"To Act or Not to Act": A Qualitative Case Study in an Elementary Classroom

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Innovative Classroom Observational Studies in Grades K–6

Abstract

I conducted this qualitative case study in an urban public elementary school in the northeastern United States with one classroom teacher. This project was grounded in Vygotsky's (1978; 1987) socio-cultural constructivism and the New London Group (1996) theory of multiliteracies. I collected the data in the form of participant observations, field notes, audio-recorded interviews, and artifacts (e.g., student works, the teacher’s planning materials). I triangulated the data from the teacher observations, the interviews, and the artifacts. This research found that the teacher made her independent decision to modify the curriculum and her teaching method. The actions taken by this teacher helped her give her students equitable education and also helped the learners deeper understand the topics required by the CCSS.

Author

• Olga Gould, Eastern New Mexico University