Graduation Date
5-2015
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department or Program
Education
Department or Program Chair
Elizabeth Truesdell PhD
First Reader
Madalienne F. Peters, EdD
Abstract
Language arts teachers find that students at any elementary grade show a wide range of abilities, specifically in the area of phonemic awareness. Student abilities are not evaluated accurately using paper pencil tests.
A review of the literature addresses teaching approaches and effective use of technology in an elementary classroom. Implications of the research suggest that student engagement with technology have an impact on their learning (Kearsley & Shneiderman 1998). The research indicates that, if teachers do not monitor progress,students often view the use of iPad apps as games, not educational opportunities. Research findings emphasize that in order for students to become motivated in their learning, they must be engaged.
This is a teacher action research study in which students in a kindergarten class participated in small group instruction using selected iPad Apps that promote phonemic awareness development. After instruction, three days a week for ten minutes each day, with different phonemic awareness applications, the students were reassessed to check for growth in phonemic awareness abilities using school district created benchmarks.
The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of select iPad apps that address phonemic awareness in Kindergarten. This study measured the growth of student abilities in reference to their phonemic awareness with the use of iPad technology. Results indicated that student performance increased following instruction in phonemic awareness using select iPad apps.
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