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Item Children’s experience of therapeutic assessment techniques within school-based assessment(2012-08) Kuhlman, Jamie Thomas; Sherry, Alissa René; Tharinger, Deborah J.; Ainslie, Ricardo; Cawthorn, Stephanie; Finn, StephenThis dissertation examined students‘ experience with school assessment infused with Therapeutic Assessment (TA) techniques. Nine assessors from the school district were assigned to one of two groups, TA-infused group and the assessment-as-usual group. Those in the TA-infused group were trained in collaborative assessment practices based on Finn‘s model of TA with children (TA-C), specifically collaborative interviews, extended inquiries, and collaborative oral and written feedback (Finn, 2007). Thirty-three students from a medium sized public school district in central Texas completed the study in its entirety. It was hypothesized that those in the TA-infused group, compared with the assessment-as-usual group, would report learning more about themselves, experiencing a more positive relationship with the assessor, feeling more positive about the assessment process, feeling more collaborated with, and having greater perceptions of parental understanding. It was also hypothesized that those in the TA-infused group would report an increase in positive feelings and a decrease negative in feelings about themselves and their challenge when compared with the assessment-as-usual group. Additionally, it was hypothesized that those in the TA-infused group would report an increase in positive attitudes toward school after the intervention when compared with the assessment-as-usual group. Outcomes were measured by the Child‘s Experience of Assessment Survey (CEAS), the Children‘s Positive and Negative Affect Scale (CPNE-S), and the Attitude to School (ATS) subtest of the BASC-2-SRP. A descriptive discriminate analysis was conducted using the five subscales of the CEAS to measure the first hypotheses. RM ANOVAs were run on the CPNE-S and the ATS to analyze the second and third hypotheses. Additionally, a qualitative interview was conducted with participants. Analyses yielded no statistically significant results between the groups. Qualitative interviews indicated that both groups were satisfied with the assessment process. Additionally, those in the TA-infused group all reported positive reactions to the collaborative written feedback. Specifically, those that received a fable reported liking the fable and feeling that it related to their lives. Those that received a letter reported learning more about themselves, appreciating a written record of the feedback, and feeling positively about their relationship with the assessor. Further research is needed to understand the effects of collaborative techniques within school assessments, particularly the effects of the different forms of written feedback.Item Generation Y : a new generation of learning(2013-05) Wallace, Elizabeth Marie; Svinicki, Marilla D., 1946-In this paper the so-called Generation Y and its impact on education and counseling is examined. The shared experiences of this group of individuals are identified, which contribute to the defining characteristics of this generation. The implications of these characteristics for the learning styles of Gen Yers are discussed. Recent research has shown that Gen Y differs from previous generations in several ways. Most importantly, Gen Y students have developed a different brain structure, which processes and uses information in a way that is radically different from previous generations (Abram, 2007; Black, 2010; Doidge, 2008; Prensky, 2001a,b,c; & Oblinger, 2003). In this paper the inevitable consequences suffered when schools do not specifically address Gen Y’s unique learning styles are explored and outlined. Further, ways in which school counselors and student advocates can address the needs of these students to give them all of the skills they need to succeed in school are examined.Item The impact of participation in school-based performing arts(2012-05) Richards, Rachel Elizabeth; Rochlen, Aaron B.; Moore, LeslieThe current report reviews the literature on school-based performing arts and its impact on students’ academic and social lives. As a result of our nation’s current economic downturn, many school districts are facing difficult decisions of which school-based programs to continue or cut. The benefits and challenges of keeping school-based performing arts programs are explored. According to the literature, students may profit socially, emotionally, and academically from participating in music, theater, and dance. Additionally, research has found that school-based performing arts have the greatest impact on students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite the many benefits of participation in the performing arts, the reality of our nation’s current situation is explored and suggestions are provided regarding how to maintain the performing arts while adhering to a limited budget. Finally, this report outlines several suggestions for future research.Item Indian American identity formation as conceptualized through interactions in the schooling space(2016-05) Ramaprasad, Venkat Raghavan; De Lissovoy, Noah, 1968-; Brown, Anthony; Browne, Simone; Salinas, Cynthia; Urrieta, LuisThis dissertation presents a six-month study using critical case studies to gain insights into how the schooling experiences of five Indian American students inform and shape their self-conceptualizations of their Indian racial and cultural identities. The research questions focus on aspects of identity related to schooling interactions with educators, peers and curricula, and how participants resist schooling mandates and prescribed ways of being particular to school culture when self-authoring their identities. To this end, this study uses a multilayered theoretical framework incorporating postcolonialism, bodies of color as “space invaders” in institutional spaces, cultural