Education Commons^™

Connecting Graduate Level Non-Native English Speakers To Language Support Resources, Kathryn Korchik

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project addresses the question of how to build the capacity of student services staff and university faculty to connect graduate level English language learners to appropriate language-based resources. Because student support resources on larger university campuses are often dispersed and frequently targeted to undergraduate populations, it can be difficult for students to have knowledge of and access to resources and services. This project, utilizing previous research to support the foundational assumptions that international graduate students require special attention, documents the creation of a website to serve the needs of students, staff, and faculty at a large research university. The …

Advancing Communication And Collaboration Between Multilingual And Special Education Departments: A Web-Based Model To Serve Dual Eligible Students, Stacy Severson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

There was at the time the project commenced, an unmistakable chasm not only between the two departments within the author’s school district, but also in literature in general, and the author’s goal was to create a living document where the two areas of expertise converged. The research question asked in this project was, how can communication between ESL (English as a second language) teachers and special education staff be improved to better serve dual eligible students? It documents one teacher’s creation of a website designed to assist ESL teachers who work with students who qualify for both ESL and special …

From Small Talk To Academic Dialogue: An Online Professional Development Course For The English Language Proficiency Standards For Adult Education, Debra H. Cargill

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone project was to explore the English Literacy Proficiency (ELP) Standards for Adult Education (AE) (AIR, 2016). I studied the ELP Standards for AE in order to understand how to integrate academic language learning into instruction in order to support adult English language learners in transitioning to careers and postsecondary education. This knowledge was used to design an online professional development course that supported the use and implementation of the standards. The four-week online course engaged participants in course content through integrated discussions, assignments, and materials that utilized a constructivist approach to learning.

Political Speech, Doublespeak, And Critical-Thinking Skills In American Education, Doris Minin-White

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The idea for this project was born during the 2016 US presidential election campaign, after noticing that my students did not seem to find anything questionable about statements of politicians, while at the same time it seemed apparent to me that not all the candidates spoke in a straightforward fashion. This disparity led to my research question: What patterns of doublespeak characterize selected discourse samples of the two most recent US presidents? In this project, I presented the analysis of the candidates’ styles of doublespeak based on the number of occurrences and a technique that I called “The Beguilement and …

L1 Literacy And Its Implications For Leslla Immigrant Women In Canada, Theresa Wall

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study addresses two questions related to access to social services for adult newcomers with limited L1 print literacy skills: First, what barriers do LESLLA clients experience to accessing social services and to settlement? Second, what resources are they employing in order to access these services? Five LESLLA learners, a LESLLA instructor and a settlement counselor were interviewed about barriers and enablers to accessing social services where a disconnect between assumed and actual print-literacy skills exists. Participants also discussed work-arounds for accessing those services. While LESLLA participants reporting greater length of residency also described increased cultural capital, all LESLLA …

How To Integrate Vocabulary In A Fourth Grade Classroom Of English Language Learners To Accelerate Reading Achievement, Randi Kay Weiland

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

English language learners are prevalent in modern American schools, yet educators are often still grappling with how to best teach these unique students. Unsurprisingly, vocabulary plays a fundamental role in reading comprehension. This capstone presents the existing research on the foundational relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension as well as effective vocabulary instruction for English language learners. The research was then used to design a vocabulary curriculum for a fourth grade thematic literacy unit on Mexican Heritage. The curriculum focuses on four major aspects of vocabulary instruction: 1) the direct instruction of Tier II words, as defined by Isabel Beck; …

Aspect Comprehension And Processing In Narratives By Native Spanish Speakers, Hannah Riddle

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Aspect is fundamental to expressing time and sequence of events in narratives. In second language acquisition literature little is known about how English aspect is comprehended. This study manipulates aspect in narratives and compares comprehension of Spanish speakers to English and Arabic speakers. English and Spanish have morphosyntactic aspect, Arabic does not. This study examines aspect comprehension in 18 native Spanish speakers, using 16 narratives to capture moment-to-moment and off-line processing. Results show that Spanish speakers comprehend aspect more like English speakers in the moment-to-moment processing, where Arabic speakers do not. Spanish speakers did not comprehend aspect like English speakers …

