Education Commons^™

To What Extent Do 3- To -6-Year-Olds Demonstrate Connection To Nature At A Montessori School In The Upper Midwest, Natasha Yates

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Yates, N. (2023). To What Extent Do 3- to -6-Year-Olds Demonstrate Connection to Nature at a Montessori School in the Upper Midwest.

Young children are born into a world today with a drastically changing environmental climate. When young people develop an emotional attachment and sense of identity with nature, they may be more likely to behave in less destructive ways towards the planet and possibly live with a sense of responsibility and respect for nature. This mixed method study aimed to measure to what extent 3- to 6-year-olds demonstrated environmental sensitivity, awareness, and preferences at a nature-based Montessori school in …

Improving Science Literacy Using Photographic Documentation Of Laboratory Activities, Mary Radus

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Digital photography is a valuable educational tool which has been shown to improve language acquisition and vocabulary usage. Photography can also be used to enhance hands-on laboratory activities in high school science classes. This study examined the impact of photographic documentation of lab activities on students’ literacy in science. In this convergent, mixed methods investigation, 9th grade biology students took photographs during a lab activity, which they used to create collaborative photo projects based on the activity. Changes in literacy were measured by assessing the students’ usage of scientific vocabulary terms before and after the photo project, and assessing the …

Observing The Impact Of Environmental Science Exploration And Discovery On The Social-Emotional Learning Of 2nd Grade Students, Laura Sammis

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The guiding question in this study was, how do outdoor science exploration and discovery impact the social-emotional learning of 2nd grade students. This study documents the author’s development, facilitation and analysis of a 3-week science unit that included an increase of time spent outdoors. This study was conducted in an observational and descriptive qualitative manner that used the researcher’s real-time observations, reflections and student surveys. The author utilized research literature to develop meaning and understanding of the concepts to support the importance of the study. The author describes the study in terms of successes and limitations. The study concludes that …

Finding Fit In The Science Classroom: Applying Self-Determination Theory To Twice-Exceptional Students, John Burrell

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

In line with self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 2000; Ryan and Deci, 2017), this thesis explored how practices employed in a classroom between November 2020 through January 2021 affected satisfaction of students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Thirteen twice-exceptional students (gifted and learning disabled) between grades 4-10 participated in this mixed-methods study at an independent school in the upper midwest. Additionally, four of the thirteen students were selected as case studies to be interviewed and observed throughout the study period. This study explored how the implementation of needs-supportive practices, along with COVID-19 mitigation strategies (including distance-learning), affected …

Minnesota School Forest Program: An Evaluation And Exploration Of Implementations, Madisson Weier

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources School Forest Program through answering the following questions: what are the strengths and limitations of the School Forest Program; What are the impacts of individual teacher objectives on the utilization and implementation of the School Forest Program? These questions were investigated using data collected from a survey sent to School Forest Coordinators as well as a data request to the Department of Natural Resources. This study found that participants in the School Forest Program feel that their School Forests add many positive benefits to their classrooms …

Mitigating Climate Change: Understanding How Teachers Integrate Social Justice Themes In Environmental Education, Gregory Simons,

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is an increasingly severe global issue with devastating repercussions for marginalized, poor, and vulnerable people. As a result, environmental education has evolved over the years to build upon outdoor nature study and ecological concepts to incorporate fundamental principles of social and environmental justices while addressing climate change. This qualitative research study employed both an online survey and semi-structured interviews to address two research questions grounded in the environmental justice movement to determine how social justice intersects with pressing global issues commonly found in environmental science curriculum. First, how do environmental science educators integrate social justice themes in their …

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 …

A Culturally Relevant Opening Weeks Curriculum: Seeking To Engage All Students To Succeed In The Middle School Science Classroom, Altringer Nicholas

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was How can a culturally relevant opening weeks unit help all students to succeed in the middle school science classroom? Topics explored in the literature review include challenges, themes, engagement of all students, gaps between students of color and their white peers, students of color and disproportionality trends in discipline, youth positions as hip-hop or survival mode, social construction of black inferiority, curriculum as windows and mirror, culturally responsive classroom management, using citizen science and student-driven investigation, restorative practices and restorative circles in the science classroom, shared responsibility for the classroom community, and …

