics
Jonathan Bruneau, Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Megan Staples

What is math? This is a fundamental question that researchers have explored by looking at how students conceptualize mathematics. The student’s conceptualization of mathematics is how the student understands, defines, and feels about mathematics, a combination of both attitudes and perceptions. Using a survey, this study explored current student conceptions of mathematics at the secondary level. After analysis of survey results, a select group of students were interviewed regarding their responses to the survey to better understand the factors that played a critical role in the formation of their conceptualization of mathematics. Findings from the study indicate students agree that mathematics is a conceptual process, dealing with the logic system and usefulness of mathematics to solve problems, as well as a procedural process, looking at algorithms and computations. Common themes that run throughout the interviews indicate that the most important factor that influences a student’s conceptualization of mathematics is prior mathematics classroom experiences. The applicability of mathematics also seemed to play an important role, whereas taking standardized tests had less of an influence on student conceptualization of mathematics.

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Practicing and Preservice Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy for Character Education
Carolyn Lowe, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little

This study explored preservice and practicing teachers’ perspectives on their preparation to support students’ character development and their sense of efficacy in implementing classroom practices related to this area of education. The research questions framing the study were as follows: (1) What levels of efficacy around character education do practicing and preservice elementary teachers from the same teacher preparation program report? (2) How do efficacy levels differ between practicing and preservice teachers? (3) What influences on their efficacy for character education do practicing and preservice teachers report? The study involved a survey of 79 practicing and preservice teachers, with similar group sizes between the two groups. Results overall were similar to previous research using an instrument assessing teacher efficacy for character education, with overall scores somewhat positive about teachers’ efficacy in this area. Descriptive results also suggested a possible pattern of slightly higher levels of efficacy for character education among preservice teachers as compared to practicing teachers, although the difference did not prove to be statistically significant. Teacher responses also indicated the importance of both personal and professional experiences in developing skills for supporting student development in this area.

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How Teachers Approach Student Disengagement in Secondary Mathematics Classrooms
Kelly Macko, Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Megan Staples

Boredom is a negative emotion which plagues the high school mathematics classroom, but there are strategies that teachers can use to try to decrease boredom and its negative effects. Once teachers identify that students are disengaged, strategies that increase self-efficacy and task value are used to decrease disengagement. In this study these strategies are classified as proactive or reactive. Seven teachers, three from an urban school and four from a suburban school, were interviewed and observed to identify which of the strategies are actively used. Both proactive and reactive strategies were used in both settings, with the proactive strategy of relating to the students’ lives and the reactive strategies of giving students an opportunity to engage being the most common. There was not a significant difference in the strategies used in the urban and suburban settings, but the methods used to implement these strategies varied slightly. While not all strategies were used, many of the researched methods of decreasing disengagement can be seen in the secondary mathematics classrooms.

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Exploring Challenges and Barriers Faced by Educational Aid Organizations Operating in Sub-Saharan Africa
Julie McGarry, English Education, and Paul Steller, Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Anysia Mayer

The deadline for the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals is 2015 and represents a unified effort through the United Nation to relieve the world’s people from poverty (United Nations Development Programme 2012). One goal calls for the achievement of universal primary education. This study seeks to identify the challenges and barriers faced by educational aid organizations operating in Sub-Saharan Africa (non-profits, NGOs, branches of UNESCO, etc.). Prior research shows that these challenges and barriers can be grouped into six critical success factors: achievement of gender equality, poor health, poor geographic location, the presence of armed conflict, low quality educational professionals, and the structural design of buildings. A survey was administered and responses made to represent action and confidence composite scores for each organization’s experience with each critical success factor. This study seeks to compare various organizations’ experiences with these factors and compare the findings with the literature. Additionally, the study seeks to compare experiences between and within organizations and establish any patterns. The results showed a moderate correlation of organizations’ action and confidence composite scores related to armed conflict as well as between the action and confidence composite scores of eight organizations.

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Pre-Service Teachers’ Perspectives on Extrinsic Rewards, Motivation, and Student Autonomy
Bridget O’Connor, English Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Wendy Glenn

Intrinsic motivation is characterized by a willingness to complete a task out of internal interest, while extrinsic motivation describes the motivation to complete a task due to external pressures. Different types of rewards in the classroom can promote extrinsic or intrinsic motivation within students. This study examined Neag IB/M students’ attitudes on extrinsic rewards and student autonomy, and explored whether those attitudes affect how future teachers plan to reward students and motivate them in their future classrooms. The study also sought to determine if there is a dissonance between the types of rewards Neag IB/M students find most intrinsically motivating, and what they will be able to realistically implement in their own classrooms. Participants in the study were Neag School of Education Integrated Bachelor/Master Teacher Preparation students. Participants included juniors, seniors, and fifth-year students enrolled in the program during the Fall 2012 semester. Participants were given an anonymous online survey to determine their attitudes on extrinsic rewards and autonomy.

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Hitting Both Ends of the Spectrum: Examining Neag IB/M Preservice Teacher Identification of Twice-Exceptional Students
Kathryn Schneider, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Del Siegle

This study examined the willingness of juniors and master’s year preservice teachers in the Neag School of Education to recommend twice-exceptional students to a gifted program. Preservice teachers were presented with three different hypothetical student bios that contained descriptions of a gifted student, a nongifted student, and a possible twice-exceptional student. The preservice teachers ranked their willingness to refer these students to a gifted program. Of 193 total students in the Neag School of Education surveyed, 109 were juniors, and 84 were master’s year students. Preservice teacher responses were collected and examined using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Overall, the preservice teachers were significantly more willing to Definitely Recommend or Recommend with Reservations students who were just gifted or gifted with ADHD, and less likely to recommend students who had a learning disability in addition to their giftedness.

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Practicing Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs Regarding their Use of Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices
Margaret L. Seclen, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little

Rapidly changing demographics in our country indicate that teachers are more likely today to encounter culturally and linguistically diverse students in their classrooms than at any other point in the last half-century. Culturally diverse students may often regard schools as alien and hostile settings because they find that some of the teaching methodologies are usually unfamiliar to them. Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) offers potential to effectively address these low levels of academic performance because CRT practices allow students to learn in meaningful ways by connecting classroom learning to students’ interests, prior experiences, and cultural backgrounds. CRT appears to be an appropriate pedagogical and instructional approach that can positively contribute to the learning and school experience of culturally diverse students. However, it appears that teachers may not be adequately prepared in CRT pedagogy and instruction, preventing them from properly addressing the needs of their culturally diverse students. This study explored practicing elementary school teachers’ perspectives on their own use of CRT practices and their confidence in implementing these same practices. As expected from previous research, teachers felt more efficacious in their ability to execute general teaching practices that do not necessarily require an in-depth knowledge of their students’ cultural background than teaching practices that do incorporate students’ culture.

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A Comparative Analysis of Repertoire Selection Patterns for All-State Choral Music
Christopher Wasko, Music Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little

Selecting concert repertoire is one of the most challenging components of teaching high school choral music, because the teacher must choose music that is both pedagogically valid and programmatically sound. Professional literature has cited several criteria for selecting quality repertoire, including a wide diversity of musical styles and genres, accurate representations of multicultural music, and music that is challenging but still accessible both to the singers and to the audience. This study juxtaposes these published criteria with patterns that emerge in the repertoire selections of All-State concert programs, which are assumed to use challenging and accessible music given the high-profile, competitive nature of the All-State program. The study focuses specifically on the prevalence of certain stylistic periods or genres, composers, and individual pieces, as well as whether or not a piece has accompaniment, English text, or is written or performed in the familiar Western choral tradition.

 

2012

Brenna Claire Dunnack, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Howard
Reading Instruction Strategies for English Language Learners in Dual-Language and Mainstream Classrooms

This study investigated the reading instruction strategies utilized in dual-language and mainstream classrooms. A review of literature that focused on strategies for English Language Learners, specifically Spanish-English bilinguals, provided a basis for the observations. Two classrooms, an English dual-language classroom and a mainstream classroom, in a school with a high English Language Learner population were observed for this study. The student researcher observed each classroom five times to determine the usage of reading instructional strategies. After observations were conducted, each teacher was interviewed to learn about their perceptions of working with ELLs. In addition, the Spanish dual-language teacher was interviewed. Both classrooms effectively utilized instructional communication and leveled questioning. The mainstream classroom utilized more comprehension strategies such as questioning and predicting during reading activities. The dual-language classrooms displayed vocabulary support by identifying vocabulary. However, some strategies were not utilized during observations. Reading instruction could include more modified materials to suit the needs of Spanish-English bilinguals. The instruction in the classrooms was more focused on phonics and decoding as opposed to comprehension.

