Fifth-grade Classrooms Research Articles

Preliminary Program Evaluation of Pocket PE 3-5™, A User-Friendly Digital Application for Teacher Skills Training and Physical Education Activities for Third- to Fifth-Grade Elementary Students.

In the United States, many classroom teachers also teach physical education (PE). However, there is a dearth of evidence- and standard-based PE programs designed to support classroom teachers to deliver PE effectively in schools. The purpose of this study was to establish proof-of-concept for the Pocket PE 3-5 digital app in school settings with 10 third- to fifth-grade classroom teachers. We assessed fidelity of program implementation, measured via observations of PE quality. Students used wrist-worn heart rate monitors during Pocket PE 3-5 lessons to measure time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Program feasibility was primarily assessed through teacher-reported surveys of usability, satisfaction, and acceptability and exit interviews. Mean PE observation scores were 18.6 (SD = 1.5) on a scale of 5 to 20. On average, students spent 56.7% (SD = 13.1%) of class time engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Mean survey scores, reported on a 5-point scale, were 4.5 (SD = 0.6) for acceptability, 4.8 (SD = 0.4) for usability, and 4.7 (SD = 0.7) for satisfaction. Teachers liked how easy the app was to use but mentioned some technological challenges. This program evaluation study established the proof-of-concept for the Pocket PE 3-5 elementary school PE program.

Learning about the Coexistence between Nature and Humans in Elementary Science Education: Developing Lessons Using Folktales That Reflect Ancestors’ Views on Nature

Understanding the coexistence between nature and humans is a basic concept required in modern society. In this study, we verify the effectiveness of folktales as teaching material in science education by incorporating folktales into the fifth-grade elementary school science unit, “Functions of Running Water and Changes in the Land”. We investigate the effects of folktales that express ancestors’ perspectives on nature on pupils’ ideas about the coexistence between nature and humans. Additionally, we explore the possibility of using folktales in science education. In November 2017, an experimental group (74 participants) explored the coexistence between nature and humans through folktales, while a control group (60 participants) explored this coexistence through discussion activities. These experiments were conducted in fifth-grade classrooms at elementary schools in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan. Our results indicate that for some pupils in the experimental group, exposure to their ancestors’ views of nature helped them develop and refine their ideas about their connection to and relationship with the river. Folktales vividly depict the nature of the past in the places where the pupils live, offering a glimpse into their ancestors’ different views on nature that differ from present-day views. It is considered that, by coming into contact with the folktale, pupils were able to enter a situation that transcended time, allowing them to think about and empathize with the people who lived with the river. It is suggested that this connection is related to the results described above.

초등학교에서 표현의 해석에 중점을 둔 약수와 배수의 교육

This study examines students’ thoughts and progress in learning the unit of divisors and multiples in a fifth-grade classroom. Through lessons students were provided with opportunities to interpret mathematical terms such as divisors, multiplication expression of a number, and division form for finding greatest common divisor and least common multiple. The results of this study show that the experience of interpreting mathematical representations such as mathematical terms, expressions, and forms enhance students understanding of divisors and multiples. Students constructed their meanings of mathematical terms such as divisor. Interpreting multiplication expressions, students found hidden divisors by decomposing or composing numbers in multiplication expression and realized the benefits of the prime factorization method to find greatest common divisor and least common multiple. Moreover, interpreting division form of the divide-by-a-common-prime method, students paid attention to relations among numbers and found connection between this method and the prime factorization method. Based on the results, this paper discussed implications on teaching and learning divisors and multiples in elementary school.

Model Pembelajaran Realistic Mathematic Education (RME) terhadap Peningkatan Hasil Belajar Matematika Siswa Sekolah Dasar

This research aims to describe the implementation of the Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) learning model in a fifth-grade classroom at one of the elementary schools in the Bonegunu district and to improve students' mathematics learning outcomes on the subject of spatial structures. The subjects of this classroom action research are 26 fifth-grade students in the school. The research design adopts the Kemmis and Taggart model, which includes planning, action, observation, and reflection. Data collection techniques include observation, interviews, tests, and documentation. Data were analyzed descriptively qualitatively. The results show that the implementation of mathematics learning using the Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) learning model proceeded well according to the prepared plan. Students' learning outcomes in Cycle I were in the good category with a learning completeness percentage of 57.69% and an average of 66.35. It then increased to the very good category with a completeness percentage of 92.31% and an average of 87.50 in Cycle II. These findings indicate that the implementation of the Realistic Mathematics Education learning model in the classroom has a positive impact on improving students' mathematics learning outcomes in elementary school.Keywords: Realistic mathematic education (RME), student’s activity, matehematics learning outcomes.

