Primary Grade Teachers Research Articles

A Scholarly Home

It snowed my first NRC. It was one of those soft, white blankets that muffles sounds and reflects ambient light to the point that it never gets quite dark all night. The host motel was just a block above the Plaza in Kansas City. The Christmas lights from the Plaza glowed over the area, NRC had come to my hometown, just blocks from where I was born, grew up, and was now enrolled in graduate school. Little did I realize at the time that NRC would become a permanent home for my professional life as a reading researcher. My memory of this first NRC meeting, outside of the snow, is a series of images lots of smoking, mostly men, mostly older (but then, to someone still in his 20s, who doesn't look old?), lots of talk in small groups that seemed closed to those outside of the circle, a string quartet playing softly during Vital Issues. Everyone was friendly, but there was clearly a caste system at work whom you were seen with, what institution you were from, and how many associates you brought with you would get you a lot of points on the prestige scale. The sessions were not very interesting to me with my background as a primary-grade teacher and a reading specialist looking toward a career in teacher education. Most of the sessions seemed to deal with adult and college reading instruction. Most of the sessions, regardless of the topic, involved cloze testing, lots of statistics, and not much discussion. I was surprised at the number of sessions where the presenters simply stood up and read their papers. Was this what they meant by a reading conference?

Professional Development of Teachers of Language Minority Students Through University-School Partnership

The puapose of this study was to implement, in partnership with a neighboring university, a professional development model in five inner city elementary schools featuring language minority populations. The model involved (a) providing a core group of volunteer primary grade teachers at each school with intensive training in an integrated reading/language arts approach, (b) maintaining regular contact with participating teachers throughout the school year as they worked toward implementing elements of the program in their classrooms, and (c) establishing collegial teams to serve as peer supports at each school site which allowed for sharing collective expertise and resources. Year-end interviews with teachers revealed positive changes in collegiality, teaching practices, and professional growth. Additionally, changes in student behavior and learning were reported as accelerated learning, gains in social skills, increased motivation for learning, and the lack of need for retention or referral to special education. Finally, naturally occurring problems which served as barriers to professional development were discussed.

Promising Research, Programs, and Projects: Using Technology to Foster Teachers’ Reflections about Children's Arithmetical Thinking

Twenty-eight primary-grade teachers, working in pairs, stared intently at the screens of their computers as they watched a CD-ROM containing QuickTime movie excerpts of students responding to mathematical tasks during an interview.

Caught in the Middle: Tension and Contradiction in Enacting the Primary Grade Curriculum

The primary grades can be seen as an essential piece of elementary school as well as an essential component of early childhood education. But rather than being buttressed and supported by the strength of these two powerful domains, primary grade teachers often find themselves caught in the middle, and face a variety of challenges as a result. This article is a narrative case study of the teaching experience of a primary grade teacher who contends successfully with the competing professional paradigms of early childhood education and elementary schooling. Though this is, in many ways, a success story, it is also characterized by conflict. Complex tensions arose from a mismatch between the teacher’s enacted primary grade curriculum and the expectations and desires of her students’ parents.

Teaching with love: a feminist approach to early childhood education

Teachers commonly talk about loving their students, yet no effort has been made to explore the powerful educational potential inherent in these loving feelings. Teaching with Love breaks new ground by paying careful, scholarly attention to the nature, the scope, the dimensions, and the variety of teacherly love. In a highly readable narrative that builds on the feminist notion of an ethic of care and draws from the fields of psychology and women's studies, this book examines and analyzes the experiences of two primary grade teachers as they set about trying to create and enact a vision of early childhood education centered around loving relationships.

Observing and Teaching Reform-Minded Lessons: What Do Teachers See?

