Education Commons^™

Self-Monitoring Of Reading Comprehension In Secondary English Language Arts Classrooms, Rachel E. Ford

Honors Theses

This thesis consists of a literature review focusing on self-monitoring and reading comprehension and a capstone project creating a unit plan to integrate self-monitoring into the secondary English Language Arts classroom. The literature review showed that self-monitoring is an effective practice to improve student's comprehension and creates a more mindful learning experience. The capstone project, a set of lesson plans, has a variety of worksheets and tools to allow teachers to utilize self-monitoring while still meeting Common Core State Standards.

The Impact Of Expectations On Student Perceptions, Taylor A. Huey

Honors Theses

The impact of expectations on student achievement has been researched for decades. My study began with the intention of researching and recording the impact of my own expectations on low-achieving students. However, the focus of my research evolved after meeting and building relationships with my students. After observing the exceedingly low standards my students held for themselves, my interest shifted to how expectations impacted students' self-perceptions. I recorded my observations of their attitudes, behaviors, and work ethic throughout the year; I also gave them an anonymous survey at the end of the year questioning them about their aspirations for the …

The Impact Of Community Service In The Classroom Setting: A Research Study, Julie Dunn

Honors Theses

Community service has been linked to different psychological benefits. The field of positive psychology is growing and the purpose of the present study was to expand this research by examining other psychological benefits to those who participate in community service. We examined this relationship when community service is a requirement for the class. We compared Community Service Learning (CSL) participants with non-CSL participants of the same course. Participants completed questionnaires that assessed flourishing, self-esteem, serenity, gratitude, and their views about community service at the beginning (before completing community service) and at the end the semester. Contrary to our hypothesis, there …

Social And Emotional Learning And Its Implementation In A Standard 9th Grade English Language Arts Curriculum, Mary Kathryn Barry

Honors Theses

The basis of the thesis is to examine effective teacher practices through the research of social and emotional learning, examining both teacher behavior and best teaching practices and how these two influences impact students' reception of the curriculum. The literature review will be divided in three parts: a pedagogical overview, the importance of critical reflection for teachers, and how empathy, in partnership with other thinking operations and qualities of character, effect student's capacity to connect to the curriculum. Following the literature review is a curriculum design. This curriculum design serves to demonstrate an example of how social and emotional learning …

Philosophies In Action: A Personal And Analytical Look Into Reflective Teaching, Ryley Blomberg

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I will address the implementation of reflective teaching into everyday practice and how this reflective teaching impacts teacher actions and decisions in classrooms and schools. I engaged in reflective teaching for a semester of my student teaching practicum experience, focusing extensively on my philosophy of education, its evolution, and its implementation. Additionally, I interviewed in-service teachers at a rural Mississippi high school on how they engage in reflective practice and implement their philosophies into their teaching daily. The research from both the journals and interviews was uploaded into a qualitative data analysis software where it was analyzed, …

Using Their Own Voices: Exploring The Writing Of English Language Learners In A Mississippi Middle School, Gabrielle Lynn Vogt

Honors Theses

In the United States, and particularly Mississippi, the number of K-12 English Language Learners is growing rapidly. Writing scores are on a national decline, and ELLs are struggling to acquire the language and literacy skills to become proficient writers in English. However, there are various instructional approaches that provide ELLs the opportunity to use and expand their writing skills beyond a basic ability. Despite this, little is being done to give ELLs the opportunity to express themselves and their identities while also acquiring stronger writing skills. As a preservice teacher, I developed a mixed methods research study that explored the …

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.

Arts Education: A Philanthropic Priority?, Clare Murray

Honors Theses

Through restricted donations, donors to private, independent not-for-profit US art museums are able to affect the prioritization of museum activities. Using annual data from museums’ Form 990s and AAMD survey responses, I test whether restricted giving affects a museum’s educational programming by analyzing the effect of restricted assets on education department performance indicators. I find that a percentage point increase in permanently restricted assets as a proportion of total assets is associated with a 0.1876 percentage point increase in education expenses as a share of total expenses. Through qualitative informational interviews, I recognize this impact as evidence that arts education …

Creating Effective Mental Health Programs In Rural Middle Schools: A Case Study Of Challenges, Policy And Programming, Katelyn Kempf

Honors Theses

Using a case study approach, this study investigated the current status of mental health programs and resources within a specific middle school in Eastern Rural Pennsylvania. Interviews were conducted with a school counselor, principal, teacher, social worker and mental health liaison in order to uncover the perceived strengths and weaknesses of mental health resources at this school, and the perceived barriers to providing mental healthcare. Data analysis revealed that the main barriers included parental involvement, parental follow-through, transportation and funding. Further questions were identified for future research within this school in order to create specific recommendations for improvement. Additionally, a …

Launch-Explore-Summarize In High School Calculus, Nate Mattis

Honors Theses

Current research on high school calculus instruction indicates that students often possess a procedural knowledge of differentiation and integration as opposed to a conceptual knowledge (Orton, 1983; Ferrini-Mundy & Graham, 1994). Given the prominence of traditional lecture and textbook-based calculus classes in the United States, students are not always given the opportunity to expand their conceptual knowledge of essential calculus concepts. This project introduces calculus students to a more active and communal method of teaching: Launch-Explore-Summarize (LES) (CMP, n.d.). This methodology places students at the center of their learning and emphasizes inquiry-based thinking during a class. Specifically, two LES lessons …

The Impact Of Various Instructional Strategies On Student Engagement With Mathematics, Sidney Scott

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to investigate the variation of student engagement with mathematics depending on the instructional method implemented in a secondary classroom. I looked into the strategies of lecture, group sessions, and direct instruction. In order to compare the student engagement among the methods, I developed a checklist instrument to verify when students were engaged based on seven indicators of engagement — teacher-led questions, student-led questions, showing work on the board, group work, growth between formative assessments, nonverbal engagement, and the use of differentiation. My findings show that the group sessions scored higher on the engagement indicator …

The Impact Of Social Wellness Integration On Fifth Grade Students' Positive Social Behaviors, Kathryn Harrison

Honors Theses

In recent years, schools across the United States have encountered increased pressure to focus solely on academic performance (Dillow & Snyder, 2007). Therefore, time allotted to developing fundamental social skills needed to improve the well-being of children in elementary school has decreased. However, social skills are essential to educating the overall well-being of children (Clinton, West, and Wilson, 2017). Benefits associated with social wellness education include relationship skills, responsible decision making skills, and consideration of well-being of self and others. These are all important to lifelong success (Burrow, Patrick, Kyzer, & Mckelvey 2016). To address these concerns, this study examined …

An Examination Of Mississippi Teachers' Likelihood To Report Child Sexual Abuse And The Potential Effect On The Rates Of Victim Disclosure, Marjorie M. Cox

Honors Theses

Within the last year alone, hundreds of news reports have swept the United States about the experiences of sexually abused children, shocking citizens with chilling accounts from both perpetrators and victims. Once their initial reaction plays out, many people resume their daily lives with little thought to the details or repercussions of the abuse; after all, incidents of that nature only befall other peoples' children. How does this secondary response affect child victims? Are children more or less likely to divulge their abuse with a societal response such as this? These are questions that the researcher sought to answer within …