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Sarah E. Harris, Secondary Social Studies Education
University Scholar
Major Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little
Associate Advisors: Dr. Preston Britner, Dr. Peter Baldwin, and Dr. Diane Quinn
Educator Preparation to Respond to the Needs of Homeless Children & Youth: Perceptions of School Personnel

American poet John Howard Payne commented on a universal idea, writing, “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.” Yet, for 1.5 million children in the United States each year, Payne’s words fail to capture reality. As they move from shelter to shelter with their families or live in group homes while waiting to be placed in foster care, these children have no place to call home. With schooling that is inconsistent in location and in curriculum, and living conditions that are not conducive to homework and study, they often struggle to maintain academic achievement. Students experiencing homelessness need extra support from schools, yet too often they get “lost in the crowd.” This study examined educators’ perceptions of homelessness and the academic and social needs of homeless students, as well as the preparation that teachers and other school personnel report that they have received in pre-service preparation programs and through professional development opportunities to address the unique needs of homeless children and youth. The project explored educator preparedness to respond to this population of students, in connection with federal legislation and professional recommendations on the issue. Survey and interview data were collected from educators in four New England school districts, two small suburban districts and two larger urban districts. Survey data across all districts indicated that educators are confident in their roles as “mandated reporters.” Despite this general awareness, however, respondents indicated much lower levels of knowledge about the requirements of the McKinney-Vento Act, federal legislation that outlines schools’ responsibilities regarding the support of students in homeless situations. Interview data indicated that educators perceive school leadership and communication between school administration, faculty and schools as the most important factors in shaping schools’ response to this unique population. Data collected in this study have been used to create an online guide that will provide resources to help educators more effectively respond to the needs of homeless students.

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Briana Hennessy, Secondary Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Megan Staples
Getting to the “Why”: Teacher Practices that Support Sound Student Justifications

Though the mathematical and education communities both value justification and argumentation in the middle grades classroom, teachers have historically found these practices difficult to support.  This paper discusses teaching practices that are associated with high levels of mathematically acceptable argumentation by students. Data were collected on seven committed teachers who explored justification and then implemented the same justification task over two years. Thus, the data reflected fourteen different implementations of the same task, allowing us to compare lessons directly. The findings describe how teachers’ Focusing Students’ Mathematics and Providing Scaffolding Questions are consistently associated with high levels of justification, while Leveraging a Critical Classroom Community and Providing Task Specific Tools are only sometimes associated an increased level of justification in a classroom. There are implications for teachers wishing to implement their own justification tasks, and researchers wishing to further study justification at the middle school level.

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Robert K Janes III, Secondary Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Megan Staples
Bar Graphs and Baselines: Student Perceptions of Distortions in Real World Graphs

It is important for every educated member of our society to be able to read, comprehend, and interpret graphs. To that end, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the Common Core State Standards have endorsed a kindergarten through eighth-grade mathematics curriculum that is rich in data analysis and graphical literacy skills. These skills are important, as graphs in the public sphere may include certain features that can cause misperceptions of the data. Such features may be intentional or unintentional and can include non-zero baselines, representing data with extra dimensions, stretching and shrinking graphics, not displaying outliers, and more. It is unclear whether the recommended mathematics curriculum prepares students to accurately comprehend these kinds of common graphs. This study investigated how effectively the kindergarten through eighth-grade public mathematics curriculum prepares students to read graphs that contain distortions. It focuses on student perceptions of the data through interpretation of bar graphs. A survey instrument was created to measure student perceptions; it included multiple graphical comprehension questions about a set of bar graphs with zero baselines and others with non-zero baselines. The instrument was used to assess 159 ninth-grade students in a school in a New England suburb. Each student had successfully completed eighth grade. Students were asked to answer a variety of comprehension questions about graphs that accurately represented and misrepresented data. The results from this survey suggest that many students are susceptible to graphical misperceptions while comprehending a graph with a non-zero baseline. While the current curriculum gives students strategies to solve mathematically rigorous graph comprehension problems, it may not give students the skills to make qualitative  conclusions about real world graphs. It is the hope of the researchers that this study may inform future curricula on a local and state level.

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Kara LaMonica, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Mary Truxaw
The Perceptions that Linguistically Diverse Students have Regarding Effective Mathematics Instruction

The study’s objective was to determine what strategies elementary aged students found effective when they were learning mathematics, with a particular focus on linguistically diverse students. This study compared the views of groups of linguistically diverse students and monolingual students regarding what strategies helped them learn mathematics. The linguistically diverse group of students was self-identified as having knowledge of a language other than English. This group is referred to as the SWALK (Students With Additional Language Knowledge) group.  This study also looked at how often teachers used the strategies that students identified as most effective. Teachers and students were given surveys that used a five point Likert scale. The surveys were designed to include strategies organized according constructs that were found in the research literature to be helpful for English language learners.  Experts validated surveys and constructs.  The constructs included the development of academic language, linguistic scaffolding, conceptual scaffolding, social scaffolding, and cultural scaffolding. Students were asked to rank how helpful they found a strategy, and teachers were asked to rank how frequently they used the same strategies.  Questions were grouped by construct, and means and standard deviations for each construct were examined for all groups and subgroups. The research found that students reported that conceptual scaffolding was the most helpful construct.  Teachers reported using most strategies very frequently, but the construct that teachers reported using most often was social scaffolding; interestingly, no group or subgroup of students reported social scaffolding as being the most helpful construct. Students reported that the least helpful construct was cultural scaffolding, which was also the construct that teachers reported using least frequently.

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Julia Leonard, Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Michael Faggella-Luby
Changing Roles: Special Education Teachers in the Response to Intervention Model

In response to policy, research, and practice, the field of special education evolves to meet the demands of the current education system.  The most current educational model, Response to Intervention (RTI) has prompted changes in all aspects of special education service delivery. The purpose of this honors thesis is to provide quantitative and qualitative exploration of the changing roles of special educators as a result of RTI implementation. The study methods included a quantitative 48-question survey and a qualitative follow-up interview. The results from the study indicated that special education teachers perceive an increase in the amount of time they spend collaborating with others and assessing students. The results of the study also indicated changes related to the essential components of RTI including increases in universal assessments and progress monitoring. The qualitative analysis revealed additional themes related to job stress and general education accountability.

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Dana Lovallo, Secondary Spanish Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Manuela Wagner
High School and University Students within the Spanish Classroom: Comparing Attitudes toward Native and Non-Native Spanish Teachers and Overall Preferences

This research study examined and compared student preferences within the Spanish classroom at both the high school and university levels.  Attitudes toward native and non-native Spanish teachers were also examined and compared.  A survey was administered to 347 high school and university students.  Data showed differences in motivation between the grade levels as well as different uses of Spanish, a variety of favorite activities within the classroom, and more.  Other subcategories were also explored such as the difference in preferences between the students who had native Spanish teachers and those who had non-native Spanish teachers as well as differences in attitudes based on the “level” of Spanish the students were taking.  This research can be used to help Spanish teachers become more aware of student preferences within the classroom and adjust instruction, boost teacher efficacy, influence language teacher preparation programs and more.

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Juliana MacSwan, Elementary Education
University Scholar
Major Advisor:  Dr. M. Katherine Gavin
Associate Advisors: Dr. Fabiana Cardetti, Dr. Tutita Casa, Dr. Catherine Little
Kindergarten Mathematics:  An Observational Study of Learning Centers in Diverse School Settings

This qualitative research study investigated how centers were used in kindergarten math classes and students’ mathematical engagement and authority within centers in five classes field-testing the Project M2: Mentoring Young Mathematicians measurement and geometry units. Data were collected from three observations in each of the five classes as well as observations from trained professional development staff working on the field-test and teacher exit interviews.  Results indicated that in four of the five classes two-thirds of the centers related to the unit objectives and students spent over 90% of time in unit related centers.  There were a variety of centers using geometry and measurement activities to reinforce unit objectives that students engaged in across classes.  The main mitigating factors were the number of adults, transitions between centers, hands-on centers, and writing centers.  Results showed that providing students with mathematical centers related to the unit objectives can increase students’ mathematical authority in the classroom, giving students the opportunity to engage in the mathematics independently. Effective classroom management, a carefully designed and practiced center transition system, and one or two additional adults in the classroom promote the optimal student engagement and authority in mathematics.

