Education Commons^™

The Science Of Reading And The Use Of Decodable Texts In The Classroom, Anna Hudson

Honors Theses

This honors thesis includes a definition and explanation of the Science of Reading research, decodable texts and how they are used in the classroom, my creative process in writing my own decodable text, and a copy of my original decodable text "Can Meg Get In?"

Pediatric Anxiety Disorders And Their Accommodation In The Classrom, Olivia Hobson

Honors Theses

This project is an exploration of the origins, neurology and impacts of pediatric anxiety disorders, as well as the research-backed best practices for their accomodation within the school classroom setting.

A Comparative Analysis Of Japan And United States School Lunch Programs, Julie Phillips

Honors Theses

Question: Are school lunch policies and programs in Japan beneficial and applicable to the United States?

Main points: Japan has a certification program that allows dietitians to teach nutrition. Japan also includes agricultural experiences as part of its academic curriculum to promote holistic development in students.

Conclusion: The School Lunch program in the United States would benefit from providing an avenue through which dietitians are able to teach students nutrition and from increasing the number of schools involved in Farm to School so that more students have experiences with nature.

Reducing Barriers To Education Around The World: A Systematic Framework Using The Community School Model, Isabella Bejarano

Honors Theses

Proposing a systematic framework for reducing barriers to education around the world is necessary to effectifely address the multifaceted needs of global communities. The Community School Model provides one such framework which can provide evidence-based strategies for school improvement in diverse areas.

Education Opportunities For The Aspiring Aquatic Professional: A Qualitative Analysis Of Experience-Based Building Blocks For Success, Hannah Hickman

Honors Theses

While recent growth in the aquatics industry requires professionals to be more skilled and knowledgeable than ever before, educational opportunities for students pursuing this career are limited. There is not an all-encompassing course or degree program titled, "How to be an Aquatic Professional." This study utilizes interviews from 10 aquatic professionals regarding their experiences and opinions on this topic to explore the need for promoting aquatics education to students and to help outline a series of building blocks that students could potentially take to pursue a career as an aquatic professional. It attempts to answer the question: How do educational …

What We Do For Each Other: Assessing Disparity In K-12 Education Across The State Of Arkansas, Noah K. Sanders

Honors Theses

This thesis observes data and attempts to draw conclusions about disparities plaguing K-12 Arkansas schools inside and outside the classroom.

Putting The Fun In Foreign Language: Defining And Justifying Leisure Language Learning And The Implications For Foreign Language Educators And Students, Graca Webster

Honors Theses

In a world where learning a foreign language has never been more accessible than it is right now, many people believe that the endeavor is beyond their capabilities and an unworthy use of their time. In Western civilizations, there has been a serious decrease in true hobby/leisure activities over the last 15 years. With technological innovations like social media that provide endless hours of scrolling, media streaming services such as Netflix, and even regular cable TV, we have access to endless entertainment that decreases the desire to have a hobby. In March 2020, worldwide lockdowns due to Covid-19 kept most …

Fostering Language Development And Literacy In Children From Birth To Two Years Old, Vanessa Vives

Honors Theses

This thesis explores what language is and how its development can impact literacy. It includes a brochure with practical tips for parents and guardians to foster language and literacy development in children from birth to two years old.

English Language Learners In The General Education Classroom, Jolie Crane

Honors Theses

English Language Learners are often thrown into the mix of education without much support. This work takes a look into the different ways that general education teachers can support these students while maintaining a regular classroom function.

Teaching Music In The Age Of Zoom: How To Run A Multimedia Piano Studio, Anna Grace Leicht

Honors Theses

This work explores the effects of Covid-19 on teaching and details how to set up and market an online piano studio.

Equitable Education For Haiti, Breanna Parker

Honors Theses

This thesis delves into the country of Haiti's educational system to discover equitable ways to introduce new ideas into its system.

What Animals Teach Us, Christina Beger

Honors Theses

This thesis explored folktales from different cultures and compared and contrasted how those cultures viewed certain animals. From this research, I created and taught applicable fifth-grade English Language Arts lesson plans.

