Language and Literacy Education Commons^™

Exploradores De Idiomas: High School Led Spanish Lessons, Lauren Sebring

Honors Projects

To better understand how to educate U.S. students to be global citizens, this applied research project will investigate how cities can begin to incorporate small language programs into their communities in order to create more opportunities for students to become bilingual and develop global competence.

Transcultural Perspectives In English Language Education: Teaching English In The Czech Republic From An American Lens, Bailey Price

Honors Projects

This project aims to provide a thorough examination of the English language education landscape in the Czech Republic, shedding light on key aspects such as the age of initiation, fluency attainment expectations, and the influence of various educational tracks. It delves into the sociocultural factors shaping English language acquisition, including the perceived necessity of learning English, parental language practices, and generational differences in proficiency. To capture the perspectives of American English teachers working in the Czech Republic, my research explores their attitudes, expectations, and challenges. This considers factors such as the necessity of knowing the Czech language and the perception …

Your Story, Your Life, Your Learning: Autobiography Reveals Basis For Supporting Personalized, Holistic Pedagogy, Michael Maser

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Each person ongoingly experiences the world uniquely through vital processes shaping their subjectivity, personhood and sense of self. Learning, an innate characteristic or modality of each human life, of living, likewise arises subjectively or idiosyncratically. In this paper, a phenomenological lens is applied to auto/biographical excerpts concerned with various learning experiences to help reveal essential, subjective characteristics of emergent learning. The insights help establish a basis for challenging the primacy of objectivist learning evaluations. The insights also confirm the importance of personalizing learning as a pedagogical gesture nurturing and enfranchising student learning in significant ways beyond conventional educational approaches …

Teaching Empathy For Others Through Young Adult Literature, Madison Boeckman

Honors Projects

Literature can let a reader grow in empathy by learning about a character’s experiences and cultures. Teaching literature with diverse characters to young people can help combat bias and hatred towards people who are perceived as different.

This project uses Rudine Sims Bishop’s metaphor of mirrors, windows, and doors, Gloria Ladson Billings’ Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, and Gholdy Muhammad’s Culturally Responsive Pedagogy as foundation for creating activities for diverse literature. These activities are for the texts Ms. Marvel: No Normal, The Poet X, and The Marrow Thieves, all texts that are academically enriching with diverse characters that would …

The Importance Of Implementing Literacy Strategies In A Mathematics Classroom, Lauren Tecca, Joanna Weaver, John Chen

Honors Projects

The purpose of this ACTION research study is to explore the influence of literacy on mathematical proficiency levels. The correlation will use the data to formulate some strategies for the classroom in order to increase confidence in both subject areas.

The Self And Individualism: An Analysis On The Current Regulations Of Academic Writing, Bonnibel S. H. Walker

WRIT: Journal of First-Year Writing

Individualism, the focus or emphasis on the self, is a highly discussed and debated topic in writing. This is mostly regarding how the self should be addressed and utilized in writing. Although it there is also debate about what the self truly is, and how one can represent it in their work, veering into more abstract thought and theorizing.

The amount of individualism, or the “self” that one is able to, or should imprint onto one’s writing varies widely across numerous genres of academic writing, or even writing in general. For example, in much of scientific writing there’s a broad …

A Ruff Day On The Road: How Relocation Affects Children Pre-K Through Third Grade And How A Picture Book Can Help, Bryant Miller

Honors Projects

Moving their home from across town, a couple of states away, or overseas is something most will experience at least once in their lifetime. For all, moving is a big change, but for children, it can have lasting effects. Presumably, social skills, academic development, and family dynamics are all impacted when children move. But how and to what length are these factors influenced? This led to the original research question, how does relocation affect children and how can this transition during relocation be eased? After the first portion of the research was done to answer these questions, the research then …

Quickwrites And The Quest To Reverse Writing Reluctance, Jenna Dunn

Honors Projects

Current research suggests that students’ enjoyment of writing will positively impact their writing achievement (Graham, 2007; Bulut, 2017). Given this trend, the following study explores the extent to which quickwriting, a teaching strategy developed extensively by Linda Rief (2003, 2018) as well as Donald Graves & Penny Kittle (2005), impacts the attitudes of reluctant writers. A total of nineteen eleventh-grade students were interviewed in three focus groups. All of the students within the study experienced three weeks of regular classroom quickwriting along with one week of a quickwriting extension workshop prior to participation in the focus groups. Students were asked …

Final Master's Portfolio, Heather Eubank

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

The following is my final portfolio for the Master of Arts in English with specialization in English Teaching program. An analytical reflective narrative introduces four projects exemplifying the range of theories and methods that have informed my work, the skills I have gained, and the growth I have demonstrated throughout my time at BGSU: a research proposal titled “The Effect of Decreasing Literary Texts in the High School English Language Arts Curriculum: Proposed Perceptions and Analysis of Student Engagement and Performance”; my statement of teaching philosophy and first-year composition course syllabus; an annotated bibliography of pedagogical research and literary criticism …

