Education Commons^™

The Role Of Faculty In Durable Skills Development In Higher Education, James Hutson, Mark Valenzuela, Shannon Wright, Elizabeth Melick

Faculty Scholarship

Although Emsi and other market researchers have found that employers desire durable skills (formerly known as “soft skills”) in new hires, there have been few studies dedicated to identifying how faculty perceptions of skill development differ in degree and by area, and how that might impact how such skills are embedded in classroom instruction. This study proposes to investigate the perceptions of faculty from different academic backgrounds and how their disciplines and experiences may contribute to their perceived role in curricular, cocurricular or extracurricular offerings that support durable skill development. Results from the study demonstrate the differing perspectives and expectations …

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 …

Major Components Needed In A Literacy Curriculum To Promote Student Success, Brooke Smith

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

This school improvement plan focuses on what components are beneficial in a literacy curriculum to promote success in students' reading skills and improve FAST Test scores. Research has found phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, writing, and science of reading concepts should be included in a literacy curriculum to be effective. These components will help find a new literacy curriculum for a school district. In all success, an effective literacy curriculum will be found with creating a system to look through to find an effective literacy curriculum, piloting, and analyzing data. The objective in the end is to discover a …

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 …

Law School News: Dean Bowman On The Scotus Admissions Decision 6-29-2023, Gregory W. Bowman

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Agricultural Communications Practitioners’ Perspectives On Skills And Competencies Graduates Need To Be Career Ready: A Mixed Methods Study With Implications For Undergraduate Programs, Elizabeth Wyss, Adam Cletzer

Journal of Applied Communications

Agricultural communications (ACOM) programs contend with continuous disruptive change caused by changing audiences, media technologies, and communications objectives. To keep curricula current, ACOM programs often turn to ACOM practitioners for guidance on how to prepare graduates. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study investigated ACOM practitioners in Missouri's perspectives on which skills and competencies were important for career readiness, as well as why they were important and under what circumstances. “Writing” and “reporting” skill categories were deemed most important. The qualitative follow-up strand revealed several clarifying themes. First, foundational skills, such as writing and reporting, are important because they are often …

Social Emotional Learning In Early Elementary Education And The Impact On Academic And Behavioral Outcomes, Adam Mckee

M.Ed. Literature Reviews

This project explored the impact of direct instruction in social-emotional learning (SEL) at the elementary grade levels on academic and behavioral outcomes. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to analyze existing research in this area. The findings demonstrate a strong correlation between explicit SEL instruction in primary grades and positive improvements in both academic achievement and behavioral outcomes. This paper concludes that providing explicit instruction in essential SEL skills, including self-regulation, flexibility, and inhibition, is vital for promoting positive student outcomes in both academic achievement and behavior.

The Effects Of Growth Mindset Strategies On The Rhythmic Notation Comprehension And Personal Musical Self-Efficacy Perceptions Of High School Instrumentalists, Frederick Conrad Krieger

Masters Theses

Despite the depth of research in general education and music education teaching methods as well as an implied overlap in these concepts, there is little research directly linking methodology and strategies across these content areas. More specifically, the benefit and implementation of growth-mindset instruction is considered best practice in the general education classroom but is rarely discussed in the context of the performing ensemble. Consistency in educational methods between content areas is critical because it unifies each into a single education process and promotes lifelong learning that will extend into other areas and beyond the classroom. This study will explore …

Teacher Perceptions On The Influence Of The Amistad Integrated Units On Instructional Practices And Black Female Students' Academic Experiences, Tiffany Wicks

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to understand the thoughts of teachers on the Amistad Integrated Units and the influence of the culturally relevant units on Black female students. The researcher identified if culturally relevant pedagogy influenced teacher instructional practices and the classroom academic experiences of Black female students. The findings helped to explain the needs of Black girls in an urban classroom and possible solutions that can benefit them within classroom environments.

For this study, the researcher used a narrative inquiry research design to examine and understand the perspectives of teachers and the influence of culturally relevant curriculum …

Selected Elementary Music Educators’ Perceptions Of Curriculum, Scheduling, And Workload, Mara Nowlin

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Elementary music is a field that many people would agree is important, but the subject does not always get an equal opportunity when stacked up against subjects that are regulated with standardized tests, such as math or language arts. I set out to study elementary music programs in the region where I am employed (the Four State Region of Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma) in the Midwest. Some questions I sought to answer were what types of elementary music curricula are available and popular, and how districts come to select their music curriculum. Additionally, I wanted to examine the school …

Experiences Of School Administrators And Teachers: Challenges And Promising Practices During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Helen Teresa Hyde Carter

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the lived experiences of teachers and administrators as reflected in their responses regarding instructional materials, instructional delivery, social and emotional well-being of students, and access to critical school services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants shared their experiences about how the instructional materials and delivery modes were selected as well as the guidance and support given by school administrators. Major challenges and concerns along with promising practices related to student engagement, social and emotional well-being of students, and access to critical school services were identified.

Examining The Benefits Of Adding Mindfulness-Based Programs In The Curriculum Of Undergraduate And Graduate Social Work Programs: A Review Of Literature, Sarah M. Dickerson

Honors Thesis

Undergraduate and graduate students are often enveloped in an array of stress and anxiety, and it is no surprise that undergraduate and graduate social work students are faced with high amounts of stress due to vicarious trauma as a result of exposure to via coursework and experiential learning. It also comes as no surprise that social work professionals are exposed to numerous stressors causing the burnout rate for social workers to be high. Mindfulness techniques are used in various cultures and religions around the world with the purpose of synching mind and body. Using mindfulness techniques, individuals can be fully …