Education Commons^™

A Curriculum Designed To Teach Elementary-Age Children In Diverse Settings The Kingdom Concept Of Loving One's Neighbor, Abigail J. Flood

Honors Program Projects

United States Census data from 2020 show that the country is becoming increasingly diverse and urbanized. Other research shows children are aware of race from an early age and can pick up biases and stereotypes by watching the adults around them. However, there are no children’s ministry curricula that specifically address how children should navigate differences from a biblical perspective. To fill this gap, a children’s ministry curriculum was written to model how children can love their neighbors like Jesus did, especially those who look different from themselves. The curriculum is comprised of an introduction for the ministry leader, five …

Essential Or Optional? Effects Of Creative Writing On Expository Skills And Attitude In Middle School Students, Nicole Samuelson

Honors Program Projects

Creative writing's effectiveness has not been clearly established through research, especially in regards to expository writing skills. However, other benefits of creative writing have been shown such as emotional benefits and general writing improvement. This study was conducted with two groups of middle school students. One group received ten creative writing interventions over a month and the other group continued with normal instruction. The goal was to discover if these interventions would improve students' expository writing skills as well as their attitude towards and confidence in writing. Surprisingly, while the experimental group did not improve significantly in either area, the …

The Use Of Diverse Young Adult Literature In High School Classrooms, Lauren Mohler

Student Scholarship – English

This departmental honors project outlined research that has been completed on the benefits of incorporating young adult literature in the secondary English Language Arts classroom and discussed the benefits of using young adult literature as a means of introducing students to various aspects of diversity. While young adult literature continues to grow in popularity among teen readers, there are many negative connotations associated with texts falling under this label and their merit within the classroom. Similarly, classroom dynamics are becoming more diverse each year through the number of students representing different races, ethnicities, ability levels, interests, socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, and …

The Impact The Amount Of High School Physical Education Has On The Physical Activity Habits Of Traditional College Freshmen, Aaron Thompson

Faculty Scholarship – Exercise and Sports Science

Many states have reduced or eliminated high school physical education classes due to budget cuts and the passage of No Child Left Behind. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the number of years of physical education students received in high school and the traditional college freshmen’s current level of physical activities. The short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and additional demographic questions were used electronically to collect cross-sectional PA data from traditional college freshmen at a private Christian liberal arts university in the Midwest. After cleaning and processing the collected data, the …

His Highest Glory, My Deepest Joy: Discovering Satisfaction At Its Source, Bethany Addington

Honors Program Projects

This independent study project is a narrative devotional book written for a 16 to 25 year-old target audience. The book is primarily composed of autobiographical narratives, exegetical essays, and a small variety of poetic compositions. The literature examines several topics related to the satisfaction, purpose, and joy found in ever-increasing knowledge of Christ. To that end, this literary work ultimately seeks to communicate the unmatched fulfillment of relationship with Christ in a manner that is easily understood and applied, particularly to the lives of young Christians. The project is structured largely around an examination of the narrative of the Samaritan …

Generations: A Family Ministry Curriculum, Bethany Abbott

Honors Program Projects

This Honors Capstone Project created the opportunity to create a children’s church curriculum influenced by the ideas of family ministry. The paper includes an introduction to the writer’s vision and goals, a review of literature focused on what family ministry is and why it is important, a description of the curriculum project, and the creator’s reflection on the project. The first appendix of the paper includes the curriculum elements (philosophy, theology, a two-year curriculum scope and sequence, two examples of Sunday morning curriculum and take-home materials, as well as a curriculum website design and parent event outline). An additional appendix …

The Integration Of School Garden Programs Into Educational Curriculum, Annie Lowry

Honors Program Projects

School gardens have many benefits for students which include helping students make nutritious choices, encouraging students to be environmentally conscious, and providing experiential learning. School gardens have great potential to be an effective learning tool if incorporated into the classroom. The purpose of this project is to evaluate how gardening is being integrated into classroom curriculum in several schools in the state of Illinois and what factors have led to this integration. Educational professionals from seven different sites were interviewed to collect qualitative data about current integration of gardening into school curriculum. The results from the interviews confirm previous research …

Teaching Christian Readings Of Secular Young Adult Literature, Angela R. Lee

Honors Program Projects

The purpose of this project is to empower Christian young adults to engage with secular literature adolescent literature in a manner that encourages them to grow in their faith. The project has three main components: a case study article on Christian reading practices based on their reviews of The Shack, a literature review of Christian reading theory, and a five day instructional unit plan designed to teach high school freshmen Christians to engage appropriate with secular literature.