We describe the way in which 12 primary-grade teachers responded to reform-minded teaching of multidigit addition and subtraction. Three teachers were hired to deliver 6–12 weeks of specially designed instruction; the other 9 teachers observed this instruction in their classrooms. Results of follow-up interviews showed that teachers who believed mathematics was more than a collection of skills and that students must construct their own understandings were inclined to interpret and appreciate the special instruction as the developers had intended. Teachers who believed mathematics was primarily a set of skills they must teach focused on a few individual features of the instruction, usually the use of physical materials, and, if they transferred any of the special instruction into their own teaching, often distorted the developers' intent. The more intensive involvement of the hired teachers led to more positive assessments of the instruction, but even here antithetical beliefs constrained later practice. Observations are provided on the nature of effective teacher development programs.

Promising Research, Programs, and Projects: Developing Number Sense and Computational Strategies in Problem-Centered Classrooms

For the past several years, over forty primary-grade teachers have been involved in a project that focused on a problem-centered approach to mathematics teaching. When a problem or task is posed, the teacher briefly discusses resources and working arrangements.

Assessing Agreement: An Examination of the Interrater Reliability of Portfolio Assessment in Rochester, New York

This article reports on the interrater reliability of language arts portfolio assessment in the primary grades of the Rochester, New York, school system. This assessment was based on a sample of approximately 400 primary-grade language arts portfolios that were rated by two raters: the student's classroom teacher and an external reviewer. Reliabilities for student portfolios ranged from .58 for Grade 1 reading portfolios to .79 for kindergarten reading portfolios. Many of the reading portfolios could not be rated by the external reviewer, revealing problems both with the portfolio policies of the district and with the classroom-level implementation. The findings showed that primary-grade classroom teachers can reliably rate their own students' work, but tensions exist if a single portfolio system is intended both to provide classroom teachers with information about their students and to supply accountability information to administrators.

A comparison of teachers’ knowledge and use of content reading strategies in the primary grades

The purpose of this study was to investigate primary grade (1–3) teachers’ self reports of (a) familiarity, (b) utility, and (c) perceived applicability of content reading strategies based upon the responses of 68 teachers to the Content Area Questionnaire. Frequency analyses indicated moderate to large effects of the independent variables of knowledge, use, and recommendation of selected strategies considered general to reading comprehension. Teachers did not appear to be familiar with strategies that are recommended in the professional literature as most helpful in content reading. Years of teaching at the same grade level, attendance at workshops, and taking content area reading courses all appeared to have a positive impact upon the independent variables.

Mental Computation in the Middle Grades: The Importance of Thinking Strategies

At the primary-grades level, the benefits of developing and using mental strategies for computing have been well articulated (see, e.g., Beberman (1959); Brownell [1972); Cobb and Merkel [1989]: Kamii [1989]; Reys and Barger [1994): Shuard [1987); Trafton [1978)), and many primary-grades teachers are now encouraging students to invent and use thinking strategies as a way to facilitate their development of number sense. They are also dealing with the practical implications of implementing this approach to computation, which is very different from the traditional. rule-oriented, procedural approach to computation. At the middle-grades level, however, comparatively Little discussion related to the same issue has occurred. At this level, should students be encouraged to invent mental strategies for computing? Should standard written algorithms for computing continue to be taught? How does an emphasis on thinking strategies relate to the current emphasis on using the calculator as an efficient tool for computation?

Between a rock and a hard place in the primary grades: The challenge of providing developmentally appropriate early childhood education in an Elementary School Setting

Primary grade teachers attempting to implement developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) in their classrooms must contend with the competing professional paradigms of early childhood education and elementary schooling. In this article I describe the practices of one primary grade teacher to give a picture of how these tensions play out in one public elementary school setting. Though the practices of the teacher studied here embody some aspects of developmentally appropriate practice, they are also marked by problems with personal interpretation, partial adoption, and inconsistency in implementation of DAP principles. Analysis of this teacher's experience provides insight into the general challenge of implementing DAP as well as into the specific challenges facing primary grade teachers committed to developmentally appropriate teaching.