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Britteny McMullen, Secondary Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Alvaro Lozano-Robledo
Perceptions of Peer Tutoring in a Post Secondary Setting

Research shows that peer tutoring has been effective in helping students learn mathematics in elementary school and middle school levels.  However, very little research has been done on the effectiveness of peer tutoring in a higher lever setting.  This purpose of this study was to learn about student perceptions on the effectiveness of peer tutoring on their own math classes and abilities.  The implications of this study present support that peer tutoring is very effective in post secondary math classes.

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Rebecca Mears, Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Brandi Simonsen
Exploring the Use of Point Cards With and Without Home-School Communication for Students With Autism and Similar Disabilities

Research has shown that point cards are an effective Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) intervention.  Research has also demonstrated that communication between home and school leads to positive results for students.  This study investigated whether a home-school communication system, when added to the established use of a point card, decreased off-task behavior in students with autism and similar disabilities.  I conducted two experiments using a modified reversal design.  Two students and at least one teacher participated in each of the experiments.  Participants alternated between two forms of the point card, one incorporating the home-school communication system and one without.  For one student in the second experiment, the researchers also investigated if there was a functional relationship between the plain point card intervention and student off-task behavior.  Results indicate that there was not a functional relationship between home-school communication and the effectiveness of point cards with students with autism and similar disabilities: the point card with communication system did not lead to decreased off-task behavior when compared to the point card without the communication aspect.

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David Pyrch, Secondary Mathematics
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Tutita Casa
Teachers’ Use of Real World Connections in Secondary Mathematics

This study investigated teachers’ use of real world connections in mathematics.  A survey was conducted with 29 practicing high school math teachers in Connecticut to determine what types of real world connections are used, how often they are used and what the purpose of their use is.  Teachers reported using word problems with realistic contexts and mentioning real world examples while teaching as the most frequently used type of real world connection.  Sixty percent of the teachers reported that the need for more resources, ideas, or training about what connections to make or how to make them is at least partly a reason for not making more real world connections.

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Caroline Ronk, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little
Teachers’ Perceptions of Student Motivation for Achievement and Learning in the Classroom

Students’ self-perceptions and their perceptions of how others view them have a tremendous influence on their motivation and their achievement.  How students view themselves plays a large role in potential or lack of academic achievement. Teachers need to understand their students’ self-perceptions and be aware that teachers’ own perceptions of their students impact student achievement, performance, and goals. Through semi-structured interviews, this qualitative study aims to examine teacher perspectives on students’ varying achievement goal orientations and motivation and explore how teachers try to shape student motivation given these potential factors. Findings indicate that teachers observe several influences that affect student motivation for learning and achievement such as self-efficacy, personal relationships, connectedness to school, and school environment. Actions teachers take to shape student motivation include tracking student progress, setting high expectations, providing individualized instruction, and creating a positive and safe learning environment.

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Danielle Schindler, Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little
Teacher Approaches to Preparing Students Emotionally and Motivationally for Standardized Tests

Extensive attention has been given in recent years to the academic preparations students and teachers complete prior to standardized testing. However, somewhat less attention has gone to the strategies teachers use to respond to students’ stress levels or to ensure that students are sufficiently motivated to do well on tests. There is some research to demonstrate how teachers are trying to reduce test anxiety among students, yet the literature also suggests that teachers often use “fear appeals” to provide motivation. This study explores the degree to which teachers explicitly connect their strategies with students’ test anxiety and the ways teachers respond to student concerns regarding tests. Six elementary school teachers were interviewed about what they do to prepare students for upcoming tests. Results demonstrated that teachers have observed students with test anxiety in their classes and are using test-taking strategies and providing students with words of encouragement to try to reduce anxiety.

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Eileen Stewart, Secondary History/Social Studies Education
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Catherine Little
Gifted Educators’ Perceptions of Response to Intervention

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a model that involves a school-wide effort to improve academic progress for all students. For students who do not respond to typical classroom instruction, they are moved through levels of intensive interventions and tiers that help them meet their individual goals. RTI can potentially be applied to the other outlying population of students, those who achieve significantly above the normal academic level. Students identified as gifted, or above average, have frequently not received instruction targeting their needs because their achievement levels lie above the level of their typically-achieving age peers. Looking forward to the future, some individuals propose using RTI to address the needs of students identified as gifted. This study examines gifted educators’ perceptions of RTI in order to better understand the future implications of RTI as applied to gifted education. This study examined gifted educators knowledge of RTI, whether they felt RTI was applicable to gifted education, self-confidence with RTI, and whether they were witnessing actual implementation in their schools. The results of this study support the idea that there is more research to be done in order to fully understand how RTI could be used within gifted education. Currently, many gifted educators are not witnessing RTI implementation in regards to gifted students, and many have not received professional development or training in terms of RTI within gifted education. However, the study demonstrated that gifted educators do desire professional development related to RTI.

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Alexi Wiemer, Secondary Education and English
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Del Siegle
Examining Pre Service Teacher Knowledge of Student Rights and Tort Liability

This study explored how knowledgeable preservice teachers in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut were in the field of student rights and tort liability. This field has grown in importance due to a recent increase in student lawsuits and the expectations that teachers know these laws when they become certified. A total of 183 students were given a survey in their education classes with 27 statements of famous misconceptions about student rights and tort liability. Students were asked to determine if these statements were true or false and how confident they were in their answer. The average percentage of correctly answered questions for student rights and tort liability was 59.15% and 50.27% respectively. There was no statistically significant difference for questions answered correctly based on differences in gender, major, or class standing. A total of 54% of students surveyed cited the Neag School of Education as their most common source of legal knowledge.

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2011

Examining Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of Creativity
John Ehlinger
Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Del Siegle

This study examined the attitudes of preservice teachers about creativity and compared them with those of inservice teachers. Preservice teachers completed an instrument that has previously been used to analyze inservice teachers’ perceptions of creativity, and results were compared to the norms of the instrument. Participants were taken from a population of junior year students accepted into the IB/M program in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. The participants completed a 37-question survey with 12 demographic/short answer questions. The hypothesis was that preservice teachers would value creativity and have higher hopes for the implementation of creative practices within their classrooms than teachers already practicing in the field. However, results showed that inservice teachers held a significantly higher creativity-based teacher self-efficacy, t(796) =6.209, p<.001, and societal value of creativity, t(796) = 8.802, p<.001, than preservice teachers.

The Role of Discourse in Students’ Learning in the Mathematics Classroom
Ashley Ruegg
Secondary Mathematics Eduction
Thesis Advisor: Megan Staples

Research has shown that students in classrooms oriented toward conceptual discourse display higher levels of engagement and enjoy learning more than their peers in traditional classrooms. The study sought to investigate student learning, dialogue, and perceptions in classrooms oriented toward conceptual discourse. Do students in classrooms oriented toward conceptual discourse differ in their mathematical understanding from students in traditional classrooms? The study centered on two high-level seventh grade Pre-Algebra classrooms. One class was more oriented toward conceptual discourse than the other class. Throughout the course of the study, eight classroom lessons were observed, and 6 students were interviewed. The interviews consisted of mathematical problems designed to assess the students’ conceptual understanding and questions about the students’ opinions regarding mathematics and discourse. Classroom observations focused on the conceptual nature of student dialogue. Results indicated that the students in the class oriented toward conceptual discourse performed better on a common end-of-unit assessment than the students in the other class. As expected, the students in the classroom oriented toward conceptual discourse engaged in more conceptual dialogue than the students in the more traditional classroom. There was no discernable difference in the opinions about mathematics and discourse between the students in the two classes.

Middle School Students’ Perceptions and Conceptual Understanding of Reading
Kelly Shea
Secondary English Education
Thesis Advisor: Catherine Little

Middle school students’ perceptions and conceptual understanding of reading were measured. A total of 1,371 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students in two urban middle schools in Connecticut took the Likert scale Perceptions of Reading Survey, which addressed students’ reading habits and definitions of reading and literacy. Analysis suggests that students’ conceptual understandings of reading are complex and context-based. Students perceive reading mostly as a school-related activity and are not likely to associate many forms of New Literacies with reading. Despite these limited definitions, these students have positive self-images of themselves as readers, and they believe reading to be useful for their future, entertainment, and daily lives. A correlation exists between perceiving reading as useful and exhibiting a range of reading habits. Perceiving reading as useful also showed a significant positive correlation with defining literacy as including not only comprehension but higher-level text analysis as well. Data from the Perceptions of Reading Survey were also compared to reading achievement data; results demonstrated a significant positive relationship between several subscales, notably the Self-Image subscale, and the achievement measures.

