Education Commons^™

Guide To The Amelia E. Leconte Collection, Olivia Englehart

Archives & Special Collections Finding Aids

This collection is organized into two series, each offering a comprehensive glimpse into the life and accomplishments of Amelia Leconte. The first series encompasses a rich assortment of documentation, photographs, and correspondence stemming from Amelia's teaching in Oujda, Morocco. Within this series are documents such as her USA Grant Award Letters, a congratulatory telegram from John F. Kennedy while he was a Massachusetts senator, travel documents, a meticulously kept notebook containing lesson notes and grades, a curated selection of publications on Morocco and notable travel destinations, and speeches delivered upon her return to various high schools. The second series delves …

Peer Mentoring Program For Psychology Major Students: A Promising Prospect, Nadia Calderon

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Many first-year and second-year undergraduate students face challenges and abundance of college resources they may not know how to use. Learning about campus resources and dealing with these challenges could help students thrive academically and personally in the college environment. We gathered survey data from 87 students from seven sections of the Bridgewater State University Orientation to the Psychology Major (OPM) course. In one of these sections, we implemented a Peer Mentoring Program (PMP). We also hosted psychology-focused events in which 48 psychology major students attended and filled out feedback questionnaires. In this study we aimed to analyze the effectiveness …

“Every Man Must Play A Part”: A Character-Centered Approach To The Merchant Of Venice, Megan Moore

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Left Out: Chronic Absenteeism In Elementary Schools, Catarina Morrissette

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In Massachusetts in 2022, approximately 33,000 students were chronically absent (missing ten percent of the 180-day school year) students (Buyinza, 2022). The purpose of this research project was to learn what strategies and programs work to support elementary students who are chronically absent, and why students are missing school. Chronic absenteeism impacts all academics but particularly reading levels; social skills and future career opportunities are also negatively impacted (DESE, 2022). Having resources to support educators and their students during these trying times is important for the success of a child’s educational future. As part of this project, teachers, administrators, school …

Born Into Expectations, Lyndah N. Wasike

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

Lgbtq Literature In The High School English Language Arts Classroom: A Rationale For A Unit Plan On Giovanni’S Room By James Baldwin, Jenivieve D'Andrea

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The inclusion of LGBTQ literature in the high school English Language Arts classroom is a necessary step that secondary schools should take to promote culturally responsive teaching that represents the growing number of adolescents identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer in American public schools. According to a study conducted by the Williams Institute School of Law (2020), information from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey found that about 1,994,000 of adolescents ages thirteen to seventeen identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Of this national count, about 39,000 adolescents in Massachusetts identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. …

Read This Book!: Defending Multicultural Literature From Recent Censorship, Chloe Devine

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The aim of this research is to highlight the importance of multicultural children’s literature in the field of education as it relates to the call for a more multicultural approach to education, as well as through the consideration of the recent uptick in book censorship across the country. Specifically, I will turn my attention towards children’s literature that features Black characters and experiences, which are often featured within the multicultural realm. Despite the fact that research has consistently shown that multicultural children’s literature has benefits for Black children as well as creating an engaging reading experience for all readers, efforts …

The Evolution Of The Child Character With Learning Differences, Mary Viera

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In this paper, I will analyze the various representations of learning disabilities in selected children’s literature from the early twentieth century to recent literature published in the last decade. In the typical American classroom specific learning disabilities account for about 20% of students. It is the largest classified group to receive services in special education, and also the broadest: “Learning disabilities are disorders that affect the ability to understand or use spoken or written language, do mathematical calculations, coordinate movements or direct attention” (NIH, 2022). I will use the term “learning differences” as it encompasses all children who learn differently …

How International Student Teaching Benefits A Classroom, Kasey Donahue

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In this day and age, more students are considering whether or not they should student teach abroad. International student teaching is not a program that all universities offer. However, at the universities that have the program, student teachers are noticing the effect that the experience has on them in the long run. Interviews with five different teachers who considered completing their student teaching abroad and followed through with it have reflected positive outcomes. The makeup of our classrooms are rapidly changing with many different cultures and nationalities being represented. In order to provide an equitable and inclusive classroom environment, teachers …

