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Full-Text Articles in Education
On-Ramps For Refugees: A Workplace Safety Iet Curriculum For Low-Proficiency English Learners, Annamarie Hansen
On-Ramps For Refugees: A Workplace Safety Iet Curriculum For Low-Proficiency English Learners, Annamarie Hansen
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone project aims to address the question: “How can current career pathway programs be expanded to create more “on-ramps” for Refugee ELL students at lower English proficiency levels? What role can community-based organizations take in creating “on-ramps”? This paper was inspired by the teacher’s professional experiences working with refugees with lower-level English proficiency seeking to re-enter their chosen career fields. The paper provides an overview of the literature with a specific focus on Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL), the Career Pathway model, Integrated Education and Training (IET) programs, and the need for “on-ramps” to create additional points …
An Effective Small Group Reading Intervention Scope And Sequence For Students In Grades Three To Five, Caitlin Phan
An Effective Small Group Reading Intervention Scope And Sequence For Students In Grades Three To Five, Caitlin Phan
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The guiding question of this project is: What is the most effective scope and sequence for a reading academic support curriculum designed for small groups of students in grades three to five? The purpose of the project is to address the critical need for a well-defined scope and sequence for reading academic support teachers. Research that influenced the written scope and sequence includes reading intervention history, elementary students, struggling readers, types of approaches to teaching reading, and three schools of thought regarding teaching reading (Fountas and Pinnell, Orton-Gillingham, and Science of Reading). Integrating this research, the scope and sequence project …
Creating First Grade Math Learning Materials In The Chinese Immersion Learning Environment, Huishu Jia
Creating First Grade Math Learning Materials In The Chinese Immersion Learning Environment, Huishu Jia
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Math is everywhere in people’s daily lives. It is also a universal subject taught everywhere. Research has demonstrated that math education includes many different components, the most essential mathematical skill for younger learners is to establish their number sense. Students’ math fluency will increase and will develop their math automaticity once they have strong number sense. According to studies, the Mandarin Chinese language helps students effectively master basic mathematical skills due to the uniqueness of the language, such as the pronunciation of each Chinese character, the “base ten” number system, etc. The project involved creating a pacing chart that aligns …
The Disappearing Of The Hmong Language, Choua Yang
The Disappearing Of The Hmong Language, Choua Yang
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Within my personal and professional experience, I have observed that the Hmong oral language has declined since the Hmong people arrived in the United States. Over the past 50 years in the United States, there have been growing concerns regarding the decline in usage of the Hmong language within Hmong children. In my personal experience, my children who are second generation Hmong, only the five older children are bilingual while my three younger children only speak English. As for my seven grandchildren, who are third generation Hmong, they only speak English. They do not understand nor speak the Hmong language. …
A Ninth Grade English Language Arts Supplemental Curriculum That Integrates Language And Content Instruction For English Language Learners Using A Co-Taught Model, Hanna Brown
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this capstone project is: How can ninth grade English Language Arts curriculum be designed to integrate language and content instruction to support academic English proficiency for English Learners using a co-teaching model? The paper provides an in-depth literature review on both academic language development and co-teaching. Topics of this paper are: long-term English language learners (LTELs) in the mainstream, academic and language standards, content instructional models for secondary English language learners which includes co-teaching practices and building academic language. Following this paper, a supplemental curriculum for ninth grade English language arts was created in order …
Role Playing Gamification In The Science Classroom, Timothy Normandt
Role Playing Gamification In The Science Classroom, Timothy Normandt
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Invented in 1972, Dungeons & Dragons was a brand new way to play games—utilizing the strongest computer humans have ever conceived: the human brain. This project strives to categorize some of the techniques used in the classroom as role playing in their own right. The purpose of all gamification, role playing and SEL, and the satanic panic that came out against Dungeons & Dragons are looked at. This paper additionally looks at some examples of role playing in the classroom that have succeeded at a small charter school in Minneapolis. These findings underscore the equity achieved by allowing for student …
Utilizing Storytelling In A High School Ecology And Cell Energy Unit, Katherine Shealy
Utilizing Storytelling In A High School Ecology And Cell Energy Unit, Katherine Shealy