identity in diaspora, and youth agency/resistance. Data was collected through interviews and classroom/school observations to understand participants’ perceptions of their schooling experiences and gain first-hand observations of classroom contexts. The findings are presented in three chapters. Chapter four presents participants’ social lives at Cresthill High School (CHS). As CHS contains a student population composed of mostly Asian and White students, a dual-tiered social hierarchy emerged where achieving and Whitewashed students were placed at the top and all remaining groups relegated to the bottom. The borders around being Indian/Indianness were used to form social groups, position students within the social hierarchy, and contained heavy links to achievement. Chapter five presents key findings from interactions in formal educative spaces with teachers, peers and pedagogy, demonstrating how pedagogical contexts solidified/destabilized participants’ Indianness related to achievement, how achievement itself became a racializing device, and how Orientalized curricula made it difficult for Indian American students to to see themselves positively in classroom contexts and learning activities. Chapter six presents participants’ home contexts and the different ways their Indian racial and cultural identities were informed through diasporic networks, parental expectations around achievement and dating, consuming transnational media, and the consuming and production of Indian culture through food and native language practices. General conclusions include the flexibility of Indian/Indianness as a positioning device requiring the need to carefully self-regulate one’s outward displays of Indianness to mitigate difference, and how interactions in home and community underpinned participants’ formation of hybridized identities that were time-, place- and space-specific.Item The influence of leadership coaching as perceived by secondary school principals of title I campuses in Texas(2012-05) Greenwalt, Michael Wayne; Gooden, Mark A.; Ovando, Martha N.; Cantu, Norma V.; Garza, Ruben; Pringle, PatWhile various systems of support and professional development are in place for teachers, there remains a distinct void when it comes to these same opportunities for beginning and especially, experienced principals. An emerging form of assistance for campus principals is leadership coaching: a confidential relationship between a professional coach and principal focused on capacity building and the provision of time and support for the school leader to thoughtfully reflect, plan, problem solve, and establish and achieve significant goals. Leadership coaching is an investment in campus principals, which seems to fill an immediate need for them to experience relevant, ongoing, job-embedded, and individualized professional development. This multiple-case qualitative study, using a grounded theory approach, was framed by the research questions: What are the experiences of middle and high school principals participating in leadership coaching and what benefits result from principal participation in leadership coaching? Through the constant comparative analysis of individual and collective data obtained through semi-structured interviews, observations, and documental evidence of principals participating in leadership coaching, principals’ perceptions of their leadership coaching experience and any benefits were revealed. Overall, findings suggested that participation in leadership coaching was perceived positively and led to principals taking time to pause from their stressful roles and responsibilities to reflect and plan. Principals described factors that accounted for initially connecting with their coaches, such as client readiness and the coach’s experience, as well as the conditions established by the coach that helped build and sustain a healthy coaching relationship: safety, flexibility, action-orientation, and skillful guidance. Additionally, principals reported personal, professional, and organizational benefits resulting from leadership coaching. Personal benefits included better self-care, reduced isolation, increased self-confidence, and heightened self-awareness. On a professional level, coaching resulted in the generation of plans/ideas, improved communication, individualized professional development, and an enhanced sense of efficacy. And finally, organizational benefits were identified in areas of staffing, solutions, student performance, and the extension of coaching to others.Item Left waiting, not forgotten : current research available to school counselors for support of military adolescents(2010-05) Piazza, Kathryn Manner; Rochlen, Aaron B.; Cokley, KevinThe purpose of this report is to increase counselor’s competence about military culture and the effects on adolescents in military families. This paper will address the developmental needs of the adolescent as it relates to their experience of familial deployment and how school counselors can develop programs to best support these students. Specifically it will a) identify unique military stressors and the subsequent impact of developmental milestones, b) identify available treatment models, c) identify out-of-school support systems, and d) identify ways to support the military adolescent population in the future.Item Mexican immigrant newcomer students in central Texas : a study of immigrant adaptation(2012-08) Rubio, Brenda 1984-; Valenzuela, Angela; De Lissovoy, NoahThe purpose of the study was to identify the sociocultural and sociopolitical supports and practices that foster or hinder the successful integration of the Mexican immigrant student. The study was centered on the student perspective of their newcomer school in Central Texas. New school models have emerged in an attempt meet the educational needs of immigrant children by providing targeted instruction and concentrated resources to facilitate their successful integration into their new school system and academic