Elementary Students’ Attitudes toward Science: An Exploratory Study
Tara Stockmon
Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: David M. Moss

The objective of this research was to examine fifth grade students’ attitudes toward science at a grade 5-6 upper elementary school. A total of 236 participants completed a questionnaire titled the Simpson-Troost Attitude Questionnaire, Revised (STAQ-R; Owen, Toepperwein, Marshall, Lichtenstein, Blalock, Liu, Pruski, & Grimes, 2008), along with two additional open-ended questions developed for this study. Student attitudes were examined with respect to differences in gender and primary school attendance, along with any previous science-related experiences that may have influenced their beliefs. Data from the questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics for each subscale. The five subscales included Motivating Science Class, Self Directed Effort, Family Models, Science is Fun for Me, and Peer Models. Reported averages indicated minimal gender differences, yet greater variation was seen among students grouped by primary school. Responses to the open-ended questions were coded based on students’ self-reported reasons for liking or disliking science. The majority of the students indicated they liked science, overwhelmingly citing the nature of science as the reason for their attitude. Examining student attitude toward science will serve to inform ongoing curricular reform initiatives.

The Effect of Study Abroad on Preservice Teachers
Katherine Swedberg
Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Del Siegle

Study Abroad experiences are growing in popularity at leading U.S. college institutions. The University of Connecticut Study Abroad website states that “There is no better way to learn about yourself, expand your worldview, acquire marketable skills, and, importantly, develop the habits of mind and action that will prepare you to tackle the global issues facing our time.” Because these aims describe professional skills as well as individual growth, it is useful to survey individual students who take part in these programs and gather from them a retrospective account of what they have taken away from the experience. This study examined the effects of studying abroad on a group of education graduate students enrolled in the Neag School of Education. The researcher surveyed 8 of the 12 students who went abroad in the Fall of 2010 to London, England, with the Neag School of Education. Questions targeted a reflective process of what knowledge the preservice teachers were able to gain and what challenged them while abroad, as well as what effect this has had on their ideas of teaching for the future. Recommendations included adding a study abroad element as a requirement in the school to fulfill the multiculturalism and diversity requirement as well as to give their highly prepared teacher candidates the most comprehensive and embedded knowledge of how to be teachers of an increasingly diverse community of learners.

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2010

Reading Interests and Preferences Among Middle School Students
Christine Barile
Secondary English Education
Thesis Advisor: Catherine Little

The purpose of this study was to explore patterns in the reading interests and preferences of middle school students. A 56-question survey was administered twice in a school year to 592 students in grades 7 and 8 in an urban school district in Connecticut. The surveys inquired about the students’ reading preferences across twelve different factors, and were analyzed on the basis of pretest vs. posttest as well as male vs. female reading preferences. The students’ topic preferences did not change significantly from the pretest (administered in September) to posttest (administered in April), but did differ significantly by gender. Females indicated a higher interest than males in reading about interpersonal relationships, human sciences, art, music, fantasy, and writing, whereas males indicated a higher interest than females in reading about money, technology, athletics, business, social studies, and mathematics. For both groups, money was the most highly preferred topic, and writing was the least preferred.

Relationships Between Participation in Out-of-School Time Activities and Urban High School Students’ Attitudes Toward School
Kelly Kennefick
Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Rene Roselle

This study looked at the relationship between attitudes toward school and participation in out-of-school time (OST) activities for urban high school students. The study compared students’ attitudes toward school, their academic self-perceptions, and attitudes toward teachers and classes in relation to their participation in various OST activities. The study used the School Attitude Assessment Survey, a questionnaire using a Likert scale, and a participation survey about the activities the students participate in and for how many hours. Data indicated that students agreed with the positive academic self perception statements, as well as the positive statements towards their teachers and attitudes, but varied responses were found for the attitudes toward school statements. A recommendation to schools is to encourage students to participate in out-of-school time activities in order to receive potential positive benefits.

Experienced Teachers’ Views on Classroom Management: Investigating How Management Skills Are Learned
Peter Macala
Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Del Siegle

Classroom management has repeatedly been found to be an area of struggle for beginning teachers, and it often takes several years for teachers to become comfortable with their management styles. Examining the ways that experienced teachers finally developed successful management strategies could help to inform methods of making novice teachers better prepared in their first professional years. This study looked at the classroom management practices of successful teachers and the way that these teachers developed their management styles. The researcher conducted and completed observations and interviews with 7 teachers over the course of 2 weeks. These teachers were nominated by their elementary principals as having exhibited exemplary classroom management techniques. The teachers that were interviewed in the study employed a variety of management techniques in their classrooms, which in turn were learned from a variety of sources. These sources included preparation programs, professional seminars, observations of other teachers, and intuition. Recommendations for future teachers included finding a variety of ways to observe classroom settings at a specific grade level, seeking opportunities to collaborate with other staff members, and having a plan to manage classroom behaviors prior to the start of the school year.

Reactions and Attitudes: How Elementary Male Students Described Their Summer Reading Experiences
Allison Magdefrau
Elementary Education
Thesis Advisors: Catherine Little & Sally M. Reis

For approximately ten months of the year, children attend school. In that time, they will have gained knowledge and progressed, especially in their reading skills. The foundation of success in multiple content areas is dependent on one’s ability to read. During the summer, children’s experiences differ, and without the shared experience of school, the progression or regression of their reading skills will vary considerably. Educators, researchers, and parents need to think about the summer months and the implications that those months have on a child’s future academic success, because evidence suggests that many students lose ground on their reading skills during the summer without access to books or strong encouragement to read. Part of encouraging students to read involves allowing students the opportunity to express which book topics and genres interest them the most. This qualitative study was designed to explore aspects of the questions of what students read during the summer and what motivates them to engage in summer reading. Within that context, the study explored the following more specific research questions: How do students respond to receiving a bag of books to read during the summer? How do students describe their summer reading experiences? How do students’ choices for summer reading reflect their self-identified reading interests? Five boys were provided with books matching their expressed interests and contacted regularly over the summer. Results demonstrated that all five took advantage of the opportunity to read one or more of the provided books, and that the interpersonal contact with the researcher seemed to be an important influence on their decisions to read.

Teachers’ Views of Human Rights Education
Sarah Stockmann
Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: John Settlage

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that education should be “directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms… promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups.” This study surveyed 53 teachers on their views of Human Rights Education, including their familiarity with the concept, their self-efficacy with teaching it, and conditions that would increase the likelihood of their teaching it. The study found that, regardless of familiarity with the topic, years of teaching experience, or school location (urban/suburban), most teachers were open to teaching Human Rights Education. They did identify the need for better resources in the form of lesson plans, teaching materials, and professional training. In addition, support from other teachers, administration, and parents was felt to be important in order for them to undertake Human Rights Education. The best strategy to move forward with Human Rights Education would be to provide resources and support for teachers so that we can be living up to the expectations put forth in the UDHR.

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2009

Jennifer M. Jaruse
Thesis Advisor: Brandi Simonsen
The Functional Relationship between Type of Reinforcement (Verbal and Tangible) and Behavior for a Student with an Emotional/ Behavioral Disorder

This study looked at the functional relationship between type of positive reinforcement and problem behavior in a case study of a teenage student with an Emotional or Behavioral Disorder (E/BD).  The study compared the effectiveness of type of reinforcement (tangible, verbal or combined) that showed evidence of significantly decreasing a problem behavior in this student.  The study used an alternating treatment method; the student was presented with either a desired motorcycle picture (tangible item), behavior specific praise statements (verbal), or both reinforcers for 12 minutes per day.  Using a 30-second partial interval data sheet, the student’s behavior was coded, data were graphed, and visual analysis was used to determine which type of reinforcement implemented decreased the target behavior.  Following training, data indicated that all conditions decreased the problem behavior but tangible positive reinforcement had the most impact on decreasing the problem behavior of teasing peers and increasing positive social interactions.

