Education Commons^™

Creating An English As A Second Language Program Model That Caters To Junior High Students With Limited Or Interrupted Formal Education, Alison Krzenski

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Krzenski, A. Creating an English as a Second Language Program that Caters to Junior High Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (2020)

This capstone explores the guiding question, how can schools create an English as a Second Language program model that will best support junior high students with limited or interrupted schooling? Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) are a diverse population of students that are increasing within our school systems. According to the Minnesota Department of Education (2019) in order for a student to be qualified as SLIFE they must meet three of the following five …

Increasing Knowledge On Current Global English Theories And Cultural Differences–– A Professional Development Workshop For Assistant Language Teachers In Japan, Megan Lambrecht

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

As English is an increasingly important global commodity, native English speakers are hired in countries around the world to assist with English classes. Japan is an example of a country that does just this. In Japan, these teachers are often hired simply by the qualification of being a native speaker, generally not needing a degree or experience in education. Many of these newfound teachers are given little to no information on relevant global English theories or cultural influences which may impact classroom environments. The project was heavily influenced by the work of Hino (2012), Oshima (2015), Jenkins (2014), Barrantes-Montero (2018), …

How To Distinguish A Barrier Due To Second Language Acquisition Versus A Learning Disability?, Sarah Baude

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Baude, S. Distinguishing a Learning Disability Versus a Barrier to Second Language Acquisition (2020)

The research question addressed in this project was How to Distinguish A Learning Disability Versus A Barrier Due to Second Language Acquisition? Research shows that there is a disproportionate number of English Language Learners (ELLs) in special education. The over and under representation of this population in special education can be linked to the evaluation process. This capstone documents one teachers creation of a professional development to promote better understanding of second language acquisition and acculturation and assimilation along with a tool that can be used …

The Importance Of Multicultural Literature In A K-2 Elementary Classroom, Emily Butler

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Butler, E. (2020) The importance of multicultural literature in a K-2 classroom. The goal of this project is to answer the question of how can a professional development be created for K-2 teachers that explains the positive impact of creating a culturally competent classroom by using multicultural literature? The project is designed to explain the benefits of having a culturally competent classroom while also giving K-2 teachers tools to recognize culturally authentic, appropriate and asset-minded literature. K-2 teachers will leave the professional development understanding the importance of creating culturally competent classrooms, being able to distinguish between culturally authentic and culturally …

Shifting The Perspective: Incorporating Elements Of Culturally Responsive Teaching In The Rural Minnesotan Elementary Classroom, Brandon Frenette

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

As rural schools in Minnesota are becoming more diverse with every school year, our curriculum must also adapt and change to be more authentic for all of our students. Students need to have a curriculum that is relevant to them, and a classroom environment that allows them to be their authentic selves. In order to do this, teachers need to reflect on their own biases, and see how the curriculum might not be set up for all students to flourish. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) is an educational practice that focuses on collective empowerment, and tailoring the classroom environment and curriculum …

Giving Them The Map: Making Language Visible For English Language Learners, Elizabeth Seymour

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Seymour, B. (2020). Giving Them The Map: Making Academic Language visible for English Language Learners At The Upper Elementary Level

This project aims to provide a professional development resource that incorporates the accessibility of a website with many supplemental materials and the flexibility of embedded videotaped PD sessions. The embedded PD sessions are organized by the pillars of complex language features, student critical thinking, and interaction with language. The explanation of these three pillars is applied to Pathways TM Teaching and Learning Cycle developed by Dr. Cynthia Lundgren. Pathways TM a process of organizing language instruction to support language growth …

The Controversial Passage Of Proposition 227, Erin E. Kinney

Departmental Honors Projects

When Proposition 227 passed in 1998, it essentially ended a thirty-year program of bilingual education in California of students with limited English proficiency, and replaced it with a controversial, year-long, intensive English-immersion program. Paying close attention to how each side of the debate was framed in televised programming and local newspapers, this paper examines why such a controversial law was able to pass by popular ballot. After researching the popular opinions of the previous program of bilingual education as well as the narrative of the state concerning how it views its immigrant populations, with the children of Latin American immigrants …

Teaching Listening For Prominence In Combination With Reading To Help Students Determine New Information, Margaret Genereux