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this Capstone project was: How is student learning impacted when storytelling and knowledge from Native American tribes are used to create a high school biology unit on ecology and cell energy? The following topics that were focused on during this project were changes to science teaching, culturally responsive teaching, storytelling in science, the effects of using standards and standardized testing, the New Generation Science Standards, and equity and diversity in science learning. The curriculum created for this project included the story of and focused on Minneopa State Park in Mankato, Minnesota, a historically important site …
Chinese Immersion Cultural Teaching And The Use Of Authentic Materials, Li Cheng
Chinese Immersion Cultural Teaching And The Use Of Authentic Materials, Li Cheng
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
As Chinese language and culture education gains prominence in global contexts, the fusion of language acquisition with cultural competence becomes a central pursuit. Through a comprehensive exploration of theoretical underpinnings and practical applications, this study elucidates the significance of authentic materials as catalysts for cultural engagement within Chinese immersion programs. This paper delves into the dynamic landscape of Chinese Immersion Cultural Teaching by examining the pivotal role of authentic materials in enhancing students' cultural understanding. The resource developed consists of a ten-day lesson plan designed according to the Chinese New Year: Students will first learn the text and new words, …
Elevating Student Voices Through Rigorous Academic Discussion: A Unit Of Study For The Middle School English Language Arts Classroom, Emily O’Brien
Elevating Student Voices Through Rigorous Academic Discussion: A Unit Of Study For The Middle School English Language Arts Classroom, Emily O’Brien
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Although speaking and listening skills are included in the Common Core State Standards, they are often underemphasized in English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms and across disciplines. Research shows the benefits of cooperative and discussion-based learning for students, yet students are often not provided with the instruction and practice necessary for success in these areas. Especially in middle school, students thrive when given opportunities to connect with others. This project, a unit of study designed for a middle school ELA classroom, was designed to provide students with the academic discussion tools necessary to deepen literacy skills. Written through a culturally responsive …
Informal Education Builds Deeper Knowledge And Connections With Elasmobranchs To Develop An Understanding For Environmental Conservation, Lacie Ownbey
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Zoos and aquariums provide essential tools and opportunities to help get school aged children out of the classroom for informal education and learning. Using facilities that offer programs where the focus is on both entertainment and education, learning can be maximized to obtain literacy of a subject. That level of understanding can be then used to promote conservation and pro-environmental thinking for animals that could most benefit from a more focused setting, such as a non-charismatic megafauna: elasmobranchs (sharks and rays). Using Backward Design, where the goals of the program were determined first, a two-day Shark Researcher Camp was created …
Supporting English Language Learners In A Co-Taught Classroom Through The Curriculum, Emilia Witthuhn
Supporting English Language Learners In A Co-Taught Classroom Through The Curriculum, Emilia Witthuhn
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Co-teaching is a common strategy used to support English Language Learners in the content classroom. However, English Language Learners can still struggle in these classrooms. Research has shown that co-teaching can be a benefit for students, but this takes collaboration between the content teacher and the English Language teacher to make the class accessible. This project was designed to take an existing English Language Arts curriculum and modify and adapt the curriculum to better meet the needs of English Language Learners. The WIDA 2020 standards and Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe’s Understanding by Design were used as resources in developing …
Critical Literacy And Independent Learning Routines With Opportunity Youth, Natalie Seger
Critical Literacy And Independent Learning Routines With Opportunity Youth, Natalie Seger
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The nation’s population of opportunity youth, those aged 16–24 and disconnected from school and work, has increased since the pandemic. Many of these young people lack a high school diploma or GED. Due to past school experiences, many opportunity youth have not had the same instruction and time necessary to develop their literacy skills when compared to peers with uninterrupted education. This project addresses the research question: How can a high school equivalency curriculum based in critical literacy and independent learning strategies engage opportunity youth and empower them as self-directed learners? Building a classroom curriculum utilizing critical literacy and developing …
“Using Culturally Responsive Educational Practices To Help Campus Communities Reach Their Zero-Waste Goals”, Ellen Gurrola
“Using Culturally Responsive Educational Practices To Help Campus Communities Reach Their Zero-Waste Goals”, Ellen Gurrola
