Education Commons^™

How Can Mentor Texts Be Used To Teach Students In A Second Grade Classroom?, Caroline Thorvig

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Mentor texts is a popular term in the education world right now. This capstone defines mentor texts, how experts suggest selecting them, and how using mentor texts fits into best practices in literacy education. The use of mentor texts in reading, writing, and content areas is discussed. This capstone project gives examples of four mini-lessons taught with different mentor texts at a second grade level. Other possible mini-lessons are suggested to show the reader how one text can be used to teach many concepts.

Implementing The Math Workshop Model: Techniques And Benefits, Nicole Middendorf

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question investigated in this Capstone Project was: what are the necessary components of professional development to support second grade teachers in implementing math workshop? Many instructional techniques that have been incorporated into math classrooms in the past have led to lower levels of understanding and decreased abilities for students to reach higher levels of thinking. When using The Math Workshop model, it provides a framework that allows educators to meet the individual needs of every student through multiple methods and activities. The information provided in the literature review outlines the goals and components of implementation steps for a …

Curriculum For Addressing Potential Linguistic Misconceptions Of Early Elementary Somali- Speaking Learners Of English, Rachel Durkee

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

In this project, I examine common linguistic differences between Somali and English in an effort to answer my research question “How can I create a curriculum that explicitly addresses potential linguistic misconceptions of K-2 Somali learners of English?” This project consists of a document entitled “Somali/English Comparative Tool for ELD Teachers,” that points out common linguistic differences between Somali and English, and a corresponding curriculum that is created to be responsive to areas where students could potentially have challenges acquiring the grammatical form in English. Aspects of the Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theories of comparative and error analysis are used …

Building Comprehension In Fifth Grade Students Using Guided Reading, Erica Schiebel

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Guided reading is a strategy used in reading instruction. This project aims to answer the question, what is the impact of comprehension strategies when they are incorporated into a guided reading lesson plan in fifth grade? The author describes their personal and professional experience that led them to this question. The research literature on guided reading, comprehension, metacognition and assessment explain the importance of each and how they can be implemented in a classroom. Then the curriculum project is explained. The curriculum includes guided reading lesson plans and assessments by using the Understanding by Design framework. This curriculum is intended …

Adult Education, Community Building, Environmental Studies, Special Education, Staff Development, Teachers/ Teaching, Jennifer Whelan

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Language and culture are dynamically connected. The culture of a place refers to its people, traditions, beliefs and products such as music or food. Despite the body of evidence to support the importance of teaching about these cultural aspects, many world language teachers struggle to include cultural study alongside their language instruction. One engaging way to improve students’ linguistic and cultural competence is through read-alouds. Read-alouds are the foundation of early literacy and provide a number of benefits for young learners: they support a solid linguistic foundation for further study of the target language’s grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation; they engage …

Dragonfly’S Toolkit: An Innovative Curriculum Framework To Facilitate Socio-Emotional And Character Development Skills In Preschoolers, Celeste Finn

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was, how can teachers scaffold development of the social-emotional functioning of preschoolers to improve their emotional health? To answer this question, the project included researching and developing ways to improve a child’s social-emotional awareness and character development to create a classroom culture where relationships are secure and children can thrive. This project reviewed studies from numerous experts in areas of social-emotional learning, early childhood curriculum development, executive functioning and character development to form the theoretical foundations to create a social-emotional learning and character development curriculum for children ages three to five. The research …

A Lesson Unit On Aurally Differentiating Between The Phonologies Of English & Arabic: /P/ And /B/, Iten Ezz

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project analyzes one of the common English pronunciation errors experienced by Arab learners of English which is /p/ and /b/. Such error is systematic, not accidental. The most important factors leading to this error are the interference of the first language and the difference in the sound systems between Arabic and English. A specific curriculum was developed to help Arab learners of English overcome their pronunciation error. The curriculum started with controlled activities, then practiced in authentic speech using interactive learning activities to ensure learners exposure to the target sounds.

