Education Commons^™

How Can Zoo Educators Help Individuals In A Community Develop A Deeper Connection To Wildlife, Conservation And The Environment Through Specific Education Programming?, Allison Budnick

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that as early as the 1960s, zoos have begun to shift their primary focus from a recreational standpoint to one that is deeply rooted in education, conservation and environmental awareness. Education programming has become an avenue for zoo visitors to gain reliable information about animals, develop awareness about critical species, and understand the human impact on the environment and how our actions can effect change. The curriculum designed for this project enables zoo educators to present a meaningful educational experience in a zoo setting. Each program focuses on a different animal species, allowing for diversity within the …

Creating A Nature-Based Environmental Connection To At-Risk Ebd Students In A Self-Contained Classroom, Timothy L. Thayer

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that most students in conventional classrooms lack exposure to the natural world in the midst of the complete school day. Looking more specifically at students who have Emotional Behavior Disorders and being in a self-contained classroom can prevent ideal opportunities for the therapeutic benefits of exposure to what the outside environment can provide. The driving focus for this project is creating a nature-based environmental connection to at-risk EBD students in a self-contained classroom. Relying on the influence of biophilic design, this project utilizes many aspects of how natural features can benefit the students both emotionally and educationally. …

A Culturally Relevant Earth Science Curriculum: Engaging Students In Socioscientific Issues Through Socratic Seminars, Colin Matthew Gettle

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this capstone project is: How can Socratic seminars be used as a culturally relevant tool to increase student engagement and science literacy? This capstone project is based largely off the work of Gloria Ladson-Billings, who promoted the critical idea of culturally responsive teaching in all classrooms to promote equity and social engagement. Through the lens of culturally responsive pedagogy, this project aims to address the large engagement gaps that exist in many diverse academic settings. Specifically, the project is a set of three 8th grade Earth science units. Each unit addresses Minnesota State Eighth Grade …

Fostering Student Interest And Motivation In Second Grade Writing, Nicholas Dorow

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was, how can writing curriculum offer choices for second grade students in a manner that increases interest and growth? It documents one teacher’s creation and implementation of a fifteen-lesson writing curriculum focused on offering student choice. The lessons were developed based primarily upon the research of Carol Dweck, Bill Meyer, Naomi Haywood, Darshan Sachdev, and Sally Faraday; in connection with second grade, Common Core Standards. The author details the implementation of the lesson, including both successes and difficulties in the process. The author concluded that the implementation of the student choice writing curriculum …

Social Emotional Learning And Literacy In The Primary Grades: An Integrated Approach, Kaitlynn Cline

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is essential to school success. This capstone was developed around the guiding question: How can primary grade level teachers teach Social Emotional Learning skills as an integrated approach through literacy? There are a number of SEL curricula available to educators, some of which have had a greater impact than others. There have also been a large number of policy changes in the United States related to academic achievement and standards that have impacted what is taught in the early years of elementary education. This capstone explored SEL curricula that are currently used, policies that have impacted …

How To Build A Classroom Community Of Caring, Self-Directed Learners Through The Use Of Morning Meeting In The First Ten Days Of School And Beyond, Andi Jo Zimmerman

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has demonstrated that creating a child-centered classroom and implementing the Responsive Classroom Morning Meeting is integral to creating a classroom community. The curriculum designed for this project focuses on using Roxanne Kriete’s “The Morning Meeting Book” and other theories of co-operative learning to create a framework of a Morning Meeting to create a classroom community of self-directed learners. The project involved creating a diverse curriculum that engages students with classmates and their own learning through activities that expose them to both social and emotional skills and strategies but also academic skills, in an atmosphere that is non-threatening. The curriculum …

The Reduction Of Stormwater Runoff Pollution Through Community Service Efforts, Dana Damm

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Damm, D. The Reduction of Stormwater Runoff Pollution Through Community Service Efforts (2019) This capstone project creates a curriculum unit for 8th grade Earth Science students. It utilizes traditional instructional techniques to convey standards-based information and then it elaborates in more detail using hands-on laboratory experiences, modeling and community service work. The goal of this project is to educate students about the water cycle, watersheds, city utilities and the value of community service. Students will work with local residents to adopt storm drains and maintain them in order to prevent runoff pollution from entering the watershed. By encouraging students to …

Literacy Strategies For Secondary Social Studies Classrooms Website, Rachael Shaner

