Education Commons^™

Ms. Eep's Compass: A Hope-Filled Story Inspired By A Trauma-Informed Teaching Framework, Sadie Stocks

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the literature on childhood trauma, its manifestations in the classroom, and effective trauma-informed teaching practices. The literature indicates the widespread prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the consequences these experiences have on both the developing brains of children and future health risks. While drawing the correlation of this widespread trauma to its common manifestations in the classroom, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs further justifies the indispensable link of safety preceding learning. Trauma-Informed teaching practices include environmental considerations like safety, the value of relationship building, a strengths-based guided classroom, models of self-regulation, developmentally appropriate practice, and an emphasis …

Interactive Neuroscience: Designing And Implementing Web-Based Simulations To Teach Cognitive Neuroscience Concepts In An Online Classroom A Pilot Study, Kendall Stewart

Honors Theses

While computer simulations are effective tools when learning difficult concepts, little is currently known about the most effective learning environment for the implementation of computer simulations in the classroom. The current study aimed to determine if the effectiveness of simulations depends on the learning environment in which they are implemented. Tested within various passive and active learning environments, this study begins to shed light on the impact of the instructional method in which simulations are implemented on learning outcomes for novice learners. Results from this study suggest that within passive learning environments, simulated animations may be more effective than informationally …

"Nice, Quiet Hand": The Creation And Navigation Of Feeling Rules In A Second Grade Classroom, Avery Munns

Honors Theses

Emotions are largely viewed as individual and internal, but in reality, emotions are socially situated. This project aims to use a sociology of emotions framework in order to explore how emotional expectations are created, maintained, and navigated within a classroom environment. Through a series of observations over the course of a month, I set out to answer questions surrounding which emotions were encouraged, which emotions were discouraged, and how both teachers and students created and navigated these feeling rules. Overall, I found that emotions were largely discouraged, especially through the overarching feeling rules of “be quiet” and “control your body.” …

Creating Dynamic Spaces: Exploring Student-Empowered Self-Expression Through Art, Meghan E. Charest

Honors Theses

Research suggests that students living in rural areas may be more likely to face adversity and stress due to intersecting challenges present in their communities including poverty, substance abuse, addiction, poor health, reduced economic opportunity, and geographic isolation. I conducted an engaged scholarship project in partnership with students and staff at JES to explore ways that open-ended art activities that provide students with self-directed creative spaces can cultivate a student-centered environment built around strong relationships. This type of environment can mitigate the negative impacts of adverse childhood experiences potentially affecting rural Maine students and improve a culture of emotional wellness …

Early Childhood Trauma: Implications For Educators And The Importance Of Trauma-Sensitive Schools, Mattie Couch

Honors Theses

Dr. Bruce Perry, the renowned child psychiatrist, defines trauma as “an experience, or pattern of experiences, that impairs the proper functioning of the person’s stress-response system, making it more reactive or sensitive” (Supin, 2016, p. 5). According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, one study discovered that more than half of children aged 2–5 had experienced some form of a severe traumatic stressor in their lifetime (Zero to Six Collaborative Group, 2010). Consequently, there is a high likelihood of finding a child who has experienced trauma within any educator’s classroom walls. Because of this fact, future and present educators …

Positive Discipline As A Part Of Effective Classroom Management, Allison Stevens

Honors Theses

This study was driven by the researcher’s interest in learning more about classroom management, and in particular, how experienced teachers thought about positive discipline as part of a management system. The researcher was a teaching intern in an elementary suburban school, where she interviewed 5 teachers and the building principal about classroom management and positive discipline. Interviews were transcribed, and patterns across responses were sought. Findings revealed common pieces of effective classroom management: 1) setting clear expectations and rules, 2) consistency in applying rules and expectations, and 3) having good parent communication. All teachers used tangible extrinsic rewards to motivate …

An Examination Of School Shootings And Mental Health: A Comparative Case Study, Emily Kaufman

Honors Theses

School shootings have become more relevant in our society over the past few decades, yet the debate over the cause of these shootings never seems to reach a conclusion. The current study looks at the connection between mental illness and school shootings, as well as the roles that media, gun control, violence, and masculinity play in the common phenomena. Prior literature has debated over the main causes of school shootings, but many researchers state differing opinions regarding the motivations for perpetrators. This study found that severe mental illness is the main cause of school shootings, and while mental illness may …

A Retro Development In Education: Evaluating The Feasibility Of Integrating Place-Based Education Into Mississippi Curriculum Standards, Colby K. Mcclain

Honors Theses

This thesis evaluates the feasibility of integrating place-based environmental education activities from Think Green, Take Action: Books and Activities for Kids into the Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE) Frameworks for Science and Social Studies for K-5. As children develop and experience the world, their ability to understand and interpret the surrounding environments expand; however, Mississippi schools are not focused on experiential environmental education, even though experiencing and understanding the surrounding environment is vital in fostering eagerness to learn. Due to a growing disconnect between humans and the natural world, this thesis examined 37 place- and environment-based activities for children, sixteen …

The Effects Of Physical Activity And Movement On Learning, Alexandria Lemos

Honors Theses

After performing research into the effects of physical activity and movement on learning, I was asked to present my findings at a school-wide colloquium. This gathering was well-attended by students and faculty members alike. The university professors seemed highly interested in what I had discovered and asked many in-depth questions. The majority of the questions dealt with the same major issue: implementation.

No one questioned whether the presented information was true or not. The questions that came were how it would be possible to incorporate movement in the classroom in ways that were not distracting from the content. While the …

Behavior Modification, Lois Cox

Honors Theses

Even though this seems to be a relatively new area of education, as early as 1920 behavior modification has been used in correcting behavior.

J.B. Watson had four basic ideas in this area: 1. The educational response of fear could be conditioned. 2. It would transfer to stimuli other than the initial stimulus which caused the fear. 3. The fear would last over a period of time. 4. It could be unlearned.

These four items are very similar to the techniques used today in the modification program. Watson's experiment with a small child named Albert proved his above theories to …

Teaching The Disadvantaged, Lynda Bearden

Honors Theses

Ideally, the early intellectual development of the child should take place in the home. If this training cannot be supplied adequately in the home and by the parents, then the school is the logical social agency to do it.

The size of the family, the concern of the parents with the basic necessities of life, the low level of education of the parents, the frequent absence of a male parent, and the lack of a great deal of interaction between children and adults all conspire to reduce the stimulation, language development, and intellectual development of disadvantaged children. These are handicaps …

Teaching The Culturally Deprived, April Dunham

Honors Theses

In our swiftly changing society there are new terms emerging everyday. One such term is "culturally disadvantaged child." It has only been within the past few years that Americans have begun to recognize the urgency and complexity of the problem in educating disadvantaged children.

The designation of cultural deprivation should not be equated with any particular ethnic group, but should be defined in terms of characteristics of the individual and/or the characteristics of his environment. The disadvantaged child comes from a family with an annual income of less than $3000. There exists a high level of unemployment forcing a reliance …

The Influence Of Teachers' Behavior On Elementary Children, Lynda Bearden

Honors Theses

It is in the classroom that a child has to first accept the authority of a relative stranger. This stranger, the child's teacher, rarely realizes the profound impact that her attitude, demands, and actions make on that child.

One area in which the classroom teacher wields a frightening amount of influence is in the personality development of her students. It is imperative that the teacher be happy in the profession and that she like children if she is to have a positive effect on them. Too often a student discovers that she isn't suited to classroom teaching only after she …