Qualitative Action Research on the Benefits of Adding Humor and Aspects of Play in an Elementary Art Education Classroom with Sixth Graders

Qualitative Action Research on the Benefits of Adding Humor and Aspects of Play in an Elementary Art Education Classroom with Sixth Graders
Author: Kelly Macagnone
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2013
Genre: Art
ISBN:

This qualitative action research study explored the benefits of using humor and aspects of play as teaching strategies in the art classroom. This study was conducted in a small Catholic elementary school located in Western New York. One sixth grade class, composed of nine students, participated in this study. Data was collected and analyzed a period of ten weeks. Conducted through the theory of constructivism, students were engaged and encouraged to construct deep understandings of important concepts in the art classroom through the tools of humor and play. My focus was how the students' perceived humor and play in the classroom, how humor and play could be used to assist in instruction, and what I, and perhaps other teachers, learn from this inclusion as the art teacher. I collected data through field notes, observations, class dialogue, questionnaires, and student artwork. After consistently reading through and triangulating the data, I formed groups of categories which became my findings, which include: humor and play generate motivation and engagement in students, humor and play function as teaching tools, and kid culture is important to incorporate in the classroom. My findings demonstrate the various benefits of using humor and the aspects of play into the art classroom. I discovered that by using these often unconventional tools to aid in classroom and curriculum construction, student engage in concepts they need to learn. In addition, through the creation of a positive and playful classroom environment, students build relationships with one another and connect through shared laughter and humor connections. As a teacher, this unit also helped me discover the importance of humor in the role of stress and anxiety relief for both students and teacher.

Action Research for Kids

Action Research for Kids
Author: Amanda O. Latz
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2021-09-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1000492591

Action Research for Kids provides teachers with comprehensive, creative, and hands-on units to engage students in action research. Students will benefit from learning about quantitative and qualitative research practices that can make a real difference in their lives and those within their communities. Within this text, teachers can select a lesson or use whole units as students explore research methods such as survey research, experimental research, life history, and photovoice in fun lessons that ask them to create a library wish list, interview people in their communities, lobby for cookies in the cafeteria, and experiment with preservatives. Each lesson comes with detailed instructions and ideas for differentiation. Grades 5-8

School, Family, and Community Partnerships

School, Family, and Community Partnerships
Author: Joyce L. Epstein
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 508
Release: 2018-07-19
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1483320014

Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

Play in the Early Elementary Art Room

Play in the Early Elementary Art Room
Author: Jennifer DeLuca
Publisher:
Total Pages: 37
Release: 2013
Genre:
ISBN:

This capstone project addresses the need for play in the classroom environment. Using games and playful learning activities can benefit a student's social skills, motivation, and encourages a student-centered approach to learning. Throughout this project I researched playful activities and educational games that can be used successfully in a first grade classroom. This paper also reviews literature about play, the use of games in the classroom, different types of games available, art games specifically, game development, and the benefits of games including cognitive development, social development, strategic planning, and enhancing student motivation. I also investigated educational games by surveying other educators to see if they use educational games, as well as researched resources available online. I compiled these resources in an online Scoop.it archive, www.scoop.it/t/educational-games-used-to-enhance-instructionaldelivery. Using an action research approach, I introduced my students to playful learning experiences and recorded the successfulness of each activity. I created an online resource that expands on my findings and catalogs several playful learning activities within these categories: Playing with Materials, Role-Playing Activities, and Educational Games. My website can be found at www.playfullearningthroughart.weebly.com. My capstone paper describes my research process, findings, and recommendations. First I discuss the need for a different approach to learning in the art room. Then in my literature review I describe the benefits of using games. Finally I share my findings from my surveys and through classroom observations. My recommendations include implementing the playful learning activities and educational games found on my website in the classroom environment to enhance student learning and motivation. I conclude this capstone paper with final insights about the great potential of playful learning in the classroom environment.

Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8

Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 587
Release: 2015-07-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0309324882

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Humor in the Classroom

Humor in the Classroom
Author: Nancy Bell
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2015-07-03
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1136180613

Humor in the Classroom provides practical, research-based answers to questions that educational researchers and language teachers might have about the social and cognitive benefits that humor and language play afford in classroom discourse and additional language learning. The book considers the ways in which humor, language play, and creativity can construct new possibilities for classroom identity, critique prevailing norms, and reconfigure particular relations of power. Humor in the Classroom encourages educational researchers and language teachers to take a fresh look at the workings of humor in today’s linguistically diverse classrooms and makes the argument for its role in building a stronger foundation for studies of classroom discourse, theories of additional language development, and approaches to language pedagogy.

Teaching To Transgress

Teaching To Transgress
Author: Bell Hooks
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2014-03-18
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135200017

First published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Flip Your Classroom

Flip Your Classroom
Author: Jonathan Bergmann
Publisher: International Society for Technology in Education
Total Pages: 123
Release: 2012-06-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1564844684

Learn what a flipped classroom is and why it works, and get the information you need to flip a classroom. You’ll also learn the flipped mastery model, where students learn at their own pace, furthering opportunities for personalized education. This simple concept is easily replicable in any classroom, doesn’t cost much to implement, and helps foster self-directed learning. Once you flip, you won’t want to go back!

Innovation in Open and Distance Learning

Innovation in Open and Distance Learning
Author: Fred Lockwood
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2012-11-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1136362274

This volume draws together experiences in the application of technology to distributed learning. It offers an appraisal of the strategies and processes for managing change in open and distance learning and presents a progressive vision for all those involved in this widespread discipline.

How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-ability Classrooms

How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-ability Classrooms
Author: Carol A. Tomlinson
Publisher: ASCD
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2001
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0871205122

Offers a definition of differentiated instruction, and provides principles and strategies designed to help teachers create learning environments that address the different learning styles, interests, and readiness levels found in a typical mixed-ability classroom.