Teaching Accurate And Age-Appropriate History To Elementary Students: Teaching Third Graders About Historic Thanksgiving, Ashley Schepis

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This educational and historical research is based on teaching accurate and age-appropriate history to elementary students. Unfortunately, instead of true history elementary schoolers are often taught myths, to avoid teaching children about the embarrassing and gruesome parts of United States history. When history is not taught truthfully, it can perpetuate stereotypes and leave students confused when they reach secondary and higher education and discover that some of what they know is incorrect. The purpose of this project is to investigate what really happened at the 1621 Harvest Feast and its evolution into the holiday that is celebrated today, assess how …

Guide To The Dr. Owen B. Kiernan Collection, 1934-2010, Undated, Noah Smith, Orson Kingsley

Archives & Special Collections Finding Aids

Owen Kiernan was born on March 9, 1914, in Randolph, Massachusetts. Kiernan graduated from Bridgewater State University in 1935 (known then as Bridgewater State Teachers College) and went on to get his masters at Boston University and his Doctorate at Harvard. Kiernan participated in baseball and basketball while at Bridgewater State and was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989. After graduating from Bridgewater State in 1935, Kiernan kept a strong connection to the school for the rest of his life.

Kiernan became the Massachusetts Commissioner of Education in 1957. He would stay in that role until …

Culturally Responsive Teaching, Kimberly Shorey

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Many classrooms, across all academic domains (reading, math, science, and social studies), are not culturally inclusive in terms of student race and ethnicity. As teachers, we can address this problem by promoting and incorporating culturally inclusive practices as we present subject content. Culturally responsive teaching promotes equitable student growth and development in the academic classroom. The primary purpose of this research was to build a website that shares culturally responsive teaching methods that educators can implement for their students. This online resource shares techniques for implementing an array of culturally diverse books into the curriculum, integrating cultural aspects into math …

Moving Elementary School English Learners Forward: Understanding How Covid-Era School Disruptions Impacted English Learner Education, Danielle Vissering

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In the first semester of my honors thesis, I looked at how big events like COVID-19 affect non-heritage English speakers. Through my research, I was able to compile a literature review to see what challenges ELL students face, and how we could overcome those difficulties. This then led me this semester to look at what strategies could better assist ELL students in the classroom. To understand how teachers are working with students in classrooms now I interviewed teachers and observed classrooms to find out what strategies, technology, and resources could help ELL students.

Challenges Of Transitioning Back To School From Hospitalization: The Role Of Child Life Specialists In Schools, Kelsey Bannen

Honors Program Theses and Projects

When students return to school after hospitalization, many aspects of their development are impacted. During the transition back to school after hospitalization students often face social, emotional, and academic challenges. Child life specialists typically work in hospital settings to support the social-emotional well-being of pediatric patients. Child life specialists are highly equipped to support students returning to school after hospitalization and would be a valuable asset to all school systems. Research for this study was conducted through literature reviews, an interview with a child life specialist who is currently working within a school, and surveys of school nurses and child …

Black History In The Early Childhood And Elementary Classrooms: Teacher Beliefs And Practices, Shannon Mccormack

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Educators across the United States have struggled with meaningfully yet appropriately addressing race within History and Social Studies lessons at the Early Childhood and Elementary level. Previous research has revealed the importance of these conversations and the benefits that learning accurate history has for students of all racial backgrounds. The literature has also revealed the discomfort and apprehensiveness that educators may feel while confronting and teaching about our nation’s complex and often grim history. The purpose of this research was to analyze teachers’ beliefs and comfortability regarding addressing race in the classroom and how that translates to their teaching practices. …

Let’S Play! The Power Of Play As A Teaching Tool In The Elementary And Early Childhood Classroom, Jessica Moore

Honors Program Theses and Projects

What play-based learning looks like depends on the subject it is being used in. Overall, it involves hands-on activities and children learning through these activities. These activities can be used to teach/introduce the lesson, or they can be used as a reinforcement. In science, it might be experimenting with cardboard and cars to understand ramps. For math, it might be using manipulatives to learn about shapes. In social studies it could be putting on a puppet show, while in English it might be playing Ispy to find words that begin with the letter p. Three research questions were created to …

