Education Commons^™

Teaching Second-Grade Students To Write Expository Text, Angenette Cox Imbler

Theses and Dissertations

Writing is necessary to participate in public discourse. Much of today's communication is based on information, yet many students do not adequately learn how to write expository text. Learning to write is difficult, but expository text can be especially difficult as it requires knowledge of both a subject and special text structures. The purpose of this study was to give teachers a research-proven method for teaching students to write expository text and to give more information on how to evaluate students' writing. In this quasi-experimental quantitative research design, the expository writing of students before and after receiving a new science …

Science In Early Childhood Education, Olivia Kocina

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Science is often limited or absent in an early education classroom. It is important to give children an outlet to experience science in the classroom or through lesson plans. Having science at an early age can provide children the opportunities to build up their reasoning, to question things about the world, and later in life to feel more confident in other STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activities or areas. To address this need, I created a 3-day program for 3 to 5 year-olds at Little Learners of Aptos School in Aptos, California.

A Combined Approach To Evaluating Student Engagement In A Virtual Laboratory Environment, Aster Sigel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study measured student engagement with galvanic skin response (GSR) using a one group randomized pretest–posttest design in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning environment to develop effective intervention strategies for engaging students in STEM learning experiences. Student engagement is a multi-dimensional interrelated construct, consisting of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive components, and varies in different subjects and learning environments. Student engagement in higher education is associated with academic achievement, retention, and graduation. In this study, the emotional, behavioral, and cognitive engagement data of 30 college students were obtained using self-report surveys, observation and physiological data, which was recorded …

Does The Mathematics Level Affect Student Success In High School Physics?, Kassandra Surma

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this study was: does the mathematics class level affect student success in high school physics? Topics explored in the literature review include the context of science course sequencing, the history of physics education in the United States, the disconnect between mathematics and physics in education, the mindsets of parents, students, and teachers about mathematics and science curriculum, and educational policies that affect state standards for curriculum, and graduation. Participants’ previous mathematics class level and success in their high school physics course were studied to find any correlation. To accomplish this, participants’ previous mathematics course and …

Embedding Phenomena-Based Learning Practices Into A Middle School Science Curriculum, Allison Kubat

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The history of science education has seen dramatic changes since its formal introduction to school curriculum in the last half of the 1800s. Science has moved from a passive learning experience to much more active and student-driven pedagogy. In 2014, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were introduced and states have been adopting these since then. As a way to meet the demands of the NGSS, inquiry-based science lessons have been created. One branch of inquiry-based learning is using phenomena as a way to introduce new content and having students use prior knowledge and models to explain the science behind …

What Methods And Models Can Be Used To Translate Science To Levels Developmentally Appropriate To Be Taught In Preschool In The State Of Massachusetts?, Donna Phillips

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone project examines the changes in curriculum for early childhood education, specifically preschool aged children. In reviewing and learning about the history of preschool education and how its curriculum has evolved over time, this capstone project was developed to understand the question of, what are methods and models that can be used to translate science to levels developmentally appropriate to be taught in preschool in the state of Massachusetts? While preschool's curriculum main focus was in teaching fine and gross motor skills, research has shown that children as young as 3 years old are able to learn basic science, …

Designing Curriculum For Emerging English Learners: Using Science Themes To Teach Productive Academic Language In A High School El Classroom, Cassandra Chandler

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

English Language (EL) teachers often do not have a rigorous curriculum for Emerging students that uses grade-level themes to teach English language acquisition. Additionally, many of the commercially-available English language instructional materials do not have a strong focus on teaching academic speaking. At the same time, writing also continues to be an area of challenge for many ELs. This capstone project addressed the question: How can a science-themed curriculum be designed for Emerging-level high school English learners that focuses on teaching productive academic language? The literature reviewed showed that instruction in academic speaking and writing is incredibly important for ELs. …

Creating Environmental Education Programming And Access To Diverse Students, Heidi Hanson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The racial diversity of students in environmental education (EE) is minimal for a myriad of reasons. Factors that environmental educators can control in welcoming students to programming is content and teaching. Research on racial diversity, past and present environmental education, students’ land histories and different pedagogies that incorporate culture and address discrimination and justice inform educators how what and how to optimally teach racially diverse students to maintain engagement. Research finds that incorporating students’ cultures into teaching, representing diverse people in lessons, understanding systems of racism, how that impacts people’s actions along with finding ways to change and or confront …