success. In order to identify promising practices that positively impact the academic incorporation of newcomer students in Texas, attention was paid to the school discourse, organizational structures, institutional policies and practices, supports through social resources and services, supports through adult-student relationships, school opportunities, and high-expectations. Unfortunately, the Mexican immigrant student was a forgotten majority and found themselves not receiving the adequate support.Item Middle class fathers' involvement in their child's education(2011-08) Van Bolhuis, Iektje D.; Carlson, Cindy I., 1949-; Cawthon, Stephanie; Dodd, Barbara; Garcia, Shernaz B.; Rochlen, AaronParent involvement in education (PI) is widely documented to benefit children’s educational outcomes. PI is a multidimensional construct that takes many different forms. This study considered three dimensions of PI: Home-Based Involvement, School-Based Involvement, and Home-School Communication. Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler have created a theoretical model that seeks to explain what motivates parents to engage in PI and the mechanisms by which PI benefits children’s educational outcomes. However, research studies that have used Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s model used samples that consisted primarily of mothers with fathers typically representing less than 10% of the sample. Father involvement in education has been shown to benefit children’s educational outcomes over and above the involvement of mothers. However, there is little known about the PI practices in which fathers engage, or what motivates fathers to engage in PI. Using Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s model, this study aimed to investigate fathers’ PI practices, as well as the variables that motivate fathers to engage in PI. An online survey was conducted and 185 fathers completed the survey in full. Results of the survey suggest that fathers engaged most often in Home-Based Involvement, less in Home-School Communication, and least often in School-Based Involvement practices. Fathers’ belief that it is their role to engage in PI (role construction) and requests from the child to engage in PI consistently explained all three types of PI. Other variables that significantly explained Home-Based Involvement included the father’s biological relationship with the child, and whether the father lived with the child’s mother. School-Based Involvement was significantly explained by father’s perceptions of available time and energy and their biological relationship to the child. The ultimate purpose of this study was to provide educators with information they can use to successfully increase fathers’ PI practices for students at their schools.Item School and shoal distributions in a freshwater catfish species, Corydoras paleatus (Callichthyidae)(2007-05) Breeland, Tara B.; Strauss, Richard E.; Wilde, Gene R.; Schmidt, Kenneth A.The South American armored catfish Corydoras paleatus has been observed to occur in nature in various aggregations, individually or in pairs. These catfishes are advantageous for laboratory study because their swimming, foraging, and resting behaviors are easily quantified and they school in two dimensions rather than three. In observational studies, we examined positioning of individuals within aggregations, number of groups typically present within an aggregation, how individuals proportion themselves and their time among aggregations and resting behaviors, and the density-dependence of these factors. We found that groups become more cohesive with increasing density and that preferred density is approxiamately 10 individuals. In choice experiments, we examined the effects of density, familiarity, satiation, and touch on shoal choice. Individuals always chose the larger density and chose familiar individuals for equal densities. Satiation primarily influenced the strength of choice. Touch had a small but nonsignificant affect on strengh of choice.Item Student rights and high school newspaper coverage: a view from four audiences(Texas Tech University, 1976-08) English, Linda CaroleneNot availableItem A study of principals and teachers perceptions of school technology and readiness(2011-05) Adams, Willie James; Resta, Paul E.; Foster, Kevin M.; Barufaldi, James; Northcutt, Norvell; Reimer, ToddThe primary purpose of this study was to determine what factors influence the integration of educational technology as perceived by Texas teachers. The secondary purpose was to examine the relationships between the determinant factors. This study answered the following questions: 1) Are there significant differences in teachers’ perception of school technology and readiness across grade level and subject area? 2) Are there significant differences in teacher-principal technology readiness congruence across school percentage of economically disadvantaged students? 3) How do teachers’ perceived levels of technology readiness predict student mastery of Technology Applications (TA) TEKS? To address the research questions quantitative procedures were followed to investigate whether significant relationships existed among dependent variables, school technology and readiness, and teacher-principal school technology and readiness congruence, and the independent variables (a) grade level, (b) subject area, and (c) percentage of economically disadvantaged students. Data analysis indicated significant differences in teacher school technology and readiness perceptions by grade level and subject area, and significant differences in teacher-principal school technology and readiness congruence by school percentage of economically disadvantaged students. Using path analysis a theorized Texas School Technology and Readiness Effects Model was validated. The findings were that (a) teachers in higher grade levels and more technical subject areas perceived their school technology and readiness at significantly higher levels; (b) as