Ñe Juon Enaaj Jeḷā Kōkḷaḷ Eban Peḷọk: Teaching Marshallese Immigrants, Riley Post

Honors Projects

Under the Compact of the Free Association (1983) treaties, Marshallese immigrants are free to live and work indefinitely without visas; however, American schools and educators have not been equipped with data and resources that can be used to address the cultural and linguistic diversity of their new neighbors. Therefore, the research question considers which resources and practices can help Marshallese immigrants succeed academically within the American education system. The findings, supplemented by the perspectives of local Marshall Islanders, suggest that educators need increased awareness of important cultural differences and further develop their cultural competency. Language teachers in particular may also …

"You Taught Me Language:" Using Shakespeare To Teach English To Speakers Of Other Languages, Sarah Blake

Honors Projects

This thesis explores how to use Shakespeare effectively in English language education. By considering cultural backgrounds and different translations, ESOL educators can assess what areas students need more guidance in, and how Shakespearean texts can help scaffold those areas. These texts can be used to teach grammar and mechanics as well as literary devices. The most effective teaching methods are also explored: examples of appropriate visuals, classroom activities, and discussion topics are given.

Identidad Personal: Curriculum For The World Language Classroom, Kyrsten Nagypaul

Honors Projects

This project provides accessible, compelling curriculum for Spanish teachers to teach for social justice in their classroom. The integration of other disciplines is integral in making this curriculum accessible and compelling by giving students practical experience with technology, literacy skills, and social skills. More specifically, this project will help them to contribute to the social-emotional health and well-being of their students by supporting the students through an exploration of their personal culture. The curriculum is designed in a manner that is supported by theory and builds upon itself as students move through the experiences.

Daphne Wilkins Final M.A. Portfolio, Daphne Wilkins

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This is the final portfolio for my Master of Arts in English.

A Final Master's Portfolio, Martha Stai

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

The following portfolio is submitted to meet the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the field of English with a specialization in English Teaching through Bowling Green State University. The pieces selected for the portfolio range from analysis to pedagogy. Selections include two substantive research essays, a writing-based unit plan, and a critical essay, all of which reflect the rigor and analysis required in the courses at Bowling Green State University.

A Pedagogical Approach To Learning, Jonathan Davis

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio is a collection of four projects that represent a collective study in multiple modes and methods of pedagogical approaches relevant to the modern paradigm of the field of education. Though not originally written with the intention of being unified under a single theme, as the portfolio was being assembled a cohesion emerged among the four projects stemming from their shared emphasis on pedagogical applications. Each of the four projects is an effort to explore a unique perspective regarding a particular concept or aspect of the field of education, or to address an issue in a unique way organic …

Graduate Writing For Teenage Consumption, Cindy Malone

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

Pedagogy based research and lesson plans for a high school English class.

English Proficiency At A Glance: A Literature Review And Qualitative Interview Analysis For First-Time Tesol For First-Time Tesol Volunteers, Molly Bebko

Honors Projects

The purpose of this literature review and these consultations is to present the demands and needs of ESL volunteers in order that they may be effective teachers. These demands of ESL volunteers will be categorized according to the eight domains of the 2008 TESOL International Association Standards for ESL/EFL Teachers of Adults Framework. The literature review comprised of a thematic search of past and current research. The consultation process was semi-structured, phenomenological, and qualitative. The primary investigator interviewed five professionals in the ESL field. After both the literature review and consultation process, themes were identified and results were categorized into …

Creating A New Standard: Living, Learning, And Teaching In Southern Appalachia, Martha Holt

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio, submitted in fulfillment of an MA in English with a teaching specialization, explores teaching and living in southern Appalachia. The papers include a defense of literary studies, a pedagogical piece on the use of code-switching, dialect, and the vernacular in today’s classrooms, a lesson plan and materials to introduce high school students to writing the academic memoir, and an example of the academic memoir which explores the personal and long-lasting effects of verbal and emotional abuse.

The Teaching Of Writing: Methods, Resources, Plans, And Analysis, Katelyn Knochenmus

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

As a culminating project for an MA in English on the individualized track, this portfolio is woven together with the theme of composition instruction. Beginning with a wide scope, the first selection is a reflective overview of writing instruction methods. The second piece in the portfolio, an annotated bibliography, offers many resources for teachers and tutors to better reach reluctant writers in particular. A unit plan for creating dynamic sentence variety through the use of grammar as a tool is the third selection. Lastly, the portfolio concludes with a narrower analysis related to one particular aspect of teaching writing: the …

Football, More Than A Sport, Nicholas Prokup

WRIT: Journal of First-Year Writing

The football program is a community that constantly grows. Not just players and coaches. I would consider the following, or the fans, of the football program to be part of what populates the community and more people want to become involved with football every year. The football program unconditionally qualifies to be a discourse community because it applies to all of the requisitioned characteristics and through the years has earned the title due to the commitment of its people.

