Education Commons^™

Implementing Equitable And Effective Practices For Dual-Identified Learners, Annelise Walsh

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Walsh, A. (2023). Implementing Equitable and Effective Practices for Dual-Identified Learners English learners in special education make up approximately 1% of students in the United States. As the overall population of English learners rapidly increases, so does this population of dual-identified learners. Educators often do not receive adequate preparation to support dual-identified learners, and misconceptions that these students do not require services in both areas still persist in American public schools. Additionally, disproportionality of English learners in special education remains an ongoing issue. As a result, dual-identified learners are a misunderstood and underserved population. This capstone seeks to answer the …

Dear Education System, It’S You, Not Me: Burnout In Elementary Special Education Teachers, Bernadette Putman-Bailey

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Putman-Bailey, B. (2023). Dear education system, it’s you, not me: Burnout in elementary special education teachers. Burnout is not new to the education system as there seems to be a news article around burnout in the teaching profession and the shortage of teachers nationwide. Minnesota is not immune to this problem, but it is particularly true in special education. Special education teacher positions are the most difficult to recruit and retain for school districts in Minnesota. This research focused on the phenomenon of burnout in elementary special education teachers in urban and suburban areas of Minneapolis. The primary research question …

Special Education Diploma Acquisition And Transition Planning In Alternative School: An Authentic, Individualized Approach, Margaret Hoehn

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Minnesota allows for students to graduate upon successful completion of their Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals, colloquially known as an IEP-driven diploma or an “IEP diploma.” While districts and schools may have their own requirements for this process, guidance from the state only specifies that the IEP team facilitates this process and that annual IEP goals and supporting objectives should be written to support students’ transition goals. The planning framework at the center of this project is designed to support educators in developing culturally sustaining, student-centered goals and objectives for students with disabilities who are graduating via IEP-driven diplomas. It …

The Impact Of Universal Learning Strategies On Teacher Burnout In A Project-Based-Learning Secondary School, Benjamin Tuthill

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses the question: how do universal learning strategies impact teacher burnout at a project-based-learning secondary school? Interventions against teacher burnout frequently emphasize psychological strategies such as mindfulness exercises and cognitive-behavioral therapy despite inconsistent evidence that these practices have a significant impact on measurable burnout. This study presents an alternative and explores the impact of pedagogical practice on teacher burnout. Recent studies suggest that decreased workload and increased teacher/student autonomy lead to decreased levels of burnout; as a result, this study measures the impact of universal learning, a low-workload, high-autonomy pedagogy most prominently studied in the work of political …

How To Create A Successful Learning Environment For Students With Challenging Behaviors, Kristin Otto

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

As an experienced special education teacher working with a range of school districts, I have observed the need for further training on how to manage challenging behaviors within our schools. Though there are many researched based strategies available for helping educators manage challenging behaviors, there are very few trainings that guide educators to program for students with challenging behaviors. With teacher shortages at all-time high in the state of Minnesota, and schools working hard to provide inclusive classrooms, the need for further training for educators appears to be at the forefront. This project on: How to create successful learning environments …

How Can Informal Environmental Education Curriculum And Pedagogy Be More Inclusive For Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd) Students?, Claire Dobie

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

It is becoming common for teachers of all subjects to gain training or take courses that specifically help them integrate environmental education (EE) into their core subject (Dada et al., 2018). At times, formal educators will team up with informal environmental educators to offer such opportunities. Informal educators, while well-versed in environmental activities, topics and issues, may not have an understanding of how to teach. This means that those who do not learn well in a traditional classroom may struggle to take part in EE. Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are an example of individuals that learn in a …

Implicit Racial Bias And Placement Processes In Education, Alyson Sartain

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The awareness of implicit bias has grown significantly since 1977. Its subconscious and automatic processing effects are found to be significant factors in explicit action and attitudes in schools. There is an increased need for creating an equitable schooling experience for students in schools. Current literature suggests that there is a significance in teacher implicit racial bias in the classroom which leads to the inequity and disproportionality of exceptionality classes. A noted disproportionality in race for exceptionality classes in both Individuals with Disabilities Act and Every Student Succeeds Act urged the question: How can teachers’ recognition of their own implicit …

Effective Teaching Of Embedded Phonics Instruction In A Middle School Special Education Resource Room, Amanda Nichols