Math Anxiety From All Angles, Katie Harmon

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to display the causes and impacts of math anxiety for students, especially in secondary education, and how to prevent math anxiety or help students with math anxiety. Three main groups, teachers, parents, and students, are discussed in this thesis. Overall, research is used to emphasize the significance and relevance of math anxiety and the ability of teachers and parents to help prevent the development or increased intensity of math anxiety for individual students.

Providing Windows, Mirrors, And Sliding Glass Doors: Incorporating Diverse Short Fiction In The High School English Classroom, Emily Koonce

Honors Theses

My thesis serves as a starting point for English educators wishing to incorporate diverse fiction into their classrooms. This guide, which includes an introduction, notes on cultural responsiveness, background on each author, discussion guides, and standards-aligned activities using short stories. My thesis is not meant to be an end-all-be-all for inclusion but rather a starting place for helping students feel seen, heard, and connected.

Utilizing Technology As A Means Of Teacher Professionalism, Jordan Ford

Honors Theses

A key component of professionalism in education lies in each teacher’s personal commitment to professional development. Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching acts as a guide for novice and seasoned teachers alike in this endeavor. A common theme seen throughout the framework is the need for teachers to meet students where they are. Today’s children are growing up in a technology-driven world, and they need educators to rise to the challenge of integrating technology into the classroom in order to equip them for adulthood.

A Unique, Project-Based, Microcourse To Teach The Fundamental Concepts Of Quantum Mechanics, Elijah Begin

Honors Theses

Spyder, a Scientific Python Development Environment, provides an easy-to-use software that can be used to generate data from quantum mechanical systems. This project proposes and explores a microcourse which takes advantage of this utility to teach undergraduates the fundamentals of quantum mechanics.

Teachers' Knowledge And Perceptions Of Children Who Stutter, Kathryn Knight

Honors Theses

A teacher's knowledge about stuttering and perceptions of children who stutter increases positivity with years of teaching experience and the number of hours of special needs-in-service.

Parent Knowledge Regarding The Relationship Between Literacy And Language Development, Emily Pankiewicz

Honors Theses

Countless research articles support the connection between literacy and language development. This project explores the knowledge parents have about this connection. The paper first summarizes key findings and provides background information about the relationship between literacy and language development. Then, it discusses the results of a survey performed by the researcher. The first section of the survey collected demographic information and the second section contained 16 statements about the relationship between literacy and language development. Survey participants indicated the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with each statement, based on their previous knowledge.

Three main questions were addressed in …

Les Femmes Capables: A Supplementary Curriculum Teaching Survival English To Female Senegalese Ells, Abigail Morse

Honors Theses

My thesis examines the contrast between a Muslim man’s opportunity to learn English versus his wife's, who, in a traditional context, would be limited by social obligations to her home and family's welfare. I look specifically at the roles of Muslim Senegalese women. I provide basic cultural context and teaching methods to ESL teachers. I also provide basic vocabulary lists and lesson plans about important situations such as "going to the doctor." The language needed to complete daily tasks is not taught in general language classes, and my goal is to change that.

Reading Between The Lines: Exploring Literacy, The Science Of Reading, And The R.I.S.E. Initiative, Ashly Stracener

Honors Theses

I am passionate about the topic of literacy and believe it is a fundamental human right. Through my thesis, I explore why literacy is so important for individuals and society as a whole by exploring the history of how reading has been taught, how the science of reading has impacted how reading is now taught, such as with Arkansas's new Reading Initiative for Student Excellence reading initiative. Ultimately, by exploring the process of reading and the new initiative, I want to provide a new and deeper appreciation for the value of literacy.

