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Student Teachers Presented Research

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Posted on Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Four Westminster College student teachers and their adviser presented their collaborative research on innovative classroom literacy practices at two venues this spring.

“Bridges to Reading: Increasing Young Children’s Reading Motivation through Diverse Family Literacies” was shared at Robert Morris University’s Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century education conference in March and at Westminster’s Undergraduate Research and Arts Celebration in April.

The project is part of a longitudinal research study begun four years ago at Campbell (Ohio) Elementary School involving four kindergarten teachers, families and children at the school. The current research focused on exploring the myriad of out-of-school texts children encounter from birth to uncover their potential for learning to read before entering school.

The students, all recent graduates in early childhood/special education, were advised by Dr. Charlene Klassen Endrizzi, Westminster professor of education.

“Campbell’s diverse bilingual population of African American, Greek, Hispanic, Polish and Slovak families offers our Westminster students a powerful opportunity to form essential family-school partnerships,” Klassen Endrizzi said.

The student teachers are:

  • Ariana Carr, a daughter of David and Barbara Carr of Pulaski and a graduate of Wilmington Area High School.
  • Olivia Hvizdos, a daughter of Rian and Nancy Hvizdos of Fairview Park, Ohio, and a graduate of Fairview High School.
  • Elizabeth Ishman, a daughter of Donald and Kandace Ishman of DuBois and a graduate of DuBois Area High School.
  • Marina Rozick, a daughter of Steven and Patty Rozick of Pittsburgh and a graduate of North Allegheny High School.

Contact Klassen Endrizzi at 724-946-7189 or email endrizck@westminster.edu for additional information.