A Longitudinal Study of Learning to Use Children's Thinking in Mathematics Instruction

This study examined changes in the beliefs and instruction of 21 primary grade teachers over a 4-year period in which the teachers participated in a CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) teacher development program that focused on helping the teachers understand the development of children's mathematical thinking by interacting with a specific research-based model. Over the 4 years, there were fundamental changes in the beliefs and instruction of 18 teachers such that the teachers' role evolved from demonstrating procedures to helping children build on their mathematical thinking by engaging them in a variety of problem-solving situations and encouraging them to talk about their mathematical thinking. Changes in the instruction of individual teachers were directly related to changes in their students' achievement. For every teacher, class achievement in concepts and problem solving was higher at the end of the study than at the beginning. In spite of the shift in emphasis from skills to concepts and problem solving, there was no overall change in computational performance. The findings suggest that developing an understanding of children's mathematical thinking can be a productive basis for helping teachers to make the fundamental changes called for in current reform recommendations.

A Longitudinal Study of Learning to Use Children's Thinking in Mathematics Instruction

This study examined changes in the beliefs and instruction of 21 primary grade teachers over a 4-year period in which the teachers participated in a CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) teacher development program that focused on helping the teachers understand the development of children's mathematical thinking by interacting with a specific research-based model. Over the 4 years, there were fundamental changes in the beliefs and instruction of 18 teachers such that the teachers' role evolved from demonstrating procedures to helping children build on their mathematical thinking by engaging them in a variety of problem-solving situations and encouraging them to talk about their mathematical thinking. Changes in the instruction of individual teachers were directly related to changes in their students' achievement. For every teacher, class achievement in concepts and problem solving was higher at the end of the study than at the beginning. In spite of the shift in emphasis from skills to concepts and problem solving, there was no overall change in computational performance. The findings suggest that developing an understanding of children's mathematical thinking can be a productive basis for helping teachers to make the fundamental changes called for in current reform recommendations. Reforming math [teaching] ... at its heart is a problem of [teachers'] learning. [And one of the critical things they must learn is] knowledge of children and their mathematics [which] is crucial to teaching for understanding. (Ball, 1994, p. 1)

Young African American and Latino Children in High-Poverty Urban Schools: How They Perceive School Climate

This article reports findings of a study of third-graders' perceptions of school climate, a key variable of the Comer School Development Program. A self-report survey was individually administered to 1,000 African American and 260 Latino children participating in an evaluation of the Comer process; data were factor-analyzed. African American children viewed teacher-child relations as the most important dimension of school climate. For them, besides acknowledging best efforts, caring teachers listened to children and were available to comfort and help with school and personal problems. Latino children stressed teacher fairness, caring, and praise for effort as well as the importance of moral order. Both groups emphasized following school rules and performing well, values consistent with the Comer process. INTRODUCTION Several studies published during the Reagan-Bush years (1980-92) indicate that African American students in K-12 public schools are disproportionately represented in grade retentions, school suspensions, and dropout rates (Bennett & Harris,1981; Campbell,1982; Hess & Greer, 1987; Hess & Lauber, 1985; Kaufman, 1991). Similar findings have been reported for Latino children (Chapa & Valencia, 1993; Reyes & Valencia, 1993). These studies conclude that prior to leaving school during the adolescent years, these students are frequently poor academic achievers in the elementary grades and experience academic suspensions for related disciplinary problems. An important trend in the current research focusing on what and how children learn is an increasing appreciation for the overriding importance of developmental factors and continuity. However, this trend was not apparent when Kenneth Clark published Dark Ghetto in 1965. At that time, Clark perceived compensatory programs such as Project Head Start as having mistakenly blamed poor parents and families for their children's educational difficulties. The blame, he believed, fell squarely on school teachers and administrators for not assuming proper responsibility and accountability for the education of low-income and minority children. By 1991, Head Start had endorsed its Transition Project, which focuses on maintaining continuity between the Head Start preschool program and public elementary schools. As a result of this initiative, Head Start staff are trained to work proactively with primary grade teachers to facilitate children's successful entry to and adjustment in the primary grades (Kennedy, 1993). Increasingly, both elementary and secondary educators acknowledge the important role of family and community in the educative process as active, positive contributors inside and outside the classroom (Lightfoot, 1978; Slaughter-Defoe, 1991; Strickland & Ascher, 1992). It is far more common today for emphasis to be placed on the need for collaborative partnerships between schools and families at all grade levels in an effort to ameliorate the academic and learning challenges occasioned by deepening, chronic, and persistent poverty (Comer, 1988a, 1988b; McLoyd, 1990; Slaughter, 1988; Wilson, 1989). This dual focus on developmentally appropriate practices in the primary grades and collaborative relationships between children's teachers and families is entirely consistent with the approach to school reform advanced by the School Development Program (SDP) model developed by Dr. James P. Comer (1980, 1998a) at the Yale University Child Development Center. Comer originally piloted his model in public elementary schools serving primarily low-income minority children in New Haven, Connecticut, during the late 1970s. Reflecting on these early efforts, Comer (1980) notes: The New Haven School System itself developed a number of compensatory education programs. Head Start and Follow Through programs, designed to overcome learning lags, received considerable support.... We were fully aware that an education program could not correct what was wrong with Dixwell Avenue or low-income communities through the nation. …

