archives.northwestu.edu/handle/nu/25696 2011-2014. Tue, 07 Apr 2026 06:25:47 GMT 2026-04-07T06:25:47Z archives.northwestu.edu/handle/nu/25700 Science Vocabulary and ELL Students: a Qualitative Study Rouse, Stephanie Vocabulary acquisition is a multi-faceted process in any language. Truly knowing a word is incredibly complex in nature (Richards, 1976). When two of my ELL students appeared unengaged in science, I questioned the role of scientific vocabulary in their ability to participate. Specifically, how did academic science vocabulary affect mastery of third grade science concepts for my two third grade ELL students? Though primarily a qualitative study, data was collected through mixed methods of observations, interviews, and assessments. Results revealed factors besides vocabulary to consider, such as learning preferences, scholastic background, family involvement, and having basic needs met. While academic content vocabulary is a gap to be filled for ELL students, there may be deeper issues and needs to be met first. Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT archives.northwestu.edu/handle/nu/25700 2014-07-01T00:00:00Z archives.northwestu.edu/handle/nu/25699 Implicit vs. Explicit Instructional Strategies Regarding Reading Comprehension Maxwell, Lisa There is much debate as to which instructional strategy works best regarding reading instruction. It was my intention to better understand whether using an implicit or explicit instructional strategy is more beneficial when teaching reading comprehension. An explicit instructional strategy is similar to a direct instruction approach where students anticipate a goal to focus on while reading. Implicit instructional strategies use more of an organic approach to highlight comprehension skills as they naturally come up in reading. To answer this question I used a Quasi-experimental design for this Quantitative research. The results indicated when comparing each group’s scores (pre and posttest) the implicit instructional strategy resulted in significant numbers and thus proving that this strategy was more beneficial for kids and ultimately answered my question. Tue, 01 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT archives.northwestu.edu/handle/nu/25699 2014-07-01T00:00:00Z archives.northwestu.edu/handle/nu/25702 The Effects of Student-Chosen Compared to Teacher Assigned Lab Groups in An Eighth Grade Science Class Christiansen, Amy L. There has been an ongoing conversation in my eighth grade science class to determine whether I should allow students to choose whom they work with or if I should assign their groups. Previous education methodology courses suggest that I am more qualified to create groupings to ensure students are supported effectively. However, some situations where students are able to choose who they work with have produced higher levels of achievement. Therefore, I measured the productivity rates of students in teacher-assigned compared to student-chosen lab groups. I used an experimental quantitative approach to observe the amount of time all students are engaged in the lab using a collaborative learning model compared to the total amount of time for the lab to find the productivity rate. Additionally, I used a 5-point Likert scale to qualitatively measure student attitudes toward group work before and after the study to compare perceived productivity and observed productivity. Results showed that student-chosen groups had an average productivity rate of 92%, which exceeded the teacher-assigned rate of 81%. Student attitude survey results indicated that students liked choosing their own groups more with 87% agreement in post test scores. Therefore, attitude positively correlated with productivity. Additional findings were that students were the most productive during the hands-on portion of the lab, less productive during the guiding questions discussion portion of the activity, and least on-task during direct instruction before and after the lab. This indicated that interest is also positively correlated with productivity. However, there were behavior management and safety issues that interfered with some students achieving the learning objective to the point that allowing students to choose their own group was detrimental. Conclusions from this study suggest that students can be more successful in a collaborative learning environment when they are allowed to choose their own groups and that their positive attitude toward this condition increases productivity. Moving forward, students should be allowed to choose their own groups given that they have a structured framework such as a collaborative learning model and as long as students are not significantly negatively affected by this grouping. Professional judgment in teacher-assigned groupings in this case created an overall successful learning environment and can also be used for an adequately productive experience. Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT archives.northwestu.edu/handle/nu/25702 2012-07-01T00:00:00Z archives.northwestu.edu/handle/nu/25703 The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Academic Achievement in Middle School Students Lewis, Kirsten I. Middle School presents a unique set of challenges for a sixth grade student. What happens to these children when they are faced with multiple changes and limited physical activity? How does a lack of physical activity affect academic performance and behavior in sixth grade students? The following study took place in a middle school where students are required to take one trimester (thirteen weeks) of Spanish and two trimesters of P.E. Through gathering data on grades, behavioral referrals, surveys and interviews with students and teachers, this study attempts to show that there is a direct correlation between weak academic performance, disruptive behavior and lack of physical activity. In my analysis, I compared grades and behavioral reports between the trimesters the sample group had P.E. and the trimester they had Spanish. Data showed that indeed, the grades did decline and behavioral referrals did rise during the trimester the students were enrolled in Spanish rather than P.E., and surprisingly continued to deteriorate throughout the end of the school year. Although the research raised more questions than it answered, it does imply that lack of physical activity does have a negative influence on students’ grades and behavior. Sun, 01 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT archives.northwestu.edu/handle/nu/25703 2012-07-01T00:00:00Z