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Title: Increasing Comprehension Levels Through Content-Specific Vocabulary.
Creator: Alexandre, Chandani, Dassa, Lori, Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry
Abstract/Description: The objective of my study is to determine if explicitly teaching content-specific vocabulary can increase reading comprehension in low expectancy students. I have created a pre/post assessment cycle design that tests reading comprehension and familiarity with vocabulary specific to the unit being taught. Participants include 26 fourth graders at Park Lakes Elementary. A pretest will be given, 5 lessons taught, and then a posttest. Pretest and posttest scores will be analyzed, to track...
Show moreThe objective of my study is to determine if explicitly teaching content-specific vocabulary can increase reading comprehension in low expectancy students. I have created a pre/post assessment cycle design that tests reading comprehension and familiarity with vocabulary specific to the unit being taught. Participants include 26 fourth graders at Park Lakes Elementary. A pretest will be given, 5 lessons taught, and then a posttest. Pretest and posttest scores will be analyzed, to track learning gains and the validity of explicitly teaching vocabulary to increase comprehension. All 26 students are expected to earn a higher score on the posttest, compared to the pretest. After result analyzation, I will report concluding results. My intent is to evaluate this technique with the hope that it will be an effective teaching strategy that will improve low expectancy student scores on the ELA area of the Florida Standardized Assessments.
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Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005563
Subject Headings: College students --Research --United States.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Increasing Language Development Through Rhythm.
Creator: Miller, Morgan, Dassa, Lori, Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry
Abstract/Description: My objective is to determine if rhythm and rap can help increase language development in an urban elementary classroom. To determine this outcome I created a pre/post assessment cycle design using vocabulary relevant to the water cycle. Participants included 18 first graders at Park Lakes Elementary. These students took a pretest, were involved in 5 rhythm and rap based lessons, and a posttest. The lessons included videos, vocabulary reviews, and finally the development of a song to help...
Show moreMy objective is to determine if rhythm and rap can help increase language development in an urban elementary classroom. To determine this outcome I created a pre/post assessment cycle design using vocabulary relevant to the water cycle. Participants included 18 first graders at Park Lakes Elementary. These students took a pretest, were involved in 5 rhythm and rap based lessons, and a posttest. The lessons included videos, vocabulary reviews, and finally the development of a song to help reinforce the vocabulary terms and their meanings. A pop culture song from Justin Bieber was used to make connections to their everyday lives. All 18 students passed the posttest as compared to the pretest results. Therefore, I concluded that the rhythm and rap approach to teaching vocabulary was successful. I intend to use this technique with future vocabulary lessons to predict future improvement in the ELA area of the Florida Standardized Assessments.
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Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005593
Subject Headings: College students --Research --United States.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Increasing Students’ Academics Through the Use of Whole Brain Strategies.
Creator: Hernandez, Christina, Dassa, Lori, Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry
Abstract/Description: The objective of my research was to determine if whole brain teaching strategies could help increase students’ academic scores in an urban elementary classroom. To test this hypothesis, I created a pre/ post assessment cycle design focusing on whole brain chants and gestures taught during a science unit on the states of matter. Participants included 20 first grade ELL students at Park Lakes Elementary school. Students took a pretest, were involved in 5 whole brain based lessons and posttest....
Show moreThe objective of my research was to determine if whole brain teaching strategies could help increase students’ academic scores in an urban elementary classroom. To test this hypothesis, I created a pre/ post assessment cycle design focusing on whole brain chants and gestures taught during a science unit on the states of matter. Participants included 20 first grade ELL students at Park Lakes Elementary school. Students took a pretest, were involved in 5 whole brain based lessons and posttest. The lessons included whole brain strategies like “mirror me”, “teach, okay”, and other interactive activities. At the conclusion of the lesson, a posttest was issued. All 20 students earned a passing score as compared to the low scores on the pretest. Therefore, I concluded that using whole brain teaching strategies throughout lessons increase students’ academic scores. My intent is to continue this technique with future lessons to improve students’ Florida Standardized assessment.
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Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005574
Subject Headings: College students --Research --United States.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Let’s Play! Using Academic Games and Friendly Competition to Enhance Content Knowledge.