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2008

Kelly Nicole Almeida, Secondary Mathematics
Thesis Advisor: Del Siegle
Motivation and Learning in Mathematics Pre-service Teachers

Based on a review of literature of conceptual and procedural knowledge and motivation, the purpose of this study was to test the relationship between conceptual and procedural knowledge and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Thirty-eight education students with a mathematics focus (elementary or secondary) in their junior, senior, or fifth year completed a survey with a Likert scale measuring their preference in learning (conceptual or procedural) and their motivation type (intrinsic or extrinsic). Findings showed that secondary math-focused students were more likely to prefer learning mathematics conceptually than elementary math-focused students. However, secondary and elementary math-focused students showed an equal preference for learning mathematics procedurally and sequentially. Elementary and secondary students reported similar intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Extrinsically motivated students preferred procedural learning over conceptual learning. While there was no statistically significant preference with intrinsically motivated students, there was a trend favoring preference of conceptual learning over procedural learning. These results tend to support the hypothesis that math-focused students who prefer conceptual learning are more intrinsically motivated, and math-focused students who prefer procedural learning are more extrinsically motivated.

 

Scott J. Bonito, Spanish Education/Spanish
Thesis Advisor: Manuela Wagner
Motivational Factors Affecting Secondary Foreign Language Learners

The purpose of this research was to find what factors affected secondary foreign language learners in two schools in Connecticut. A 40-question Likert-style survey was used to gain student perspective on what they felt contributed to their level of motivation to continue foreign language study. The survey was given to students in one urban and one suburban school. There were three factors that came out significantly different during the study, using t tests comparing results from the two schools: parental use of language, level of intrinsic motivation, and classroom décor. Students in the suburban school rated intrinsic motivational factors and classroom décor more highly than students in the urban school, while students in the urban school indicated a higher rate of parental use of the language. It seemed, on a general scale, that a higher level of parental use of the foreign language didn’t necessarily contribute to a higher level of intrinsic motivation to take the foreign language, as students in the urban area (an area where the foreign language was used more often) had a lower level of intrinsic motivation. Further study to isolate these factors can be done using the basic information gleaned from this study.

 

Thomas J. Broderick, Secondary Social Studies
Thesis Advisor: Rene Roselle
Teacher Retention and Lived History

Teacher retention issues beleaguer the nation’s poorest schools. The poorest schools are often in urban centers and enroll primarily non-white students. Access to a qualified teacher is one of the best determinants to student achievement, and the ability of an inner-city, non-white school system to retain such teachers can only contribute to the district’s future success. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine urban teacher retention through an individualized economic framework by interviewing two diverse urban educators. Through the results from a series of iterative, in-depth phenomenological interviews, this study provides information as to why teachers remain in urban schools and points to key characteristics of these individuals, including personal acceptance, a history of working with children, and personal awareness. This study finds that there is no replicable “model” set of characteristics for teachers who remain in the profession.  It suggests that teacher retention is a product of an individual’s lived history.  For administrators this study suggests that spending some time interviewing potential teachers about their personal lives would better indicate who will remain teachers down the line.

 

Shelly E. DeSisto, Secondary English
Thesis Advisor: Jason Stephens
Assessing Student Perceptions of Classroom Goal Structure and Autonomy Support:
The Creation and Validation of a Vignette-Style Instrument

This study sought to create and validate a vignette-style measure of students’ perceptions of classroom goal structure and autonomy support.  Seventy-nine seventh grade students from a suburban middle school completed the newly developed four-vignette instrument. Each hypothetical vignette depicted, in varying degrees, two dimensions of classroom environment: achievement goal structures (mastery and performance) and level of student autonomy. Reliability analyses yielded strong alphas for all three scales across the four vignettes.  Results from the manipulation check indicated significant differences in perceived goal structures (mastery and performance) as intended but an unpredicted result for perceptions of autonomy support.  Specifically, students’ perceptions of classroom goal structures appear to moderate their perceptions of autonomy support in that classroom.

 

Elizabeth A. Hines, Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Brandi Simonsen
The Relationship Between Pictures and Problem Behavior for a Young Student with Autism

This study looks at the relationship between functional communication training using picture icons and problem behavior in a case study of a young student with Autism. The study used an alternating treatment method; the pictures were available to the student for 10 minutes and then were not available for 10 minutes during three phases of baseline, teaching, and maintenance. Using a 10-second partial interval data sheet, the student’s behavior was coded, data were graphed, and visual analysis was used to determine if a functional relationship was evident. Following training, data indicate that the presence of picture icons was related to a (a) decrease in problem behavior, (b) an increase in appropriately engaged behavior, and (c) an increase in correct use of the pictures to request a preferred item during both conditions.

 

Brian McDermott, Secondary Mathematics
Thesis Advisor: Megan Staples
The Impact of Cooperative Learning in Mathematical Problem Solving on High School Students

This study investigated students’ reactions to a cooperative learning environment by assessing their performance before and after being part of a cooperative group and by soliciting their opinions on cooperative work that they had just completed. Several instruments, including two surveys that used Likert-scale based responses, as well as Math Crossword puzzles, were used in this study. Participants completed an individual mathematical logic problem then had the chance to solve a similar logic problem as a member of a randomly assigned group. They then attempted to solve the first logic problem again, and the changes in individual student scores were noted. There was an increase in the number of students who correctly solved the individual mathematical logic problem after having been a part of the cooperative groups. There was also a strong connection between the students who provided incorrect answers to the individual problem during the second administration and the success of their cooperative group. The findings suggest that students who are part of successful cooperative groups are more able to perform well on individual tasks that are closely related to the tasks on which the group worked. The questionnaire used to measure student confidence before and after the cooperative group experience also showed that students were slightly more confident in their responses after having been a part of a cooperative team. Students’ written responses also indicated that they felt favorably about the chance to share thoughts and ideas with their peers before solving an individual problem. These findings suggest that teachers who provide a cooperative learning environment that is productive can expect students to approach individual mathematical tasks with a greater level of confidence and perform at a higher level on tasks on which they must work alone.

 

Marissa Meade, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Catherine Little
Student and Parent Attitudes and Behaviors in Reading

This study explored reading attitudes and behaviors of the parents of elementary students, as a way of trying to determine connections between parental behaviors related to reading and their children’s attitudes toward reading. The study involved the development of an instrument to measure parent attitudes and behaviors; an instrument was piloted with a smaller group of parents and children and then tested with a larger group. The three factors the final instrument measures are personal interest, confidence, and reading interactions. The sample included a total of 99 parents of elementary aged children, in the two separate survey groups. The student participants in this study were the children of the adult participants, and were in the first through the fourth grades. The students completed a survey assessing their attitudes toward reading on two scales, their academic reading attitudes and their recreational reading attitudes. Results showed limited relationships between student attitudes and parent behaviors, which may be indicative of an issue with one or both instruments. Results of the parent survey alone indicated several patterns, including a negative correlation between the number of children in the family and the amount of time spent reading together by a parent and child. There was also a relationship between the birth order and the amount of time spent reading with a parent, which revealed that the children in this study who were the oldest in their families spent more time reading with a parent than children who were either middle children or youngest children. Additionally, children in this study who spent more time watching television than reading with a parent spent significantly less time reading overall than children who spent more time reading than watching television.

 

Aimee Pont, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Sarah Hodgson
School Environments and Behaviors of Students on the Autism Spectrum

This study explores the relationship between the different environments within a school and the stereotyped behaviors of students with autism.  The study seeks to identify whether the behaviors of these students are similar or different in the different environments, testing the idea of environment as a stimulus for these behaviors.  The study is a naturalistic observational study, and a change in prevalence of these stereotyped behaviors during the duration of the study is not a focus of this study.

 

Nicole Smith, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Del Siegle
The Mathematics Teaching Efficacy of Pre-Service Teachers: Exploring the Relationships with Mathematics Self-Efficacy, Attitude, and Courses Taken

Teachers’ beliefs about their own ability to influence student learning effectively have been shown to have a positive relationship with student achievement, as well as other positive student and teacher behaviors. Teachers with strong self-efficacy beliefs are more likely to be better teachers. The current study explores the factors that relate to the development of teaching efficacy for pre-service teachers just entering the beginning semester of their teacher education program. In the study, 48 education students reported their previous college mathematics course experience and completed a Mathematical Attitudes Survey, a Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale, and a Personal Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Scale. Findings showed that previous course experience, attitudes towards mathematics, and mathematics self-efficacy all had a significant positive relationship with personal mathematics teaching efficacy. Between-group comparisons were also conducted using ANOVAs. Mathematics concentration majors reported higher levels of mathematics teaching efficacy, mathematics self-efficacy, and positive attitudes towards mathematics than non-mathematics concentration majors. For elementary and secondary education majors, the only difference found was in mathematics teaching efficacy, with elementary education majors reporting higher levels than secondary education majors. This type of information is crucial for teacher education programs that wish to improve the training and education of future teachers.

