Education Commons^™

Lolita In The Contemporary American Classroom: Pedagogical And Learning Approaches, Jasmine Revels

Master’s Theses and Projects

The purpose of this study is to discover effective collegiate-level teaching and learning strategies for Vladimir Nabokov’s 1958 novel Lolita in the midst of the current American political and social climate. Some of the factors of the current political and social climate in the United States thought to have an effect on the teaching of Lolita, and were thus considered for further inquiry, were cancel culture, the Me Too Movement, and trigger warnings. Primary research was collected from college students and English college professors. To obtain this research and the opinions of respondents regarding this topic, a combination of both …

Factors That Impact Efl Acquisition In Cape Verde, William Patrick Rezende Moreno

Master’s Theses and Projects

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that impact English as a foreign language acquisition in Cape Verde. While in Cape Verde students are taught English as a foreign language (EFL from now on) for many years, upon graduation many of them are unable to have basic conversations in English. As a result, many students in Cape Verde lose the opportunity to get a better job inside and outside Cape Verde or potential scholarships to study in an English-speaking country. This study intended to explore the students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards EFL in Cape Verde. The main …

Happy Faces, Lisa Tucker

Master’s Theses and Projects

“Happy Faces” is a series of sculptural masks which explore the layered facades people construct to hide their vulnerabilities or to please others. Each mask represents a vice; these are the unhealthy habits that allow people to escape their everyday lives and pressures. I have created these masks out of found materials which relate to each vice in question. Through this work, I examine the concepts of escapism and duality. My studio investigation influences my pedagogical approach in the way I interact with my students and manage my classroom, both in how I embrace process and experiment with my use …

Cape Verdean Students’ Perceptions Of Their English Language Preparation For Higher Education In The Us, Fàbio Wilson Teixeira Varela

Master’s Theses and Projects

Students from distinct parts of the world are learning English as a foreign language with multiple goals including job opportunities, education and so on. More importantly, many of them study English with the goal of pursuing their higher education in a foreign country, and the US is one of the main destinations. Studies have revealed that one of the problems international students face in their academic life has to do with language, specifically academic language. In this study, the researcher examined the retrospective perceptions of Cape Verdean students pursuing their studies at US universities towards their language instruction in Cape …

Flipgrid And Second Language Acquisition Using Flipgrid To Promote Speaking Skills For English Language Learners, Annelise Difilippantonio-Pen

Master’s Theses and Projects

Integrating twenty-first century skills within the classroom has become a global driving force within the educational field. While schools have adopted models of one-to-one technology or digital formats for native English speakers, addressing the twenty-first century skills for English language learners have been absent. Given that the present global society is driven on bilingualism and multilingualism, English language learners need to be given the equitable digital opportunity to build their twenty-first century skills. The purpose of this mixed methods research study is to explore the influence and use of the digital application, Flipgrid, on the oral, English development for foundational, …

What Registers In The Body: Place And The Physicality Of Painting, Elizabeth Houston

Master’s Theses and Projects

Integrating twenty-first century skills within the classroom has become a global driving force within the educational field. While schools have adopted models of one-to-one technology or digital formats for native English speakers, addressing the twenty-first century skills for English language learners have been absent. Given that the present global society is drivenon bilingualism and multilingualism, English language learners need to be given the equitable digital opportunity to build their twenty-firstcentury skills. The purpose of this mixed methods research study is to explore the influence and use of the digital application, Flipgrid, on the oral,English development for foundational, beginning, English language …

Restraints In Massachusetts Public Schools, Elyce Hall

Master’s Theses and Projects

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the moral and legal issues around physically restraining students in Massachusetts public schools. As Massachusetts law is written, the use of restraints on a student should be the last possible resort. However, this thesis used data on restraint use from the Massachusetts Department of Education and a survey of school administrators to gain a better understanding of the 38,994 student restraints that were used in 2016-2017 school year. Findings of this study include that Hispanic and African-American students were more likely to attend schools that used restraints than those that did …

Kinematic And Kinetic Analyses Of E-Tpu Material In Bowling Footwear, Tsung-Lin Lu

