Date of Award

5-2022

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Kimberly Rombach, Ph.D.

Abstract

This case study is based on a one student study that used a mixed methods approach seeing the effects of encouragement in the classroom and how it might help a student socially and emotionally. Data was collected throughout a 12-week period based around the findings of field notes and a survey that was implemented into the classroom. Preliminary findings are inconclusive based on students having more difficulties that affect them in different ways. This paper will provided [sic] information about how to use encouragement in the classroom.

Teachers are always trying to find new methods to help their students. Dedicated to their craft, they leave no stone unturned in this quest. From table groups, to peer tutoring, to movement breaks, and beyond, the extensive number of strategies that teachers implement for their students can be overwhelming. Because of the current slow decline in social-emotional behaviors and academics, this effort is even more critical. Students are struggling, whether it be due to the rise in social media or the COVID-19 pandemic. If teachers do not start doing something to help their students, this decline may continue. Researchers have begun to look for methods that are easy to implement to help students quickly in the classroom. One of the methods is encouragement. Encouragement is the act of building someone up and making sure that they are supported in the environment that they are in. From writing encouragement on papers to verbalizing their encouragement, researchers find that students are growing more when they are encouraged by their teachers. What this action research project is here to prove is the questions: Does encouragement in the classroom help students social, emotionally and academically?

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