the percentage of economically disadvantaged student increased in a school, teachers perceived their school technology readiness at lower levels and were less congruent between their perceived school technology and readiness and their principals’ ratings of the teachers’ school technology and readiness; and (c) Leadership Administration and Instructional Support, followed by Infrastructure for Technology, Educator Preparation and Development, and Instruction Practice were the main drivers for student mastery of Technology Applications (TA) related Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).Item Teacher Sensemaking of Student Discipline Practices in a Small Town Texas Middle School(2013-12-10) Russell, William F.This study examined teacher decision making regarding issuing student referrals using qualitative case study methodology. A single middle school was used for the case study to locate all data under a single institutional culture. A purposeful sample of six teachers was chosen, and each teacher was interviewed. These interview data sets were analyzed using Weick?s sensemaking theory regarding how individuals decide to resume flow of activities in a process once the flow has been disrupted. This theory was applied to the specific situation of how teachers resolved misbehavior within a classroom. Research participants were asked to describe the factors influencing teachers? decisions to write a referral for misbehavior, the benefits students receive from receiving a referral, and faculty responses to escalating misbehavior in their classrooms. This study attempted to give voice to teachers? reflections of attending to common classroom misbehavior and to find differences among teachers with different rates of student referrals. Participating faculty were generally satisfied with their referral rate and were effective in resuming the flow of classroom instruction after student disruptions. Although faculty members reported similar procedures for attending misbehavior, each instructor used these procedures in strikingly different ways.Item Teachers' perceptions of Hispanic and Anglo children's behavior and learning problems(2005-05) Savener, Tiffany M.; Clopton, James R.; Epkins, Catherine C.; Fireman, Gary D.; Richards, StevenAlthough Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the U.S., and Hispanic children are at a higher risk for failing to complete a high school education than children of any other ethnic group, factors related to Hispanic children's school success are not well understood. Hispanic children's learning and behavior problems are identified by teachers at rates disproportionate to the rate of Hispanic students in the population, but it remains unclear whether these problems are over or underidentified. Teachers' perceptions of children's problems are crucial, because teachers are the gatekeepers of psychological treatment in the schools. Many children's behavior and learning problems are treated solely in educational settings, making teachers' referral and ratings practices even more salient. This study attempted to clarify previous findings regarding teachers' perceptions of Hispanic and Anglo children's psychopathology. Teachers read vignettes describing a Hispanic or Anglo boy with either behavior or learning problems, then answered questions about her level of concern for the boy, types of interventions she would use, whether she would make referrals for special services, and her prediction about the boy's future. I hypothesized that the teachers' responses would be influenced by the ethnic description of the boys in the vignettes. In addition, I hypothesized that the number of weeks teachers waited before referral would differ based on ethnicity. A significant difference was found between ethnic descriptions for the length of time teachers would wait to make a referral to special services for the boy described as having behavior problems, and for teachers' predictions for futures of boys described as having behavior problems. No other significant differences were found.Item Teachers' perceptions of Hispanic and Anglo children's learning and behavior problems(Texas Tech University, 2005-05) Savener, Tiffany M.; Clopton, James R.; Epkins, Catherine C.; Fireman, Gary D.; Richards, StevenAlthough Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the U.S., and Hispanic children are at a higher risk for failing to complete a high school education than children of any other ethnic group, factors related to Hispanic children's school success are not well understood. Hispanic children's learning and behavior problems are identified by teachers at rates disproportionate to the rate of Hispanic students in the population, but it remains unclear whether these problems are over or underidentified. Teachers' perceptions of children's problems are crucial, because teachers are the gatekeepers of psychological treatment in the schools. Many children's behavior and learning problems are treated solely in educational settings, making teachers' referral and ratings practices even more salient. This study attempted to clarify previous findings regarding teachers' perceptions of Hispanic and Anglo children's psychopathology. Teachers read vignettes describing a Hispanic or Anglo boy with either behavior or learning problems, then answered questions about her level of concern for the boy, types of interventions she would use, whether she would make referrals for special services, and her prediction about the boy's future. I hypothesized that the teachers' responses would be influenced by the ethnic description of the boys in the vignettes. In addition, I hypothesized that the number of weeks teachers waited before referral would differ based on ethnicity. A significant difference was found between ethnic descriptions for the length of time teachers would wait to make a referral to special services for the boy described as having behavior problems, and for teachers' predictions for futures of boys