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Culturally responsive teaching is a term that has increased in popularity amongst educators over the past decade. However, it is not always addressed within zero-waste education on college campuses across the United States. This paper uses a critical lens to connect research from the book Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain with zero-waste practices and education on college campuses. The presentation created for this project is targeted towards college students to educate them about zero-waste and culturally responsive teaching. The content in the presentation challenges students to create a path towards zero-waste by: building collectivism across the campus community, addressing …
A Web-Based Collaborative Ngss-Centered Chemistry Unit On The Topic Of Atomic Structure, Paige Condie
A Web-Based Collaborative Ngss-Centered Chemistry Unit On The Topic Of Atomic Structure, Paige Condie
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone project focuses on a high school chemistry classroom with a focus on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). NGSS provides students with a more investigative approach to learning science. These new standards that are being set can lead to improvement in learning, engagement and application of scientific concepts to the real world in high school science classrooms. This changes the way science is being taught at the highschool level. Generally, in the past I have seen a focus on learning from the textbook, memorizing definitions and not really learning how to do science. The NGSS provides a new …
Tying Community Science And Social Justice Together In An Urban Biology Class To Foster Environmental Responsibility, Sarah Graham
Tying Community Science And Social Justice Together In An Urban Biology Class To Foster Environmental Responsibility, Sarah Graham
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Research shows that students who are involved in projects within their communities feel more sense of belonging and connection to their space. This is also true when discussing environmental justice. Students who have been historically marginalized can feel more comfort within navigating science. The unit plan designed for this project addressed the research question: How can community science and social justice be tied together in an urban biology classroom to foster environmental responsibility? The unit plan combined the knowledge of community science which focuses on sense of place with social justice within science or critical pedagogy in order to support …
My Work Is Wild — Promoting Career Literacy Of Conservation And Stem Vocations In Secondary School Students, Lauren Salick
My Work Is Wild — Promoting Career Literacy Of Conservation And Stem Vocations In Secondary School Students, Lauren Salick
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
As the climate crisis heightens and we tread ever further into the Anthropocene epoch, it becomes imperative environmental educators help recruit young adults to the conservation career force. However, studies show that career literacy education is a complex subject that is often misrepresented in traditional K-12 education. The goal of this project was to create an inclusive and influential curriculum for informal after-school programming for secondary students to supplement the career literacy of conservation professions garnered in the traditional school day. The lesson plans focus on relating conservation professions to our communities and students’ daily lives, as well as the …
Using Cooperative Groups To Enhance Student Learning In A High School Math Class, Caitlin Mccain
Using Cooperative Groups To Enhance Student Learning In A High School Math Class, Caitlin Mccain
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
There are many ways that teachers can use cooperative learning in their classroom. The literature review found in this capstone dives into the research surrounding cooperative learning, starting with the four theoretical perspectives on cooperative learning identified by Slavin (1995, as cited by Slavin, 2011) and how they work together to enhance learning. Also discussed is a 2003 study by Kramarski and Mevarech which demonstrates the need to expose students to metacognitive training. Liljedahl et al.’s (2021) research on how to group students can also be found in this capstone. The research from this literature review, along with the author’s …
Curriculum Design That Supports Multilingual Learners' Literacy Development: Pairing The Science Of Reading And Oral Language Development Utilizing Read-Alouds, Eleanor Christman
Curriculum Design That Supports Multilingual Learners' Literacy Development: Pairing The Science Of Reading And Oral Language Development Utilizing Read-Alouds, Eleanor Christman
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The curriculum designed for this project focuses on combining the science of reading with oral language development through read-alouds, with a focus on understanding text structure. The purpose of this study is to determine best practices for teaching multilingual learners how to read and to give teachers concrete materials to use in the classroom. Research suggests that phonics-based instruction supports the reading development of multilingual learners more than whole language instruction. Researchers also recommend teachers focus on more than just decoding, especially for multilingual learners as it connects to comprehension. Additionally, research emphasizes the importance of developing oral language in …