 

Danielle Tower, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Jaci VanHeest
Relationship Between Athletic and Academic Success: A Pilot Study

This study aims to reveal that a competitive sports culture exists in the United States, and due to this sports culture and competitive disposition, student athletes are more motivated in academic endeavers. Previous research describes sports cultures; however, the current study investigated the factors impacting academic motivation and sport motivation. Furthermore, the interrelationship of these two factors was assessed. A qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews with four high school varsity student athletes (two male; two female), was used as the tool in attempts to support these claims. The research hypothesis suggested that high school students who participate in the equivalent of college non-revenue sports, have a competitive disposition which also motivates them to perform well in school.

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2007

Donald E. Briere III, Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Del Siegle
The Effects of a Unified Sports Basketball Program on Special Education Students’ Physical, Social, and Global Domains of Self-Concept: Four Case Studies

This study sought to explore the effects of a Unified Sports basketball program on disabled students’ physical, social, and global domains of self-concept. The program included both disabled and non-disabled participants. Teams learned about and practiced the game of basketball twice a week (during their gym class) and then ventured to competitions across Connecticut to play against other schools. The competitions occurred towards the end of the program. Four students were involved in this study: three females and one male. The students’ disabilities varied and included mobile impairment, traumatic brain injury, and learning disabilities. The study used a pre- post-test survey approach, with a 32-item survey instrument. Each item measured one of the three domains of self-concept being studied. One-on-one interviews were also conducted by the researcher with each participant upon the participant’s completion of the Unified Sports basketball season. The participants’ high ratings on the pre-survey’s five-point scale limited room for growth on the post-survey. When both survey results and one-on-one responses were synthesized on the whole, the Unified Sports basketball program was shown to have a positive effect on students’ attitudes. All participants verbally expressed their highly positive feelings about the program, and all recommended that the program be continued in the future. Social self-concept demonstrated the most significant positive change, and physical self-concept showed the least.

 

Jeffrey Corbishley, Secondary Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Mary Truxaw
Mathematical Readiness of Entering College Freshmen: A Comprehensive Exploration of Mathematics within Connecticut Public Universities and Colleges

A central goal of many college admissions officers in the United States is to admit entering students who are prepared for the college curriculum at their university or college. Professors within the universities and colleges are the people who determine the level of readiness, or ability to successfully perform well in college mathematics courses, for incoming students. The results from previous studies have shown that students in the United States rank below the international average in mathematics achievement at the end of secondary school. This implies that the United States as an entire entity fails to produce high-level mathematicians by the final year of secondary school. It is therefore important to see how well entering college freshmen are prepared for the rigor of college mathematics. This study attempted to answer the question of how well the students entering different universities and colleges throughout Connecticut meet the readiness expectations of professors and other faculty members who teach mathematics courses. Twenty-two faculty members from seven Connecticut colleges and universities responded to an online survey asking them to rate entering student skill level in key areas of the NCTM standards, to rate the importance of these constructs, and to comment on student areas of strength and weakness in mathematical readiness. Participants rated student readiness levels in the poor or very poor range in all skill areas, while also rating all of the skill areas as important to very important. Overall, participants do not view students as prepared for college mathematics. Implications for secondary mathematics education are discussed.

 

Katherine Elizabeth Ferrise, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Catherine Little
Middle School Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy and how it Relates to Teacher Characteristics and School Profile

This study explored the concept of teacher efficacy, which includes the constructs of personal teacher efficacy and general teaching efficacy. Personal teacher efficacy is defined as a teacher’s personal belief about how successful he or she can be in gaining positive results with his or her own students. General teaching efficacy is defined as a teacher’s belief that the teaching profession as a whole is powerful enough to encourage learning regardless of a student’s background, economic status, or any external school factors. Previous research has demonstrated a positive relationship between teacher efficacy and student achievement. This study was performed in order to explore how teachers’ self-efficacy relates to other variables in the educational system, including overall student achievement in a district and individual teacher variables such as experience, grade level taught, and subject area taught. The aim of the study is to begin to develop understanding of these relationships so as to explore, in the future, ways to promote and support both teacher self-efficacy and student achievement. This study focused on teachers in two public middle schools. The sample consisted of 19 fourth to eighth grade teachers. Participants completed a survey assessing perceptions of general teaching efficacy and personal teaching efficacy. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the sample overall and for relevant subgroups. An independent samples t test revealed no differences between the teachers at the two schools, despite large differences in the school demographics and achievement results for each school overall. The only teacher characteristic that appeared to have a relationship to self-efficacy results was years of teaching experience. Across the sample, personal teacher efficacy scores were higher than general teaching efficacy scores, and scores throughout demonstrated moderately positive perceptions of efficacy. Although study results are not generalizable, further study of middle school teachers as a specific teacher population is recommended.

 

Sherryl Hauser, Secondary Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Catherine Little
Relationship of Mathematics Self-Efficacy Beliefs to Mathematics Anxiety
Much is being done to strengthen mathematics education and provide support for students, with the aim of improving mathematics performance. One approach to this effort involves considering the emotions and motivations that students bring to the classroom and that provide the context from which students perform. Some factors that may contribute to student performance are math self-efficacy, or students’ beliefs about their own mathematical abilities, and math anxiety, or feelings of uneasiness that students may experience in association with mathematics. This study examined the relationship between the two in undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory statistics course. As hypothesized, results showed that a significant inverse relationship exists between math anxiety and math self-efficacy. While no significant differences were found among age groups, the research uncovered differences between groups that perform at different levels in math classes, with students who reported higher grades in math courses also reporting higher math self-efficacy. Gender also played a role, as males exhibited higher levels of mathematics self-efficacy than females. Implications for practice are discussed, including directing more attention towards helping students both to increase their math self-efficacy and to lower math anxiety.

 

Kate Krotzer, Secondary Spanish Education
Thesis Advisor: Mark Olson
Student Interest and Participation in a Secondary Spanish Classroom

This study was an exploratory study that aimed to describe students’ interest levels and participation patterns in Spanish class. Participants were 17 students from a mid-sized, urban high school in New England. The participants completed a survey about their interest and appreciation for Spanish class. The participants were also observed in their Spanish classroom for their participation incidences, which were recorded for type and content. Interest level in Spanish class overall was found to be high for both males and females. For participation, there were more called on by name incidences than hand raising incidences and there were noted gender differences. The content for the majority of the participation incidences was for homework and grammar. No relationship was able to be determined between student interest level and participation; however, this study provides a means to describe student interest and their participation patterns which can be applicable in the classroom.

 

Linda Tran, Secondary Mathematics Education
Thesis Advisor: Del Siegle
Relationships among Male and Female Middle School Students’ Attitudes and Achievement in Mathematics

This study explored the relationships among sixth-grade students’ attitudes toward mathematics and achievement with regard to gender. Students’ attitudes toward mathematics were examined by using the Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory (ATMI), which gathered information about students’ self-confidence, value, enjoyment, and motivation in mathematics. Mathematical achievement was measured by student scores on the Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. The results of the study showed that significant differences existed between male and female students’ achievement in mathematics. However, no significant differences between male and female students’ attitudes toward mathematics in any of the four constructs were indicated. Furthermore, there were no strong relationships found between students’ attitudes toward mathematics and achievement in mathematics.

 

Tara Tully, Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Del Siegle
Career Beginnings: Investigating the Impact and Effectiveness of College Preparation Programs on Elementary Students

Since the mid-1970s, college enrollment for White, non-Hispanic youths has increased significantly, jumping from only 33% in 1976 to nearly 45% in 1997 (Report of the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative Working Group on Access to Postsecondary Education, 2001). According to this USDOE report, students from historically underrepresented minority groups have not shared in this substantial growth in college-going rates. As a result, a number of initiatives, such as the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education’s Career Beginnings program, have been developed to help facilitate underrepresented student populations’ transition to college. Career Beginnings, like many other college-access programs, has traditionally been marketed towards high school juniors and seniors, although it has recently begun to target its campaign at a significantly younger audience. Partnering with various Connecticut colleges and universities, Career Beginnings has begun sending fifth grade students to tour these establishments. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of these advanced intervention programs by comparing Hartford fifth graders’ thoughts on college before and after a March 31, 2006, visit to the University of Connecticut. After the visit, students indicated they knew more about college and were more likely to believe that they could be successful in college. Males’ confidence in being successful in college grew more than females’ confidence. Students whose family members had not attended college showed the greatest drop in not knowing about college. Overall, the students indicated more positive attitudes about college attendance.

