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Theses/Dissertations

2018

Curriculum

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

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Full-Text Articles in Education

Memorization And Mastery: Teaching Disciplinary Vocabulary In The Secondary Classroom, Matthew Granoff Oct 2018

Memorization And Mastery: Teaching Disciplinary Vocabulary In The Secondary Classroom, Matthew Granoff

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This capstone posed the question, how can disciplinary vocabulary best be taught in a secondary classroom? As little direct research had previously been conducted on that topic, this curriculum design project drew from work in a variety of connected fields, such as the science of memory, second language acquisition and effective assessment practices and study habits, to create an original structure for instruction. Designed to complement rather than replace existing units, this capstone offers not a set of specific lessons but a set of detailed guidelines (grounded in theories such as depth of processing and the "testing effect") which can …


A Culturally Relevant Opening Weeks Curriculum: Seeking To Engage All Students To Succeed In The Middle School Science Classroom, Altringer Nicholas Oct 2018

A Culturally Relevant Opening Weeks Curriculum: Seeking To Engage All Students To Succeed In The Middle School Science Classroom, Altringer Nicholas

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was How can a culturally relevant opening weeks unit help all students to succeed in the middle school science classroom? Topics explored in the literature review include challenges, themes, engagement of all students, gaps between students of color and their white peers, students of color and disproportionality trends in discipline, youth positions as hip-hop or survival mode, social construction of black inferiority, curriculum as windows and mirror, culturally responsive classroom management, using citizen science and student-driven investigation, restorative practices and restorative circles in the science classroom, shared responsibility for the classroom community, and …


Flexible Reading Groups And Social Emotional Needs In A First Grade Classroom, Miranda Pogulis Jul 2018

Flexible Reading Groups And Social Emotional Needs In A First Grade Classroom, Miranda Pogulis

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this curriculum design project is to design and integrate new lessons in my current first grade reading program that will enable students the opportunity to grow as a reader at the same time they are also strengthening their social emotional skills. Research from Michael Optiz and others demonstrates that students benefit from working with peers of varying ability levels through flexible groups. Joseph Zins, Roger Weissberg, Margaret Wang, and Herbert Walberg also have research that explains how integrating social emotional learning into the curriculum can be an important factor contributing to students success. Using this research as …


Building Background Knowledge To Fill The Gaps, Jaclyn Semlak Jul 2018

Building Background Knowledge To Fill The Gaps, Jaclyn Semlak

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this study was: How does curriculum support early intervention strategies of at risk preschoolers? Topics explored in the review of the literature include early intervention, literacy and language, oral language and vocabulary, school readiness and vocabulary instruction. Curriculum was designed for teachers instructing 4 year olds to specifically target language instruction through a tiered approach. The Understanding by Design model was used in order to create desired results, how progress will be measured, and specific lessons falling into categories of read aloud, guided group and active learning. Limitations, implications, and recommendations for future research are …


Timing Is Everything: Adapting Rewards Intermediate For 4th And 5th Grade Striving Readers, Ruth Kerl Jul 2018

Timing Is Everything: Adapting Rewards Intermediate For 4th And 5th Grade Striving Readers, Ruth Kerl

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this study was “Does REWARDS Intermediate remain an effective intervention for striving readers when adapted for a 30-minute time frame?” This research emerged from a concern for upper elementary aged students who are striving to catch up with their peers when it comes to phonics and decoding skills. The study explored students’ and teachers’ mindsets, as well as the effectiveness of the REWARDS curriculum when adapted for 30-minute rather than 50-minute lessons. Effectiveness was measured in terms of: 1) multisyllabic word part and whole word fluency growth, 2) mindset and attitude changes, and 3) connected …


Invading Minnesota: A Middle School Invasive Species Curriculum, Ashley Schultz Apr 2018

Invading Minnesota: A Middle School Invasive Species Curriculum, Ashley Schultz

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This capstone is a sampling of middle school science lessons that were designed to address the question: How might a curricular unit about invasive species be designed to enhance the environmental literacy of middle school students? It documents one teacher’s research and development of a unit about invasives species, while promoting environmental literacy. The curriculum is a series of three lessons that provide students the opportunity to learn about invasive species by developing a connection, or sense of place to their surroundings. Once students understand the impacts of invasives species they take part in a project-based service learning opportunity to …


Exploring Multi-Sensory Curriculum Development: Grades 3-5 Science In A Virtual Environment, Terilynn Stackhouse Apr 2018

Exploring Multi-Sensory Curriculum Development: Grades 3-5 Science In A Virtual Environment, Terilynn Stackhouse

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The capstone thesis uses a qualitative research approach to explore the question: What are virtual tools and multi-sensory strategies that can be integrated into curriculum development to support the engagement of learners in science in grades 3-5 in virtual learning environments? The author chose this topic to find and to apply multi-sensory strategies, including technology-rich approaches, in virtual education, and developed a new curriculum unit using current sensory-rich technologies. The goal is to enhance and enrich curriculum, and thereby to increase student engagement in the sciences. Applying these tools in virtual education and using multi-sensory approaches can lead to new …