Education Commons^™

Theater Over Textbooks: How A Neuroscience Outreach Group Utilizing Art In S.T.E.M. Provides Cost-Effective Strategies In Tackling The United States Education Gap, Camden Grant Howard, William Griesar

University Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to summarize the relevant research for the evaluation of a S.T.E.A.M.-based, grassroots, neuroscience outreach group called 'NW Noggin'. This paper discusses the benefits and skills of S.T.E.M. in learning, the benefits and skills of S.T.E.A.M. in learning, educational disparities within the United States, educational outreach groups how they are currently assessed as well as more innovative arts-based and inquiry-based alternative assessments of student knowledge. This paper then focuses on the nonprofit NW Noggin to discuss their goals and activities and possible options for program assessment. This thesis also discusses how they fulfill their civic …

From Theory To Practice: Interdisciplinary Science In Undergraduate Education, Brie Tripp

Dissertations and Theses

Science has undergone a major transformation in the 20th and 21st centuries with new fields emerging at the intersection of disciplines, such as bioethics, bioinformatics, and chemical ecology. Yet, opportunities to engage with interdisciplinary science, and the skills needed to work in these fields, are largely absent from undergraduate biology classrooms. As a consequence, students are potentially deprived of opportunities to think interdisciplinarily and engage with real-world issues that often necessitate interdisciplinary efforts. To be informed citizens in society and forward-thinking scientists in the workforce, undergraduate students will undoubtedly benefit from exposure to these interdisciplinary science experiences.

Given these considerations, …

The In-Betweens: Exploring Integration Within The Arts, Ruchi Pathak

Masters Theses

This research analyzes the possibilities of integration within the arts and its potential in affecting change in the teaching and learning environment. To approach to this larger question, I conducted two in-depth case studies as a participatory observer playing two radically different roles:- the role of a student at New Works, a performing arts program at Brown University, and the role of a curriculum planner and programming researcher at Providence CityArts. The nature and educational level of the two programs were drastically different. Providence CityArts is a youth directed community-based nonprofit organization that offers after school art programs while New …

The Effect Of Poetry As A Write To Learn Activity On Content Acquisition, Content Area Writing Proficiency, And Classroom Engagement In An Inclusive Middle School Social Studies Setting : A Mixed Methods Study, Tammy Geneive Ellis-Robinson

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

Exploring The Impact Of Program Structure On Student And Faculty Scholarly Communities In Interdisciplinary Ph. D. Programs, Lenore G. Horowitz

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Information Science doctoral program at the University at Albany, State University of New York, faces many of the same challenges found in highly interdisciplinary programs across educational institutions worldwide such as complex curricula development, abundant discipline languages and cultures, and stakeholders clinging to the traditional, single-discipline university system. In 2006, the University at Albany Information Science Ph.D. program faculty redefined the program's structure in hopes of addressing the challenges it was facing. Program structure is a social process shaped by community participation and is influenced by many factors including students, faculty members, and both informal and formal knowledge production.

Understanding The Role Of Social, Teaching And Cognitive Presence In Hybrid Courses: Student Perspectives On Learning And Pedagogical Implications, Janelle De Carrico Voegele

Dissertations and Theses

The use of hybrid learning (a blend of face-to-face and distance learning) is rapidly increasing in higher education. However, educational leaders have raised concerns about the proliferation of hybrid programming as an efficiency measure without appropriate attention to learning. This study examined the relationship between social, teaching and cognitive presence, pedagogical design, and students' perspectives on hybrid learning effectiveness. Data from thirty-nine undergraduate courses representing 1,886 students were analyzed to identify indicators of best hybrid practice. Aspects of social and teaching presence significantly influenced students' perceptions of learning, including facilitation of student interactions, assignment feedback and guidance, effective use of …

Eco-Math: Creating A Model Curriculum For Teaching Mathematics In The Context Of Environmental Education, Christina Joy Merz

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of developing this project was to show teachers that environmental education themes and activities can be effectively integrated with mathematics concepts in upper elementary and middle school classroom settings. Teachers are expected to meet with increased demands, state and national standards, and raise the levels of student achievement, yet they are given few resources with which to do so.

