Education Commons^™

Teaching Place-Based Science In Kindergarten, Lucy Atkins

Capstones, Research Projects, and Curricula

This action research explores how kindergarten students learn about forces and motion through inquiry-based, place-based methods. The learning took place as part of an existing day spent learning outdoors, known as Forest Monday, that includes extended time for free play. The three sub-questions addressed 1) science content learning, 2) science practice application, and 3) the incorporation of science content and practices into free play time outdoors. It was a mixed-methods study, with science assessment data supporting observations and interviews. The participants were 12 kindergarten students in a rural elementary school. All students were assessed and interviewed but observations were focused …

Community Driven Student Leadership: The Doce Approach, Courtney Caouette, Jordan O'Hearn, Stacy Henson-Drake, Michaela Stone, Gabrielle Lodge

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Universities and the communities in which they reside must maintain an interdependence to thrive. The USM LAC Druker Office of Community Engagement (DOCE) follows a unique model of student-faculty collaborative leadership to model how public universities can partner with their communities. Developing long-lasting community-university relationships holds mutual benefits. DOCE connects students, faculty and staff with over 90 community partners. As a synergetic cooperative team, we believe community engagement is essential in the growth and learning of the whole student, faculty and staff of USM.

Our recent Community-Based Participatory Research (CPBR) works in integrating the classes and curriculum of the Social …

One School, One Family: Portland High School Climate In The Age Of Trump, Naomi Abrams Hawkes

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The 2016 U.S. presidential election led to one of the most contentious seasons in American politics. Citing the inflammatory rhetoric of public figures, a growing body of literature documents a dramatic increase in bias-­‐related bullying and feelings of anxiety in K-12 schools across the country since the 2016 election. Using student and faculty interviews/focus groups, secondary data analysis, and direct observations, this case study offers a comprehensive examination of the effects of the substance and tone of the current sociopolitical climate on students at Portland High School. Data was analyzed and suggestions made for administration to help create a more …

The “Evil Eye” And Other Prescriptive Classroom Management Practices, Hannah Luken

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Teachers often struggle with classroom discipline and management, and school psychologists are well positioned to offer guidance to them. To fulfill this consultative role, school psychologists must know the classroom management strategies taught in teacher training, and later implemented in the classroom. Current classroom discipline and management textbooks provide insight into current classroom management practices taught to teachers. Traditional classroom management practices involve consequences to reduce interfering behaviors based on the form of the student’s behavior. For example, if a student is talking to a peer without permission, a common strategy is to send a nonverbal signal like the “evil …

Empowering Metacognition In The Writing Center, Katelyn Parsons, Deanna Richards, Garrett Erb, Jake Angelico, Vic Schalk

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Anxiety about writing often impedes students from writing. This “writing paralysis” is often seen at the Writing Center. In order to become better writers, writers need to reflect, ask questions, and practice writing. These strategies enable the development of a metacognitive process that empowers student writers to understand why certain rhetorical conventions are chosen over others. The Writing Center encourages metacognition by facilitating writing strategies with student writers. This project explores how the Writing Center’s work assists the process of metacognition by asking questions about student writing processes and drawing on students’ knowledge of different genres and intended audiences. We …

Telling Room: Color In Action, Ryan Poag, Meaghan Gonsior

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The Telling Room is a nonprofit writing center in Portland that helps young writers ages 6 to 18 build confidence, strengthen literacy skills, and provide real opportunities for students to display their creativity for audiences. Every year they approach creative writing through a unique theme to help keep young writers engaged. Their anthology’s theme this year is COLORS. Colors can symbolize and illustrate various aspects of life including human emotion, energy levels, and cultural phenomena. Using the connection between color and creativity, we have embarked on a project to produce a series of six short videos based on the colors …

Cognitive Assessment Of Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students:Evidence For Current Practices, Aaron Pomeranz, Hannah Luken

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Evidence from placement data show that culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students are over-identified for learning and intellectual disabilities (Donovan & Cross, 2002). Cognitive assessments play a central role in correctly identifying CLD students for special education services. This study reviewed the literature to determine support for three methods of cognitive assessment with CLD students. Search results revealed that although there was considerable research supporting the use of the Cultural-Linguistic Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM) and Nonverbal Assessment, there was also much research disputing their use. Much of the support the C-LIM and Dual Language Assessment was not from peer reviewed research. …

Social And Emotional Learning In Portland Public High Schools, Makenzie Thompson

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) can be defined as, “the capacity to recognize and manage emotions, solve problems effectively, and establish positive relationships with others; competencies that clearly are essential for all students. Thus, SEL targets a combination of behaviors, cognitions, and emotions to better students in school and prepare them for the world after”(Zins et al., 2003,p.1). Emerging evidence suggests that schoolwide and teacher-focused interventions involving a social and emotional learning framework are among the most effective approaches for improving student behavioral outcomes and student success in school (Anyon, et al., 2016). The aim of this study was to …

Occupational Therapy Led Handwriting Programs In General Education, Angela Hamel, Collin Skilling

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

PIO: Does integrating occupational therapy led handwriting programs into a classroom’s curriculum improve overall handwriting in all children?

Conflict Competence Among Undergraduates: Exploring The Impact Of Fear Of Negative Evaluation, Erica E. Leighton Ma

All Student Scholarship

According to a study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workplace conflict costs employers up to $359 billion annually (as cited by CPP Global, 2008). Considering this cost, teaching the current generation of college students to effectively manage conflict is a charge for colleges and universities who aim to prepare students to successfully enter the workforce after graduation. Current methods of conflict resolution training, however, lack consistency and show varying levels of success. Developing effective tools depends on a clear understanding of barriers students face in learning to effectively resolve conflicts. In looking to examine these barriers, this study explored …