An Exploration Of Portfolios As An Alternative Assessment To Standardized Testing, Carolyn Schmitz

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was, How can portfolios be used as an assessment of Common Core reading standards in an eighth grade middle school classroom? As standardized testing continues to drive educational policy and decision-making, the author questions if traditional standardized tests are what is best for students, educators, or families. Researching through the lenses of attitudes toward standardized testing as well as the effectiveness of standardized testing, the author ultimately pursues the research of the use of portfolios as an alternative means of formally assessing students. An examination of the existing literature reveals that portfolios hold …

Teaching English Language Learners In The Regular Education Classroom: A Professional Development Plan, Beth Hartokolis

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The Minnesota Legislature LEAPS Act in 2014 mandates professional development for all teachers of English Language Learners (ELL). Many regular education teachers feel inadequate to successfully meet the needs of ELL students who are in their classrooms for most of the day. This project shares the research of best practices strategies for teaching ELL students based on WIDA standards. It provides a year long professional development (PD) plan based on research that states teacher learning needs to be interactive and ongoing to be implemented successfully. The PD gives specific strategies with time to discuss and implement these strategies with coaching …

A 21st Century Approach To Developing Engaged Writers In A Second Grade Classroom, Bekkirae House

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research for this project was designed to integrate students’ love of iPads and technology, and the need to develop fundamental writing skills while building active engagement in the writing process. The author was seeking to answer the following question, how do I transfer my students’ love of iPads and technology into their writing in order to build fundamental skills and engagement? After researching peer review and digital technology, it led the author to redesign existing lessons to launching writing workshop based on the ideas of cooperative learning in the classroom. The author writes about related research literature and focuses …

How Teachers Can Integrate Absent Narratives Into Their Manifest Destiny Curriculum To Better Understand The Experiences Of People Of Color, Daniel Gerber

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was, how can teachers integrate absent narratives into their Manifest Destiny curriculum to better understand the experiences of people of color? It documents one teacher’s reasons for modifying a Manifest Destiny and Pre- Civil War unit in a mainstream, high school-level curriculum, that incorporates absent narratives of people of color negatively affected by American expansion. The author documents through research that many curriculum textbooks and standards do not adequately mention what happens to people of color when the U.S. takes over territory through expansion. The author includes research related to why absent narratives …

Teaching Word Stress: A Curricular Resource For Adult English Language Learners At The High Beginner/Low Intermediate Levels, Ellen M. Clore-Patron

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine what materials were needed to inform the development of a curricular resource contributing to adult English language learners’ awareness and improved pronunciation of North American English word stress. A review of contemporary literature revealed that pronunciation instruction is key to adults’ acquisition of intelligible speech, and that instruction needs to focus foremost on prosodic features that are global to the needs of learners,

such as word stress. The author’s curricular resource includes a series of lesson plans and student- centered activities. To guide the development of the resource, the author employed a …

Developing Conceptual Place Value Intervention Curriculum For Upper Elementary Students, Angela Klint

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Conceptual Place Value (CPV) is the ability to flexibly increment (add) and decrement (subtract) numbers mentally (Wright, Ellemor-Collins, & Tabor, 2012). Within this project I analyze how to improve math achievement for upper elementary students who struggle with CPV concepts. Using Piaget, Vygotsky, and Erikson developmental theories I examine the educational needs of the students within upper elementary school grades. In addition, I investigate how mathematical understanding start and grow throughout a child’s development. Using this research, I developed Conceptual Place Value intervention curriculum for upper elementary students. This project consists of 15 lessons for each of the eight different …

Steam Design Thinking And Innovation: A Collaborative, Interdisciplinary, Authentic Approach To Problem Solving In Mathematics, Liesa Klyn

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

How might we design an interdisciplinary curriculum which incorporates collaboration and design-thinking to equip all students to tackle authentic, complex problems of critical relevance? This capstone project is an attempt to answer this question with an innovative mathematics curriculum that incorporates science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics into problem solving experiences that foster critical thinking, collaboration across networks, leading by influence, agility and adaptability, initiative and entrepreneurship, oral and written communication, accessing and analyzing information, curiosity and imagination and resourcefulness. This curriculum seeks to make six major shifts in student learning;from product to process, from consumption to production, from adult …

Curriculum Development Using Artistic Inquiry In An Arts Magnet Foundation Class, Debra Bestland

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project sought to answer the question; how can the skills of artistic inquiry be taught in an Arts Magnet Foundation Class? This project covered the creation of a mental construct for artistic inquiry and development of the first three units of a twelve-unit curriculum. Initially the author established a six-phase model of artistic inquiry which was then implemented in the development of individual units. The six components include: question formulation, annotated research, proposal making, creating with intent, presenting in a public format, and reflecting on the work. Each unit focused on teaching and implementing one of the phases. The …

