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Extension Of A Commuter Advisor And Engagement Program, Michael Secreti Apr 2018

Extension Of A Commuter Advisor And Engagement Program, Michael Secreti

Higher Education Student Work

Commuter students continue to face a number of challenges when it comes to building social connections with their peers (Krause, 2007). Despite the number of programs targeted towards first-year college students, few programs are adequately prepared to address the needs and concerns of the commuter student population. In an effort to produce greater learning and development outcomes among Commuter Advisors (CAs) and their protégés (first-year commuter students), the Commuter Advisor Program at Merrimack College will provide seasoned commuter students with the opportunity to receive the training and guidance necessary to become strong mentors to the first-year commuter student population. According …


Developing A Centralized Tutoring System: A Comprehensive Resource Available For Students, Catherine Johnson Apr 2018

Developing A Centralized Tutoring System: A Comprehensive Resource Available For Students, Catherine Johnson

Higher Education Student Work

Peer tutoring at colleges and universities has become an essential resource in helping to enhance undergraduate students’ academic performance and persistence (Arco-Tirado, Fernández-Martin, & Fernández-Balboa, 2011), institutional retention rates (Grillo & Leist, 2013), and the academic abilities of students with learning disabilities (Troiano, Liefeld, & Trachtenberg, 2010). The Tutoring Center at Merrimack College, designed for this project, will house all peer tutors specializing in a variety of subjects, including, but not limited to: business, engineering, foreign languages, computer science, biology, and chemistry. According to Vygtosky’s (1978) learning theory, students learn most effectively and more thoroughly when working with more knowledgeable …


Enabling Student Moral Development In The Conduct Process, Evelyn Dina Apr 2018

Enabling Student Moral Development In The Conduct Process, Evelyn Dina

Higher Education Student Work

College is not only an opportunity for students to develop various aspects of their identity, but also a time to develop their moral maturity (Mathieson, 2003). In order to further increase student moral development and the learning that takes place for students in the conduct process, institutions should strive to implement educational sanctions and restorative approaches. This project will outline the components to establishing a civic learning sanction, as well as a model for restorative-oriented administrative hearings to be utilized throughout the student conduct process at Merrimack College. Kohlberg’s (1976) Theory of Moral Development provides an understanding of the stages …


Diversity And Postsecondary Education: Are Local Teacher Preparation Programs Really Preparing Educators For Supporting And Teaching Diverse Populations In The Classroom?, David Prescott Apr 2018

Diversity And Postsecondary Education: Are Local Teacher Preparation Programs Really Preparing Educators For Supporting And Teaching Diverse Populations In The Classroom?, David Prescott

Honors Senior Capstone Projects

This intensive research endeavor is focused in the realm of education, specifically inclusion in classroom settings. This paper will be examining local teacher preparation programs by analyzing their requirements for diversity education and training. The overall purpose of this research project is to increase awareness of the disconnect between inclusion and diversity education, inspire others to want to do something to better serve the diverse populations in local school districts, and to begin discussion about changing diversity requirements in local teacher education programs. This paper will begin by defining and distinguishing inclusion and diversity education. Next the paper will provide …


The Effect Of Dance And Team Sports On Mental Health, Kayla Hulburt Apr 2018

The Effect Of Dance And Team Sports On Mental Health, Kayla Hulburt

Honors Senior Capstone Projects

This study uses the World Health Organization model of physical, social, and mental health to examine the effect of participating in dance and team sports during childhood on mental health in adulthood. Prior research has suggested that physical activity is strongly integrated with mental and social health and therefore is a protective factor among mental illness. However, there is not sufficient research comparing the differences among dance and team sports on mental health. This study hypothesized that dancers would experience more positive mental health in adulthood than team sports due to the basis of physical activity in dance, but the …


Poverty Through Simulation: Examining Concerns With Affordable Housing In Relation To The Cycle Of Poverty, Emily Mccaffrey Apr 2018