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Multiple experts agree that using literacy in secondary classrooms can be a gateway in multiple content areas (Alvermann, Phelps, & Ridgeway, 2007; Kottler & Gallavan, 2008; Schneider, 1994) and this project is focused on integrating different literacy strategies into secondary social studies classrooms. The website project is focused on three main categories of literacy: Reading (pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading), Writing (formal and informal), and Speaking and Listening (discussions and debating). The website is designed with over 25 literacy strategies, each of which has its own web page with a detailed explanation of how to integrate and use the strategy …

Digital Strategies And Tools To Increase Information Literacy In Ninth Grade Students, Melissa Simmons

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research consistently supports that students are not being explicitly taught the digital skills that they need in order to be successful after high school. This curriculum is designed to address this gap in digital knowledge of high school students in order to answer the research question: What digital strategies and tools does the research recommend be added to an existing argument unit to increase students’ information literacy? Based on the work of technology implementation in the classroom by Howell (2016), Darling-Hammond, Zielezinski, and Goldman (2014), and Huang (2014), this four-week curriculum is created to give students the knowledge and tools …

Teaching Multicultural Texts At The Secondary Level, Benjamin Tully

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project answers the question: What are the best practices for selecting and teaching multicultural literature in secondary schools in order to represent and build empathy for students from traditionally marginalized populations? The focus is two-fold as multicultural literature offers benefits to students in several forms. The research behind the project reviewed the literary canon that is traditionally taught, who holds curricular decision making power, the impacts and best practices for teaching multicultural literature, as well as strategies for building empathy via multicultural literature. The project is designed to serve as a consolidated resource for secondary English teachers who are …

U.S. History Curriculum Project Using Blended Learning To Improve Formative Feedback, Timothy Kennealy

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Kennealy, T. U.S. History Curriculum Project Using Blended Learning to Improve Formative Feedback. (2019)

This capstone project leverages a 1:1 device classroom setting to create opportunities for effective teacher-to-student formative feedback. Classroom feedback is complex and proven effective but the practice of giving excellent feedback is rare, even for the most dedicated K-12 teachers. The implementation of effective feedback is rare but there is significant and specific research that identifies important characteristics and formats for offering effective formative feedback. A 1:1 classroom using blended learning offers opportunities to implement excellent feedback practices by allowing teachers more time for conversation with …

Increasing The Participation And Success Of Struggling Students In High School Physics Courses, Ian O'Neill

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

O’Neill, I. Increasing the Participation and Success of Struggling Students in High School Physics Courses (2019) Physics is the most mathematically complex science course offered in the high school setting. Due to the higher level of mathematical proficiency needed to succeed in physics, it is common for school districts to place it as the final science course offered to high school students. Minnesota only requires students to take three years of science in order to graduate and has no specific requirement for physics. This has led to low enrollment and the negative stigma that physics is an unnecessary and difficult …

Trained Home Literacy Program And Its Advantages In Pre-Kindergarten Through First Grade, Zachary Singleton

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question covered in this project was: how will a Trained Home Literacy Program provided with a curriculum, implemented in a child’s home, help improve literacy skills for students pre-kindergarten through first grade? The research indicated a need for more literacy intervention in the home setting. This project addresses this need through a fifteen week literacy curriculum written for parents, to be implemented in the home literacy environment. The curriculum consisted of a series of literacy based activities, designed to help parents support their children’s literacy development at home. The researcher used the Understanding by Design model when developing …

A Trauma-Informed Devised Theater Curriculum, Christopher Michael

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project seeks to understand how trauma affects the brain in order to inform more effective approaches for engaging high-school aged survivors of trauma in devising theater. By understanding how the brain responds in unfamiliar situations, a teacher can be more informed on how to prevent triggering the natural flight, fight, or freeze responses common to post-traumatic stress disorder. The realization that many trauma survivors need additional exercises and time to transition from survival mode to their more cognitive processes informs the processes necessary for creating theater from scratch. Planning for this results in a more carefully selected scaffolding of …

Improving Attention And Emotional Regulation For Middle School Students Through The Use Of Mindfulness Practices, Sean Mattner

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Mattner, S. Improving Attention and Emotional Regulation for Middle School Students Through the Use of Mindfulness Practices. (2019) Research has demonstrated that establishing a mindfulness practice has a range of mental, emotional, social, and educational benefits. The curriculum designed for this project focuses on using mindfulness techniques for 6th-8th grade students to improve attention, concentration, and emotional regulation. Mindfulness practices have been implemented in a number of settings, from hospitals to work environments for decades, but implementing it within the classroom, especially for children, is limited. The project involved creating a diverse curriculum that engages students with mindfulness through activities …