How To Use An Advisory Period To Cultivate High School Students’ Social And Emotional Growth, Elizabeth Lundquist

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone paper and project addressed the research question: How can high school teachers cultivate students’ social and emotional growth during an advisory period in order to promote positive behavior and increase overall student achievement? Social and emotional learning is established as a critical component of overall positive youth development. The author’s literature review examined the impact strong social and emotional skills can have on individual behavior, classroom community, school climate, and academic achievement. Her research also focused on the unique opportunity an advisory period provides as a time and place through which every student may receive instruction and additional …

Being Mila: Creating An Lgbtq Curriculum That Is Authentic, Follows Policies And Ethics, And Teaches Acceptance, Tam Friestad

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The literature and curriculum used in the classroom needs to change to reflect the students that are being taught. With the number of students and families being impacted by LGBTQ issues, one teacher decided to create a project addressing the research question of: How can I create an LGBTQ curriculum that is authentic, follows policies and ethics, and teaches acceptance? It will document the creation of a children’s book about a transgender child, as well as an accompanying Teacher Resource Guide. The author uses related literature reviews to create a book and resource guide that is authentic and developmentally appropriate. …

Creating A Culture For Outdoor Environmental Education In An Elementary Setting, Daniel Huldeen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Many elementary educators believe in the importance of providing opportunities for outdoor environmental education but fewer actually offer activities and lessons to their students. A review of the literature detailed the many benefits that outdoor environmental education offers to students. It was also clear through research and a review of the literature that many teachers have perceived barriers preventing them from offering environmental education to their students. After identifying the barriers and highlighting the benefits this ten lesson curriculum was created to address the major barriers teachers face when teaching outdoor environmental education and provide students all of the many …

Framework For Purposeful Technology Integration In Environmental Education Using Inquiry Based Learning, Jonathan Massung

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was, how do you incorporate technology to facilitate raw exploration of the natural world that reinforces inquiry-based learning in Environmental Education? The concept of the project was to create a framing guide to allow traditional and non-traditional educators to purposefully incorporate technology into a program with emphasis on environmental education standards. The primary focus of the format of the program is intended for K-12 lessons. The idea behind creating the program is to not simply add technology to a program, but to include the technology tool as a central piece with standards that …

A Curriculum For Teaching Elementary-Aged Spanish-Speaking Students To Read In Spanish, Kelly Kum

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone project was to develop a heritage language curriculum that teaches Spanish literacy skills to Spanish-speaking students in second and third grade. This project was based on research that supports the importance of students maintaining their first language and developing reading skills in their first language to help them improve their reading abilities in English and improve their test scores. The creator based the curriculum on WIDA’s Spanish Language Arts Standards and used the Understanding by Design framework to develop the curriculum. The main focus of the curriculum is to teach decoding and phonics skills to …

Students Reactions To The Pacer Fitness Test After Stretching Interventions, Kathryn Hagen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this study used a researcher created pre- and post- google survey to investigated eighth grade student reaction to the PACER fitness test after a stretching intervention. Topics explored in the review of the literature include different types of stretching, effects of stretching, history of fitness testing, new approaches to fitness testing, fitness and academic success and the decline of Physical Education. The research design used a qualitative approach. A cohort of mainstream Physical Education eighth grade students participated in the research. At the beginning of class forty-five students completed a pre-fitness google survey focusing on …

How Can Student Learning Be Improved Through Project Based Curriculum That Gives Access To All Students?, Joseph Salzer

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

How can student learning be improved by creating project based curriculum that gives access to all students? This project contains a unit curriculum guide for a 3 dimensional solids unit for a 10th grade geometry classroom. The curriculum is a project based curriculum based on the 7 essential pieces of project based learning of Larmer (2010). This is then woven with standards based practices to ensure that all learners have access. The project is broken up and intermixed with direct skill instructional days and time for feedback. It is necessary to make sure students are supported in project based learning …

Preparing 9th Grade English Learners For Critical Thinking And Advanced Discussion Skills: Curriculum For Paideia Seminar, Sonia Nunez-Gibbs

