Education Commons^™

Special Needs In The Community, William Lightle

Senior Theses

Currently, there are very few summer camps for children with special needs. I co-founded a special needs camp called Camp Chip and Love for children who have mild physical and mental disabilities. The camp was created to help give special needs children the opportunity to become involved in a summer camp and introduce them to golf, tennis, and arts and crafts. Starting a camp is very challenging. I was responsible for ordering supplies, t-shirts, trophies, obtaining medical releases for the participants, and registration of campers. I made this camp free of charge by going to different corporations and asking for …

Injuries In Youth Football: A Descriptive Two Year Study Of Local South Carolina Football Leagues, Marie Morrissette

Senior Theses

Objective: To collect and analyze injury data from two leagues in the Midlands area of South Carolina. One of the leagues is an age-weight league, meaning athletes have to be within a certain age range and weight range to play on a specific team. The other league was an age-only league, meaning athletes have to be within a certain range to play on a specific team. Results: For the two seasons that injury data was collected, the age-weight league had 208 injuries and the age-only league had 109. For both leagues, the majority of the injuries sustained were contusions. Each …

Let's Talk Science, Krupesh Dave, Courtney Malo, Savannah Savage

Senior Theses

The focus of our senior thesis, “Let's Talk Science!", was to increase the exposure of elementary school-aged students to science. In particular, we focused on increasing the students’ opportunity to experience fun science experiments that still presented a strong take-home lesson. In doing this, our goal was to increase the students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers.

We coordinated our outreach program with the Waverly After-School Program, a student organization that operates through the University of South Carolina Honors College in Columbia, South Carolina. Through the Waverly After-School Program, we were able to carry out our senior …

A Case Study In How French Teachers Understand Purpose In Educating Immigrant Students, Dana Doggett

Senior Theses

The purpose of the study was to comprehend how two French teachers understood their roles in teaching immigrant students. To achieve this goal, I observed classes at a middle school in Pau, France over the course of three months. I recorded extensive field notes and conducted two in-depth interviews with both of the teachers I observed. After returning to the United States, I coded my notes, identifying and analyzing patterns in the data. Among other conclusions, I discovered that these teachers emphasized students’ individual identities, including their diverse national and cultural backgrounds, while at the same time pushing the students …

Building Academic Confidence In English Language Learners In Elementary School, Alejandra Vazquez

Senior Theses

Non-English speaking students lack the confidence and preparation to be verbally actively engaged in the classroom. Students may frequently display hesitation in learning to speak English, and may also lack a teacher’s guidance in becoming proficient English speakers. The purpose of this research is to examine how teachers build academic confidence in English language learners. This study also examines how teachers can develop active and confident English speaking students, and improve home-school communication. Research questions include the following: What are factors that contribute to confidence among ELL students in gaining English fluency? How can classroom teachers help develop selfconfidence in …

Understanding Social And Emotional Needs As An Approach In Developing A Positive Classroom Environment, Kristen Ozorio

Senior Theses

The classroom environment is an important aspect of classroom management that concerns many teachers. Properly engaging students in the classroom can foster a positive environment. This study examines social and emotional needs of students and its implications in developing a positive classroom. How can meeting social and emotional needs of children help teachers create an engaging and productive learning environment? This study examines aspects of social and emotional needs as they are used in creating a positive classroom environment. The problem is that teachers have difficulty controlling student behavior in the classroom. While there are many approaches to behavioral management, …

Effects Of Resource Allocation On Student Academic Achievement And Self-Perceptions Of Success In An Urban Setting, Kimberly Ann Harris

Senior Theses

Civil Rights legislation, now 50 years old, de facto segregation based on socioeconomic factors, such as poverty and ethnicity in urban areas translates into the surrounding schools, with a legacy of limited funding, reduced services, and teachers with limited training to successfully engage students in high poverty areas. This study is an examination of teacher perceptions of the effect of resource allocation on student academic achievement ands student self-perceptions of success. Within urban settings, districts have changed little to reduce de facto segregation in schools as a whole, and create equal opportunities for all children. What are the effects limited …

Creating A Successful Educational Environment For The Latino/A Community: Building Home- School Communication, Talyha Romo

Senior Theses

California has a large population of Latino/a students, and for most of them Spanish is their native language. The problem is the miscommunication between Latino/a families and educators in the school setting. Teachers often do not understand Spanish and are unable to communicate with parents or students. Latino/a families are not aware of the ways to support their children, given this lack of ability to communicate. A review of the literature reveals the cultural and language barriers that teachers face. Teachers also lack support within their school in providing appropriate instruction for Latino/a students and in communicating with Latino/a families. …

Heritage/ Culture Preservation Model Bilingual Instruction, Heidi Samayoa

Senior Theses

Our first generation children face a loss of heritage in today’s public schools. Unfortunately, the assets that one’s bilingual ability brings into the classroom are difficult for educators to fully understand. Often this may happen because professionals in the field of education lack the knowledge about the need for children to maintain their culture heritage as a first generation or second generation child. This study addresses the benefits of the preservation of culture heritage in Latino/ Latina children. The problem is that there are very few opportunities for people to see strong bilingual education programs with culture heritage preservation as …

Enhancing Social Behavior Of Children With Autism In An Inclusive Classroom, Alexandra Akemi Rovira

Senior Theses

Though laws relating to including children on the autism spectrum and general education in public school settings are in place, inclusion of students is still not a widespread practice in all elementary classrooms. This study examines the social needs of children with autism and in an inclusive classroom. Children with autism are often placed in separate classrooms in the elementary school. This study examines the positive social behaviors that come from having children with autism in an inclusive elementary classroom. Questions for this research are as follows: What are useful methods to enhance social behavior of autistic students in an …

Preventing Students Who Are At Risk From Dropping Out Of School, Agustin Joseph Gonzalez

Senior Theses

Over the course I have spent at Dominican, I have experienced a shift in the way I think. The academic journey I have traveled has brought me a point of rediscovery of who I am. With my degree I will obtain in the near future, I plan on teaching at-risk students, regardless of their age or placement in school. This paper allows me to explore the overall theme of students whom are at risk of dropping out of school. Various topics throughout my paper are discussed: the correlation between poverty and the impact it has on students’ performance in school, …