Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Roslyn Doctorow

Committee Member

Gloria Kieley

Committee Member

Kimberly Durham

Keywords

case study, data collection, divergent questioning, elementary English Language Arts, English Language Arts, exploratory case study, hand signals, higher-level metacognition, higher-level questioning, learning processes, lesson plans, metacognition, observation checklist, primary education, questioning techniques, random sampling, rigor, scripted questioning, semi-structured interviews, state assessment, student artifacts, student-generated responses, teacher preparation, ThinkTrix, ThinkTrix Matrix, virtual classroom observations

Abstract

This exploratory case study addressed the difficulty with higher-level metacognition and questioning in a primary level elementary English Language Arts. This case study was determined as a need based on underperforming scores from the state assessment in ELA.

The research method look at the social phenomenon through inquiry around the rigor in higher-level questioning and the use of hand signals to support connections in learning. The researcher applied a semi-structured interview, an observation checklist, and a random sample of student artifacts as instruments for data collection. The researcher analyzed teachers’ lesson plans for a unit, observed a virtual classroom lesson and reviewed student artifacts for rigor and student responses.

An analysis of the data revealed that teachers that were planned and prepared with scripted higher-level, divergent question stems using the ThinkTrix Matrix increased the level of student-generated responses. The use of hand signals with questioning was not conclusive in the limited data collected.

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