Facilitating Mathematics and Computer Science Connections: A Cross Curricular Approach

In the United States, school curricula are often created and taught with distinct boundaries between disciplines. This division between curricular areas may serve as a hindrance to students’ long-term learning and their ability to generalize. In contrast, cross-curricular pedagogy provides a way for students to think beyond the classroom walls and make important connections across disciplines. The purpose of this paper is a theoretical reflection on our use of Expansive Framing in our design of lessons across learning environments within the school. We provide a narrative account of our early work in using this theoretical framework to co-plan and enact interdisciplinary mathematics and computer science (CS) tasks with a team of elementary school educators and school district personnel. The unit focuses on the concepts of exponents in mathematics and repeat loops as a control structure in computer science. Using a narrative approach, we describe what occurred during the collaborative planning of lessons and subsequent enactments in two fifth-grade classrooms and one computer lab and provide a practitioner‑oriented account of our experience.

Enhancing Mathematical Reasoning in Primary School with the Strategic Board Game Othello

This study explores how the board game Othello can enhance primary school students' mathematical reasoning. Mathematical reasoning is increasingly emphasized in international mathematics curricula, yet both teachers and students face challenges in teaching and learning this important skill. Research shows that strategic games, like Othello, can develop thinking abilities related to mathematical reasoning by providing a context for students to engage in reflective thinking, anticipate future moves, and develop reasoning strategies. However, there is a need to understand how teachers can effectively utilize these games in the classroom to foster mathematical reasoning. We address this, through a design-based research approach consisting of a hermeneutic literature study and the development of design principles for a teaching intervention in a fifth-grade classroom. Data from the intervention is collected through participant observations and group interviews. The findings suggest that Othello can serve as a context for students to engage in mathematical reasoning by making and justifying claims and presenting logical arguments. The study proposes three design principles to scaffold mathematical reasoning during Othello gameplay. These principles focus on introducing and reinforcing the use of the "if...then" formulation, promoting exploratory talk, encouraging reflection on strategies, and fostering collaborative reasoning. The results indicate that the design principles positively impacted students' ability to reason mathematically. This paper contributes to the field of mathematics education and game-based learning by providing a practice-oriented perspective on designing mathematical instruction for reasoning using a specific board game in a primary school setting. The findings offer insights into the potential of strategic board games like Othello to enhance students' mathematical reasoning skills. The design principles proposed in this study can guide teachers in developing effective instructional approaches to support students' mathematical reasoning development.

Picture Book Development Based on Approach Scientific on Science Lesson Class V SDN 36 Mataram Academic Year 2023

Based on the observation results at SDN 36 Mataram, several weaknesses were identified within the learning process. These include an emphasis on completing lesson materials rather than fostering understanding and meaningfulness of the subjects for students. Many students still engage in play during lessons, and a significant number of them hesitate to express their opinions due to a lack of confidence. The purpose of this research is to ascertain the development procedure of picture storybooks based on a scientific approach for fifth-grade Science lessons. This study falls under the category of research and development. It was conducted at SDN 36 Mataram, specifically in the fifth-grade classrooms. The research took place during the first semester of the 2023 academic year. The population of this study comprised all fifth-grade students at SDN 36 Mataram, while the sample included six students randomly selected from the fifth-grade class. This research employed the 4D model (define, design, development, and dissemination), focusing exclusively on the development phase with a sample of six participants (limited trial). The decision to choose six students as participants was based on specific reasons. Data collection techniques used in this study encompassed observation, documentation, and questionnaires. Both qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques were applied. This study involves the development of picture storybooks based on a scientific approach for fifth-grade students. The development of the scientific-based picture storybook follows the 4D development design, involving the phases of defining, designing, developing, and disseminating.