Visual Arts Education For Grades 6-12 In Arkansas And Its Changes Since The Twentieth Century, Callie Anna Dunlap Oxner

Honors Theses

The field of education in the United States has changed greatly in many ways since its foundation. No longer do students meet in small log cabins with all ages together to learn the basics of a few practical subjects before returning to regular life. The federal government seeks to provide consistently updated standards for how children of all ages should be instructed and have frequently modernized the education system. From creating mandated subjects of learning, such as math, science, reading, writing, foreign languages, and art, raising teacher salaries, and instigating assessments to ensure complete subject literacy, America has shown in …

No Returns: Special Education In Sierra Leone, Abigail Adele Richett

Honors Theses

When I applied to travel to Sierra Leone in 2018, it was with the intent of researching special education in Freetown. In my mind, this meant researching schools and special services in a Sierra Leonean context. I had traveled to Sierra Leone twice before in 2013 and 2016, and I was aware that the school systems in Sierra Leone are a work in progress. Due to many factors, including the Civil War (1991-2002) and the more recent Ebola epidemic (2014-2016), the country is working to rebuild and develop its school system ("Sierra Leone Profile- Timeline," 2018). In 2015, 27% of …

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 …

Computer Science In The Elementary Classroom: The Basics, Mary Grace Belle Hill

Honors Theses

Computer Science is often ranked with Nuclear Physics or Biochemical Engineering; people understand it is an academic discipline, but have no desire to study or learn anything about it. With the introduction of Arkansas Computer Science Standards in the elementary classroom, many teachers wonder how to satisfy these and to do so without full knowledge of computer science and alongside all the other demands they must meet in the classroom. This paper covers my interest in computer science and why it is needed in elementary schools, specifically in Arkansas. It also incorporates the standards, including a chart of all the …

Stage: The Middle Schooler's Guide To Success, Kelsey Harrison

Honors Theses

For some, the thought of middle school brings back happy memories of JV sports, fine arts competitions, and lunch with friends. For others, thoughts of homework struggles, drama, and other adolescent woes come to mind. Whatever the words "middle school" bring back, it can be agreed by all that middle school is a time of change: biological changes, mental changes, and environmental changes. Amidst all of that, a middle school student's academic world changes as well. Grades K-2 were new and exciting adventures. In grades 3-5, most students settled into a comfortable academic routine. Suddenly they enter grades 6-8 and …

Market Expansion Challenge: Finnish School International, Shelby Reams

Honors Theses

The Finnish School International already operates in several countries and is ready to expand the Finnish education system to new locations around the world. Accordingly, the company is seeking your help with identifying new promising markets and developing a market entry strategy, including:

t. Identify the most promising new markets, analyze the market, and decide on the best market entry mode;

2. Develop a product promotion and marketing strategy for the proposed new market; 3. Work out the operations management strategy for the proposed new market.

Sustaining O-Gah-Pah: An Analysis Of Quapaw Language Loss And Preservation, Robert Desoto

Honors Theses

The story of the Quapaw, or Downstream People, and their language is an integral part of both the American Indian experience and the larger, universal tapestry of multilingualism. Despite historical setbacks and contemporary challenges, preserving the virtually extinct Quapaw language adds to the diverse cultural narrative of the Americas and shares a nation’s unique story with the rest of humanity. Consulting linguists, historical records, tribal members, and experts on indigenous studies, this project aims to answer questions concerning the state of the Quapaw tongue: how it arrived at virtual extinction, what is being done to preserve it, and the challenges …

Mind The Gap: Examining The Gap Between The United States Education System And The Top Education Systems In The World, Kaitlyn Clark

Honors Theses

Improving our educational system is a hot topic right now in the political and educational worlds. As a country, we are always striving for the best educational experience for our students, burt we are still faced with many challenges. According to the 2014 Pearson Index of Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment the United States is ranked as number fourteen in the world. While we have risen from number seventeen since 2012, we are still not even in the top ten. In 2012, Finland had the top educational system in the world and in 2014, South Korea had number one.

In …

A Comparison Of How The United States And England Educators Teach Reading, Katy Wood

Honors Theses

During my time of studying to be an early childhood education teacher at Ouachita Baptist University, I felt a calling to explore and become immersed in another culture. I had never been out of the country before, and I believed that in order to become a well-rounded teacher, I needed to learn how other countries' teachers taught their children. I chose to study abroad in Liverpool, England, at Liverpool Hope University. I took several classes at the university, but one of the most impactful things that I did while I was in England was observing in St. Leo's and Southmead …

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 …