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Using social media to connect families and kindergarten classrooms

Zywica, Jolene (2014) Using social media to connect families and kindergarten classrooms. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Schools are generally disconnected from all other areas of children’s lives and educational institutions have not been successful at integrating school learning with learning that occurs outside the classroom (NRCNA, 2009; Ryan, Adams, Gullotta, Weissberg, & Hampton, 1995). Addressing this problem is vital, because positive connections between school and home can increase students’ motivation to learn, achievement and well-being (Christenson, 1999; Epstein, 1994; Pianta, Rimm-Kaufman, & Cox, 1999; Fan & Chen, 2001). This case study describes a project co-designed with teachers and implemented in kindergarten classrooms that leverages social media to link home and school and increase families’ involvement in their child’s academic learning. Six kindergarten teachers and thirty-two families from a southwestern Pennsylvania lab school participated in the study. I investigated how families participated in and perceived the project, used social media, and interacted with other families. I examined ways teachers used the project to further their learning goals and the extent to which the project strengthened the kindergarten community. Data was collected through classroom, online and home observations, interviews and questionnaires. Results indicated that not all parents felt more involved as a result of the project, but most families had opportunities to be involved in new ways and families thought the project helped to bridge home and school. The project provided access to families’ “funds of knowledge”, which helped to contextualize content learning in the classroom and individualize conversations between teachers and students (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992). During the project, participants learned more about one another, which in turn, strengthened the kindergarten community. This study explores a potential way forward for making families’ home culture and experiences a part of academic learning. The project is a model for using technology to support family involvement in classroom instruction and learning. This study contributes to prior literature on the Connected Learning Model (Ito, et al., 2013) by more thoroughly linking the model to learning and engagement theories and describing ways in which the model can be used to design curricular projects that bridge home and school for elementary-school children and their families.


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Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Zywica, Jolenejolenezywica@gmail.com
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee ChairMatsumura, Lindsay Clarelclare@pitt.eduLCLARE
Committee CoChairGomez, Kimberleykpg1321@gmail.com
Committee MemberCrawford, Patriciapcrawfor@pitt.eduPCRAWFOR
Committee MemberBachman, Heatherhbachman@pitt.eduHBACHMAN
Committee MemberDavidson, Drewdrew@andrew.cmu.edu
Committee MemberHerman, Phillipphillip.herman1@gmail.com
Date: 15 January 2014
Date Type: Publication
Defense Date: 22 October 2013
Approval Date: 15 January 2014
Submission Date: 9 December 2013
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Number of Pages: 244
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: School of Education > Learning Sciences and Policy
Degree: PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis Type: Doctoral Dissertation
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: social media kindergarten families parent involvement community Connected Learning
Date Deposited: 15 Jan 2014 22:48
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2016 14:16
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/20359

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