Strategies For Increasing Long Term Language Comprehension In English Learners, Apryl Danwah

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This website is meant to serve as a resource for educators to help inform their instruction of English language learners. The focus of the information included in this website is on long term language comprehension and retention of content in science, social studies, and math subject areas. A general overview of English learners is included. The need for differentiated instruction of English learners compared to monolingual students will be supported throughout each section. Suggestions for appropriate and effective long term comprehension strategies and teaching practices are provided based on the findings of recent research. In addition to a review of …

Giving Voices To Children Who Were Refugees, Maddison Louise Jacques

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This website provides an insight into children who were refugees. You will read about: (1) important organizations that play a key role in helping them when they arrive in America, (2) experts in the field who can speak directly from their experiences with refugees, (3) along with one expert who was personally a refugee herself, (4) there are also books that educators can use to help their students understand who refugees are and what they have been through, (5) lesson plans to along with those books for multiple grades.

The Role Of Multi-Sensory Learning In Elementary Classrooms On Student Development, Amanda Romaine

Honors Program Theses and Projects

I chose to do this research surrounding multi-sensory learning in the classroom due to my personal experiences within elementary schools, both as a student and as a teacher. Growing up, I remember I always learned the material best when it was presented on different platforms, such as with hands-on manipulatives or singing songs rather than reading out of a textbook and doing independent worksheets. Despite learning in this way, most of the classes I had taken up until graduation was all textbook-oriented, which I felt hindered my ability to strongly grasp the content which I was being taught. The goal …

Supporting Children With Selective Mutism In Early Childhood Education Classrooms, Ashley Resendes

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Knowledge is key to understanding, and selective mutism is an anxiety disorder that a lot of people are not very knowledgeable about. It is mistaken and misdiagnosed for shyness or defiance when that is not the case at all. The purpose of this research was to clear up any of those misconceptions and explain that selective mutism is not just shyness or a child being defiant, but an actual anxiety disorder that children have that prevents them from speaking.

Responsive Classroom Lessons For An Elementary Classroom, Emma Magnuski

Honors Program Theses and Projects

For my project, I created a curation website promoting social and emotional integration within the classroom with various lesson plans written for elementary-aged students. To create the final product, I reviewed research, developed lesson plans, and conducted a peer-review survey of the effectiveness of the finished product, to prepare a usable resource. I researched information about the responsive classroom, the Massachusetts Education standards, and the CASEL standards for the website and create the lesson plans. Once I published the website, which is available at: https://sites.google.com/view/honorsprojectselresources/home, I conducted the peer-review study.

The Effects Of Critical Literacy Theory On Listening Comprehension And Student Engagement, Jay Girvan

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The purpose of conducting this study is to better understand and assess the current critical literacy practices of classroom teachers and to gain a better understanding of how well these strategies increase engagement and reading comprehension of texts, especially those that address social justice issues. As outlined by the principles of critical literacy theory, teachers are encouraged to help readers understand the author’s intent. By comparing read-alouds not using critical literacy strategies and others with the preferred approach, researchers will be able to examine the differences in both student engagement and listening comprehension. Alongside anecdotal records and post reading comprehension …

Social And Self-Concepts For Students With Idd In Relation To Inclusive Programs, Maeve Carney

Honors Program Theses and Projects

From experience and understanding, neurodivergent students are given less opportunity than neurotypical students in school-sponsored activities. With inclusive programs becoming more prevalent, students of all populations can connect and interact in the same activities rather than segregated organizations. Focusing on inclusive programs like Best Buddies and Unified Sports, this thesis will be identifying how these inclusive programs affect social and self-concepts on high school aged students with an IDD and their surrounding community. Through 25 peer-reviewed articles and self-reported data from five surrounding school districts of Southeastern Massachusetts, data and results will be illustrated and analyzed. Having a strong connection …

Exploring Bipoc Student Experiences And The Teacher’S Role In Anti-Racist Pedagogy, Elizabeth Cheesman

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Though there have been efforts to address racism in schools, there is a lack of anti-racist pedagogy discussion and its role in changing education and therefore changing the world. Teachers often are able to grasp an understanding of racism and how that may impact their students through professional development. There is a significant lack of action in working to dismantle the racism seen in schools, however. Racism in the classroom may look like a colonized curriculum and implicit biases that influence the way students are perceived and treated in the school. Anti-racist pedagogy works to actively join the fight against …