Pengembangan Media E-Book Cerita Anak pada Pembelajaran Menulis Siswa Kelas V Sekolah Dasar

Learning media plays a crucial role in the learning process, serving as a source of learning that helps teachers enrich students' knowledge. The objective of this research is to develop a suitable E-Book media for children's stories that can be used effectively in teaching and to describe students' responses to the media. This study adopts the Research and Development method, employing the ADDIE model. The developed media has been evaluated by subject matter experts and media experts, who deemed it "appropriate" for instructional use. This indicates that the E-Book media for children's stories meets the criteria of high quality for implementation in fifth-grade classrooms.
 Keywords: Learning media, Children`s stories, Indonesian.

Effects of the Good Behavior Game on Students’ Academic Engagement in Remote Classrooms During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This multiple-baseline design study examined the effects of the Good Behavior Game (GBG) on class-wide academic engagement in online general education classrooms. Teachers in three third- through fifth-grade classrooms in the state of New York implemented the GBG remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Treatment integrity was supported using aspects of implementation planning and by providing emailed performance feedback. Teachers’ perceived usability and students’ perceived acceptability of the GBG were assessed. Visual analysis results indicated two clear demonstrations of an effect, but experimental control was limited by smaller and delayed effects in one classroom. Statistical analyses of the data suggest that implementing the GBG was associated with moderate to strong, statistically significant improvements in students’ academic engagement in all three classrooms. Teachers reported that the GBG was usable in their online classrooms, and students reported finding the intervention acceptable to participate in remotely. These results provide initial support for further examining the effectiveness and social validity of using the GBG to improve elementary students’ academic engagement during remote instruction.

The four studio structures and deep learning

PurposeThis paper describes how a pre-service teacher’s knowledge and pedagogy changed as she documented her reflective practice while teaching arts-integrated lessons in a fifth-grade classroom during her pre-service teacher preparation program. The pre-service teacher spent three-months conducting an action research project in collaboration with a university mentor.Design/methodology/approachThis paper explores what she and her mentor learned as she prepared arts-integrated lesson plans based on the four studio structures for learning and analyzed them along with identifying and documenting evidence of deep learning through field notes and video recordings.FindingsAnalysis of field notes, video recordings and lesson plans led the authors to take a deeper look at where the four studio structures for learning overlapped in the teaching event. In the data the intersections of the four studio structures shared a pattern of increased evidence of deep learning for the students. This paper describes the phenomenon in the classroom at various points of intersection.Research limitations/implicationsThis action research study is preliminary, and the findings are suggestive of further research that would require indexing what deep learning looks like and gathering and analyzing student data.Practical implicationsIt is recommended that teachers use the four studio structures to integrate the arts in their classrooms and to enhance and encourage creativity, communication, critical thinking, collaboration, character and culture and as teachers work toward deep learning for students.Originality/valueThis case shows how a university partnership provides fertile ground for educators of all skills and experience to participate in the expansion of the field of education as well as personal and professional development.

Video outperforms illustrated text: Do old explanations for the modality effect apply in a learner-paced fifth-grade classroom context?

The modality effect occurs when people learn better from a combination of pictures and narration than from a combination of pictures and written text. Despite the strong empirical results in earlier studies, the modality effect has been less prominent in later studies of children in learner-paced settings. However, the generalizability of these results in practice may be limited because the studies included notable differences compared to a classroom context. The present study examined the modality effect in a learner-paced classroom context. In a within-subjects experiment, fifth graders learned from illustrated texts and videos and completed pre-, post-, and delayed tests on two science topics. The video group outperformed the illustrated text group in retention, delayed retention, cognitive load, and efficiency measures but there were no statistical differences in transfer. In both learning conditions, the cognitive load was moderate and did not correlate with any learning outcomes. The results suggest that while the modality effect can occur in a learner-paced classroom context, it may not be based on the avoidance of cognitive overload. Alternative explanations concerning the differences in settings and materials between classroom contexts and modality effect research are discussed.

Multimodal Communication and Peer Interaction during Equation-Solving Sessions with and without Tangible Technologies

Despite the increasing use of technologies in the classroom, there are concerns that technology-enhanced learning environments may hinder students’ communication and interaction. In this study, we investigated how tangible technologies can enhance students’ multimodal communication and interaction during equation-solving pair work compared to working without such technologies. A tangible app for learning equation solving was developed and tested in fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms with two class teachers and 24 students. Video data of the interventions were analysed using deductive and inductive content analysis. Coded data were also quantified for quantitative analysis. Additionally, teacher interview data were used to compare and contrast the findings. The findings showed that the tangible app better promoted students’ multimodal communication and peer interaction than working only with paper and pencil. When working in pairs, tangible-app students interacted with one another much more often and in more ways than their paper-and-pencil peers. The implications of this study are discussed in terms of its contributions to research on tangible technologies for learning, educational technology development, and the use of tangibles in classrooms to support students’ multimodal communication and peer interaction.