Why Is Invasive Species Education Important, Alexandra Crofts

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This research question addressed the importance of invasive species education in the Midwest Great Lakes Regions. Invasive species threaten most ecosystems around the world and can lead to decreasing biodiversity and even the extinction of native species. Humans are one of the largest vectors responsible for the transportation of invasive species. This research focused on providing evidence of the negative impact aquatic invasive species can have on native fish populations. Fish population data was collected using gill nets in the East Metro Area of the Twin Cities in Minnesota in the 2018 field season. This data was compared to Minnesota’s …

Leveraging Writing Routines To Increase Achievement Of English Learners In Science, Monica Grubb

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Two research questions were investigated in this case study: How are 5th grade ELs’ performances on an objective portion of a science quiz on erosion and deposition affected after discussing concepts with a teacher and writing about these concepts? How are 5th grade ELs’ written explanations of erosion and deposition and use of genre-specific language structures affected after conferencing with a teacher about these concepts? Science literacy is for all, but many ELs struggle to learn science content. The literature points to academic language of science and its hierarchical knowledge structures as barriers to learning. Best practices to support ELs …

Invading Minnesota: A Middle School Invasive Species Curriculum, Ashley Schultz

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This capstone is a sampling of middle school science lessons that were designed to address the question: How might a curricular unit about invasive species be designed to enhance the environmental literacy of middle school students? It documents one teacher’s research and development of a unit about invasives species, while promoting environmental literacy. The curriculum is a series of three lessons that provide students the opportunity to learn about invasive species by developing a connection, or sense of place to their surroundings. Once students understand the impacts of invasives species they take part in a project-based service learning opportunity to …

The Impact Of Risa Oral Interactions On The Acquisition Of Scientific Classification Language For Slife, James Bordewick

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This research explored the effects of using structured oral interactions as a scaffolding technique on the use and development of scientific classification language and the ability to engage in cognitively more complex academic tasks for students with limited or interrupted formal education. The study took place during a vertebrates unit in an EL newcomers science classroom. Students engaged in an intervention of two cycles of routinized, content-integrated, structured academic (RISA) oral interactions. Students were tasked to classify animals and to record video samples from the prompt, “What kind of animal is this? How do you know?” before and after the …

Exploring Multi-Sensory Curriculum Development: Grades 3-5 Science In A Virtual Environment, Terilynn Stackhouse

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The capstone thesis uses a qualitative research approach to explore the question: What are virtual tools and multi-sensory strategies that can be integrated into curriculum development to support the engagement of learners in science in grades 3-5 in virtual learning environments? The author chose this topic to find and to apply multi-sensory strategies, including technology-rich approaches, in virtual education, and developed a new curriculum unit using current sensory-rich technologies. The goal is to enhance and enrich curriculum, and thereby to increase student engagement in the sciences. Applying these tools in virtual education and using multi-sensory approaches can lead to new …

How Can Education Improve The Recycling Behaviors And Attitudes Of Middle School Students, Sara Flanagan

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This research project adapted and implemented curriculum into a middle school science classroom to gauge the effect of the curriculum on the students’ behaviors and attitudes. The focus of the curriculum was on waste management and recycling. Students participated in surveys both before and after the curriculum. Their responses were compared to others in the school who did not go through the curriculum. There are not many updated curriculums available however, through this study it was concluded that education can impact the recycling behaviors and attitudes through curriculum in a positive way that makes students connect their actions to the …

Curriculum Development And Analysis To Encourage Positive Environmental Attitudes In High School Students, Matthew Johnston

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This capstone project used a qualitative research design to explore the research question, how do students who are participating in a course on ecology and resource conservation, describe their understanding of ecology and conservation? The capstone researcher designed a student centered curriculum that used project based learning and outdoor experiences in an elective science course. A major goal of the course was to engage high school students in environmental education and shift students’ attitude to be more positive toward the environment. To measure students’ attitudes, the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) (Anderson, 2012) survey was completed at the start and end …

What Is The Impact Of Effective Questioning And Critical, Relevant Conversations On Sixth Grade Science Students’ Agentic Engagement?, Corrie L. Christensen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question in this project was, “What is the impact of effective questioning and critical, relevant conversations on sixth grade science students’ agentic engagement?” It documents a teacher’s investigation into the impact of two isolated components, effective questioning and relevant conversations, on the agentic engagement of a group of sixth grade students. The author describes the outcomes of data collection using randomized student agentic engagement surveys. She outlines the successes and struggles that were realized during the process as well as the realization that an isolated component or two does not make a significant change in agentic engagement.