AIDS knowledge and attitudes of primary Grade teachers and students

This study was conducted to assess knowledge of and attitudes toward AIDS in primary grade teachers and students before the implementation of a mandated AIDS curriculum. Teachers and children completed questionnaires. Although both the teachers and the children were knowledgeable about some aspects of AIDS, both groups revealed misconceptions and misinformation. A high percentage of the children reported a fear of getting AIDS even though they constitute a very low-risk group. Deficiencies in knowledge and fear of AIDS underscore the importance of the provision of accurate information to both teachers and elementary school children. Implications for school nurses and other health care providers are discussed.

USING CHILDREN'S SPELLINGS TO GROUP FOR WORD STUDY AND DIRECTED READING IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

This paper describes an informal spelling assessment that teachers can use to understand students' level of orthographic knowledge at the beginning of the school year. The results of this informal testing allow primary grade teachers to group students in September for word study and directed literacy instruction. The results of a year-long study in a lst-3rd grade classroom demonstrate that the initial placements of students were appropriate for instruction throughout the year. The initial spelling measures predicted reading achievement at various levels.

Toward defining and defending child centred curriculum and practice

Six primary grade teachers’ descriptions of the beliefs that guide their teaching lead to an exploration of “child centred” programming and practice. Three of the teachers were involved, subsequently, in the production of a video tape illustrating and describing child centredness in three different settings. A group of graduate students viewed the tape twice, under different conditions, and described what they perceived as teachers’ interpretations of child centredness. Both teacher and observer perceptions suggested a tentative frameork for analyzing and promoting child centredness in primary classrooms.

The Mathematics Education of Primary–Grade Teachers

Mathematics is often viewed as difficult subject matter by students preparing to be primary-grade teachers (kindergarten through grade 2). Many of them need to develop competence and confidence in mathematics in order to teach it in a meaningful and appropriate way. Providing for the preservice mathematics education of primary-grade teachers must be the joint responsibility of both the mathematics educator and the teacher educator.

Teaching the Children of the Midnight Sun: A Discussion with Primary-Grade Teachers in the Yukon

Teaching the Children of the Midnight Sun: A Discussion with Primary-Grade Teachers in the Yukon