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2006 

Erica Berg
Secondary Education – English
Thesis Advisor: Courtney Bell

This Was Not on the Syllabus! An Examination of First-Year Urban Teachers’ Self-Efficacy

Many first-year teachers find it difficult to meet the needs of all their students, partially because they feel their college coursework left them ill-prepared for the complexity they face in the classroom. This feeling is particularly true among urban teachers who often face crowded classrooms of diverse students with a wide range of instructional needs. This study is a comparative case study of two University of Connecticut graduates during their first year teaching in urban schools. Using mixed-methods, the study draws on interviews, questionnaires, and videotape data shared as a part of a monthly teacher study group of similar graduates. The study also draws on group conversations in which teachers discussed their ability to reach the needs of all of their students, as this was related to their preservice coursework. My findings suggest that many first-year teachers feel university coursework failed to help them in many ways. One teacher felt the coursework did not help her at all, while the other teacher felt it helped her but she still could not meet all of her students’ needs. The study supported the concern that many first-year, urban teachers do not feel confident in the classroom as a result of their preparation from preservice coursework. With this lack in confidence, the teachers may be more likely to leave their urban positions, contributing to the high turnover of teachers in urban placements.

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Elizabeth Condon
Secondary Education – Science
Thesis Advisor: Del Siegle

Why Education Students Believe They Underachieve

One hundred fifty-eight junior and senior pre-service teachers (UConn education majors) completed a 20-question survey on which they indicated reasons for doing poorly in classes. A factor analysis on the 20 reasons for underachievement produced a six-factor solution. Reliability analysis of the factors resulted in the selection of three factors: Poor Academic Skills, Lack of Importance, and Inability to Concentrate. Males were more likely than females to indicate that poor academic skills and lack of importance were reasons for attaining poor grades. There were no differences between juniors and seniors or among elementary, middle, and secondary prospective teachers.

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Rebecca Curtin
Special Education
Thesis Advisor: E. Jean Gubbins

Effects of Music Therapy on Children with Autism

Autism is a serious developmental disorder with onset in early childhood. The disorder is characterized by repetitive and restricted patterns of behavior, impairments in social interaction, and an inability to communicate effectively. Music therapy has been shown to be a successful means towards improving these deficits. Most people with a diagnosis on the autism spectrum have been reported to respond positively to music, making it an excellent therapeutic tool. This honors thesis reviews the current literature on the practice of music therapy within autistic populations. This honors thesis also seeks to determine if there is consistent research to support the use of music therapy as a way to increase social interaction and communication skills in individuals on the autism spectrum.

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Elyse Davis
Secondary Education – Mathematics
Thesis.Advisor: Catherine Little

Differentiation in the Mathematics Classroom: Teacher Practices and Perceptions

The purpose of my thesis was to explore current methods of differentiation being used to respond to the needs of gifted mathematics students in grades 2-4 in an urban school district. Specifically, the study used a survey to explore the frequency of teachers’ self-reported use of a variety of specific instructional methods in mathematics with both average students and gifted students, with comparison of the mean differences in strategy usage with the two groups. In addition, through literature review and expert interview, the study explored the supports and barriers to differentiation for advanced students in elementary mathematics classrooms. Eight teachers completed the survey. Across the group teachers indicated relatively infrequent use of all instructional strategies on the survey, and there was little distinction between strategies used with gifted students and those used with average students. Strategies used somewhat more frequently included selected questioning and thinking strategies; however, it was uncle whether teachers used these strategies to respond specifically to student differences. Survey results echoed interview comments and previous research regarding the infrequent use of differentiation strategies, particularly those strategies requiring more preparation and those specifically suited to the needs of the gifted.

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Stephanie Eleck
Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Sally Reis

Students’ Perceptions of Renzulli Learning Systems

In this study, students’ use of and reactions to Renzulli Learning System (RLS) were examined. RLS is an online profiling system, assessing students’ interests, learning styles, and product styles and matching them to a unique, individualized database of enrichment activities. Of particular interest in this study were students’ interests in the use of RLS with project ideas to extend their learning. Data were collected using questionnaires and student observations. Findings suggest that students enjoyed using RLS in school and that the majority had ideas for projects using RLS. Students who used RLS had positive experiences in learning about their own interests and furthering their learning using planned enrichment activities.

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Jenna Ferrara
Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Catherine Little

Preservice Teacher Preparation in Meeting the Needs of Gifted and Other Academically Diverse Students

The issue of how to respond to the diverse academic needs of students is one of the central challenges of teaching. For my Honors Thesis, I conducted a project to study how preservice teachers develop an awareness of the needs of academically diverse learners and how they intend to implement and/ or modify instruction to meet those needs. Participants were preservice teachers from one university. They were surveyed to investigate (a) their attitudes and beliefs towards academically diverse learners; (b) the teaching practices they would utilize in response to academic diversity in their classrooms; and (c) the confidence they have in their abilities to identify and address these various needs in their classrooms. Several strategies, including activities to enhance creativity, cooperative learning, individual instruction, problem-solving activities, and projects, were indicated by participants to be appropriate for all students. Small differences were found based on the preservice teachers’ year of placement in the School of Education, indicating that as students progress through this program, they may learn more about different techniques and when and for whom they are appropriate; hwever, differences across groups were not statistically significant. Results also indicated that across the different years in the program, preservice teachers did not have very high or very low confidence in addressing these issues in their own classrooms. Each grouping of preservice teachers scored around the midpoint on the confidence scale.

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Jillian Klapatch
Secondary Education – English
Thesis Advisor: E. Jean Gubbins

Analysis of Reading Strategies Used by High School Juniors

The purposes of the study were to determine to what extent students are strategically active when reading text for literatqre/English class and to find out if there is a correlation between reading strategy use and motivation to read. Four classes of Juniors in a suburban high school completed the survey about reading strategies used in English and literature classes. Students were also asked to respond to a four-question survey about their motivation to read. Oerall, students do not use reading strategies to a large extent. Some strategies were used more than others, and the use might differ based on content area. High achievers were more likely to use the strategies more frequently, but the differences in percentage of use were not vast. The results indicate that there was a low correlation between reading strategy use and motivation to read. Motivation correlated with Self Reflection Strategies but not with Monitoring While Reading and Post Reading Evaluation Strategies. The data gathered about motivation indicate that motivation and enjoyment are moderately correlated, but reasons such as grades, parents, and college did not have a strong relationship with overall motivation.

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Danielle Maher
Secondary Education – English
Thesis Advisor: Wendy Glenn

Gender and Literacy: The Student Perspective

The purpose of the study was to further research regarding how boys and girls feel about the gender gap in reading and literacy, or if they do not believe there is a gender gap at all. The study was also designed to find out how these students feel about their own individual performance in reading. It examined students’ perceptions of themselves as readers in comparison to their own gender, as well as the opposite gender. The research questions that guided this study were as follows: (1) Do boys and/ or girls believe one gender enjoys reading more than the other? (2) Do boys and/ or girls believe one gender is naturally better at reading than the other? (3) How do boys and girls feel about how gender affects interest and performance in English class? (4) Where do these student opinions originate? The study was conducted with the cooperation of 46 randomly selected students at Johnston Middle School located in a suburban Connecticut town. Surveys about gender and reading were completed by all 46 participants. Three boys and three girls were randomly selected from the group to participate in individual interviews that also probed student understandings with respect to gender and reading. The data from the surveys and interviews were organized and analyzed in tables and charts according to general themes that emerged. It was discovered that many of the perceptions students held regarding gender and reading were not necessarily true. For example, a majority of boys and girls believed that girls pleasure read more during both the school year and the summer than boys do. In actuality, girls and boys reported pleasure reading the same amount during both the school year and the summer. Implications for the study include the importance for expanding educator and student knowledge about the stereotypes that exist among students regarding gender and reading and the origins of those stereotypes. It is important to recognize these stereotypes in order to understand how the students see a division between genders. If these stereotypes are ever going to be overcome, they first need to be recognized. Secondly, educators should be aware of the integral part that book choice plays in a student’s motivation to read. Lastly, educators and parents have to be aware that· how students feel about themselves as readers in comparison to their peers affects self­efficacy and motivation to read.