Curriculum Development Resources For Teachers In Adult Basic Education: Facilitating Learner Self-Advocacy, Erin Cary

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research questions addressed in this capstone project were, “What educational support do ABE learners need to develop and employ self-advocacy skills to respond to barriers in their lives? What tools will help ABE instructors facilitate that support in the classroom?” The author researched barriers that may be preventing learners in adult basic education programs from succeeding in their goals, including systemic social discrimination, a lack of understanding by instructors and administrators of their intersectional identities, and state and federal framing of ABE policy as an economic investment in workforce development instead of the provision of education as a fundamental …

Smartphones In The Classroom, Isaac Flynn Buggs

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that districts, schools, and teachers routinely ban students’ smartphones from the learning environment. Students see their smartphone as their most important possession. This project incorporates students’ preferred device within the academic environment. Bringing smartphones into the classroom, in a controlled way, can engage students and teach them to use their phones responsibly. The project involves modifying Pearson’s iLit ELL curriculum with Mentimeter presentations and G Suite for Education homework assignments. The Mentimeter presentations allow students to engage in the content and to launch class discussions using their smartphones. Homework is also assigned using G Suite for Education …

What A Waste! A Secondary Environmental Science Unit On Waste Reduction And Management, Megan Wagner

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This writing serves as an introductory unit to waste management and reduction to be used in a high school urban environmental education classroom. The research question for this capstone was, does teaching environmental science through waste reduction and management in an urban classroom affect student engagement and connection? The research outlined in this paper explores and examines the concept of an urban classroom environment, the importance of teaching environmental science, and tools and materials to incorporate a unit on waste into an environmental science course. The paper goes on to explain the importance of educating students about the waste crisis …

How Place-Based Education Increases Student Interpretation Of Minnesota's Landscape And Geologic Processes, Jessica Strom

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Gaining perspective on one’s surroundings comes in many ways. One method to connect students to their local area and help them develop a sense of place is through place-based education. Making scientific-based observations and interpretations of a physical landscape and also interviewing community members can help students build an understanding of an area’s past and can help students make better educated decisions about how to take care of an area in the future. This capstone paper and curriculum unit project addressed the topic of how place-based education increases student interpretation of Minnesota's landscape and geologic processes. Place-based education is a …

Teaching Chemistry Through An Environmental Science Lens And The Effect Of Student Understanding And Motivation In Learning High School Science, Sara Peterson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that on average, student motivation for secondary sciences, especially physical sciences, decreases from ages nine to seventeen due to a perceived lack of connection to content. The curriculum designed for this project focuses on using socio-scientific issues (SSI) to relate an introductory knowledge of chemistry to environmental examples. Using SSI and real world, environmental examples has been shown to increase student understanding and interest in secondary science content. The project has combined the two to create a curriculum which lends to both socio-scientific issues and environmental examples to increase scientific relevancy in students. The curriculum will be …

Discovering Who We Could Become: Culturally Responsive And Rigorous Resources For Middle-Grade Theatre Teachers, Rachel Brady

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Brady, R. Discovering who we could become: Culturally responsive and rigorous resources for middle-grade theatre teachers. (2019) Theatre education can be a powerful tool at the middle school level in terms of providing students the opportunity to think creatively and find autonomy in their learning. However, the dearth of resources appropriate to the middle-grade drama classroom create challenges for teachers in terms of designing a curriculum that is both culturally responsive to the students within it, and artistically and academically rigorous. This capstone aimed to address this challenge by developing a middle school drama resource library and examines relevant research …

A Yoga-Based Curriculum To Help Learners Deal With Anxious Situations, Lacey Jan Weninger

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Through my experience working in education, I have seen the many benefits that yoga can provide children. My observations led to my asking the following research question: What are the elements of a Yoga curriculum that can support learners in dealing with anxious situations? The review of the research literature supported my professional experiences in a variety of areas and the potential value of creating a four-week unit to be integrated into my third grade classroom. For example, it documented that anxiety is prevalent in children today and it does not simply disappear as those children grow into adults. The …

Medicare-Centered Curriculum For Limited English Proficient Beneficiaries, Jenny L. Chalupnik