The Relationship Between The Next Generation Content Area Reading Professional Development Program On The Effectiveness Of Teaching Literacy Strategies In High School Biology Classes, Tia Pridgen Brown

Dissertations

The need for effective content area reading teachers have continued to increase since the introduction of one public school districts’ Content Area Reading Professional Development (CAR-PD) in 2006. In 2011, modifications were made to improve the program, and it became known as the Next Generation Content Area Reading Professional Development (NGCAR-PD). The purpose of this program evaluation is to investigate the relationship between NGCAR-PD certified Biology teachers and their ability to implement reading strategies with science content effectively. The context of this inquiry is a mid-sized public school district that has implemented the program since 2006 at the middle and …

Exploring The Impact Of Musical Mnemonic Strategies On Student Achievement And Engagement In Inclusive Science Classes, Zinna Eaton

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Students with disabilities often struggle with comprehending material and performing at grade level, and teachers often find new ways to help their students comprehend the curriculum. A common challenge for special education teachers is incorporating different learning styles and various instructional strategies to better assist their students. One teaching strategy and resource that many teachers incorporate is the use of music in their instruction. This research project examines how incorporating music teaching strategies into daily instruction impacts the level of engagement and the academic achievement level of sixth-grade students with and without mild/moderate disabilities within inclusive science classrooms. The study …

Addressing Issues Surrounding Food Insecurity And Promote Environmentalism In Urban Settings Using Community Gardens, Tucker Jensen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone project reviews the effect community gardens have on the low-income, urban population. After reviewing the history of racism in America, disproportionalities of food insecurity, how poverty correlates to health, and various environmental impacts specific to urban communities, this project was an effort to expand on that research and provide a solution. Food deserts exist in many of today’s American cities, which lead to food insecurity and negative health outcomes. A community garden is a low-cost, effective way to obtain healthy food and simultaneously benefit the environment. This five-day unit of study takes place at an established community garden. …

Environmental Education Lessons Connecting Middle School Students To The Natural World, Kari Brant

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has repeatedly indicated that exposure to nature and the outdoors has a range of physical, mental, emotional, social, and educational benefits. The research question that is addressed in the work of this capstone is: Which middle school environmental education lessons aligned with science standards enable students to connect with the natural world? In reviewing causes of lack of exposure to nature, the benefits that being outside can offer, and closely reviewing both Minnesota standards as well as environmental education goals, the aim of this capstone is to incorporate environmental education into middle school. The curriculum includes units of study …

A Framework For Pre-Laboratory Instructional Design To Support Student Inquiry In High School Chemistry, Naomi Golden

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

High school chemistry laboratory experiments offer a context-rich environment for learning chemistry. However, the complexity of the lab environment can also complicate the learning experience. This capstone explores the question: How can a pre-laboratory instructional framework help high school chemistry students independently design experiment procedures in order to transform inquiry experiments into an effective tool for content learning? The literature review explores how four instructional approaches (science writing heuristic, writing-to-learn strategies, pre-laboratory instruction, and demonstrations) impact learning outcomes. Using that research as a foundation, the capstone proposes an instructional framework utilizing a teacher-led demonstration to engage prior knowledge and teach …

How Can Citizen Science Be Used Effectively Within Environmental Education In Order To Foster Environmental Change?, Michelle Sagers

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Citizen Science, the crowdsourcing of scientific data collection, is becoming a valuable education tool for environmental educators and classroom teachers. Citizen Science has the capacity to teach students STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) and inquiry-based learning skills in a real-life setting, close to home, that matters to them personally. It provides participants with the skills to face future environmental problems and become civically engaged on environmental topics. This capstone project focuses on creating an education curriculum utilizing Citizen Science to answer the question: how can Citizen Science be used effectively within environmental education in order to foster environmental change? …

Scaffolding Oral Language For Elementary English Learners In Content Classrooms, Jamie Bushey

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project addresses the question: What strategies could be provided to content and English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers to help scaffold oral language use for English Learners in the elementary content classroom? This project was born from the author’s experience as a language teacher and the need to provide language supports for her students in content classes such as science and social studies. Literature regarding second language acquisition, science education, and oral language supports were consulted in the development of this project. A portfolio of resources to support oral language development was created, which includes an example science …

Incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge To Support Critical Thinking In Environmental Education, Nicholas Koerbitz

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was how can traditional ecological knowledge be implemented in environmental education? Research indicates that traditional ecological knowledge aids student understanding in environmental education, as it provides holistic viewpoints to problem solving. Available Indigenous teachings from cultures across North America explain the connectedness between all living and nonliving things, yet are very underused resources. This curriculum was created using the Understanding by Design framework consisting of four units including ecology, natural resources, climate change, and current environmental challenges. These lessons include a combination of a teacher centered and student centered classroom, along with provided …

Developmentally Appropriate Environmental Stem Curriculum For Kindergarten And First Grade Students, Mary Sweeney

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone project was to create a developmentally appropriate environmental science, technology, engineering, and math (E-STEM) curriculum for kindergarten and first grade students. This capstone seeks to answer the question: What are qualities of developmentally appropriate environmental education curriculum for kindergarten and first grade students? The research explores physical, cognitive, and social and emotional growth, in addition to multiple intelligences. Developmentally appropriate kindergarten and first grade classrooms encourage play, choice stations, movement, utilizing all of the senses, and a nurturing environment. Best practices in Environmental education combine developmental needs of students, authentic experiences in the environment, and …

Designing And Implementing Argumentation Through Digital Platform: A Framework For Beginning 3rd-6th Science, Alexandra Melin

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Extensive research in science education has underscored the importance of argumentation and discourse as a critical tool for helping students understand the natural world (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Despite these findings, argumentation is used inconsistently across classrooms due to numerous implementation challenges (e.g., limited teacher training, insufficient resources, classroom management difficulties, unique science language and practices). The design and implementation of science argumentation has been further challenged by the growing proportion of English Language Learning students and the shift to online learning, making clear the need for a framework that included support and adaption to both. To address this need, …

Fostering Joy, Enriching Relationships, And Encouraging Growth Through Outdoor Education Curriculum, Emma Chapman

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that spending time learning and exploring outdoors can be a vital part of emotional and academic development of students. Connecting with the outdoors is also a foundational aspect in the development of environmental stewards. Many students aren’t given the opportunities to connect with the environment for a number of reasons including lack of access to outdoor spaces and/or lack of role models. This project resulted in the creation of seven lesson plans with the goals to foster joy, enrich relationships, and encourage growth in the outdoors. The lessons target primarily middle school students, but can be adapted …

The Effects Of Project Lead The Way Launch Curriculum On Elementary Girls’ Perception And Career Interests In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics, Mina Blazy

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The United States has examined the quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education since before the turn of the century. STEM educators are still having the conversation around why more women are not joining STEM pathways. Girls and boys as early as birth are curious about the world; through their own lens they learn about gravity from dropping spaghetti on the floor or seeing a small insect on the wall. As children get older they are influenced by the perceptions of their parents and peers.

This study looked at the perception and career interests of girls in STEM …

Measuring Preschool Parents’ Attitudes Towards Science: Development And Psychometric Evaluation Of A Parent Version Of The Dimension Of Attitudes Towards Science Instrument., Alexandra E. Adair

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Presently, no measure or theoretical framework exists for preschool parents’ attitudes towards science. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a measure of preschool parents’ attitudes towards science with a corresponding theoretical framework, as well as explore related constructs. To develop the measure, I adapted Wendt and Rockinson-Szapkiw’s (2017) English translation of van Aalderen-Smeets & Walma van der Molen’s (2013) Dimensions of Science (DAS) scale by making it appropriate for use with preschool parents.

The Preschool Parents Dimensions of Science Scale (PP-DAS) was pilot tested and revised before being administered to 330 preschool parents in the United …

Introducing Science Education In Early Childhood, Marissa M. Arciniega

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The increasing focus on literacy development and kindergarten readiness in preschool has created a lack of science education in early childhood education. In recent research, Head Start found that of the four academic readiness domains for preschoolers (i.e., language, literacy, math, and science), science is the lowest-performing area amongst students in their program (Bustamante, White, & Greenfield, 2018). Research is showing that declining performance in science is partly due to the lack of science education in classrooms. Lack of science is not only affecting school performance down the road, but it also limits children in receiving the benefits of early …

What Interactive Strategies Promote Engagement For English Language Learners In A Post-Secondary Science Classroom?, Kristal Newman