A Single-Case Examination of Token Reinforcement and Self-Evaluation in a Self-Contained Classroom

Students with disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders exhibit persistent problem behaviors that interfere with learning and instruction. Support interventions for these students should match their specific needs, such as learning to direct their behavior in the school setting. In this pilot study, we compared the efficacy of two universal teacher practices on a self-contained fifth-grade classroom student’s Active Student Responding (ASR) and generalized on-task behavior. Token reinforcement, which was teacher-managed and commonly used in the classroom, and self-evaluation (SE), which was student-managed and novel for the teacher and the student. Interventions were evaluated during language arts lessons using a single-case Alternating Treatments Design. Findings demonstrated that the student’s ASR comparatively improved under both interventions and ontask behavior mildly increased. The moderately positive impact of the two practices on ASR is discussed with emphasis on the appropriateness of SE for participants with emotional-behavioral disorders.

Teachers’ guidance of students’ focus toward lesson objectives: how does a competent teacher make decisions in the key interactions?

In this paper we describe how a teacher makes decisions during interaction with students in order to guide their focus towards the lesson’s objectives that the teacher has in mind. In particular, in the paper we examine how a mathematics teacher’s knowledge connects with the teacher’s noticing skill and interactive action. We present the case of a competent Japanese teacher, Mr. T, during a series of nine lessons on comparing fractions in a fifth-grade classroom. We first look at how Mr. T structured the lessons and interactions to help the students shift their focus from the procedural aspects to the quantitative aspects, when generating their explanations concerning how to compare fractions. Then, we analyze how Mr. T interpreted the students’ responses and made decisions about his interactive actions in the two lessons. The results show that Mr. T structured the entire lessons by repeatedly eliciting students’ ideas and focusing on the object of examination. Detailed analysis of three vignettes shows Mr. T’s constant reference to the lesson objectives when attending to and interpreting the students’ thinking both in verbal and written form. Furthermore, he strove to adjust his initial decisions according to the students’ reactions. These processes of noticing the students’ mathematical thinking were made possible by his extensive content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge; in particular, his knowledge of figural representation had a significant influence on his decision-making.

Children’s engagement during collaborative learning and direct instruction through the lens of participant structure

The joint effects of instructional approach and participant structure on children’s engagement were investigated in 24 fifth-grade classrooms during a six-week unit on wolf management. 96 four-minute episodes sampled from the lesson videos were coded in 30-second intervals for individual students’ momentary cognitive-behavioral engagement, momentary emotional engagement, and current participant structure. Multilevel ordinal regression analyses showed that children were three times more likely to be cognitively and behaviorally engaged and one-and-a-half times more likely to be emotionally engaged during collaborative groups than direct instruction. Children’s cognitive-behavioral engagement depended upon participant structure: Children in collaborative groups were most engaged in lessons during peer interaction, whereas children receiving direct instruction were more engaged when interacting with the teacher. Children were more likely to be emotionally engaged when talking with peers, the teacher, or both peers and the teacher than when alone. The study contributes to new understanding of engagement as a function of the nature and conditions for participation in lessons.

Helping as a Concurrent Activity: How Students Engage in Small Groups While Pursuing Classroom Tasks.