described as having behavior problems. No other significant differences were found.Item The School Newspaper as a Device in Teaching English: With Particular Reference to the Whirlwind, School Newspaper of Central Junior High School, Amarillo(Texas Tech University, 1932-08) Freeman, Marion EvansNot Available.Item Truancy : an opportunity for early intervention(2012-05) Pacheco-Theard, Rena Elizabeth; Osborne, Cynthia Anne, 1969-; Deitch, MicheleTruancy, an unexcused absence from school, is a common, but worrisome reality for many of America’s school children. Truancy results in missed academic instruction for the student and missed state funding for schools based on average daily attendance figures. More importantly, chronic truancy can serve as one of the first indicators that a student is need of support, whether it is academic, economic, family, or personal (such as mental or physical health), before the onset of more serious delinquency. However, this early warning flag is often ignored or mismanaged, such as when truancy is criminalized and truant students and their parents receive tickets for the offense, including a large fee and early involvement with the juvenile justice system. Responses like this can further burden students and their families and cannot effectively address truancy, unless the root causes of truancy are addressed. States and school districts across the nation continue to implement programs and policies in an attempt to successfully prevent, reduce and manage truancy. Yet, information and consensus regarding the components of successful programs or policies are lacking. Without this information, jurisdictions are utilizing or attempting to implement a broad range of interventions and responses with very little attention being paid to evaluations to understand what to implement or to determine what works for youth and why. As a result, many truancy responses are just best guesses about what might work for youth, and some are even counterproductive. Failing to effectively address truancy fails youth in the short and long-term as future prospects are reduced. More information is known about what works and what does not with regard to truancy than many jurisdictions may realize. This report seeks to increase understanding of truancy and its causes, highlight the success (or lack thereof) of programs and policies, and demonstrate the wide variety of programs currently being implemented. Equipped with better information, jurisdictions can make better decisions to improve outcomes for students and their communities.Item Wealth equalization legislation in Texas and its impact on property wealthy districts' financial health from 1993-1994 through 2002-2003(2005-05) Robertson, Berhl Leo; Olivarez, Arturo; Hartmeister, Fred; Karr, DougThe 73rd Legislature passed Senate Bill 7 in 1993 that became known as "Robin Hood." This piece of legislation is the foundation for this study. The funding mechanism in this bill served to equalize the wealth between and among school districts by allowing the wealthy districts to keep local tax dollars only up to a certain property wealth, while equalizing the poorer districts up to another, but lower property wealth in an attempt to achieve equity. This study is about the impact that this and subsequent wealth equalization legislation had on property wealthy school districts' financial health from 1993-1994 to 2002-2003. Additionally, district performance indicators were analyzed to begin to establish a link between finance and performance. Districts chosen for this study were considered property wealthy in both 1992-1993 and in 2002-2003; therefore, this study analyzed the whole population and did not require any sampling. To determine the impact to the wealthy school districts' financial health, five financial indicators were analyzed: maintenance and operations tax rates, interest and sinking tax rates, comptrollers property tax division (CPTD) property values, audited fund balance and recapture amounts. Each of these was compared over time to determine trends, and t tests were done to determine if any significant changes occurred. Pearson correlations were computed on each variable to determine if any significant correlation existed between these five variables. Five performance variables were analyzed as well. Student/teacher ratio, teacher turnover rate, accountability ratings, Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) reading scores, and TAAS mathematic scores were analyzed in similar fashion to the financial variables. Additionally, Pearson correlations were computed on these variables with the finance variables to attempt to determine if there was a link between the two sets of variables. This study also stratified the wealthy districts by size and growth. There were significant changes in four of the five financial variables with recapture amounts being the one that showed no significant change. In the performance variables, again, four of the five showed a significant change, as teacher turnover rate showed none. The study showed a correlation between most all the financial variables, but interestingly enough, maintenance and operations tax rate showed no correlation to any other financial variable. On the performance side, TAAS reading and mathematics scores and accountability ratings were correlated with one another, but the only performance variable correlated to the finance side was student/teacher ratio. When the study split the districts by size and growth, it did find that the smaller districts had declining property value, which lessens their revenue. There were four conclusions drawn from this study: (1) wealthy districts earned more money, retained more money, and sent more money away at the end of this study than at the beginning, while at the same time, student performance improved indicating no negative impact on these districts; (2) as the financial variables increased over time, the number of students per teacher went down, indicating