On Praising Effectively

Previous articleNext article No AccessOn Praising EffectivelyJere BrophyJere Brophy Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Elementary School Journal Volume 81, Number 5May, 1981 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/461229 Views: 44Total views on this site Citations: 20Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1981 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Catherine M. Gale, Svein Eikeseth, Fillip Ferreira Eikeseth Effects of enthusiastic and non‐enthusiastic voice in praise on the behavior of children with autism and typically developing children, Behavioral Interventions 28 (Jul 2022).https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.1901X. Christine Wang, Wei Dai, Biying Hu, Zhanmei Song ‘Good job!’: unpacking praise practices of high- and low-quality early childhood teachers in China, Early Child Development and Care 191, no.22 (May 2019): 266–280.https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2019.1614571Daniel J. Bergman “I Think You Mean …” Potential Perils of Teacher Paraphrasing and Alternative Responses for Student Engagement, The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas 91, no.4-54-5 (Oct 2018): 201–211.https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2018.1500261Jonathan G. Perle Teacher-Provided Positive Attending to Improve Student Behavior, TEACHING Exceptional Children 50, no.44 (Feb 2018): 204–212.https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059918757954Margaret T. Floress, Shelby L. Beschta, Kari L. Meyer, Wendy M. Reinke Praise Research Trends and Future Directions: Characteristics and Teacher Training, Behavioral Disorders 43, no.11 (Jun 2017): 227–243.https://doi.org/10.1177/0198742917704648Jonathan G. Perle Teacher-Provided Positive Attending to Improve Student Behavior, TEACHING Exceptional Children 48, no.55 (May 2016): 250–257.https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059916643707Daniel Bergman Comparing the Effects of Classroom Audio-Recording and Video-Recording on Preservice Teachers' Reflection of Practice, The Teacher Educator 50, no.22 (Apr 2015): 127–144.https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2015.1010054George G. Bear Teacher Resistance to Frequent Rewards and Praise: Lack of Skill or a Wise Decision?, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation 23, no.44 (Oct 2013): 318–340.https://doi.org/10.1080/10474412.2013.845495Jing Wang, Martin Cortazzi Changing Cultural Ways with Praise: A Distant Action Research Project in China, (Jan 2013): 95–115.https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137296344_6Gina Coffee, Thomas R. Kratochwill Examining Teacher Use of Praise Taught During Behavioral Consultation: Implementation and Generalization Considerations, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation 23, no.11 (Jan 2013): 1–35.https://doi.org/10.1080/10474412.2013.757150Jeng-Yi Tzeng, Cheng-Te Chen Computer praise, attributional orientations, and games: A reexamination of the CASA theory relative to children, Computers in Human Behavior 28, no.66 (Nov 2012): 2420–2430.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.07.013Bo-Ra Jeon, Jung-Sub Kim Development and Validation of a Teacher's Praise Disposition Scale, Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education 24, no.55 (Oct 2012): 627–642.https://doi.org/10.13000/JFMSE.2012.24.5.627S. Ens, A. B. Olson, C. Dudley, N. D. Ross, A. A. Siddiqi, K. M. Umoh, M. A. Schneegurt Inexpensive and safe DNA gel electrophoresis using household materials, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 40, no.33 (Feb 2012): 198–203.https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.20596Daniel J. Bergman, Cathlina C. Bergman Elements of Stylish Teaching: Lessons from Strunk and White, Phi Delta Kappan 91, no.44 (Jan 2010): 28–31.https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171009100406ELLEN MCINTYRE, DIANE W. KYLE, GAYLE H. MOORE A primary-grade teacher's guidance toward small-group dialogue, Reading Research Quarterly 41, no.11 (Nov 2011): 36–66.https://doi.org/10.1598/RRQ.41.1.2Dawson R. Hancock Impact of Verbal Praise on College Students' Time Spent on Homework, The Journal of Educational Research 93, no.66 (Jul 2000): 384–389.https://doi.org/10.1080/00220670009598733George G. Bear School Discipline in the United States: Prevention, Correction, and Long-Term Social Development, School Psychology Review 27, no.11 (Dec 2019): 14–32.https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.1998.12085894Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Randie Leckerman Teachers' Differential Use of Praise and Reinforcement Practices, Canadian Journal of School Psychology 13, no.11 (Jul 2016): 15–27.https://doi.org/10.1177/082957359701300102Donald L. Pratt Responsibility for student success/failure and observed verbal behavior among secondary science and mathematics teachers, Journal of Research in Science Teaching 22, no.99 (Dec 1985): 807–816.https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660220904 Jere E. Brophy , and Walter Doyle Two Reaction Papers, The Elementary School Journal 82, no.55 (Oct 2015): 519–533.https://doi.org/10.1086/461285