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess whether teaching adult English Language Learners (ELLs) to listen for new information spoken with prominence on the target new information increased their ability to make inferences about meaning. Data collected included: a pre and post-test to assess students’ learning during the intervention; an uptake sheet to solicit students’ self-perception of their learning about pronunciation and placement of new information; and a Likert scale to elicit participants’ self-assessment of their ability to identify and use prominence. While results of the post-test on selecting the correct inference were inconclusive, quantitative and qualitative data indicated …

How Mindsets Matter: Second Grade, English Language Learners’ Reportings Of Their Experiences With A Growth Mindset Curriculum In Colombia, Amanda Brooks

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, classroom action research was conducted in a private bilingual school in Colombia with seventeen participants. The research questions were: 1) How do second-grade Colombian English language learners report changes to their Growth Mindset qualities following a six-week Growth Mindset intervention? and 2) How do second-grade Colombian English language learners perceive their language learning ability following a self-evaluation of Growth Mindset qualities? The research fills a gap in existing literature on three similar topics: Growth Mindset and academic achievement for adolescents and adults, conditional self-worth for children six and younger, and attribution theory and language learning for adolescents. One …

Defining The Correlation Between Multicultural Training For Pre-Service Teachers And Their Effectiveness In Implementing A Multicultural Curriculum In The Classroom, Lynne Chung

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

As educators, we must hold each other accountable. It begins with how we are initially trained and the ideas we foster into actions that transcend textbooks and ultimately put into effective lessons. More often times than now, pre-service training reflects the values of the dominant society that may lead to perpetuating the status quo. This study aims to define the correlation between multicultural training for pre-service teachers and their

effectiveness in implementing a multicultural curriculum in the classroom. Through in- depth interviews with five practicing teachers in their first- through third-year of

teaching, the study documents their personal experiences with …

The Hmong Experience In School, Jessica Buckless

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Classrooms today are an incredibly diverse portrait of the emerging ethnicities that occupy the United States. Teachers are challenged with adapting these newly emerging communities of students. Understanding new cultures that occupy classrooms give teachers the opportunity to see students through a lens that allows them to access how to better serve their students. The research question in this study was, what is the Hmong experience in school? The motivating factor in this capstone was that while there is vast research for many minority populations and schools in the United States, there is little research for the Hmong population. This …

The Use Of Graphic Organizers When Writing With Dual Identified El And Ld Students, Katherine Corrigan

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This study will focus on the growth and student attitudes and their perceptions of their own ability regarding argumentative and expository writing tasks, specifically in the area of organization and development for dual identified EL and LD Hispanic, middle school students. This study seeks to answer the following guiding questions: Can a graphic organizer help improve organization and development in an argumentative or expository writing task? and How does the explicit instruction and use of an intentionally designed graphic organizer improve student perception of their own abilities and attitudes towards completing an argumentative or expository writing task? The quantitative data …

Preparing White Teachers To Teach In Racially Diverse Schools, Cristina Benz

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

My personal experience as a White educator in racially diverse classrooms led me to choose my capstone topic and develop my research question: “What core knowledge, essential skills, and experiences do White teachers believe have effectively prepared them to teach racially diverse students?” Based on my literature review, I chose five concepts and theories that I considered connected to my research capstone. Critical Race Theory was the overarching theory that provided related concepts of Racial Realism, Critical White Studies, and Colorblindness. A newer concept that I included, Equity Literacy, provided tools for teachers to consider and use. I used a …

English Learners’ Oral Production Of Math Vocabulary In A Play-Infused Kindergarten Classroom, Meagan Reissy

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that ELs’ vocabulary knowledge is an important basis for building communication skills in a second language, as well as a strong predictor of later academic skills. High quality vocabulary instruction is crucial and the literature emphasizes direct instruction techniques with words that are intentionally selected (Anderson & Nagy, 1993; Christ, 2007; Silverman & Crandell, 2010). However, little research has been done in kindergarten classrooms that teach through a play-based curriculum which avoids extensive amounts of direct instruction. This qualitative casestudy of two ELs in a kindergarten classroom using the Angry Birds Playground (ABP) framework to guide curriculum and …