additional staff were hired as the other financial variables went up; (3) districts with fewer than 2000 weighted average daily attendance (WADA) seem to have been less stable than larger districts with regard to their financial health; and (4) there was no significant link found in this study between finance and performance.Item Wealth equalization legislation in Texas and it’s impact on property wealthy districts’ financial health from 1993-1994 through 2002-2003(Texas Tech University, 2005-05) Robertson, Berhl Leo; Olivarez, Arturo; Hartmeister, Fred; Karr, DougThe 73rd Legislature passed Senate Bill 7 in 1993 that became known as “Robin Hood.” This piece of legislation is the foundation for this study. The funding mechanism in this bill served to equalize the wealth between and among school districts by allowing the wealthy districts to keep local tax dollars only up to a certain property wealth, while equalizing the poorer districts up to another, but lower property wealth in an attempt to achieve equity. This study is about the impact that this and subsequent wealth equalization legislation had on property wealthy school districts’ financial health from 1993-1994 to 2002-2003. Additionally, district performance indicators were analyzed to begin to establish a link between finance and performance. Districts chosen for this study were considered property wealthy in both 1992-1993 and in 2002-2003; therefore, this study analyzed the whole population and did not require any sampling. To determine the impact to the wealthy school districts’ financial health, five financial indicators were analyzed: maintenance and operations tax rates, interest and sinking tax rates, comptrollers property tax division (CPTD) property values, audited fund balance and recapture amounts. Each of these was compared over time to determine trends, and t tests were done to determine if any significant changes occurred. Pearson correlations were computed on each variable to determine if \any significant correlation existed between these five variables. Five performance variables were analyzed as well. Student/teacher ratio, teacher turnover rate, accountability ratings, Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) reading scores, and TAAS mathematic scores were analyzed in similar fashion to the financial variables. Additionally, Pearson correlations were computed on these variables with the finance variables to attempt to determine if there was a link between the two sets of variables. This study also stratified the wealthy districts by size and growth. There were significant changes in four of the five financial variables with recapture amounts being the one that showed no significant change. In the performance variables, again, four of the five showed a significant change, as teacher turnover rate showed none. The study showed a correlation between most all the financial variables, but interestingly enough, maintenance and operations tax rate showed no correlation to any other financial variable. On the performance side, TAAS reading and mathematics scores and accountability ratings were correlated with one another, but the only performance variable correlated to the finance side was student/teacher ratio. When the study split the districts by size and growth, it did find that the smaller districts had declining property value, which lessens their revenue. There were four conclusions drawn from this study: (1) wealthy districts earned more money, retained more money, and sent more money away at the end of this study than at the beginning, while at the same time, student performance improved indicating no negative impact on these districts; (2) as the financial variables increased over time, the number of students per teacher went down, indicating additional staff were hired as the other financial variables went up; (3) districts with fewer than 2000 weighted average daily attendance (WADA) seem to have been less stable than larger districts with regard to their financial health; and (4) there was no significant link found in this study between finance and performance.Item Young children's play using digital touchscreen tablets(2014-05) Carrell Moore, Holly Lynne; Roser, Nancy; Reifel, Robert StuartNational early childhood organizations have posited that technology tools might be used to expand young children's thinking and experiences if offered in playful ways, and organized with interactive activities that allow for individualization and social interaction (NAEYC & Fred Rogers Center, 2012). Furthermore, these organizations have argued for the need to study newer technologies such as touch-screen technologies (NAEYC & Fred Rogers Center, 2012). The purpose of this study is to examine young children's technology-related play choices and actions particularly as they occurred with touch-screen tablets in a classroom setting. The 10-week qualitative study, organized around a classic grounded theory methodology (Glaser, 1978, 1992, 1998) and conducted within a single classroom, reports the close observation and description of 14 public- school pre-kindergarten students' actions with open-ended, symbolic-play tablet apps and interactions with one another, toward building a grounded theory of children's socially situated, tablet-centered digital play. The findings of this study demonstrate how participants' play choices were situated within multiple nested social spheres, including layers of digital play, the iPad activity-center, and the classroom as organized by the teacher. Examination of children's changeable play actions and choices revealed students' use of reflexive tracking as they actively navigated between personal and social interests to engage in three types of play: sampling, experimenting, and engaging in pretense. The findings and theorized model of socially situated dual-tablet play inform the discourse on technology integration in early childhood classrooms as well as the discourse on play, particularly in regards to digital play.