Embedding Self-Regulation Strategy Instruction Into The Genre-Based Writing Curriculum, Peter Hagenson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed by this project is: how can teachers embed self-regulation strategies into their writing curriculum for students who struggle to write independently? This project documents the author’s attempt at merging genre-based pedagogy borrowed from Systemic Functional Linguistics with Rebeca Oxford’s Strategic Self-Regulation (S2R) model of learning. The resulting instructional unit, developed with the guidance of Wiggin’s and McTighe’s Understanding by Design framework, teaches secondary students how to write in the genre of persuasion. Additionally, it systematically engages students with opportunities to practice cognitive, affective, and sociocultural-interactive strategies that researchers have found to be characteristic behaviors of effective …

Training Adult Esl Volunteers In College And Career Readiness Standards, Cara Berger

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

A significant number of instructors in adult education programs are volunteer, and the volunteer-led classrooms in which these volunteers serve face difficulties and challenges that staff-led classrooms do not (Belzer, 2006; Gomez, 2012). This project sought to answer the question: how can College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) be incorporated into lesson plans for an adult ESL intermediate volunteer-led class so that students may benefit from the same standards of instruction that staff-led classes follow? Research on the CCRS and various volunteer training methods was addressed to develop a project artifact intended to aid volunteers in their lesson planning. The …

Effective Curriculum To Accelerate Academic Reading Comprehension For High School English Language Learners, Lisa Menke Johnson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was, what is an effective curriculum for accelerating reading comprehension skills in secondary English Language Learner students. It documents one teacher’s creation of a unit that combined research based strategies for increasing reading comprehension skills in older students as well as second language acquisition strategies. It integrated vocabulary development, grammar forms and functions and intervention strategies proven to be successful with high school students. The author documents the details of the unit and uses related research literature to construct meaning and validate the study. The project provides a quarter long unit focused on …

Levels Of Development Among Saudi Arabian Students Studying At An American University, Drew Boatman

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand Saudi students’ level of epistemological development and the extent to which intellectual development was connected with factors of academic success. The Measure of Epistemological Reflection was used to allow seven students to expound on their view of the roles instructors, peers and others play in the pursuit of knowledge and the truth. Using William Perry’s intellectual and ethical development theoretical framework, students were assigned to domains of development and their written answers were used to create holistic narrative pictures representative of how they individually view truth and knowledge. The researcher finds connections …

Tier Two Reading Interventions For Elementary English Learners, Katherine M. Little

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The guiding question for this Capstone project is What curriculum guide can be developed for Tier 2 Interventions within the RtI framework for elementary-level ELs with reading difficulties? The literature was examined for sources of EL reading difficulties, evidence-based practices for implementing Response to Intervention (RtI), for teaching reading, and for teaching ELs. The intersections of this research led to the formulation of several guiding principles that can be used in the development of curricula for Tier 2 reading interventions for ELs: Instruction and materials should be (a) scaffolded; (b) culturally and linguistically responsive; (c) focused on improving reading comprehension …

How Mainstream Teacher Attitudes Affect English Language Learner Student Learning In The Mainstream Classroom, Lauren Barbara Lippert

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The primary research question for this project is: do mainstream teacher attitudes towards English Language Learners affect student learning and how? This capstone project presents literature about the correlation between teacher attitudes and student learning, describes research surrounding mainstream teacher attitudes towards ELL inclusion, training, modifications, and language backgrounds, and identifies research-based information mainstream teachers should know about ELLs. The project following the research is a professional development training compiling strategies, resources, theories, and research for mainstream teachers teaching ELLs. The professional development is designed to be presented to K-12 mainstream teachers who are teaching ELLs in their classroom. The …

English Language Learner Considerations For Equitable Identification Of Needs And Referrals To Special Education, Melissa Persons

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Identifying learner needs for an English learner (EL) student has various factors to consider that a non-EL student may not. To explore what is needed to be analyzed prior to determining an EL student’s learner needs, the question being researched is: What are considerations to take into account when an EL student begins the Student and Teacher Assistance Team (STAT)? The framework the research was performed was analyzing resources from school districts and state departments of education, as well as guidance from personal communication with professionals in related fields. Taking all of the data from literature and information from currently …

Design Thinking In Esl Programming: Creating A Program Model For Newcomer Students, Clark Fredrickson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in the project was, how can ESL educators design a program that best serves the needs of newcomer students? It documents a teacher’s use of design thinking to explore a current challenge in ESL education: newcomer programming. It integrated research in design thinking and ESL programming to create a basis for the project’s creation. Design Thinking for Educators was the selected design process. The author details how the design thinking process can be implemented particularly in secondary newcomer programs. Successes and challenges are both highlighted in the project’s description. The findings suggest that Design Thinking for …

