Education Commons^™

Implementing Mindfulness To Promote Mental Health In Elementary School Students, Kathleen Dunlap-Demarco

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The practice of mindfulness has been around for thousands of years, however; the practice has just become more common in the Western world, and especially in the classroom. The purpose of this paper is to discover how implementing mindfulness promotes mental health in elementary school students. In order to find out just how mindfulness promotes mental health in the elementary classroom, the research that was done involved an extensive literature review on the topic of mindfulness, surveys and interviews with local teachers in the Tri-County area, and also reached out to teachers to be interviewed more in depth. The results …

Effects Of Mentorship On Empathy Development And Civility In An Upper School Community, Cassella M. Slater

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

This action research project investigated the effects of mentorship on empathy development and civility in an upper school classroom. The environment was a Montessori upper school with 21 children ages 6 through 13. It is a newer classroom; however, there is a level of incivility and indifference in their social behaviors. Data was collected using an interactions matrix, pre and post surveys, classroom behavior tally, and the Developmental Environmental Rating Scale before and after the intervention. Results showed civility and joy greatly increased over time. Individuals’ understanding of empathy showed a positive change. Overall, the classroom became more civil and …

Cultivating A Pedagogy Of Empathy: Teaching Science Fiction In A Changing Biotechnological World, Kathy L. Avery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

CULTIVATING A PEDAGOGY OF EMPATHY: Teaching Science Fiction in a Changing Biotechnological World

By

KATHY L. AVERY

(Under the Direction of John Weaver)

Abstract

I argue that science fiction affords us the ability to think past our anthropocentrism, opening up a space for us to consider our relationship to burgeoning biotechnologies and the other. I provide critical interpretations of science fiction film and literature, which I believe stimulate the power of the narrative imagination to envision the “netherworld experience of the other”. I believe science fiction provides a site of speculation, a means to better understand and consider the role …