Education Commons^™

The Importance Of Hands-On Science: An Exploration Of Scientific Experiences In And Outside Of The Classroom, Jessica M. Schreer

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

This paper focuses on approaching science education through a lens of hands-on learning. Through observing different teaching environments that allow for this hands-on learning to occur, I hope to shed light on the importance of teaching through exploration, forming connections with nature, and allowing children to find a love for science. Children are naturally curious, experimenters, creative, and passionate and learn when these characteristics are met. Science has similar characteristics. Science is all around us. It focuses on inquiry, discovery, and connection. It is in the air we breathe, it occurs naturally without us having to manipulate it. Through centering …

Social Studies: The Art Form & Forgotten Gem Of The Classroom, Miah Prescod

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

The marginalization of Social Studies is not a new phenomenon. As it is slowly being squeezed out of our children’s classrooms, it prompts us to look at the current state of Social Studies in the world and question how we’ve arrived there. This thesis defines Social Studies through multiple perspectives and examines what has influenced it over the years while simultaneously reminding us of both the values and consequences of removing it from the classroom. I propose a solution to our current problem of the decline in Social Studies– the creation of a child-centered, interactive, and inquiry-based curriculum; applying the …

Reframing Education And The Classroom As A Safe Space, Lily Padilla

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

This paper asks us to reimagine education and our classrooms as safe spaces for children. Children spend at least 1,000 hours a year in schools. They should spend those hours feeling like they have the freedom to dream, imagine, grow, take risks, and make mistakes. Furthermore, everyone deserves to be in a space that welcomes, accepts, and celebrates who they are. This means recognizing who they were, who they are, and who they can become. Children’s complex identities and humanity must be recognized in schools to come to know each child fully. When we lead with love, respect, and empathy, …

Exploring And Incorporating Music In The Classroom, Ella Aiges

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

This paper is an exploration into the benefits that incorporating music into various aspects of the classroom can bring students. Music has been a part of life and culture since the first civilizations. Each generation, the traditions, and practices are passed down to the next. Over time, music and the way we teach it have transformed. The importance that society places on music has also evolved. However, the benefits that music brings have not. Research has shown that the brain reacts to music and stimulates learning. There are several developmental and psychological impacts that music can have on the mind. …

Children's Agency Through The Lens Of A Love Ethic: The Radical Imaginary, Zoe Kim

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

The lack of agency available to minoritized children in the classroom is indicative of systemic racism in education. Opposing this structural issue necessitates a multi-dimensional love ethic that is capable of transcending the classroom and breaking from the history of exclusion observed in this country. This research aims to contribute to that reality by creating a foothold for the radical imaginary of what education could become. Outlining this segregation by experience across the ecological systems of a child’s life, the project begins with an examination of recent research in conjunction with current events. Then, in looking at the chrono and …

Community And Connection In The Classroom, Denise Crystal

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

Connection and community can motivate children and adults to come to the classroom. These relationships can enhance learning in a number of ways. Not only do they bring joy, but they help children feel safe and a sense of belonging helping create an environment that is conducive to learning. A strong teacher-student relationship encourages and fosters learning. This connection is weakened when teachers use punishments, rewards and labels such as troublemaker that isolate students from the community. Community and connection can be fostered through true listening, reflective literature, story acting, open-ended play, and sharing with the community during circle time. …

Positioning Play As Abolition, Kathryn Troutman

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

This thesis argues that play-centered, abolitionist classrooms are necessary so that all students can thrive. The current American education system disproportionately harms Black students and is inextricably linked to the Prison Industrial Complex. Abolitionist teaching calls for the tearing down of systems of oppression and the creation of new spaces and institutions that center Black joy. Play is abolition because through play, children develop an awareness of the possibility and the right of freedom. This work outlines the necessity of abolition and the importance of play, followed by examples of play as abolition, and concludes with a vision for my …

Rethinking Power In The Classroom, Evangelyn Santana

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

When the No Child Left Behind Act and then the Everyone Succeeds Act were signed into law, our educational system began to function on the notion that education is merely preparation for standardized tests. The high-stakes nature of standardized-tests has pushed the narrative that this form of education is what makes children “successful” in life. Under-performing schools are in jeopardy of losing funding and face the possibility of school closures. Our educational system tells teachers they must participate in the “banking model of education” to avoid the blame for the possibility of these repercussions. Paulo Freire describes it as the …

Labels In Learning: An Exploration Of The Effects Of Cognitive, Intellectual, And Social Labels On Connections In The Classroom, Corinne Alexander

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

This paper is a testament to the negative impacts that cognitive, intellectual, and social labels have on connections in the classroom, both by way of students’ identities as learners and access to education. Labels pervade schools and exclude children from exploring, wondering, and making due to students’ identities and educators’ perceptions of their social interactions and academic performance. Whether intentional or not, giving students labels based on their cognitive, intellectual, and social abilities and performance creates separation and allows for maltreatment of students based on who does and does not have certain labels. As educators it is essential that we …