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone addresses a gap in middle school instruction for students identified for special education services in reading. In Minnesota’s state standards, phonics instruction is only required through 5th grade (Minnesota Department of Education, 2011). However, students in middle school and beyond still may be learning to read past 5th grade. This research question is: What is the most effective way to integrate phonics instruction into reading lessons in a middle school, resource room special education classroom? This paper introduces what phonics is, the reason phonics should be integrated into reading instruction, a framework for embedded phonics, a description of …

Finding Fit In The Science Classroom: Applying Self-Determination Theory To Twice-Exceptional Students, John Burrell

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

In line with self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 2000; Ryan and Deci, 2017), this thesis explored how practices employed in a classroom between November 2020 through January 2021 affected satisfaction of students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Thirteen twice-exceptional students (gifted and learning disabled) between grades 4-10 participated in this mixed-methods study at an independent school in the upper midwest. Additionally, four of the thirteen students were selected as case studies to be interviewed and observed throughout the study period. This study explored how the implementation of needs-supportive practices, along with COVID-19 mitigation strategies (including distance-learning), affected …

Effective Social Skills Curriculum For Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders That Focuses On Skill Generalization Across Settings, Jessica Waterstreet

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Finding creative and engaging ways to effectively teach social skills to students with emotional and behavioral disorders is a common goal for many special education teachers. Additionally, finding ways to increase the generalization of these skills across setting and post-high school, is another important goal area that student teams work to address as they develop meaningful transition plans. This capstone project answers the question, what specific research based practices can be used in the development of a curriculum that focuses on both social skill acquisition and generalization across settings? This capstone project includes a six week unit that focuses on …

Minnesota School Forest Program: An Evaluation And Exploration Of Implementations, Madisson Weier

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources School Forest Program through answering the following questions: what are the strengths and limitations of the School Forest Program; What are the impacts of individual teacher objectives on the utilization and implementation of the School Forest Program? These questions were investigated using data collected from a survey sent to School Forest Coordinators as well as a data request to the Department of Natural Resources. This study found that participants in the School Forest Program feel that their School Forests add many positive benefits to their classrooms …

What Social-Emotional Learning Looks Like In The High School Special Education Setting, And How It Benefits Students With Emotional Or Behavioral Disorders, Emily O’Rourke

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question that this capstone project addressed was, What does social-emotional learning look like in the high school special education setting, and how does it benefit students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders? The research conducted encompassed social-emotional learning theory, special education - the category of emotional or behavioral disorders, and adolescent development. After a number of recent studies done on adolescent students who received social-emotional skill building were read and documented, it was determined that social-emotional learning instruction is beneficial for high school students receiving special education services under the category of emotional or behavioral disorders. Following the research, …

Identifying Reading Interventions Appropriate For Middle School Students With Learning Disabilities In Inclusive Classroom Settings, Mary Douthitt

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this Capstone project was, what are effective reading interventions for middle school students with learning disabilities that will enable them to achieve academic progress in an inclusive classroom? Including students with learning disabilities in the general education setting can improve outcomes in self-perception, social relationships, and academic achievement, but providing effective instruction in an inclusive setting is complex. At the secondary level, inclusive, co-taught classrooms include a special education teacher who typically has training in differentiation strategies but not core content, and a general educator who is a content expert but has not had preparation …

Assessing The Limitations Of Interventions-Focused Case Studies In Influencing Positive Outcomes For Students With Ebd, Stephen Watkins

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has demonstrated that the population of students diagnosed with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders (EBD) has not demonstrated noticeably improved long-term academic and social outcomes in at least the last 20 years. The research questions that are addressed in this capstone project are: What are the limitations of interventions-focused case studies in the practical increase of positive outcomes for students at risk for or diagnosed with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders at the secondary level? What are best practices in the classroom for students with EBD that compensate for these study limitations? The research begins with the establishment of the author’s …

Assessing English Language Learners For Special Education Services, Emily Grams

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The importance of understanding how to assess ELs for special education is a critical topic in the education field. According to Becker & Deris (2019) many school professionals lack the appropriate understanding of testing tools to properly assess and evaluate ELLs; once referred to an assessment team, the student has a greater than 50% chance of being identified as disabled. In order to better assess ELs, evaluation teams need to consider the whole student including their second language acquisition of English, culture, background, and their native language. Over the last decade, the amount of ELs and language minority students in …