Supporting Dual-Identified Learners’ English Expressive Language Development, Sara Hommes
Supporting Dual-Identified Learners’ English Expressive Language Development, Sara Hommes
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This project seeks to answer the questions: How can educators support ELL and dual-identified learners’ English language development in the modalities of writing and speaking? What is the intersectionality between language acquisition and SLD issues? This project was born out of the author’s own experience in supporting dual-identified learners as well as from a desire to better support expressive language production in her class, with the goal of helping students exit the EL program. The author consulted research that offered information on the diverse identities and various labels of ELL learners, the issues in identifying SLD in ELLs, various perspectives …
Utilizing Classical Literature In Kindergarten Classrooms: A Tool For Developing Social Emotional Skills And Reading Comprehension, Madeline Steinhoff
Utilizing Classical Literature In Kindergarten Classrooms: A Tool For Developing Social Emotional Skills And Reading Comprehension, Madeline Steinhoff
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone project seeks to answer the question, How can educators use pedagogical storytelling with classical literature to address the social-emotional needs of their students while also increasing reading comprehension in early years? For the purposes of this research, classical literature is defined mainly as fables, folk stories and fairy tales. In answering my research question, I explore the research that underpins the history of pedagogical storytelling, classical literature, best practices in reading comprehension and academic language instruction, and the foundations of social emotional learning. This Capstone Project includes a two week, ten lesson literature unit that weaves together these …
The Ethnic Studies Curriculum: A Student-Centered Approach At The High School Level, Erin Wentzel
The Ethnic Studies Curriculum: A Student-Centered Approach At The High School Level, Erin Wentzel
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Public schools in the United States maintain a position in the spotlight as the debate over what should or should not be taught in public schools swirls amongst headlines and soundbites throughout the media. While some states seek to limit and contain what can be taught, other states and cities seek to expand social studies content in order to incorporate the diverse histories and stories not traditionally taught in the eurocentric, heteronormative system of United States public education. One way such expansion takes place is through the implementation of Ethnic Studies courses. As teachers take on Ethnic Studies for the …
Implementing Inquiry In A High School Economics Course, Nathan Prince
Implementing Inquiry In A High School Economics Course, Nathan Prince
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Inquiry-based learning (IBL) allows students a more authentic learning experience by providing them the opportunity to question, explore, investigate, analyze, draw conclusions and create. In contrast, traditional didactic teaching methods often hinder students' deeper comprehension and disenfranchise students from institutional education as a whole. This paper advocates for the integration of IBL methodologies within high school economics education by exploring the question, how can high school seniors use inquiry-based learning in economics? IBL's cognitive advantages, including heightened student involvement, critical thinking enhancement, and improved problem-solving skills, are explored in this paper. By encouraging active questioning, collaborative investigations, and exploration, IBL …
Effectiveness Of Integrating Technology For Improving The Post-Secondary Skills Of Students With A Graphic Novel Based Curriculum, Dana Rosbacka
Effectiveness Of Integrating Technology For Improving The Post-Secondary Skills Of Students With A Graphic Novel Based Curriculum, Dana Rosbacka
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this study was: how can high school teachers design a unit plan, centered around a graphic novel that effectively integrates the teaching of technology skills which students can apply in their post-secondary experiences? Topics explored in the literature review include what student burnout is, in addition to student attention spans. Alongside those, it looks into the best practices of utilizing technology, teaching technology as a skill, and teaching graphic novels. The curriculum designed for this project focuses on the Understanding by Design (Ubd) framework from Wiggins and McTighe (2011) and uses backward design to craft …
Project-Based Learning And Student Engagement In The Interdisciplinary Secondary Classroom, James Carlson
Project-Based Learning And Student Engagement In The Interdisciplinary Secondary Classroom, James Carlson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Research shows that Project-Based Learning has an impact on student engagement in a variety of ways. This capstone project is a unit plan designed to utilize Project-Based Learning as the foundation for a College and Career Readiness course. The main Project-Based Learning system utilized is the GOLD Standard PBL by the Buck Institute which attempts to maintain student engagement through complex tasks on a topic of the student’s choice. The focal point for students centers around STEAM careers in particular, but can be adjusted for use in other classes. The overall goal of this project is to allow secondary students …