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Stacy Marcus
Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Joseph Madaus

Asperger Syndrome: Historical Developments and Current Trends

Asperger syndrome is a condition that affects the way a person communicates and relates to others. Although Aspergei syndrome is a disorder on the Autism spectrum and it shares a number of common traits with autism, including difficulty in social relationships and limited imagination and creative play, people with Asperger syndrome usuaily have fewer problems with language than those with autism. People with Asperger syndrome are often of average or above average intelligence. Asperger syndrome was classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV in 1994; thus, the research on Asperger syndrome is only beginning. As a result, the nature of this puzzling social disability is largely unknown. Furthermore, the number of individuals being diagnosed is rising, creating new challenges in schools. This honors thesis summarizes research presently available on Asperger syndrome and considers current trends and educational implications.

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Emily McCoy
Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Joseph Madaus

Obsessive Compulsive Perfectionism

Obsessive Compulsive Perfectionism or’ OCP has become a very well-known disorder seen in individuals in the United States. Perfectionism falls on a continuum of beneficial or good to negative or harmful forms. The positive form of perfectionism can drive an individual to accomplish great things, whereas the negative form can hinder normal, everyday actions and paralyze an individual. In this form, perfectionism is the irrational belief that a person and his or her environment must be perfect, and it causes individuals to strive to be the best, to reach the ideal, and’to never make a mistake. High levels of perfectionism have been observed in individuals with eating disorders and individuals suffering from depression; the disorders appear to be linked.Institutions throughout the United States are seeing a rise in both males and female patients suffering from Compulsive Perfectionism. The disorder has become more prominent in the field of mental disorders and thus more research is being conducted to determine the symptoms, any causes, and the harmful and helpful effects of the disorder.

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Katherine Rinaldi
Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Catherine Little

Acts of Friendship: An Examination of the Interpersonal Relationships of a Child with Autism within an Inclusive Classroom

Research has indicated that children with autism display socially inappropriate behaviors in their interactions with others (American Psychiatric Association; Scheuermann & Webber; & Simpson and Myles, cited in Simpson, de-Boer, & Smith-Myles, 2003). Yet, it is critical for all children to have the opportunity to forge peer relationships (Bagwell, Newcomb, & Bukowski, 1998). High-functioning children with autism must be placed in environments in which peer interactions are available. However, this integration must be carefully organized because of the special needs of the child. The type of environment, the extent to which the environment is monitored, and the amount of information disclosed with regard to the child’s disorder all must be considered (Cole, Vandercook, & Rynders, 1988; Ochs, Kremer-Sadlik, Solomon, Sirota, 2001; Simpson, de Boer-Ott, & Smith-Myles, 2003). This case study of one 8-year-old child with autism used classroom observations and interviews with the parent and school personnel to examine interpersonal relationships, specifically focusing on acts of friendship. An act of friendship is defined as the behaviors of two or more children who engage in play, partake in conversations, and/or help those in need (Gross 2002). The collected data were analyzed using the procedure of inductive data analysis. Each category of data was reviewed in order to acquire a general sense of the information and to consider its greater overall meaning. Next, a list of all occurring topics was generated and coded. The data were then interpreted to formulate generalized assertions. Interviews and a questionnaire revealed that the adult participants held differing perspectives as to what constitutes friendship. Due to these varying perceptions, the degree to which the child’s interactions were viewed as positive or negative in nature differed respectively among the adults. Observations of play indicated that the child with autism initiated a greater number of acts of play with her peers than they did with her. The issue of children with autism forging interpersonal relationships within an inclusive class requires further examination. Future research possibilities include the study of inclusive classroom transitions, maturational issues, and the special needs child’s own perception of friendship.

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Mary Serrell
Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: Del Siegle

A Case Study Investigating Literacy Activities in the Home

A large body of research documents the positive influence of routine involvement in literacy activities on young children’s achievement. Studies have researched the impacts of home environments in which the quantity and diversity of print is rich, and in which there are extensive opportunities to participate in literacy activities. Yet, not all parents and guardians are aware that they should not just be reading to their children but involving their families in fun and creative literacy activities. In this research, the results of qualitative interviews are reported and numerous new literacy activities that engage young children based on these interviews are proposed.

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Amanda Vogel
Special Education
Thesis Advisor: Catherine Little

Effective Reading Instruction in Elementary Classrooms: Promoting Strategies that Respond to Student Needs and Interests

Reading instruction is crucial to all students’ education, and it has implications on an individual’s entire academic and personal life. Educators face a variety of challenges as they consider how best to provide literacy instruction to their students, because of the large number of differing instructional principles, pedagogies, and methods for teaching reading. The focus of this thesis was an in-depth literature review of effective reading instructional practices in elementary schools, with key :findings including emphasis on the need for appropriate texts, adequate time with texts, suitable reading tasks, and dedicated teachers. The review was paired with an exploration of the key component of responding to student interests. Students’ reading interests were studied through a reading interest survey completed by 158 elementary students participating in a voluntary after-school program. The data indicated that a majority of students in this study have positive attitudes about reading and that they have clear interest in specific types of books and literacy activities. Preferred book genres within the sample included novel/ chapter books, fantasy books, mystery books, and scary books, while preferred activities included talking about the book with a friend, creating a game or puzzle, writing a story or poem, and watching a movie about a book that was read. Research on literacy instruction suggests that such interests can be incorporated into literacy activities and text selection as a way of promoting effective reading instruction.

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Courtney Worcester
Secondary Education – History
Thesis Advisor: Alan Marcus

”I Have a Normal Life, They Definitely Did Not”: How Students Identify With History Through Feature Films

Students’ identification with history, one way of supporting a student’s historical understanding, has become an important goal for history teachers. Helping students to identify, or see themselves in history, typically not only catches students’ interests but also affects how they evaluate historical events and figures. While the ways in which students identify with history through print sources and photographs have been widely studied, my research, a part of a larger study performed by Dr. Alan Marcus, looks at how students identify with historical figures portrayed in film. With the increase in teaching aids throughout the past decade, including VCRs and projectors for educational use, teachers now have the technological capacity to show more films in the classroom. Knowing how students identify with films will help teachers choose films in a more purposeful and meaningful way. To explore the question of student identification with film,1 analyzed student survey responses to a variety of feature films shown in two history classrooms, one in an urban district and another in a suburban district. The two most common ways students identified with the films wre with regard to their personal experiences, or more specifically their struggles, and their values. These :findings were contrary to previous research based on print sources, which found that students identified with characters of their own ethnicity and gender. This may reflect the fact that unlike a person in a photo, a character portrayed in film is more than just a face without a voice. It is very apparent that they are involved in problems and react according to their values. For teachers, it is important when choosing films for history classes to understand the struggles students face’ everyday and their values; this may make the difference between providing an experience through which students identify with history and one in· which they do not.

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Teresa Yelenik
Elementary Education
Thesis Advisor: M. Katherine Gavin

An Examination of Gender Differences in Mathematics Performance by Fourth Grade Students in an Innovative Gifted Mathematics Program

Over time gender differences in mathematics performance have decreased, yet they have not vanished. In particular, males continue to outperform females in mathematics on standardized tests (e.g., National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP], 2005; Trends in International Math and Science Study [TIMSS], 2003). Studies have been conducted in the hope of finding ways to increase female mathematical performance. Research has shown five components of classroom instruction that increase females’ performance in mathematics. The five strategies include the use of writing, the use of practical problems, verbal discourse, the use of manipulatives, and cooperative group work (e.g., Gurian & Henley, 2001; Sadker & Sadker, 1994). This study examines gender differences in mathematical achievement of fourth grade males and females participating in an innovative gifted mathematics program, Project M3: Mentoring Mathematical Minds. The goals of the program include the five components, listed above, that have been shown to increase girls’ mathematics performance. The subjects, ninety males and eighty-nine females, began participating in the program in third grade and were fourth graders at the time of this study. The students were from ten schools, eight in Connecticut and two in Kentucky. The schools were of varying socio-economic status, with seven considered as low socio-economic status. All of the students were identified as having mathematical talent potential. The participants were given two pretests at the beginning of their fourth grade year, the mathematics section of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and a mathematics open-ended response assessment. At the end of their fourth grade year the students were given the same two tests as a post-assessment. The scores were examined from pre to post in search of growth and gender differences. The results of this study found significant growth in mathematical achievement and mathematics open-ended response achievement from pre- to post-testing .. There were no gender differences in scores found on either one of the tests. There were also no significant gender differences in the amount of growth, pre to post, on either one of the tests. The results of this study support the five research-based ineans of improving females’ mathematics achievement. It appears that the goals of Project M3 are working since all students in the program, both male and females, are improving from pre- to post-testing. The fact that this study shows no gender differences among participants in the program is also encouraging, perhaps suggesting a means of improving all students’ mathematical achievements.