Poverty Through Simulation: Examining Concerns With Affordable Housing In Relation To The Cycle Of Poverty, Emily Mccaffrey

Community Engagement Student Work

This social justice-based project used evaluated the level of understanding that students of Endicott College had regarding poverty within the United States. This project provided a space for students to communicate with each other using discussion questions about poverty to guide the conversations. All students were given the chance to participate in an online simulation during class that provided them with an opportunity to live in someone else's shoes for thirty days, after losing their housing. This project was conducted with one traditional class setting while the other was conducted completely online using an online platform provided by Endicott. The …


The Unheard Stories Of Service-Learners: An Exploratory Study Of The Assumptions Of Race, Identity, And Privilege Within The Service-Learning Experience, J. Faith Krefft Apr 2018

The Unheard Stories Of Service-Learners: An Exploratory Study Of The Assumptions Of Race, Identity, And Privilege Within The Service-Learning Experience, J. Faith Krefft

Community Engagement Student Work

Service-learning has become a powerful pedagogical practice in Higher Education. Yet many of its practices have been premised on the idea that participants are white and serving a community unlike their own. Research suggests that the perspectives and identities of students of a diverse background participating in service-learning experiences may be unheard and/or misunderstood. Through a qualitative exploratory study, this study examined the perspective of nonwhite students. Four students from two higher education institutions selected to participate in a set of longitudinal, semi-structured, in-depth interviews in order to better understand their perspectives and experiences in their service-learning field site. Service-learning …


“I Can’T Believe I’M In Charge”: How Zlotkoswki’S “Students As Colleagues” Model Prepares Bentley University Service-Learning Students For Civic Leadership, Brian Shea Apr 2018

“I Can’T Believe I’M In Charge”: How Zlotkoswki’S “Students As Colleagues” Model Prepares Bentley University Service-Learning Students For Civic Leadership, Brian Shea

Community Engagement Student Work

Business schools exhibit a remarkable ability to produce graduates who are exceptionally analytical; however, these students have been shown to lack sensitivity to the impact of actions taken in the workplace, in communities, and in society. Service-learning is a method that has been proven to instill stronger ethics in business students. Bentley University, a business school in Waltham, Massachusetts, models its Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Center after the “Students as Colleagues” framework championed by its founding Director, Dr. Edward Zlotkowski (2006). By employing this approach, Bentley positions its undergraduate students as leaders in social impact initiatives, thereby preparing these students …


Female Students Of Color In Higher Education, Kile Adumene Apr 2018

Female Students Of Color In Higher Education, Kile Adumene

Community Engagement Student Work

This participatory social justice focused project used both qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine our understanding of who we are individually, groups, and as citizens; nationally and globally, and how one’s identity will continue to evolve and change over a life time. We looked at self-claim identity, social imposed identity, and societal categorizing processes of identity such as one’s geographical, ethnic, or national connection. Participants engaged in detailed discussion on the constructed racial designations to different groups, the inter-sectional simultaneity by which people may experience their identities, and explored to understand the language that groups prefer to use to self-name …


Making The Case For Faculty And Staff Diversity And Inclusion Training At Merrimack College, Nicole Williams Jan 2018

Making The Case For Faculty And Staff Diversity And Inclusion Training At Merrimack College, Nicole Williams

Higher Education Student Work

Diversity and inclusion training is essential for long-term success and sustainability of an organization, especially institutions of higher education (Cocchiara, Connerley, & Bell, 2010; Cunningham, 2012). This capstone investigates the necessity and benefits of diversity and inclusion training, as well as effective training structures to contextualize the resulting curriculum model. This curriculum addresses an underlying institutional leadership gap at Merrimack College where faculty and staff are not adequately trained or provided with sufficient opportunities to engage in diversity and inclusion training. Feminist Standpoint Theory (Collins, 1997) and Transformational Learning Theory (Mezirow, 2000) provide the theoretical grounding to establish this foundational …