Practical Femininity: The Student Development Of Legally Blonde’S Elle Woods, Elizabeth S. Rodericks

The Graduate Review

College experiences often involve challenges that can provide the impetus for personal and professional growth. Likewise, Elle Woods of the film Legally Blonde undergoes multiple significant changes in her sense of identity, morality, and ability to take charge of her own life after she is forced to radically change her perspective and priorities. This paper covers her development as a law student and individual according to the student development theories of Chickering’s Seven Vectors of Identity Development, Gilligan’s Theory of Women’s Moral Development, and Baxter Magolda’s Self-Authorship Theory. As a result of her growth, Elle Woods flourishes into a confident, …

Food Insecurity For The Immigrant Population During The Novel Coronavirus-19, Bridget Gallagher

The Graduate Review

The novel Coronavisur-19 (COVID-19) has caused s widespread loss of life in the United States and globally and wrought enormous changes to our culture and lives. COVID-19 also has caused and intensified food insecurity, especially for immigrants. The pandemic has made visible and exacerbated longstanding problems of food insecurity and hunger in America. This paper suggests several approaches to mitigating food insecurity. Focusing on the immigrant community, the author argues that we can reduce hunger by reexamining and reinvigorating existing community resources and practical strategies, including neighborhood ethnic food stores, community gardens, advocacy, and outreach programs; and by enlisting specific …

Developing An Inquiry-Based Laboratory Project For Chem 142l Course At Bsu, Manuel Pina

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In addition to content knowledge, critical and independent thinking, scientific reasoning, and problem-solving skills are essential in preparing next generation of successful workforce. Since one of the biggest advantages of STEM disciplines is a “must-have” hands-on laboratory experience, it is intuitive to exploit this learning space to reinforce afore-mentioned skills. In this context, project-based (PBL) or inquiry-based (IBL) laboratory experiences are rapidly becoming mainstream pedagogical choice for many STEM instructors across United States.^[1-4] PBL, and IBL are learning experiences that offer students an opportunity to experience realistic scientific process of discovery through carefully designed inquiry-driven and/or open-ended investigative laboratory …

Anxiety In Elementary Classrooms, Stephanie Kane

Honors Program Theses and Projects

As the number of students with anxiety increases, elementary school professionals are becoming more aware of the signs, behaviors, and negative outcomes that are shown in a young student with anxiety. This study examined the impact that anxiety has on elementary students’ social and academic growth in the classroom. Interviews were conducted with seven elementary school teachers, two school counselors, and one school nurse from a variety of districts in Eastern Massachusetts. The purpose of the study was to identify the different ways that young students express their anxieties and the effect that this has on their schooling. Several different …

La Carranga Como Identidad Cultural Local Y Regional Del Departamento De Cundinamarca Y Boyacá– Colombia, Karen L. López

Honors Program Theses and Projects

“Somos hablares, historias copla, canto y poesías, eso es lo que les traemos, eso es la carranguerita, sinfónicamente hablando, un canto hermoso a la vida”. Estas son las palabras con las que inicia algunas de sus presentaciones en público Jorge Velosa, el hombre más influyente y reconocido de la música carranguera. Este ritmo musical es muy importante porque por medio de su letra expresa ideas, valores, y lazos de identidad únicos de la comunidad campesina. También, es un estilo de música colombiana que busca la sonrisa de la gente, muestra cómo convivir en paz con la naturaleza, y es la …

An Exploration Of Manipulatives In Math Education, Jade Monte

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Pre-existing literature has shown that the education system needs to re-evaluate mathematical teaching practices in a manner that can boost students’ confidence in mathematics. Thus, the research is to investigate the use of manipulatives in reducing students’ anxiety by increasing their learning experience and engagement in mathematics. Furthermore, the purpose of this thesis is to explain the interconnectedness of math manipulatives, student engagement, and problem-solving. An in-depth literature review is conducted, which contains definitions, important benefits and methodologies of manipulatives, as well as the teacher’s role regarding these three terms. When manipulatives, student engagement, and problem-solving are in harmony, students …