"I Hope To Be A Symbol Of Encouragement": Using Craft In Community Colleges To Facilitate Student Voice In The Remedial Studies Debate, Aja Nadine Henriquez

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to collect information about basic skills students in one cohort of 24 students at a local community college in order to inform policy-makers about the group for which they are making decisions. As faculty and administrators scramble to enact changes to cope with the current economy, political changes, and community demands, students are the only stakeholders whose voices aren't heard in the debate over what is to come of remedial studies in California Community Colleges. Throughout all of this research, one important element is missing in the discourse regarding remedial coursework in community college--the …

Interdisciplinary Studies Students' Academic And Social Engagement A Quantitative Study, Jessica Simmons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored interdisciplinary studies students‟ academic and social engagement. As the review of literature demonstrated, student engagement and satisfaction are important to retention and institutions can adopt policies and practices to foster student engagement. Because interdisciplinary studies programs often struggle to maintain relevance, fostering student engagement is one way to ensure maximum student satisfaction and retention. This study identified factors of student engagement that were positively related to satisfaction and confirmed that requiring core interdisciplinary studies courses had a positive impact on engagement. A quantitative instrument, the Interdisciplinary Studies Student Engagement Survey, was adapted from the National Survey of …

The Hurricane Katrina Volunteer Experience;Inclusion Into The Life Narratives Of Young Adults, Jessie Guidry Baginski

ETD Archive

Hurricane Katrina left in her wake one of America's oldest and greatest cities in shambles. In 2011, five years after the storm, New Orleans remains in a state of recovery. Statistics reveal many disaster-related facts attributable to the storm. Life stories, however, can open the windows to the soul, inviting us to better understand the human element of this tragedy. Employing a narrative case study methodology, this study delved into the life stories of three young adults who attended to residents only three weeks after they returned to their homes. Through a series of three interviews with each participant, it …

Effectiveness Of A Research-Based Reading Development Intervention In 2nd Grade Children, Kinsi Dawn Franzwa

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to develop a reading program for second grade children that is based on research. Reading development is a complex process impacted by a wide array of neurobiological, cognitive, social, and other related factors.

Explicit Content-Area Vocabulary Instruction For English Learners: Impacts With Reading Comprehension, Catherine Ruthe Terrell

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine impacts of explicit content-area vocabulary instruction on reading comprehension. Effective instructional strategies include multiple texts at students' instructional levels, highly qualified teachers, daily explicit vocabulary instruction combined with student's application of instruction and evolution of instruction as student's reading achievement increases.

Affirmative Acts: The Need For American Black Theatre In The Classroom, Angela Batrice Brooks-Van Niel

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to reveal that racial inequality in American Theatre is still in existence: that while our country has gained some level of integration, several societal and artistic echelons evidence a remaining tendency towards discrimination--a separatist sense of culture that unfortunately informs elementary and secondary classrooms all across the United States as well as still exists in the general arts.

Emerging Out Of The Ashes: Place And Place-Based Education, Diane Marie Zetlmaier

Theses Digitization Project

In response to the aftermath of the Old Fire in San Bernardino County in 2003, the author took her personal experiences and developed a project for the school where she teaches fourth grade called "heArts for the Forest". The goal of the project was to heighten students' awareness and sense of responsibility in regard to their place in the local world as well as the global environment.

The Infusion Of Theater Arts In The Teaching Of Language Arts: Its Impact On The Academic Achievement Of Fifth Grade Students, Margaret P. Campbell

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Making Sense: Reflections On Developing A Social Studies Curriculum For Five- And Six-Year-Olds, Anne Tobias

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper is a reflection on the writing of a social studies curriculum for five and six-year-olds-a study of a neighborhood construction site. It examines the way in which one teacher's commitment to offering children meaningful content evolved into the formulation of her educational philosophy, as influenced by such progressive educators as John Dewey, Lucy Sprague Mitchell, and Caroline Pratt.

Part One of the thesis is divided into three major sections. The first consists of a developmental overview of five- and six-year-olds. The second describes the connections between understandings of basic child development, understandings of a particular group of children, …

A Lesson Learned: Integrating Literature Into The Content Areas, Jennifer K. Harb

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

In schools, students are offered numerous facts and ideas about the world in which they live, in hopes that they will one day become knowledgeable and functional members of society. Students are expected not only to take this information in, but to also make it their own, expand on it, and be able to apply it to situations within their lives. Teachers struggle to share this information through the most efficient and enjoyable mediums possible. How can they achieve the greatest understanding and interest among the greatest number of children?

“Children’s literature is a powerful medium for understanding the world” …

Peace Education For Incarcerated Youth, Robin Pauline Russell

Theses Digitization Project

Teaching incarcerated adolescents can be challenging for teachers to gain students' attention while strengthening their character as part of their rehabilitation and re-socilizaton process.