Our Children, Their Stories: Storytelling In The Classroom, Malik Torres

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

My Master’s Thesis is about children and their stories. It seeks to understand story creation in the classroom and connect it to the cultivation of the broader classroom community. Here, storytelling is understood in its five forms: reading stories, oral storytelling, drawing stories, writing stories, and acting out stories. What threads these forms together is classroom community. In my thesis, I focus on a concept called “the narrative classroom.” A narrative classroom makes space for both play and storytelling; it incorporates the multi-modal process of literacy into a classroom environment centering children and their stories as official knowledge. Most importantly, …

A Call For Strength-Based Teaching, Molly Weinberg

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

Teaching practices centering a deficit lens of the child do not provide the space needed for every child to thrive in the American public education system today. This is why I call for strength-based teaching. A strength-based approach to teaching calls for the decentering of deficits and the centering of strengths, knowing our students, the room to make mistakes, freedom from labeling, acceptance and value of all student differences while simultaneously honoring all student knowledge as official knowledge, and the centering of marginalized voices. Our school system today relies primarily on state standards and standardized testing to measure intelligence, forcing …

The Need For Spanish In Mainstream Classrooms: A Celebratory Reclamation Of Linguistic Identity, Keila Torres

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

This paper is a testament to the sociocultural importance of bilingualism in mainstream U.S. classrooms, specifically pertaining to the Spanish language and communities in which there is a large percentage of Spanish speakers. Approximately 13% of Americans are native Spanish speakers, this is equivalent to 40 million people. States like Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Texas can boast populations that include over 1 million Hispanic people (United States Census Bureau, 2019). However, our school curriculums do not reflect the large percentage of Spanish-speaking students who roam their hallways. I argue that traditional …

The Negative Effect Labeling Has On Students' Relationship With Education, Mikayla Cunningham

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

Labeling students is a common practice in modern education but it is harmful to the relationship between the student and their learning process. I will first provide a clear definition and provide examples of labeling. I will show however innocuous or scientific a label may seem, it can have detrimental, lingering negative effects on a child’s relationship with their schooling. I will then demonstrate through real-life case studies the experience of students that have both been labeled and have not been labeled, showing the exact labels that were applied to the students, their educational progress, and how the labeling directly …

What's Love Got To Do With It? The Importance Of Love And Compassion In Education, Alexa Goldberg

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

Everyone has that one teacher that they remember forever. That impacted them in a way no other teacher ever has. That encouraged, motivated, cared and influenced them in the classroom to be the best learner they can be and achieve anything they set their mind to.

Love is shown in different ways in the classroom. The way an elementary school teacher shows love is very different from the way a high school or college professor shows love to their students. Every teacher has their own unique way of showing love to their students. Instead of trying to tell teachers how …

The Importance Of Visibility In Curriculum And Teaching Practice, Jasmine Bailey

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

I am arguing that it is absolutely necessary for all teachers and administration to see the importance of making all children visible and valued and that they should include this idea into their curriculum plans and teaching practices. Despite the focus on representation, visibility in the curriculum is still lacking. I will detail how visibility is affected by the differences in how children learn, children who have experienced trauma and power dynamics and oppression.

This thesis will aim to express and display the value that all children should be made visible in the classroom. This includes all backgrounds and ethnicities …

How Manipulatives In The Classroom Engage Students In Learning, Catherine Mindish

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

The use of manipulatives inside the classroom at any age benefits the students in a variety of ways. This research examined different lesson plans, professional literature, and discussions on both the benefits and challenges of teaching with manipulatives. Ultimately this study finds that manipulatives benefit students, by supporting the development of skills they will use inside and outside of the classroom. Additionally, because manipulatives foster engagement in the learning process, teachers will reap additional benefits and students develop a positive attitude toward learning.

The Power Of Play In Education, Alexandra Naclerio

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

At its current state, the educational system in America seems doomed with its single-minded, single-method approach to education. Educational systems in many parts of the world are formally instructed with a huge emphasis on teaching to the tests. Despite an understanding of the importance of exploration in the classroom, play is not seen as learning. When teachers aim to include play in their classroom, often children are not playing at all. In relationship to that debate, I argue that play is the essence of any classroom.

The research I have completed has provided me with articles and field experience that …

Equitable Strategies: Broadening Opportunities For Students In Public Education, Anthony Ellis

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that public education is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms. Despite the ruling, the American education system is still not equitable for all students. Children of color (Black, Latino, Native Americans) or of lower income are more likely to jump over several hurdles to get to the finish line. Meanwhile, white and wealthy children will cross the finish line without going through a single hurdle. The hurdles begin at early childhood and the final hurdle is college graduation. Some of these disparities include racial bias, the burden of …