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The attendance rate of international students has nearly doubled in U.S colleges (Bergey et al., 2019). Many English Language Learners (ELL) are learning the English language while attending regular subject classes, such as biology. There can be many difficult challenges that arise for ELLs in science classes, such as the complex vocabulary of scientific terms. ELL students struggle in science classrooms and have less engagement in the material because of the language barrier and the complexity of the content (Short et al., 2011). Interactive lecturing is a great way to promote engagement in a science classroom with ELLs. Interactive Lecturing …

Inquiry-Based Science And Higher-Order Thinking Skills In Upper Elementary Science Education, Emily Culhane

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project is: How can curriculum design in upper elementary science education enlist students in practice and demonstration of higher-order thinking skills? The purpose for this project was to explore how inquiry-based science can further develop students’ higher-order thinking skills of synthesis and evaluation. Synthesis and evaluation were chosen because they are transferable to other content areas as well as everyday life. In the literature review, many different research studies were examined in order to learn more about inquiry-based science, higher-order thinking skills, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and curriculum design. The project is a …

The Role Of Environmental Education In Steam Education, Elise Malecha

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that both STEAM education and environmental education have similar goals: equipping students with 21st-century skills such as communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. These skills are essential for students to know in order to be successful in their future careers. However, while both STEAM education and environmental education have similar goals, they are often not taught together. This project takes time to answer the question: How can incorporating more environmental education into STEAM help create students that are equipped with skills needed for future careers? The supplemental curriculum designed for this project is intended to be woven into …

Using Digital Communication Technologies To Record A Student’S Thinking During The Solving Of Physics Problems, John Gaalaas

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The question addressed in this project aims to develop strategies to record student thinking while solving physics problems. Literature pointed to the benefits of conversation as a form of assessment and strategies for developing good physics problems. The project demonstrates two different ways to implement the recording strategy and develops ways to assess these recordings. A slide presentation is developed for use in workshops with other physics teachers demonstrating how to put the strategies into place. Future research might involve quantitative measurement of the effects of these strategies in physics classrooms.

Developing A Framework For Citizen Science: Preparing Researchers For Success, Michelle Chmura

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Citizen science is a growing field of research that relies on public participation for successfully collecting and processing data in fields of ecology, astronomy and sociology. Citizen science has potential to connect diverse communities with science literacy, but historically has only reached a small portion of the population already invested in scientific research. Many citizen science projects fail to launch within the first year from researcher expectations not meeting volunteer expectations. Researchers face the same common pitfalls that others before them have with few stories sharing how success was achieved. A three day workshop was developed to explore the relationship …

Implementing Project-Based Learning Within A Standards-Based Grading System, Hannah Yokom

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was, how can teachers implement interdisciplinary, project-based learning to teach and assess multiple standards in a standards-based grading system? Teachers need to shift their role from being the keeper of information for students to being a guide that helps as they ask questions, lead their own learning, and carry the cognitive load. Standards-based grading is a research-based best practice, but it requires that each standard be taught and assessed individually. This project integrates research in the areas of developing and implementing project-based learning in the classroom, and standards-based grading. It presents a fully-developed, …

Ready Coder One: Action Research Exploring The Effects Of Collaborative Game Design-Based Learning On Gifted Fourth Graders' 21st Century Skills And Science Content Knowledge, Mary Kathleen O'Grady-Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research was to describe the impact of digital game building on fourth grade gifted and talented (GT) students’ growth in problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, and science content knowledge. Traditionally, gifted education has focused on acceleration of content, disconnected enrichment activities, and thinking skills practiced in isolation of real-world problems. Increasingly, there is a call to involve students in real world experiences through projects that explore real issues using technology in ways that could transform the field. The ability to create rather than consume technology has gained attention linking creativity and collaboration to using coding languages.

Data …

Culturally Responsive Leadership And Distributed Leadership Practices In A Stem School, Cynthia Bradley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Culturally responsive leadership practices and distributed leadership are strategies that could aid racially diverse students to become successful in STEM courses and later in a STEM field. The purpose of this study was to explore culturally responsive leadership practices and distributed leadership within a STEM school to support racially diverse students. Distributed leadership and culturally responsive leadership practices were the conceptual frameworks of the study used to explore the rationale for the decision-making within a school. The research questions addressed the challenges and opportunities of implementing culturally responsive leadership practices and distributive leadership to enhance the diversity of students in …