Master’s Theses and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of midsole construction (barefoot, traditional bowling shoes with minimalist midsole design, and the modified bowling shoes with E TPU midsole design) on the amount of shock absorption and the mechanics of bowling delivery. All shoes underwent static testing on top of a force platform. The static test involved dropping a 0.5 kg dumbbell inside a PVC pipe from a height of 0.61 meters onto the heel cup region in each type of shoe. Twelve healthy, college, right-handed recreational males participated in dynamic testing of bowling delivery. Data collection took place …

Connected: An Artist’S Investigation Into Digital Communication, Brenda Roveda

Master’s Theses and Projects

The purpose of my thesis was to develop a body of utilitarian ceramic pottery, which examines the internal conflict I have with digital communication and its impact on social interactions. I draw inspiration from historic ceramic artworks for my wheel-thrown and hand-built forms. My traditionally inspired utilitarian forms are ornamented with surface decorations that represent contemporary symbols of the digital age. By doing this I intend to create artworks that allow the viewer to contemplate the evolution of human communication and their own reliance on technological devices.

My studio investigations incorporate scholarly research of historic artworks and time periods combined …

Animated Films And Linguistic Stereotypes: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Accent Use In Disney Animated Films, Telma O. Soares

Master’s Theses and Projects

Although cartoons are entertaining and worldwide appreciated, studies have demonstrated that they are not neutral, and are likely to convey messages about society linguistic ideologies. This study aims to find out if Disney animated films released in 2016 use accents to express the nature of the characters. A discourse analysis is conducted with two animated films produced by Disney Studios to examine the language choices concerning accent use. Results show that these films convey language ideologies in animated cartoons through the use of accents, and the portrayal of these accents can reproduce and sustain language-based stereotypes of the groups who …

Examination Of Preschool Educators' Implementation Of Motor Activities, Colette M. Legendre

Master’s Theses and Projects

This project was designed to obtain and analyze data pertaining to a teacher’s understanding of movement education in a preschool program. The purpose of this research was to conduct a case study to examine a preschool educator’s knowledge and use of motor activities in the classroom. The preschool teacher was observed and interviewed. The teacher was given a survey that included questions about aspects of motor development in preschool classrooms in early childhood centers, and whether professional development training in motor learning had been offered for early childhood educators.

On-Task Behavior During A Reading Task: Effect Of Quality Physical Education, Courtney Q. Mcelroy-Yeider

Master’s Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

High School Performance Of Cape Verdean Immigrant Students In New Bedford: A Linguistic Perspective, Mauro S. Dos Reis

Master’s Theses and Projects

The English language (EL) has become the world’s lingua franca. It has entered a great number of countries’ educational systems and it has become a requirement to succeed academically and professionally. Cape Verde is one of the countries that have included EL in their school programs; the quality of the learning process in English is a permanent issue for Cape Verdean schools. In this project, Cape Verdean immigrant students in New Bedford, Massachusetts, who started their high school education in Cape Verde and continued in the New Bedford High Schools will be interviewed in order to explore their integration in …

The Effects Of Self-Assessment Using Coach’S Eye On Perceived Competence In Elementary Physical Education, Joseph Bergin

Master’s Theses and Projects

Engaging students in meaningful experiences that inspire them to be active both in and out of school is the primary goal of quality physical education programs (National Association of Sport and Physical Education & American Heart Association, 2012). One of the strongest influences on student engagement in physical education is their perceived physical competence (Bevens, Fitzpatrick, Sanchez, & Forrest, 2010; Carney, 2012). The purpose if this study was to explore how perceived physical competence was affected by the use of video feedback using the Coach’s Eye application. Participants in this study were 60 fourth and fifth grade students. There were …

Teaching Pronunciation Communicatively To Cape Verdean English Language Learners: Sao Vicente Variety, Jacira Monteiro