An Innovative Approach To Grammar Instruction In The High School Language Arts Classroom, Robert John Miller

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects on student writing of two separate approaches to teaching grammar - one traditional, and one non-traditional. Over the course of four weeks, the writing abilities of two high school English classes, similar in composition and academic skill, were compared.

Promoting Responsible Environmental Behavior In Second Grade Students, Mary Annette Kirchhoff

Theses Digitization Project

This project provides a convenient way to incorporate environmental education into the already exiting curriculum. Many of the environmental lessons and activities provided in this project cover language arts and math standards as well as providing students with the environmental knowledge, sensitivity, and skills they need.

Integrating Spatial Thinking Into The Curriculum Through Geographic Information Systems And The Santa Ana River Watershed, JoaquíN Javier Baca

Theses Digitization Project

Lesson plans were developed in order to address the inter-disciplinary nature inherent in environmental education by drawing on place-based learning approaches and relating natural and human made aspects of watershed dynamics.

An Integrative And Holistic Approach To Implementing Curriculum For A School Garden, Elizabeth Janette Newmeyer

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of the project was to develop a curriculum guide that would allow teachers to effectively and efficiently utilize a school garden to teach the required standards while promoting peace among the students. To develop this a thorough review of literature in the following areas was used: school gardening, peace curriculum, and curriculum design.

Elementary Education Curriculum Reform: Integration Of The Basic Content Areas, Karen Hartsuff Zak

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study will present research validating the contention that the basics that were eliminated to adopt these limiting curriculums, must be put back into the curriculum, not merely for a well-rounded greatly needed educational background for children to acquire, but also because all of these basic study areas of science, social studies, the arts, health and music are intricately associated and help each of the other doctrines.

The Effectiveness Of Direct Vocabulary Instruction Strategies To Increase The Comprehension Of Fifth Grade Students During Social Studies Lessons, Octavio Rodolfo Gamez

Theses Digitization Project

Designed to answer the overarching question: does the implementation of direct vocabulary instruction strategies improve the comprehension of fifth grade students during the social studies lessons? The study included three fifth grade classes in the Corona-Norco Unified School District. To answer the question seven areas were considered: lesson selection, word selection, developing a vocabulary note guide, developing the test with a rubric, making handouts with critical analysis questions, designing semantic maps and semantic feature analysis handouts of the lesson design. Results showed that students who received the direct instruction in vocabulary words benefited greatly and in most cases doubled their …

Addressing Second And Third Grade California Science And Social Science Content Standards Through Environmental Literature, Denise Truex Hatfield

Theses Digitization Project

In response to the federal legislation No Child Left Behind, schools across the country implemented required reading programs for classroom instruction. Open Court's Reading program meets this criterion for many schools. The text in Open Court Reading for grades two and three was evaluated for science and social science content standards that would be supportive of environmental education. Supplemental lessons from Project Learning Tree, Project WILD, and Project WET were identified.

Effects Of Using Educational Robotics At The Elementary School Level, Vega Rishelline Anne Flores

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this research was to learn more about the uses and benefits of educational robotics in an elementary school curriculum.

The Most Effective Way To Teach Spelling, Mandy Lea Strange

Theses Digitization Project

The research in this project shows that spelling needs to be taught through patterns, rhymes and the use of analogies. Weekly spelling tests are effective to assess spelling patterns, instead of useing a pre-determined collection of random words. Additionally, spelling needs to be taught within writing, not as a completely separate subject.

A Model For Instructional Integration For Science And English-Language Development, Patricia Diane Andreano

Theses Digitization Project

This project recommends a professional development model for the integration of language arts and science skills to improve the literacy and scientific proficiency of elementary students, specifically English language learners. The goal is to prepare students to score well on the fluency aspects of the advanced levels of the California English Language Development Test (CELDT).

Neurolinguistic Programming As Observational And Mediational Strategies In Teaching Primary-Level English As A Second Language, Amber Lee Hishmeh

Theses Digitization Project

This project serves as a resource for kindergarten ESL educators to explore more creative multisensory teaching strategies. The five methodologies presented are Neurolinguistic Programming, Suggestopedia, music, storytelling and Total Physical Response.

College-Level Reading And Writing: Considering Curriculum From A Postmodern Perspective, Brenda Jean Littleton

Theses Digitization Project

This project presents qualitative investigations into the relation of science systems to education systems, and suggests post modern constructs as models of systemic change, with application toward reading and writing literacy for the college-level adult learning.