Science Interactive Notebooks: A Case Study On Learning In High School Students, Autumn A. Mollet

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

I conducted a qualitative case study using classroom observations, written documentation, and experience to answer the research question, what is the effect of science interactive notebooks on high school biology students learning? One class of tenth grade biology students was observed and asked writing prompts in order to determine how interactive notebooks influenced learning. Several key themes emerged within the data collected including; organization, note taking, creativity, variation, reference, student engagement, and student affinity towards the interactive notebooks. Findings suggest that students are more engaged in class and are able to identify key ways in which the science interactive notebooks …

The Impact Of Informal Education On Formal Education In Science A Symbiotic Relationship, Colin Johnson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Classroom science teachers face many obstacles, from standardized exams to including real world concepts in their science units. Informal science educators are looking for ways to expand their mission into school curricula in the form of activities and project-based learning. Incorporating real-world experiences from informal science institutions can supplement and enrich the formal science educator’s classroom learning units. The research in question in this Capstone was to address how formal and informal science educators can work together to increase students’ participation in science and the environment. I interviewed science professionals about why they pursued a career in science and I …

Discovering Conceptual Metaphors In High School Biology To Instruct English Language Learners, Nancy R. Mccurdy

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

An investigation was completed to identify and define abstraction that occurs within abstract nouns in biology terminology in the Mississippi high school biology subject area practice test in order to determine conceptual language patterns in biology terms to teach to high school English Learners. The conceptual metaphors that dominate biology concepts in major scientific theories of the text exemplar examined are ORGANISMS ARE MACHINES, ECOSYSTEMS ARE COMMUNITIES, DNA IS A TEMPLATE, and DESIRED TRAITS ARE VALUABLE. The most prevalent common conceptual metaphors found within abstract nouns in biology of the text examined are MATTER IS A STRUCTURE, PROCESS IS A …

How Do You Empower At Risk Students To Become Active Citizens About The Environment, Through The Design And Implementation Of An Urban Environmental Science Curriculum Within An Alternative Education Setting?, Stephen N. Szczodroski

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

At-risk students come with a history of failure in school. The mainstream classroom setting has not worked for them in the past; therefore, educators must think outside the box and get students doing as many hands-on, experiential lessons as possible. Generally, these students do not have the opportunity to experience many experiential activities. This new curriculum helped students get outside learning new skills, and lured them away from chalkboard lessons. A major component with the curriculum was coordinating with the local parks and recreational system, to create a program where students are involved in using and maintaining local natural areas …

Interactive Videos As A Vocabulary Pre-Teaching Tool In Middle School Science, Kimberly Severson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of interactive video instruction to teacher-led direct instruction for pre-teaching science vocabulary to newcomer middle school ELs. The second phase of the experiment utilized interactive videos to pre-teach science vocabulary in a flipped learning environment. This study was influenced by vocabulary experts Beck, McKeown, and Kucan, as well as R. E. Mayer, multimedia learning expert. Data collection included pre-tests and post-tests of expressive and receptive vocabulary knowledge, as well as a student survey to determine ease of use, students’ perceived learning and satisfaction with the type of instruction. Results from …

How Do We Educate Children That Live In A Water Rich Environment About The Need For Water Conservation?, Theresa Marie Vermeersch

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this curriculum development Capstone was to create a unit of lessons to address how we educate children that live in a water rich environment about the need for water conservation. The curriculum contains lessons in a kit that educate children about water cycles, water sheds, water run-off, water pollution, and water conservation. Methods of teaching include hands-on lessons, small and large group activities that incorporate literature. The overall goal is to create curriculum that would foster a sense of water conservation stewardship in students. Included with this curriculum are copies of handouts, assessments, and literature.