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Participation in academic conversation and disagreement with peers is a key vehicle in development of critical thinking and academic language. Ninth-grade English Learners and mainstream students often have difficulty building on each others’ thoughts during discussions, rather than sharing their ideas developed in isolation. Students need multiple experiences of direct instruction of content-embedded language and content coaching to develop these advanced discussion interactions. In order to answer the question How to prepare mid-level ELs to demonstrate critical thinking and advanced discussion skills?this project designs curriculum for a structured debate Paideia seminar questioning the role of borders. This two-week long curriculum …

An Examination Of Best Practices For Teachers To Promote Empathy And Decrease Bullying Based On Ethnicity, Shannon Foster Borchardt

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project examines intervention and prevention education to interrupt bullying behaviors among elementary age school children. It explores specifically how students based on culture, ethnicity, immigration status, and/or identification as an English language learner are targeted in a suburban metro district in the upper Midwest. In the context of this project, a connection is drawn between a rise in bullying behaviors based on bias in today’s political climate. It is noted that while the research on traditional bullying is vast, there is a gap in the research on bullying based on the aforementioned profile. This project provides strategies for understanding …

How Can Guided Math Techniques Be Integrated Into A Third Grade Multiplication Unit?, Erin Schmidt

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question investigated in this Capstone Project was: How can guided math techniques be integrated into a third grade multiplication unit? Many instructional techniques that are incorporated and used in the classroom only allow the content to connect and reach a small portion of the students. When using instructional techniques like whole-group, many students are bored because the content is too easy or lost because the content is too challenging. This project explores utilizing the instructional technique of guided math. Guided math provides a framework that allows educators to meet the individual needs of every student through multiple methods …

Improving The Social And Emotional Education Curriculum In A Middle School, School Within A School Gifted And Talented Program, Natalie Polaschek

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this capstone project was, how can staff address the social and emotional needs of gifted and talented students in a middle school, school within a school gifted and talented program? It documents a gifted and talented middle school teacher’s development of a social and emotional curriculum for 6th-8th grade students in a homogeneous gifted and talented program. The program includes lessons on social-emotional learning that is beneficial to all middle school students, as well as topics that are directed towards the specific needs of gifted learners. The author shares her research and the successes and …

Water Conservation Unit Plan, Richa Dolia

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this capstone project was to provide lesson plans for teachers to integrate within their science curriculum to involve middle-school students in water conservation. The author has provided rationale for pursuing the topic of water conservation and high need to promote awareness. The water conservation curriculum project produced under this research is aligned with MN Science standards and will provide middle school science teachers with ready-to-go lessons to teach their students to bring awareness around the importance of water. (83 words)

Adapting Project-Based Learning For English-Language Learners In Middle-School Social Studies, Maria May

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This research project addresses the question, how can Project-Based Learning (PBL) be adapted to enhance middle school social studies lessons and learning outcomes for English Language Learners and other struggling students? It reviews theory and practice for middle-school social studies teachers to invite ELLs and others reading below grade level into authentic PBL. Supports for PBL should include effective language acquisition scaffolds like Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) and content engagement through non-text, multimedia strategies like Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) to invite students into deeper critical thinking and rigorous collaborative projects. Research connections are made to constructivist theories of Dewey …

Teaching Social Studies Content Vocabulary Words To Middle-School English Learners: Vocabulary Strategies For Sheltered Instruction And Mainstream Classroom, Bradley Storm

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research on reading indicates that vocabulary knowledge plays a significant role in comprehension and content learning. Textbooks remain the primary instructional medium in most social studies classrooms, but are rarely written with supports that allow struggling readers to comprehend the text independently. Because typical textbooks do not contain adequate guidance or materials for effective vocabulary instruction, social studies teachers must incorporate these features into their curriculum. This is especially important for teachers of English learners. In order to learn grade-level content, English learners who lack a sufficient background in content vocabulary require rigorous vocabulary instruction that draws on established best …

Building Comprehension Skills With Cognitive Training, Mindy Oakley

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was how does explicit instruction in executive functioning skills impact students’ ability to read and comprehend text at a deeper level? The continued rise in difficulties with reading comprehension and executive dysfunction among students was the focus of the author’s capstone question. The capstone paper focused on the topic of executive function in education and documents the author’s creation of a five-week curriculum that focuses on the use of cognitive training strategies. Executive functioning skills are defined, their presence in reading skills is described, and the possible ways to teach executive function skills …