Lesson-Plan​ ​Delivery​ ​Before​ ​Lesson-Plan​ ​Design: Defining,​ ​Sequencing,​ ​And​ ​Teaching​ ​The​ ​Essential​ ​Skills​ ​Of​ ​An​ ​English Language​ ​Teacher​ ​Development​ ​Program​ ​At​ ​Induction, Joel Hanson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research questions addressed in this project were: 1) What are the essential set of teaching skills/practices at the induction portion of teacher training that are applicable to my EFL teaching context? 2) In light of the specific teacher preparation and development needs of the staff in a 12-school network in Morocco, how should these skills be sequenced and taught during the induction portion of an English language teacher development program? Answering these questions involved an investigation—and integration—of four teacher development frameworks proceeding from the macro- to micro-level of teacher training, unpacking what Feiman-Nemser calls the central tasks of learning …

Teaching And Understanding Phonemic Awareness And English Learners, Jennifer L. Wold

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question for this paper and project was: Why is phonemic awareness important for English learners (ELs) and how can it be developed? The interest in this topic arose from observing English learners struggle with various English phonemes, especially the vowels, and the surprising difficulty of teaching students to acquire them. Research shows that phonemic awareness contributes to successful reading achievement and can affect intelligibility. English learners may struggle with phonemic awareness as phonemes that exist in English may not exist in their L1s. This paper and project focuses on native Spanish speakers and the distinction of the /i/ …

World History Instruction For English Language Learners: A Systemic Functional Linguistics Approach, Mary Engelun

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was how can text analysis using a Systemic Functional Linguistic framework inform curriculum design in sheltered EL world history classes? Research in the theory and applications of systemic functional linguistics in education was described; emphasizing connections to instruction for secondary English language learners. The project was completed in parts: text analysis of theme progressions in history text, development of curriculum, and a pre-planning checklist for future unit development. This project documents one teacher’s creation of an integrated unit of world history content with language development lessons through a systemic functional linguistics approach. A …

What Teachers Need To Know About Translanguaging, Thomas Snell

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project addresses the question, what do non-ESL teachers need to know about translanguaging in order to support their emergent bilingual students? Translanguaging has emerged in the last two decades as both an epistemology of language and a pedagogical imperative with broad implications for language teaching and learning. This project traces the design and implementation of a professional development experience for teachers on translanguaging, whose goal is to effect a shift in teachers’ thinking about language so that they can understand their students more fully. It was designed specifically for non-ESL teachers, assumes no prior knowledge of translanguaging, and emphasizes …

Curriculum For The Community: Creating A Community-Based English Learner Curriculum Framework, Danielle Celia Selcer

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Many schools and districts are experiencing a high influx of English Language Learners (ELLs), and a good number are experiencing difficulties with helping these students achieve at high levels, while at the same time fostering a sense of community in their schools. As a result of the author’s research and personal experience teaching English Language Development (ELD) in urban schools, the following research questions were posed. How well are Minneapolis ELLs meeting rigorous educational standards currently? How have personalized and community-based learning been approached in Minneapolis historically? What pre-existing, place-specific, and successful curricular frameworks exist which might provide a model …

Effective Vocabulary Instruction And Study Strategies For Adult Efl Learners, Daniel Todd Place

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

In this capstone I seek the answers to two questions. What are some effective ways to teach vocabulary in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom? What are some effective ways students can use to study vocabulary outside of the classroom to help them learn and retain target vocabulary items? I start by explaining who my students are. I include information about the students, the university I teach at and the town where the university is located. I continue to explain: what recent research says about adult EFL learners` needs; the importance of vocabulary improvement for EFL learners; and …

Introducing Non-El Teachers To Visual Learning Strategies For Beginning English Learners: A Proposal For Workshop Study, Jillian Magnusson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research questions addressed in this project were, how can a professional development session be created to help make non-EL teachers more aware of visual learning strategies intended to offer comprehensible input for English Learners? How can the materials within the workshop be adaptable and relevant to teachers with low levels of experience in working with English Learners? This project documents the exploration of non-EL teachers’ lack of professional development in regards to supporting best strategies for English Learners in order to create workshop materials for a future training in the public school district where I work. I began by …

Indirect Requests: A Comparative Study Of Explicit-Deductive And Explicit-Inductive Instruction Methods, Nicholas J. Reishus