Master’s Theses and Projects

The thesis is based on the researcher’s observation that pronunciation is underestimated in teaching English in Cape Verde in Sao Vicente Island. The Cape Verdean school program does not focus on pronunciation but it gives importance to grammar learning. As a result students show several difficulties in pronunciation which, although these are recognized by teacher, are nevertheless ignored in the teaching process. This paper primarily explains the phonological systems of English and CVSV, highlighting the difference between them; and critiques current approaches to teaching EFL, in general, pronunciation and specifically to Cape Verdean English language learners. The thesis concludes suggesting …

The Effects Of Listening Comprehension On English Language Learners Writing Performance While Taking Notes, Juary De Brito

Master’s Theses and Projects

The main goal of this investigation is to examine the effects of listening comprehension on English Language Learners` (ELLs) writing performance while taking notes. A total of 30 ELLs were administered a questionnaire in order to find out the difficulties they face when taking notes. The results indicates that student face various difficulties when taking notes, citing speech rate and different range of accent as the main problems. It was concluded that during the note taking process students could perform better if they were exposed first to any teaching materials like a power point or a hand out to improve …

Differentiated Instruction: Strategies For English Language Learners Listening Comprehension Development, Stefanie Moreno

Master’s Theses and Projects

Differentiated Instruction is a hot topic right now and teachers need to keep up with the changes in the educational system. The one-size-fits-all approach that we have being dealing with for so long, no longer fits the needs, preferences and learning styles of our students. Teachers need to differentiate instruction and provide students with different avenues of learning in order to maximize their learning process. Because more attention and practice is needed on listening skills, knowledge in differentiated instruction and the different strategies to teach listening skills can be used together to help develop English language learners listening comprehension skills. …

Adapting The Process Writing Approach To English Language Learners With Special Needs: Using Visuals, Lindinalva Lima

Master’s Theses and Projects

The available literature on the writing characteristics and best practices to teach writing to English Language Learners who also present some disability is scarce. In order to understand and provide some insight on the developments in this field, I propose an adaptation of the Process Writing Approach based on a literature review of the existing bibliography about the writing characteristics of English Language Learners, Special Needs Learners, and English Language Learners with Special Needs’ writing, the effects of the Process Writing Approach in teaching writing to these groups, and the use of visuals in writing instruction. The main assumptions of …

Alternative Assessment Of Writing In Learning English As A Foreign Language: Analytical Scoring And Self-Assessment, Lenite Silva Lopes

Master’s Theses and Projects

While the educational benefits of alternative assessment are being increasingly recognized and alternative assessment procedures introduced into the different educational levels, in Cape Verde, many EFL teachers are not aware of its importance. The main purpose of this thesis is to synthesize and review the available literature on alternative assessment tools to evaluate the writing of EFL students of Cape Verde secondary schools. The issue of accurate and fair assessment of students writing probably constitutes the major dilemma in both L1 and L2 writing fields, and EFL field is not an exception. The paper also aims to make Cape Verdean …

The Relationship Between Teachers And Students In The Classroom: Communicative Language Teaching Approach And Cooperative Learning Strategy To Improve Learning, Fredson Soares Dos Reis Da Luz

Master’s Theses and Projects

The aim of this research is to investigate how a supportive relationship between teachers and students in the classroom can improve the learning process. By having a good relationship with students, teachers can offer to students chances to be motivated and feel engaged in the learning process. Students will be engaged actively in the learning instead of being passive learners. I wish to investigate how using communicative approach and cooperative learning strategies while teaching do affect and improve students’ learning performance. To achieve these goals qualitative data collection was used as the primary method. The results show that teachers and …

Mastery Motivational Climate: The Key To Vocational Students' Enjoyment Of Physical Activity, Laura C. Hohengasser

Master’s Theses and Projects

This study examined the effect of a mastery motivational climate on vocational students’ physical activity enjoyment levels. Participants were 84 ninth graders (boys=53 and girls=31) aged 14 to 16 years from eight different school districts, who attended a vocational-technical school in New England. Surveys were used pre- and post-mastery climate exposure to assess students’ prior physical education experiences, perceptions of motivational climates, and levels of physical activity enjoyment. Results indicated that the sample of vocational students perceived a higher level of mastery motivational climate at the New England vocational- technical school with a higher level of physical activity enjoyment than …