The Roles of Multiple Adults: Examining the Actions and Interactions of Multiple Adults in a Classroom to Support Primary-aged Students

As classrooms become more diverse, it is important to meet students’ varied learning needs; however, there is a concern regarding inequities in gifted education. Specifically, underrepresentation of various populations is a persistent issue in gifted education that needs to be addressed. Rigorous curriculum is one way to foster student learning while supporting gifted and talent potential but can be challenging to implement. One solution to the challenge of implementing rigorous curriculum is by utilizing multiple adults in the same classroom. In this Capstone, I addressed a problem of practice on both a macro and micro scale aimed at gaining greater understanding of the roles of multiple adults working together in a classroom. Specifically, I explored the role of multiple adults (i.e., two teachers, parent volunteers, and a student teaching assistant) during a two-week summer intersession (SI) to support the gifted potential of primary-aged students, many from historically under-represented groups, through the implementation of a rigorous, literacy-based curriculum. I employed a single-case study design to examine the actions of and interactions between multiple adults at one site. Data collection was archival and included observations, interviews, and collected documents. Through two phases of data analysis, I arrived at research findings related to the actions and interactions of multiple adults during the intersession, and patterns related to the multiple adults and the rigorous curriculum implemented. Based on research findings, I discussed implications regarding the macro problem of practice when multiple adults are in shared classroom spaces and provided recommendations for the specific context in which this study took place.