Student Reactions To Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Designed To Build Trust And Mutual Respect, Karrah O’Daniel

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

In a qualitative study of an inner-city, diverse classroom, this Capstone looks at the question: How do students describe their reaction to culturally relevant pedagogical strategies designed to build engagement, trust, and mutual respect in a culturally diverse classroom managed by their Caucasian teacher? The Capstone shares some personal stories of the researcher and looks at the existing research about the importance of relationship building, particularly within the realms of trust and mutual respect between students and teachers. This particular Capstone focuses deeply through the eyes of race and culture in the classroom, especially examining the realities of lack of …

Mathematics Vocabulary: Teaching Tier 3 Language Of Math Fractions To English Learners, Emily Grove

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This capstone sought to research vocabulary instruction techniques and strategies in the upper elementary classroom. The need for specific instruction and activities was identified and described. Several relevant sources were cited including August, Calderòn and Beck, resources and techniques used traditionally in the language arts classroom were also applied to the mathematics classroom. A curriculum addendum was created and described in detail. This curriculum and approach to teaching mathematical vocabulary terms in the 4th grade fractions unit can be altered to different vocabulary terms for other units of instruction outside of the mathematics classroom. Strategies and techniques described include interactive …

Decreasing The Social Gap Between English Language Learners And Native Speakers Of English, Rachel Loayza

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This paper discusses the social gap between English Learners and native speakers of English and the importance of inclusion. EL students experience isolation in school today and share few positive social experiences with their non-EL peers, although some schools have had some success increasing the inclusion. Through a Systematic Literature Review this research attempts to find out whether teachers and administrators can have an affect on the frequency of intercultural social experiences. Heterogeneous classrooms emerged as the strongest factor for inclusion and pull-out ESL programs emerged as the strongest barrier to inclusion. Future research including international locations, a larger list …

Southeast Asian American Community: Improving Students Literacy Performance Through The Involvement Of The After School Literacy Enrichment Program, Kalia Lee

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This research was influenced by the Author’s personal experience with literacy practices and education. The question addressed in this capstone is, how to improve third grade literacy performance through the involvement of the After-School Literacy Enrichment Program? The capstone explores a sense of encouraging positive behavior, self-esteem, and motivation with our culturally diverse students as well as connecting with our students on a genuine level. The capstone cover the history of the two Southeast Asian groups; Hmong and Karen/Karenni leading onto the disparities and challenges in the United States. By providing a culturally responsive classroom as well as becoming a …

Integrating Cultural Studies Into The Social Studies Curriculum In A First-Grade Chinese Immersion Classroom, Qiong Qin

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The capstone explores the question: “How can first-grade teachers integrate cultural studies into the Social Studies curriculum in a Chinese immersion classroom?” The author frames her study by first sharing her personal experience learning English as a foreign language. Until her American ESL teacher gave her the encouragement and passion to learn a new language in authentic and engaging ways, the author did not enjoy learning the English language. In chapter two, the author draws on research to explain how learning a new language and associated culture helps second-language students grow as learners, as well as increases their overall academic …

Interactive Videos As A Vocabulary Pre-Teaching Tool In Middle School Science, Kimberly Severson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of interactive video instruction to teacher-led direct instruction for pre-teaching science vocabulary to newcomer middle school ELs. The second phase of the experiment utilized interactive videos to pre-teach science vocabulary in a flipped learning environment. This study was influenced by vocabulary experts Beck, McKeown, and Kucan, as well as R. E. Mayer, multimedia learning expert. Data collection included pre-tests and post-tests of expressive and receptive vocabulary knowledge, as well as a student survey to determine ease of use, students’ perceived learning and satisfaction with the type of instruction. Results from …

Motivation For Learning English At A Theological Seminary In Ukraine, Joshua Tokar

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to determine what factors motivate students to learn English at an evangelical seminary in Ukraine. After the fall of communism, English was mainly taught at newly formed evangelical seminaries in Ukraine to enable students to access theological resources in English that were not available in Russian or Ukrainian. A mixed-method approach involving a written attitudinal questionnaire and follow-up focus group interviews was employed to collect data. Participants in this study were second- year music ministry and first- to third-year theology students enrolled in English courses.The results of this study revealed that twenty-five years later seminary students …