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Medicare is the primary health insurance for retirees and those with disabilities in U.S. Currently there are tens of millions who access Medicare and its rate is projected to increase in the future. Medicare is composed of different Parts and there are rules for eligibility. Within the respective Parts a retiree needs to choose various options and as an additional layer, those Parts are offered by different insurers. Further, Medicare beneficiaries need to understand how the different Parts of Medicare work together and are financed, and who is responsible for paying for the different components and Parts. Retirees also need …

Roots And S.T.E.M.: A Greenhouse Science Curriculum, Jaclyne Jandro

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project addressed the question, how do I design a winter greenhouse curriculum for our high-school aged after-school internship program at Urban Roots that will be highly engaging, increase scientific understanding, and make our interns better farmers? With an exploration into the state of science education in the U.S., available greenhouse curriculum, the benefits of agricultural education, and greenhouse growing practices, and major influences from Larson, Bellevue, and Coleman, a sixteen week greenhouse and science curriculum for high-school aged youth was created. Each week consists of a three-hour, hands-on, inquiry-based lesson with focus on the scientific method and creating a …

Authentic Science Curriculum In An Alternative High School Setting, Julia Brunner

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that when students are exposed to authentic inquiry-based curriculum they are more motivated and engaged in the content they are learning. The curriculum designed for this project utilizes Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe’s theory of the need to integrate differentiation and the curriculum model of Understanding by Design. Students in Alternative Learning Programs (AEPs), often have negative experiences within education. Apathy and learning gaps are huge obstacles that need to be overcome in this setting. The project involved creating a curriculum that allowed for individualized learning and more student autonomy in their learning. Using the MN …

Greek Mythology Vocabulary Building, Samantha Levinson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The guiding question addressed in this Capstone is: How will the use of task-based vocabulary activities to support literacy development affect the vocabulary acquisition of elementary Korean English language learners? It documents one teacher’s curriculum development of two units that offer a new perspective to ELL vocabulary acquisition by building vocabulary using morphological training then access and build on background knowledge through practical applications which lead to higher comprehension. This project explores a) the role that task-based curriculum plays on literacy development focused on the development activities that supports the vocabulary development of elementary Korean English language learners using Greek …

How To Make A Read-Aloud Engaging To Students In A Multi-Age Setting, Katie Cates

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Children’s literature as a read-aloud is a purposeful way for children to engage with books. This capstone explores the question: How can teachers make read-alouds engaging to students in a multi-age setting? While the story is being read, students actively listen and visualize the story by using their imagination. Teachers also ask a wide variety of questions to allow students to share their prior knowledge, ask questions, and support each others’ learning. By listening to and discussing multiple perspectives, students are able to critically think about the text. Engagement in this way can also help students better connect on an …

Nature Journal Activity Guide - Grades 3-5, Jennifer Ann Hengel

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

If we want adults that are stewards for the environment, we need to include nature in education when they are younger so they can understand and appreciate the natural world. This need prompted the question, How do we utilize nature journals for school-age children to increase students’ understanding and appreciation of the natural world? Prior research has pointed to the benefits of teaching nature to youth, as well as the benefits of journaling in education. Nature journaling covers both sides of this equation, and helps foster sense of place and experiential learning. This capstone project was an activity guide similar …

Seeing Through The Racist Smog: With A Reading Curriculum Based On Culturally Responsive Teaching And Warm Demander Pedagogy, Maren Swann

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

There are countless articles about the Achievement Gap, but few offer concrete solutions. While the teaching force is “whitening,” the percentage of students of color is increasing. A small group of researchers have offered two new pedagogies as a way to help students of color and low-income students succeed: culturally responsive teaching and warm demander pedagogy. While there is literature on these two theories of pedagogy, there are few unit plans. This author created a 3rd grade reading unit entitled Readers Workshop Activist Book Review Unit using culturally responsive teaching, warm demander pedagogy and Wiggin’s and McTighe’s “backwards design” curriculum …

Utilizing Culturally Relevant, Multimodal Text Sets In Older Adolescent And Adult Learner Classrooms, Tamara Twiggs

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

There are negative consequences for older adolescents and adults who lack a high school diploma. Statistically, in families with low literacy rates, there is a direct correlation to poverty rates, incarceration, and a negative impact on the children of those without a high school credential. Building a classroom curriculum utilizing culturally responsive, multimodal, thematic text sets, incorporating Critical Literacy via a social justice lens, and integrating an inquiry-based learning model increases learner engagement and motivation in the classroom, leading to the likelihood that students will achieve their high school credential. Since much of Andragogy theory is highly applicable to both …