How Can Teachers Empower Students With Learning Differences Towards An Equitable Education?, Samuel Ryan

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Students with learning differences and disabilities in today’s schools face numerous challenges towards an equitable learning experience. Educators and scholars have also developed mindsets and pedagogical approaches that aim to disrupt inequitable experiences for students with learning differences. This capstone examines the nature of challenges facing students with learning differences. It also shares ways teachers may empower students with learning differences despite the challenges they face. A presentation, resource guide, and reflective questions crafted for teachers’ professional development are included in this project to support teachers in learning how to empower students with learning differences.

Implementing Growth Mindset Learning In The Special Education English Language Arts Classroom, Jody Brenteson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The capstone question investigated in this project was, how can a growth mindset curriculum be successfully integrated in a special education English language arts classroom? It catalogues one teacher’s formation of an English Language Arts growth mindset curriculum intended for use in small group, special education ELA classrooms. The curriculum was designed by the author with the objective of developing a growth mindset in the guiding audience. Described herein is the proposed use of the curriculum as well as measurements of effectiveness and future implications on a teacher’s career, classroom development, and educational progress of her socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

An Equitable Educational Experience For All: Strategies For Secondary General Education Teachers To Meet The Learning Needs Of Special Education Students Learning In Their Classrooms, Joseph Z. Walker

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone project focuses on the issue of providing equitable educational experiences for all students. More specifically, the project examines the most effective strategies for secondary general education teachers to provide modifications, accommodations, and differentiation for special education students in the areas of instruction and assessment. A central tenet of contemporary special education policy is the principle of inclusion. In accordance with this principle, students with special needs are increasingly learning in the general education classroom among their peers. This places an additional responsibility upon general education teachers to ensure that they are meeting the unique learning needs of special …

A Reflective Approach To Building An Inclusive Classroom And School Community For Students In Special Education, Yama Moua

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Teachers today have a responsibility to teach a wide range of learners in the general education classroom. Federal laws in the United States such as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) were implemented to ensure that all children are held to higher expectations and with appropriate services to learn in public schools. At the same time, researchers have demonstrated that a teacher’s experience, lack of support in the classroom and varied belief on inclusive education can impact the outcome of achieving inclusion. The purpose of this research is …

Personalized Core Vocabulary Books In A Federal Four Special Education School, Carley Hoffman

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The world of special education has progressed through leaps and bounds over the past 25 or more years. Students who were previously underserved or not served at all are being fully included within the educational environment. Through teaching students with moderate to severe disabilities, the author determined that an area of special education that was lacking adequate supports was communication, specifically supports that included the use of alternative and augmentative communication. The area of core vocabulary is part of the best practice systems when supporting students who are non-verbal or are early communicators. Though this strategy was considered by many …

How Environmental Education Based Camps Can Create An Inclusive Opportunity To Ensure Children With Autism Have A Positive And Meaningful Experience, Emma Leslie

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

In a world that is becoming increasingly disconnected, environmental education has the ability to reach diverse audiences and create an environmentally literate community capable of making decisions that support sustainable practices. Diversity implies inclusion of all individuals, including those with autism. Autism is one of the most prevalent developmental learning disabilities in the United States and those with the neurobiological disorder experience challenges in areas such as social reasoning, language, cognition, sensory sensitivities and emotional regulation. Environmental education often occurs in informal learning environments, including day camp programs. While day camps provide the ideal setting for addressing deficits in peer …

Using Self-Regulated Strategy Development To Teach Middle School Writing, Julia Breen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Being able to write well is a skill critical to students’ success in higher education. Yet standardized test scores reveal that many students are moving into high school and college without these writing skills. Writing is a complex task; in addition to content knowledge, students must use self-regulation skills (including staying focused on the task, working through frustrations) to see success. This capstone project sought to answer the question: How can the teaching of self-regulated skills be integrated into lessons focused on developing the expository writing of middle school students? The result is a series of lesson plans that seek …

The Special Education Referral And Evaluation Process For English Language Learners, Celeste Norlander