This study examines interactions in which students help each other with their learning during classroom instruction, forming groups in the process. From a conversation analytic perspective, helping is assumed to be a sequentially organized activity jointly accomplished by the participants. As an activity that proceeds alongside other ongoing classroom activities, helping can be conceived as part of a multiactivity that poses students with multi-faceted interactional and moral challenges. While previous research on helping in educational contexts has primarily focused on the influence of helping on learning outcomes and social dynamics in helping interactions, the present study investigates how students cope with the intricacies of moral commitments inherent in helping as a concurrent activity. The aim of this paper is two-fold. First, we aim to elaborate on how students’ dual involvements – i.e., their involvement in classroom activities while simultaneously providing help – manifest in the ways in which groups are constituted, maintained, and dissolved. The analyses reveal that both the compatibility of helping with the activity already in progress as well as the students’ problem definition are consequential for the sequential and bodily-spatial unfolding of the help interaction, inducing different arrangements that constitute a continuum, at each end of which there is a dominant orientation toward the shared space of helping or toward the individual/collective space. Furthermore, from a methodological perspective, our study aims to demonstrate the extent to which multimodal interaction analysis is applicable when examining naturally occurring groups, in this case, in interactive processes of helping. The study is based on a data corpus that comprises video recordings of mathematics and German lessons from two fifth-grade classrooms.

Text Readability, Comprehension Instruction, and Student Engagement: Examining Associated Relationships during Text-Based Social Studies Instruction

ABSTRACT Reading comprehension instruction may be critical for students to learn from social studies text, particularly for students who are not yet proficient in reading. Understanding factors that correspond to high levels of student engagement during text-based social studies instruction appears particularly important. Data were collected from 50 fifth-grade classrooms during text-based social studies instruction to explore the extent to which reading comprehension instruction, text readability, and student reading achievement related to student engagement. Data collection included a variety of methods – observation, readability formula calculations, testing, and student ratings. Multi-level modeling was applied to examine the relationship between student – and classroom-level predictors and student engagement. Among the predictors, only student reading achievement was found to directly relate to student engagement. However, an interaction effect was identified whereby reading comprehension instruction was found to moderate the relationship between text readability and student engagement. These results indicate a need to consider text readability level when determining the level of comprehension instructional support to provide. Additional implications for future research and practice are offered.

Integration of Mathematics and Environmental Education: Change in the Views of 5th Grade Students Toward Sustainability

"Abstract: Combining mathematics and environmental issues may be a valuable way not only to increase environmental awareness of students but also provide real life context to the mathematics lessons. In this study, it was aimed to explore changes in the views of 5th grade students toward sustainability with the help of the tasks integrating environmental education and mathematics education contents. Based on this aim, as convenient sample, a fifth-grade classroom in a private school in Tukey selected and students attending to this classroom participated in the study. Environmental education issues and mathematical contents were integrated in students’ tasks and these developed tasks were applied as a regular part of the teaching processes of this classroom. Before and after applications, semi structured pre-interviews were carried out with nine students randomly selected from the classroom and the data obtained from these interviews and researcher teacher’s observations were analyzed qualitatively. The findings as the changes in students’ views were combined under 3 categories; students’ views about environmental problems; students’ own individualized role in environmental problems and students’ views towards integration of environmental education and mathematics. This study may provide valuable contributions both to the mathematics education and science education fields in this regard. "

“Wearing Only Our Skin”: the multimodal literacies classroom as a living arrangement

PurposeLiteracy research exploring multimodal composition and justice-oriented children’s literature each have rich landscapes and histories. This paper aims to add to both of these bodies of scholarship through the emerging assemblage of Studio F, a fifth-grade classroom. The authors share poststructural analytic encounters with attention to the unexpected multimodal relationships and the justice-oriented talk and texts that emerged, as well as the classroom conditions that produce them.Design/methodology/approachThe authors think with assemblage theory to examine the newness that emerged as one small group of students wrestled with the emerging instances of racism present in Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles.FindingsTogether, the living arrangement of bodies, materials and discourses created openings for students’ explorations of race and racism.Originality/valueThis paper offers teachers and researchers space to rethink what is possible in the literacy classroom when the authors re-envision classrooms as vibrant assemblages, support emergent multimodal composing processes and follow students’ critical encounters toward justice-oriented literacies.

The relation between defending, (dis)liking, and the classroom bullying norm: A cross-sectional social network approach in late childhood

This study investigates the extent to which defending victims of bullying depends on liking and disliking and its relation with the classroom bullying norm (descriptive and popularity) in a sample of 1,272 students (50.8% boys) in 48 fifth-grade classrooms. Social network analysis with bivariate exponential random graph modelings showed that children are more likely to defend victims whom they like, who like them, and who are liked by the same classmates than victims who they dislike, who dislike them, and with whom they share antipathies by and to the same classmates. In addition, the analysis showed that bullying norms had an inconclusive effect on the relation between defending and (dis)liking.