Creator: Osborne, Chelsea, Dassa, Lori, Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry
Abstract/Description: My research question was to determine if using academic games and friendly competitions during instruction would increase the knowledge of 5th grade students in science content. To test this hypothesis, I created a pre/post assessment cycle design focusing on the human body standard. Participants included 20 5th graders at Park Lakes Elementary. These students took a pre test, were involved in 4 competition based lessons and a posttest. The lessons included competitions such as Speed Bag...
Show moreMy research question was to determine if using academic games and friendly competitions during instruction would increase the knowledge of 5th grade students in science content. To test this hypothesis, I created a pre/post assessment cycle design focusing on the human body standard. Participants included 20 5th graders at Park Lakes Elementary. These students took a pre test, were involved in 4 competition based lessons and a posttest. The lessons included competitions such as Speed Bag Drills, Kahoot, and other team based games. At the conclusion of the lessons, a posttest was issued. All 20 students earned a passing score as compared to the low scores on the pretest. Therefore, I was able to conclude that academic games and friendly competitions during instruction increased science content knowledge. I intend to use this technique with future science units to demonstrate improvement on the science portion of the Florida Standardized Assessments.
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Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005595
Subject Headings: College students --Research --United States.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Promoting Cultural Awareness in the Urban Elementary Classroom through Multicultural Literature.
Creator: Musick, Gina, Dassa, Lori, Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry
Abstract/Description: As the country’s population grows ever more diverse, there is a growing need of cultural awareness in our elementary public schools. Young children are coming together from all over the world with diverse families and experiences and co-existing with each other in America’s elementary schools. In order to minimize a negative view towards diversity, this study implements a multicultural approach that can create positive cultural interactions in the urban elementary classroom. Multiculturalism...
Show moreAs the country’s population grows ever more diverse, there is a growing need of cultural awareness in our elementary public schools. Young children are coming together from all over the world with diverse families and experiences and co-existing with each other in America’s elementary schools. In order to minimize a negative view towards diversity, this study implements a multicultural approach that can create positive cultural interactions in the urban elementary classroom. Multiculturalism is, in short, the view that various cultures in society merit equal respect and genuine interest. In order to incorporate multiculturalism into the curriculum, I utilized selective multicultural children’s literature that corresponded with the current reading standards and objectives. With a focus on literacy, reading and writing, the students participated in several activities that helped them explore the similarities and differences between characters from diverse cultures.
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Date Issued: 2017
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005630
Subject Headings: College students --Research --United States.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Taking a Brain Break.
Creator: Burton, Christiania, Dassa, Lori, Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry
Abstract/Description: The purpose of the project was to see if giving students a structured physical activity break after a lesson and before the intended summative assessment would increase their scores academically and/ or decrease their test anxiety. The idea was acquired from spending over 1,000 hours in elementary school classrooms ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade. It was observed that after a 30-minute math lesson, the students were expected to take an assessment based on the content of the lesson....
Show moreThe purpose of the project was to see if giving students a structured physical activity break after a lesson and before the intended summative assessment would increase their scores academically and/ or decrease their test anxiety. The idea was acquired from spending over 1,000 hours in elementary school classrooms ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade. It was observed that after a 30-minute math lesson, the students were expected to take an assessment based on the content of the lesson. It seemed as if students were having a difficult time focusing on the test and were getting wiggly in their seats. The students seemed nervous to take a test directly after instruction and some of the scores were not as high as intended. This was the basis behind conducting this research. There had to be a solution to this problem and the researcher was determined to find one.
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Date Issued: 2017
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005616
Subject Headings: College students --Research --United States.
Format: Document (PDF)

Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry (6)	+ -
Alexandre, Chandani (1)	+ -
Burton, Christiania (1)	+ -
Hernandez, Christina (1)	+ -
Miller, Morgan (1)	+ -

Musick, Gina (1)	+ -
Osborne, Chelsea (1)	+ -

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