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This study compared the effects of explicit-deductive and explicit-inductive instruction methods on the participants’ request types. Specifically, the researcher explored the following questions:

how Chinese university students’ English request types are affected by a ninety-minute explicit- deductive treatment or a ninety-minute explicit-inductive treatment; which request types are

most frequently used prior to the treatments; which request types are most frequently used following the treatment; and how do the request type frequencies differ between the two treatment groups. The participants were undergraduate and graduate students from an urban university in China. Discourse Completion Tests (DCTs) were used to gather data from …

Using The Focus On Form Method To Create A Grammar Resource Book For Ell Teachers, Julia Milne

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research conducted in this capstone discusses appropriate methods of teaching grammar to ELL students. The project arose from the author’s realization that explicit grammar instruction was seldom taught and in many cases omitted completely during instructional time. Furthermore, the author realized that there was a great deal of confusion about the appropriate role of grammar within the curriculum. This led the author to study the history of grammar instruction in order to understand the various methodologies that have been implemented throughout the years. The goal was to try and gain a better understanding of the different schools of thought …

How Reading Comprehension Strategies Support English Learners In A Primary Integrated Environment, Amanda Roberg

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

English Learners (ELs) are an important and growing population of students in schools nationwide, and how they are taught can have a major impact on their academic success (of course). The overall purpose for this study is to ensure that ELs in my own classroom are taught reading comprehension strategies from an effective curriculum that meets their specific needs. The curriculum used in the school in which this study was conducted was a combination of Daily 5 and the Treasures curriculum. The question posed for my research is: “What instructional strategies are appropriate for teaching reading comprehension to second language …

Designing A Language-Modified, Trauma-Informed Know Your Rights Training To Prepare And Empower Refugees With Beginning To Intermediate English Language Skills To Interact With The Police, Elizabeth Miyoung Kaufman

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This study examined the experiences of Beginning to Intermediate English level adult refugees with the police, in order to inform the design of a language-modified, trauma-informed Know Your Rights training. Results of a student survey indicated a need for information and culturally-appropriate resources. The purpose of this curriculum is to prepare participants to interact with the police using English so that they can understand communication and advocate for themselves, whether they are being approached, detained, or arrested by law enforcement, or they are seeking emergency help. The context for this community education initiative is rooted in the traditions of people’s …

Maintaining A Culturally Responsive And Engaging Classroom For Students From Eastern And Western Cultures, Chloe E. Delwiche

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question in this paper and project asks the question: How can I create a classroom environment that is engaging and interactive for students from both Eastern and Western cultures while maintaining a culturally responsive classroom that respects, accepts, and incorporates all cultures into content and instruction? This is a project that examines the differences in student engagement and interaction between students from Eastern and Western cultures. Social and cultural norms in Eastern and Western cultures are examined in this paper, as well as engagement in classrooms in Eastern and Western cultures and how this affects the classroom environment. …

How Explicit Vocabulary Instruction Leads English Language Learners In Early Elementary Ages To Become Proficient Readers, Angela Kaye Nixon

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The number of English Language Learners (ELLs) continues to increase nationwide. Early elementary teachers are tasked in laying a foundation of reading, and ELLs face a gap in their literacy journey compared to their English speaking peers. The research question for this project was: how does explicit vocabulary instruction lead English language learners in early elementary ages to become proficient readers? The literature review focuses on vocabulary instruction, proficient readers, ELLs, and professional development. It discusses research with ELLs in the classroom and in reading instruction. Within the extensive world of literacy, explicit vocabulary instruction has been shown to have …

Empowering And Equipping Hispanic Immigrant Parents To Actively Engage In Their Children’S Education, Fernando G. Rogante

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was, how can Hispanic immigrant parents be effectively equipped to support their Pre K-3 children’s education in order to reduce the existing achievement gap? The idea of this Capstone was born with the fact that there is an educational achievement gap. The research shows that this gap is influenced by SES and different views of the concept of involvement. As a result, the Capstone develops a comprehensive view of involvement and how the implementation of some strategies by low SES immigrant families from birth to early elementary years can help their children be …

Negative Attitudes Toward English As A Second Language: Refusal To Participate In Esl Services In The Somali Community, Rebecca C. Kipchumba

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was: Why do some Somali parents refuse ESL services for their qualifying children? With a goal to start the conversation on what we can do as educators, to reduce the instances of parents declining services for their children. The refusal of service can potentially hinder their success in school. Three adults from the Somali community were interviewed. The findings suggest that, not all Somali parents have adequate information about the importance of ESL services in their children's' schools and in turn do not see the benefits. My conclusion after this study is that …