How To Design And Implement A Maker Space In The K-3 Classroom, Elizabeth Nelson
How To Design And Implement A Maker Space In The K-3 Classroom, Elizabeth Nelson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
A maker space is an area designated to be used by participants to make a product through a hands-on experience. While the term maker space is relatively new to education, ‘making’ is embedded into human history. The research on these spaces relies on the importance of the maker space for a student's social-emotional well-being. Creative hands-on work specifically for children from low-income backgrounds supports the student in their primary years. At the same time, there needs to be more evidence in the research that proves how effective these spaces are in supporting students' academics. The topics explored in the literature …
Dancing Science: Using Dance And Movement As Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies To Increase Motivation, Interest, And Understanding In Middle School Science Classes, Ellis Johnston
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Many classrooms are characterized by students sitting in desks. However, research in embodied cognition shows us that the mind is best activated when the body is moving and interacting with the world. The curriculum designed for this project focuses on bringing dance and movement to an eighth grade physical science class in order to increase their motivation, interest, and understanding. Historically, dance and movement have been used as educational methods in many non-white cultures. More recently, incorporating dance into classrooms has been linked to increased executive function in students of color in at-risk and urban schools. Dancing provides students who …
Creating An Engaging And Ecocritical Project Based Curriculum For High School Environmental Science, Hannah Stewart
Creating An Engaging And Ecocritical Project Based Curriculum For High School Environmental Science, Hannah Stewart
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question that inspired this curriculum project was: How can educators create an engaging and ecocritical project based curriculum for high school environmental science? This curriculum utilizes a project based learning framework, based on A Framework for High Quality Project Based Learning, in order to create an engaging curriculum for students in a high school environmental science class. Additionally, this curriculum incorporates themes of critical ecology. Critical ecology is a way of studying the environment that asks us to consider how our perceptions and attitudes toward the environment can perpetuate the environmental and social injustices we are facing in …
Relating Chemistry To Society To Promote The Understanding Of The World For High Schoolers, Ashley Hoefker
Relating Chemistry To Society To Promote The Understanding Of The World For High Schoolers, Ashley Hoefker
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The project looks at gaining students interest in chemistry through a real-world application. It looks at existing literature concerning the impact chemistry makes on society and how colleges have had success integrating those connections in their classes. The curriculum designed for this project utilizes a real-world connection to create a context for chemistry. This project’s real-world connection is the air in the atmosphere and the pollutants present. The curriculum will primarily be used for students who are not going onto a four year college, rather students who are looking for bigger connections to their daily lives. Using different activities and …
Teaching Non-Experimental Chemistry Content Through The Pairing Of Strategically Curated Data Sets And Model-Based Inquiry, Andrew Banker
Teaching Non-Experimental Chemistry Content Through The Pairing Of Strategically Curated Data Sets And Model-Based Inquiry, Andrew Banker
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Historically science education has seemed to be in a pendulum swing battle between prioritizing teaching science content or science practices. The Next Generation Science Standards sought to synthesize both priorities in their Framework. Minnesota high schools will face a new wave of Science MCA tests in the 2024-2025 school year that will reflect the 2019 Minnesota science standards and thereby the Next Generation Science Standards. The curricular resource presented in this project is a valuable template for how high school science teachers can pursue meeting the parallel goals of teaching science content and science practices as the new standards …
How Can Culturally-Responsive Instruction Help Middle And High School Teachers Address Muslim Students' Needs?, Mona Aly
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone project explores how middle and high school teachers can create positive relationships with Muslim students by using culturally responsive instruction. Educators must understand that Muslim students have unique cultural identities based on their religious beliefs. Regardless of nationality, language, skin color, or cultural background, all Muslims are bound by these Islamic cultural practices. These practices directly impact students’ academic progress, social life, and self-esteem. By familiarizing themselves with these cultural and religious practices, teachers can better relate to Muslim students and address their social and academic needs. I seek answers to this research question by discussing four main …