Teaching English Language Arts: Implementing A Project-Based Learning Approach, Nashwa Elkoshairi

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

Teaching English Language Arts: Implementing a Project-Based Learning Approach

Abstract

This portfolio includes four projects that are woven together to explore topics in teaching literature and composition using a project-based learning pedagogy. The first project, “Literature & Social Cognition: Why Read Fiction?” sets the groundwork for the importance of literature in academia through a brief analysis of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The second project, “Grappling with Consumerism by Tapping into Freud’s Uncanny: Using Coraline for a PBL Approach” explores Coraline through the critical lenses of the uncanny and Marxism to guide students through a variety of texts including …

There Is No "Right Answer:" Teaching As Exploration, Dawson Zimmerman

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

A Final Portfolio Submitted to the English Department of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the field of English with a specialization in English Teaching.

Cultivating A New Educator: Teacher And Students Sharing Growth, Megan Campbell

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This is Megan Campell-Looney's final portfolio for her M.A. in English (with a specialization in teaching). It includes a reflective narrative and four revised pieces: "A Murderous Moral Tale: Depictions of the Ideal Victorian in Wilkie Collins' Jezebel's Daughter," "Critical Thinking and Counseling Through the Power of Literature," Developing an American Identity: Syllabus and Assignment Plan," and "Evolving and Adapting Rhetoric and Theory: Indigenous Theory Writing Back." The portfolio focuses on research and study that developed Looney's classroom pedagogy and philosophy. Students and educators both must write back to gain the agency needed for growth.

Fictional Narrative Skills Of Preschool-Age Bilingual Children With Typical Language Development, Lydia Bias

Honors Projects

Oral narrative retells are commonly used in assessment to examine language and literacy development in young children. Due to the increasing number of bilingual children in the United States, it is necessary to understand typical development in order to assess and intervene when needed. English story retells from eight preschool-age Spanish-English bilingual children were analyzed in the present study using the Narrative Assessment Protocol. Analyses were conducted to examine differences in narrative microstructure at two time points. In the present study, a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Sum test which is a nonparametric statistical measure was used to determine whether there was …

Final Ma Portfolio, Lisa Foster

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This project fulfills my graduation requirement. It contains a research paper as well as three pedagogical papers.

Final Ma Portfolio, Stefanie Lauer

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This is the final master's portfolio for my degree in English with a specialization in English teaching. It includes four works from my time in my master's courses, ranging from school safety to lesson plans to research on the teaching of English.

Impact Of Literacy On Student Readiness In Math And Science Classroom, Mackenzie Alexandra Rittner

Honors Projects

Lack of literacy, specifically disciplinary literacy, is an epidemic in education today. Here, I will illustrate how this problem presents itself in our student’s reading every day in every class. Within a literature review, many accounts are detailed about the impact literacy has on a student’s educational career. From the outset, literacy is a key factor in a student’s success in school. A research study was conducted that asked students to give varied definitions of the word ‘volume’ based on prior experience. These results showed that direct instruction in how a word can change based on its context had an …

Citizen Co-Learners: A Transgressive March Toward Emancipatory Learning, Christina M. Luiggi, Dylan M. Colvin

Ray Browne Conference on Cultural and Critical Studies

Spanning continents and cultural borders, the writings of Paolo Freire, bell hooks, and Henry Giroux encompass post/decolonial and standpoint epistemologies focused on student-centered approaches. We seek to model peer learning and knowledge production bell hooks commands in Teaching to Transgress: “I have been most inspired by those teachers who have had the courage to transgress those boundaries that would confine each pupil to a rote, assembly-line approach to learning” (13).With these words in mind, we participate in a content analysis of literature and storytelling, creating sites of resistance at educational boundaries in order to increase accessibility to knowledge and scaffold …

Final Ma Portfolio, Jessica Goodman

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

A Final Portfolio submitted to the English Department of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the field of English with a specialization in English teaching. The first project is a syllabus for a course on American protest literature. The second project is a five-week major assignment plan focusing on identity and rhetorical writing choices. The third paper is a theory and practice synthesis of empowering literacy alongside a checklist for teachers who wish to include empowering literacy in their classrooms. Finally, the fourth item is a revision (re-vision) …

Final Ma Portfolio, Annelise Mason

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio contains papers on Urban Education and teaching speakers of African American Language/ African American Vernacular English. As the capstone to my Masters in English with a Specialization in Teaching, I have chosen four papers to revise and resubmit: “Intertwining Narratives: Stories of the I-280 Bridge Collapse,” “Reshaping Attitudes: Tailoring Urban Education to fit the African American Student,” “The Study of Language in a Multi-Dialectical Classroom,” and “Youth Acquisition and Ownership Is Crucial Language Vitality.” "Intertwining Narratives" is a report on the I-280 bridge collapse in Toledo. "Reshaping Attitudes" is an explanation of some best practice in urban education. …