Education Commons^™

Denis Diderot: A Secular Hero, Ben Scott-Brandt

Honors Projects

My Honors Senior Project is a biography of Denis Diderot in the form of a children's song. MY understanding of Diderot's life is based on Andrew Curran's book, Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely.

Songs help us memorize and retain information about the world, and singing songs together strengthens cultural and religious connections. Secular (nonreligious) people need songs, too. Diderot was a philosopher who didn't believe in God. He was an editor of L'Encyclopédie, one of the first encyclopedias, and he snuck in articles that challenged how people think. This was an important moment -- knowledge about the world …

Laker Survival Guide, Clara Bernal

Honors Projects

It was not until her Junior year of college when she became a Peer Mentor for incoming freshman students, that Clara created a mini guide to GVSU's long list of resources for students. She prepared this guide for her mentees as initially what she called, "Things you'll want to use to survive college." Clara wanted to hand her mentees all of the resources she had learned in three years on day one. This list included various academic support resources, places to feel culturally accepted, and resources for non-traditional students. After receiving a lot of positive feedback from her mentees, peers, …

The Effectiveness Of Mathematical Manipulatives In One-On-One Intervention For Third And Fourth Grade Students, Jenifer Lantz, Caitlyn Miller

Honors Projects

The use of manipulatives in elementary schools is one beneficial method that has been utilized to help students grasp abstract mathematical concepts. To examine the effectiveness of implementing mathematical manipulatives, researchers designed a seven week intervention for ten low-achieving third and fourth graders. Topics focused on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics number and operations strand. Data was collected based on observation with the use of a Likert scale measuring each student’s achievement with the chosen and designed manipulatives. Success is defined as students being able to complete assessments using the manipulatives without aid and with little to no …

English In France - Linguistic Dominance And Ambivalence, Chloe Kampf

Honors Projects

Whenever English is perceived as a threat to a nation’s language, English proficiency suffers, and France is guilty as charged. Many people know France as a nation with exceptional cuisine, famous artists, and breathtaking countrysides. What many are not aware of, on the other hand, is that France has the least proficient English speakers out of any EU country. Through in-depth research, literature reviews, interviews with French citizens, and analyzations of personal experiences, I attempt to expose the underlining truth behind this intriguing phenomenon.

Food Insecurity Among College Students, Alison Hige

Honors Projects

Increasing collegiate education costs results in students today facing greater financial stress. As a result, students have to make difficult choices of how to allocate their monetary resources. Sometimes, students prioritize educational costs over nutrition and health necessities, impacting an individual’s ability to obtain adequate food resources. The purpose of this project was to explore the prevalence and impact of food insecurity among college students. The project included conducting a literature review yielding 26 pertinent articles from the keywords “food insecurity” and “college students.” Food insecurity affects a student’s physical and mental health, along with negatively impacting their scholastic abilities. …

Career Pathway Through Exercise Science, Renee Cloeter

Honors Projects

College students have many choices for choosing a major that will lead to a profession or post-graduate school following graduation with a Bachelor’s or Associates degree. For many, making this decision can be daunting and time-consuming as it is important to select the right major for future endeavors. Several students change majors multiple times throughout the course of their college careers causing them to remain in school for an extended period of time to complete graduation. Researching and analyzing potential majors as a new student is a part of the process, but some students may skip this step as there …

Club Athletics And Academic Success, Haydn Vandenberg

Honors Projects

The goal of this research is to examine the relationship between club athletics and academic success at GVSU, focusing specifically on how scholarship of club athletes can be improved.

Education Shapes The Mind, Bu What Shapes Education? A Comparative Study Of First-Generation Vs Non-First-Generation Students, Brianna Lukowicz

Honors Projects

This research paper examines in depth the relationship between educational attainment in first-generation college students vs. non-first-generation college students. It analyzes how one’s educational attainment level is affected by changes in selected demographic and socioeconomic factors in the United States. This study further analyzes if differences in earnings among the two groups post collegiate education persist. Using the 2015 and 2017 data obtained from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the proposed hypotheses are tested with the Linear Probability model and the Binomial Logit model to answer which demographic factors impact educational attainment of each group of students, as well …