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Full-Text Articles in Education
Writing To Learn Across Content Areas, Melissa Bertsch
Writing To Learn Across Content Areas, Melissa Bertsch
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Writing has predominantly been the relegated to literacy blocks at the elementary level and English language arts classes at the secondary level. Research shows that students need to write more, not only to improve their writing skills, but to improve their learning in all disciplines. This capstone traces the development of the write to learn movement, examines the connection between writing and the psychological processes of cognition and metacognition, as well as highlighting the sociocultural aspects of writing. This research shows that writing improves learning. The research then proceeds to highlight researchbased best practices in relation to write to learn …
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 …
Getting More Young Children Outdoors By Supporting And Encouraging Their Teachers, April Greibrok
Getting More Young Children Outdoors By Supporting And Encouraging Their Teachers, April Greibrok
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
This capstone thesis used an Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods (ESMM) research design to answer the question, How do we support and encourage teachers to take their early childhood classes outdoors? While anecdotally, and through literature review, there appear to be barriers to outdoor activities, e.g., policies and regulations, or lack of safe clothing or equipment, there also is an abundance of research on the benefits of having children spend time in nature, or with natural elements. In the early childhood setting the mixed method survey research identified actual-stated common barriers to spending time outside with a class. An initial quantitative …
Implementing Tier I And Ii Fluency Based Interventions In An Elementary Classroom, Shelley Rhein
Implementing Tier I And Ii Fluency Based Interventions In An Elementary Classroom, Shelley Rhein
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, how do regular education classroom teachers best use fluency based interventions in the classroom to accelerate fluency skills and improve comprehension? The project is a reference guide that includes a compilation of fluency based strategies for elementary teachers to use when creating an intervention plan for students to address reading fluency needs. The project integrates learnings from the research of reading behaviors, definitions and examples, fluency strategies, and assessments. The author based the information in her project on the most heavily researched, proven strategies for effective fluency instruction specifically by Rasinski, Allington, …
Electronic Portfolios: Best Practices To Help Increase Student Ownership And Engagement In The Third-Grade Classroom, Bridget Farrell
Electronic Portfolios: Best Practices To Help Increase Student Ownership And Engagement In The Third-Grade Classroom, Bridget Farrell
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This project was created to explore the question: what are the best practices related to implementing electronic portfolios that will help increase my third-grade students’ sense of ownership and engagement? The project presents a synthesis of the research related to electronic portfolios; including a definition of electronic portfolio, the various types of electronic portfolios, best implementation practices, and how best practices can help increase students’ sense of ownership and engagement. The project includes the creation of a professional development session aimed at building and improving other educators’ knowledge and practice with electronic portfolio implementation, to positively impact students' learning.
Culturally Responsive Teaching And Social Emotional Learning: A Self-Assessment Tool For Educators, Kathleen Kessler
Culturally Responsive Teaching And Social Emotional Learning: A Self-Assessment Tool For Educators, Kathleen Kessler
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, how can a culturally responsive framework be used to modify a social emotional curriculum so that it is linguistically and culturally relevant for middle school ELs? It documents one educators exploration of a variety of frameworks that could be used to enhance a social emotional curriculum, particularly when working with English Language Learners. Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm were two of the frameworks chosen to inform the creation of a tool to be used by educators as they plan, prepare and deliver a social emotional curriculum. The author …
Professional Development Sessions For Conceptual Understanding Of Mathematics In The Primary Classroom To Promote A Positive Mindset And Problem-Solving Skills, Brittany Erickson
Professional Development Sessions For Conceptual Understanding Of Mathematics In The Primary Classroom To Promote A Positive Mindset And Problem-Solving Skills, Brittany Erickson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research questions addressed in this project was, what are the best mathematical teaching practices for early elementary students to ensure they are prepared to transfer problem-solving skills to other areas of mathematics as well as other aspects of their lives? The author developed a series of two professional development sessions that focus on background knowledge and research in the area of mathematics, as well as effective teaching strategies that can be implemented into any primary mathematics classroom. It encompasses eight highly effective teaching practices influenced by the work of Huinker and Bill, to ensure students gain transferable conceptual math …
Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Professional Development Project, Rebecca Foster
Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Professional Development Project, Rebecca Foster
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Why does culture play such an important role in education? Can culturally responsive teaching positively affect elementary student behavior and academic effort? It is imperative that students and teachers know each other beyond the subjective cultural experiences that each may bring to the classroom, and that educators possess an understanding of diverse cultures but not stereotype people into a one-size-fits-all cultural mold. Students need to be related to as full, complex, multidimensional people. It is more important now than ever to focus on student culture and learning differences. The political environment has changed so drastically in the last few years …
The Power Of One Good Book: Creating An Independent Reading Program In An Alternative School To Help Promote Literacy, John Forestell
The Power Of One Good Book: Creating An Independent Reading Program In An Alternative School To Help Promote Literacy, John Forestell
