Education Commons^™

The Implementation Of The 5e Learning Cycle In Stem Freedom School Curriculum, Natasha Semanko

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The project titled “Implementation of the 5E Learning Cycle in STEM Freedom School Curriculum” was completed by Natasha Semanko in the summer of 2020. For this project, two weeks of new curriculum was created for STEM Freedom School. Each lesson followed the 5E inquiry cycle and focused on topics within the theme of Environmental Studies and Sustainability. Lesson topics included the water cycle, groundwater contamination, pollution in lakes/rivers/oceans, overfishing, and the food chain. In this curriculum, students create a presentation or poster of the material to share with families and visitors at the End of Year Showcase. The key influences …

Writing And Reading Partnership: A Focused First Grade Writing Curriculum That Benefits Ell Readers, Margaret Gorrilla

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Gorrilla, M. (2020). Writing and Reading Partnership: A Focused First Grade Writing Curriculum that Benefits ELL Readers

Research indicates that there is a strong relationship between English Language Learners’ (ELLs) reading and writing skills. Yet, there is a lack of writing curriculum and instruction in many schools. It is evident that reading curriculum and instruction takes precedent. My capstone project research revolved around the following question: How might a first grade writing curriculum benefit English Language Learners’ (ELLs) reading comprehension skills? The curriculum follows the Thematic-Based learning model, and incorporates explicit reading comprehension and writing instruction. The first grade writing …

How Can Middle School Science Teachers Differentiate Instruction To Support All Learners In An Inclusive Classroom?, Jacqueline Barker

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Barker, J. How Can Middle School Science Teachers Differentiate Instruction To Support All Learners In An Inclusive Classroom? (2020)

The research question addressed in this capstone was, how can middle school science teachers differentiate instruction to support all learners in an inclusive classroom? Research was compiled in regards to the composition of an inclusive classroom, the mindset of teachers, differentiation as a philosophy, and differentiation as a means to modifying instruction. The information obtained was utilized for a culminating project in the form of curriculum for an eighth grade science classroom. The curriculum was envisioned for use in a public …

Comprehensible And Engaging: A Study Of The Effects Of Engaging Aural Input On Written Output In Second–Language Acquisition, Tracey Valbuena

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Valbuena, T. (2020). Comprehensible and Engaging: A Study of the Effects of Engaging Aural Input on Written Output in Second–language Acquisition

Modern World Language teachers are moving toward a more communicative approach to teaching. Because this style of teaching requires the students to receive the majority of language instruction in the foreign language, teachers have to be creative in order to maintain the students’ attention. This study takes a look at the research done on student engagement and second–language acquisition. The research on these two topics strongly suggests that student interest is a major factor in student engagement and that …

Ell Teachers Guide To Pronunciation: A Contrastive Analysis Of S'Gaw Karen And American English Phonetics And Phonology, Shana Lee

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Lee, S. ELLTeachers Guide to Pronunciation: A Contrastive Analysis of S’gaw Karen and American English Phonetics and Phonology (2020)

The purpose of this study (Lee, 2020) was to determine the phonological features of English that provide the largest challenge to the pronunciation of S’gaw Karen speaking ELL students in order to inform the development of a curricular resource meant to help educators increase the comprehensible speech output in English. A review of literature revealed a gap of academic work around the S’gaw language especially pertaining to instructional methodologies for language teachers. To guide the development of this resource, the author …

Video Games In The Secondary Language Arts Classroom: Opportunities For Deeper Learning And Worldly Discussions, Karissa Thomson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Video games are often neglected or forgotten by educators, even though they can provide an excellent, multi-faceted learning tool for students of all backgrounds and skill levels. This capstone project examines the use of video games in secondary language arts classrooms following Minnesota state standards to help students understand literary concepts, increase language skills, and allow for meaningful worldly discussions. Using the research question “How can video games be used in educational settings to support student curriculum and foster worldly discussions?” as a guiding question, this capstone explores societal conversations surrounding video game usage as a learning tool, including the …

Introducing Flexible Seating In A First-Grade Classroom, Tanya Teske

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Teske, T. (2020). Introducing Flexible Seating in a First-Grade Classroom. The research question addressed in the capstone was: If elementary school classrooms are provided environmental flexibility, how can teachers effectively implement the flexibility to enhance student attention and work habits? The topics covered in the literature review include traditional and flexible seating, student-centered learning, first-grade education, and the need for flexible seating unit plan. The information gleaned from the literature review was used to create a teaching tool for the implementation of flexible seating for first-grade educators and students. The curriculum created with a student-centered learning model for the purpose …