Teaching Environmental Education To Elementary Aged Home School Students At Nature Centers: An Analysis Of Best Practices, Ronald P. Wodtke

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was, what are the best practices for teaching environmental education to elementary aged home school students at nature centers located in a large metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest? This study, analyzes the best practices used by several nature centers that offer home school programs, and are located in the seven counties that comprise the physical limits of the study. A nature center is a designated community space where trained professionals guide and facilitate visitors in their exploration of the natural world, and in developing a relationship with nature. Additionally, this experience should …

How Can Science And Literacy Be Integrated In A Fifth Grade Cirriculum [Sic]?, Kathryn J. Hellen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this capstone was, How can science and literacy be integrated in a fifth grade curriculum? This capstone describes current research in science education, reading motivation and engagement, and the science and literacy connection. The goal of this capstone was to create a unit that would captivate students’ interests in science and use that interest as a catalyst to grow their literacy skills. This unit is designed to be used in a 5th grade Spanish immersion classroom centered on the themes of life science and non-fiction reading. The accompanying curriculum utilizes the Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) …

High School Water Quality Curriculum For Rural And Urban Areas, James David Mesik

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this curriculum development Capstone was to create a unit of lessons to address the topic of water quality for high school students in an agricultural class focusing on natural resources. The curriculum contains lessons that tackle issues related to both farmland and nonfarm related water quality issues. Methods of teaching include hands-on lessons, a field trip and a guest speaker. Specific issues are confronted and potential solutions to water quality problems are presented. The overall goal is to create curriculum that would foster a sense of water quality stewardship in students. Included with this curriculum are copies …

The Impacts Of Classroom Stem¬-Themed Environmental Investigations On Middle School Environmental Literacy, Megan Alece Heitkamp

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to answer the research question: How does integrating STEM­themed environmental investigations in the middle school classroom impact environmental literacy? In order to understand the various aspects of this research question, a literature review was conducted for the topics of middle school learners, STEM learning and environmental literacy. The study utilized a mixed methods approach and 131, 7th grade students participated in the study; students took the Middle School Environmental Literacy Survey (MSELS) as a pretest and posttest. Between these surveys, students participated in four learning investigations that applied STEM learning, environmental problems, inquiry­based …

A Text Analysis Of How Passive Voice In A Biology Textbook Impacts English Language Learners, Karli Jo Neilson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

With so many ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers currently co-teaching, it is important to investigate how academic text interferes with the general understanding of the text for ELLs (English Language Learners). This study examined the use of the passive voice in a biology textbook in a high school co-taught biology ESL classroom. The general research questions were: how often does the use of passive voice occur and what does the use of passive voice look like in Biology (Nowicki, 2008); what types of issues can passive voice cause for teachers and students, including classroom expectations of using the …

Environmental Education In A Dual Immersion Classroom, Annaka Marie Larson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was, how can environmental education curricula be implemented in dual immersion classrooms? It describes how the author used a unit planning framework designed for dual immersion to adapt lessons from the environmental education curriculum Project WILD for her first grade Spanish immersion class. Both curriculum design and action research were incorporated into the project. She details the process of modifying the lessons, what happened when she implemented the lessons in her classroom, and how the lessons improved students’ content knowledge, language abilities, and appreciation for the environment. She concludes that environmental education can …

Claims, Evidence And Reasoning: A Framework For Evidence-Based Writing On The Subject Of Evolution, Tami Lynn Limberg

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this qualitative research was to explore how students presented reasoned arguments supported by evidence and reasoning after receiving constructivist-based instruction. The author documents the details of the results and uses related research literature to construct meaning and validate constructivist pedagogy and the evidencebased writing instruction. The progress of twenty students’ ability to write a claim, give specific evidence and reasoning was followed throughout the investigation. Three themes emerged from this investigation: students showed a steady trend of intellectual growth over time, students benefitted when they constructed their own learning, and students struggled with written reasoning and connecting …

How To Develop And Support The Academic Writing Of Our Students In The Science Classroom, Hannah Rose Hermanson Rivard

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was how can we develop and support the academic writing of our students in the science classroom? A resource guide was created, designed for general education teachers in upper elementary classrooms. It uses the Teaching and Learning Cycle, created by Rothery, to incorporate the writing of procedural recounts into pre-existing science curriculum.