In the case study, over 400 Amazon.com reader reviews and comments on the Christian fiction novel The Shack were examined in order to …

Integrating Upper Level Content With Introductory Material For Better Learning, With An Example From Mineralogy, Charles W. Carrigan, Priscilla Field Skalac

Faculty Scholarship – Geology

At the start of upper-level courses, many students have difficulty with advanced material that requires a base knowledge of essential concepts in geology and supporting disciplines, along with critical thinking skills. Students have difficulty in 1) recalling introductory course material and connecting it to deeper content, and 2) integrating concepts from supporting courses. We advocate incorporating a broadening concept review into upper level courses. Emphasis is on mastery of introductory material needed to acquire advanced concepts that follow.

Student And Faculty Perceptions Of A University Faith Mission In Courses Using Classroom, Distance, Or Hybrid Instructional Delivery Modes, Susan Esther Odell Draine

Faculty Scholarship – Nursing

This applied research project took place at a faith-based university in the Midwest. The purpose of the study was to determine to what degree students and faculty who participated in face-to-face instruction, distance education, or hybrid modes of instruction perceived that the subject university's mission was integrated into course content and instruction and to determine whether the mission objectives were applied equally to the three types of courses, as required by the regional accrediting body. Survey instruments were used to quantify participants' perceptions.

Equivalency theory formed the basis for comparing the perceptions of three groups of students and faculty--those engaged …

The Relationship Between Ministry Praxis And Spiritual Development Milestones In The Lives Of Children, Leon Marcel Blanchette Jr.

Faculty Scholarship – Christian Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the children‘s ministry praxis in Nazarene churches and four significant spiritual milestones in the lives of Nazarene children. A mixed method study was used to obtain statistical, quantitative results from the population and then followed up with two small groups to explore those results in more depth through personal interviews. This study compares four quadrants of children’s spirituality, the Pragmatic-Participatory Model, Media-Driven Active-Engagement Model, Instructional-Analytic Model, and the Contemplative-Reflective Model. A quadrant is one of four categories that best describes a children‘s pastor‘s ministry praxis. These quadrants are sometimes …

Weaving The Curriculum Tapestry: Modifying Upper Level Courses To Facilitate Integration Across The Geology Program, Charles W. Carrigan, Priscilla Field Skalac

Faculty Scholarship – Geology

Having observed students' frequent struggles to acquire mastery of content and skills in upper-level geology courses, we noted students fail to weave together the diverse strands that produce a well-educated geoscientist. After observing students’ struggles to keep up with new content and skills, we determined a course of action that includes application of best pedagogy based on educational research. We incorporate a technique of spiraling basic content and skills across the geology curriculum: content and skills introduced in the entry-level geology course are intentionally reviewed and referenced in each upper-level course.

Facilitating Integration Across The Geology Program: Applying "Weaving The Curriculum" To Petrology And Structural Geology Courses, Charles W. Carrigan, Priscilla Field Skalac

Faculty Scholarship – Geology

Students often encounter difficulty with advanced material in upper-level geology courses. We identified several trends that arise at the beginning of upper-level courses including difficulty in connecting introductory course material to deeper content, integrating skills and knowledge from supporting courses, and integrating material between upper-level courses. Redesigning upper-level courses, we intentionally incorporate relevant material from introductory geoscience courses into upper-level courses, such that students are re-exposed to fundamental concepts they need to master as more advanced concepts are taught.

The Internet Pyramid, Ann Johnston

Faculty Scholarship – Library Science

Many activity-based articles describe how the Internet can help develop higher level thinking skills. But these skills can be used and assessed only after students have a basic working knowledge of the Internet. This article presents a framework for teaching elementary students to use the Internet in the one-computer classroom.