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, how can a self-selected reading or sustained, silent reading (SSR) program be implemented to improve its effectiveness and positively create a culture of independent readers? By looking at years of research surrounding SSR, and pragmatic practices, it outlines one teacher’s approach to revitalizing a stagnating independent reading program in a small alternative school setting. By using the foundational work of Pilgreen, Krashen, and others, he layed out a professional development series that called for systemic changes in the SSR initiative. This professional development is further carried into the school year through a …
Informing Educators On Best Practices For Former Refugee English Language Learners, Sarah Kiiskila
Informing Educators On Best Practices For Former Refugee English Language Learners, Sarah Kiiskila
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Teachers need to be able to teach all their students, including students who have been in refugee situations and have experienced trauma due to fleeing their home countries.There are many people leaving their home countries for a variety of reasons and many are experiencing gaps in their literacy i.e., SLIFE students. In order to address the question How can I inform educators about best practices for teaching former refugee English Language Learners? research was done and four professional development sessions were made to inform educators on best practices for students who have been in refugee situations. To teach these students …
Examining The Effectiveness Of An Esl Teacher Observation Tool, Hetal Ascher
Examining The Effectiveness Of An Esl Teacher Observation Tool, Hetal Ascher
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
This research investigates the effectiveness of a teacher created ESL teacher observation tool. This paper argues that although commonly used tools such as the Charlotte Danielson Framework (2013) exist, they do not fully meet the needs of ESL teachers. A mixed methods study was conducted in order to compare the Charlotte Danielson (2013) rubric to the ESL Teacher Observation Tool in terms of language related feedback. Principals from a Midwestern school district conducted evaluations based on a video clip using both tools, and subsequently, principals were interviewed. The ESL Teacher Observation Tool appeared to yield more language-instruction related feedback in …
Effective Technology Policies: How To Create And Implement An Effective Policy For Personal Devices In Secondary Schools, Elizabeth Doffing
Effective Technology Policies: How To Create And Implement An Effective Policy For Personal Devices In Secondary Schools, Elizabeth Doffing
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
As technology is ever-changing, becoming more expansive in its uses, and is becoming more accessible to children, administrators need to plan ahead and decide how their schools are going to approach personal devices in the classroom. This project and research paper explore the question: How do secondary schools create and implement an effective technology policy for personal devices in their schools? The author claims that technology policies for personal devices fall under one of three categories: 1) banned use of personal devices, 2) restricted use of personal devices, and 3) required use of personal devices. The research from the literature …
The Impact Of Newsela On Disciplinary Content Area Literacy To Improve Vocabulary Instruction, Nicole Anderson
The Impact Of Newsela On Disciplinary Content Area Literacy To Improve Vocabulary Instruction, Nicole Anderson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, what is the impact of Newsela on developing disciplinary content area literacies to improve vocabulary instruction? The author describes the process of researching and creating a literacy action plan developed for the purpose of providing secondary schools with the timeline and implementation tasks for engaging students in authentic literacy experiences in all content areas. Research around effective literacy plans, specifically by Irvin, Meltzer, and Dukes assisted in development of goals, implementation tasks, and criteria for success. The author defines the key components of this plan, detailing new learnings and struggles throughout the …
Supporting Mental Health Concerns In Prospective College Students: Resources For Admission Professionals, Rachael Newman
Supporting Mental Health Concerns In Prospective College Students: Resources For Admission Professionals, Rachael Newman
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, how can admission professionals identify and support prospective college students struggling with mental health concerns? Mental health is a growing topic of concern in education and the project was inspired by the increasing need for identification and support for students suffering from mental health distress. Research focuses on the impact of mental health concern identification and support, the social impact on help-seeking behaviors and disclosure, and the current position of colleges and K-12 schools in supporting mental health. The project is influenced by the literature review and the research found on the …
Critical Literacy And Engagement In Special Education, Sara Nelson
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 …
Finding The Best Co-Teaching Model For Both Teachers, Diane Engebretson
Finding The Best Co-Teaching Model For Both Teachers, Diane Engebretson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, how can teachers choose the best co- teaching model to support all of their students? The primary focus of this project was on teaching co-teachers the different models used in a co-taught classroom and how they can be utilized effectively to meet the needs of their students. She documents her own success and struggles in her co-teaching experiences and related research to the context of the project. The project is focused on a professional development session and concludes that: 1) there is not a “one size fits all” co-teaching model that all …
Educational Assistants And Classroom Management: Increasing Self-Efficacy, Justin Theodotou
Educational Assistants And Classroom Management: Increasing Self-Efficacy, Justin Theodotou
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, how can educational assistants increase their self-efficacy of established classroom management strategies at an urban charter school? The project documents the creation of a quick reference guide for educational assistants (E.A.s) in a local education agency (LEA) on the topic of classroom management. The project uses the two established classroom management systems already in use in the LEA as its base. The quick reference guide is designed in such a way that E.A.s can reference it on the go, take it home to study, and practice the skills in real-time, giving them …