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

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 back to issues within the referral and evaluation process. This project looks to answer the question: What accommodations need to be made to the special education process to ensure that English Language Learners are appropriately referred and evaluated? This project resulted

in a flowchart for each step in the special education referral and evaluation process. Research- based practices are presented for each step of the process. The flowchart was created …

Do You Have A Learning Disability?: Exploring The Experiences Of Hmong Students With Special Needs In A Public Hmong Charter School, Vang Xiong

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Special education has been criticized for the practice of over-representing culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education programs. Asian American students appeared to be immune to this problem. However, when the demographics of the Asian racial group are disaggregated into individual Asian ethnic groups, there is evident of disproportionality. The purpose of the study was to explore how a charter school, serving predominantly Hmong students, addresses the issue of disproportionality pertaining to the Hmong population. Through an ethnographic research approach, the researcher engaged in participant-observation, interviewing three tenth-grade, Hmong male students, and five school staff members. The researcher found …

The Relationship Between The Development Of Math Operation Proficiency And Student Confidence, Douglas Elfstrom

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question of this study was, What is the relationship between math operation fluency and a student’s confidence and perception of math in general? A multi-faceted intervention was developed to address both students’ multiplication fact proficiency and student confidence, with middle school students in Special Education. Pre and post assessment data was analyzed to determine the effect of this intervention on student fact proficiency and confidence. Findings suggest that students that progressed throughout the intervention period by mastering multiplication fact families also generally had an increase in math confidence. Implications for future work include determining how to improve this …

Critical Literacy And Engagement In Special Education, Sara Nelson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This Capstone addresses the research question, what is the effect of critical literacy practices on engagement in secondary special education classrooms? Motivated by a desire to provide secondary special educators with tools to meet diverse learner needs in innovative, engaging and challenging ways, the author chronicles the key experiences that led to the topic choice and reviews the literature related to the research question. Additionally, the document includes an overview of educator professional development methodology and an outline for the design of the final Capstone project. The project derived from this research includes a year-long professional development plan for secondary …

Text Sets For Social Justice, Jessica Buck

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Secondary students diagnosed as having an Emotional/Behavioral Disorder (EBD) are at an increased risk of performing below grade level in reading. The author explored the question of: How can EBD middle school students use social justice themes to develop critical literacy skills? Texts with social justice themes can increase engagement and motivation in reading, which may lead to an increased development of critical literacy skills. This capstone addressed the need, as revealed in the literature review, that secondary EBD classrooms have to be afforded opportunities to engage with multi-modal texts that reflect diverse and multiple perspectives, as well as explore …

Advancing Communication And Collaboration Between Multilingual And Special Education Departments: A Web-Based Model To Serve Dual Eligible Students, Stacy Severson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

There was at the time the project commenced, an unmistakable chasm not only between the two departments within the author’s school district, but also in literature in general, and the author’s goal was to create a living document where the two areas of expertise converged. The research question asked in this project was, how can communication between ESL (English as a second language) teachers and special education staff be improved to better serve dual eligible students? It documents one teacher’s creation of a website designed to assist ESL teachers who work with students who qualify for both ESL and special …

How Self-Regulated Strategy Development In Writing Eases The Transition From Special Education To Regular Education For Students With Learning Disabilities, Charlene K. Irvin-Brown

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The author’s own and her students’ struggles with writing encouraged her to research best practices in teaching written language in order to ease the transition of students with learning disabilities to the regular education classroom. She found that Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) along with teaching the writing as a recursive process had the highest effect size. She narrowed her research by focusing on the stages of SRSD and best practices for teaching writing. She also reviewed the Minnesota writing standards for third through fifth grade. The author created an eight-lesson curriculum that incorporated the stages of SRSD for teaching narrative …

Bridging The Communication And Collaboration Gap: A Project On Improving School Culture And Student Achievement, Sophia Raffaelle

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project was to analyze the impact communication and collaboration between special and general educators have on student achievement and school culture through a literature review. Additionally, the project was implemented to evaluate how different forms of communication can be used to begin to bridge the communication and collaboration gap that currently exists in a large-scale suburban school setting. The literature review defines and examines communication and collaboration and their implications in various settings, further specifying an educational setting. Furthermore, this project establishes meaning for the author, both professionally and personally, and its applications as well as …