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Full-Text Articles in Education

Instructional Support For Vocational Esl Teachers, Amy Zoerb Oct 2021

Instructional Support For Vocational Esl Teachers, Amy Zoerb

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Workplace/Occupational/Vocational ESL (VESL) is a growing approach within English for Specific Purposes (ESP), fueled by national initiatives such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and Integrated Education and Training (IET) among others. However, teacher training and support is often lacking for ESL teachers within these areas. This led to the research question, how can instructional support be provided to teachers of adult learners in Vocational ESL (VESL) programs? The creation of a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) for VESL instructors was developed in response to this question, which is collected into a facilitator guide. The Faculty Learning Community is …


Creating And Cultivating A Multitude Of Relationships In An Elementary Classroom, Zachary Hoffmann Oct 2021

Creating And Cultivating A Multitude Of Relationships In An Elementary Classroom, Zachary Hoffmann

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Relationships are a crucial part of the classroom experience for all parties involved. They occur between the student and the teacher, as well as amongst peers. This capstone project looks to answer the question: How do relationships, both in the classroom community and with teachers, affect student achievement, primarily in the elementary school environment? Research shows student-teacher relationship is the most powerful in a classroom, setting the tone for both academics and behavior. Relationships built on trust and caring lead to improved academics and behavior in the classroom, while conflict can lead to a negative school experience for all parties …


Systems Thinking Teaching Strategies Using The Un Sustainable Development Goals To Help Best Prepare Students To Be Future Ready, Elizabeth Hickey Oct 2021

Systems Thinking Teaching Strategies Using The Un Sustainable Development Goals To Help Best Prepare Students To Be Future Ready, Elizabeth Hickey

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The United Nations has outlined seventeen sustainable development goals that high school students will have to tackle to have a sustainable future. Schools must take meaningful action in teaching their students systems thinking strategies to best prepare them to be empathic, self-aware, innovative, resilient communicators that are equipped to be sustainable global citizens. This capstone project takes ninth grade students through a student-choice inquiry project to tackle the challenges of how their school’s sustainable initiatives can become more sustainable in order to answer the question, How can I best integrate the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals into my Understanding By …


Peer Review And Feedback In The Middle School English Learner Classroom, Alyssa Schuler Oct 2021

Peer Review And Feedback In The Middle School English Learner Classroom, Alyssa Schuler

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The development of writing skills is a necessity when it comes to teaching English Language Learners (ELLs). Middle school ELLs should be taught in a different manner compared to their older and younger peers. Research has shown that implementing peer review and feedback in a middle school ELL classroom can improve students’ writing skills. This capstone helps to answer the research question, How can I integrate peer review and feedback activities into instruction in order to improve the writing skills of middle school English language learners? This capstone project provides a curriculum unit that scaffolds lessons and activities in a …


Social Presence Theory: Creating Engaging And Strong Online Learning Communities At The K-12 Level, Abigail Amundson Jul 2021

Social Presence Theory: Creating Engaging And Strong Online Learning Communities At The K-12 Level, Abigail Amundson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Social presence theory is “the degree to which a person is perceived as a real person in mediated communication” (Gunawardena, 1995). Enhancing student’s perception of social presence increases instructional effectiveness and learning in an online learning environment. To increase perceived social presence, teachers must use techniques and interaction skills to build an online classroom community. There is not a lot of research on social presence theory in K-12 online learning environments so the purpose of this study was to find tools and strategies that create a strong online learning environments and to find if there is a relation between social …


The Impact Of Home Language Maintenance And Acculturation Gaps Amongst Somali-American Families, Morgyn Wade Jul 2021

The Impact Of Home Language Maintenance And Acculturation Gaps Amongst Somali-American Families, Morgyn Wade

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this thesis was: What impact does home language maintenance and acculturation gaps have on Somali-American families? The purpose was to understand the impact of language loss and acculturation gaps and to see what teachers and others could do to help encourage home language maintenance amongst Somali-American families. It discusses previous research in the field; such as Brown and Carpenter’s (2018) study of a community of Somali-Americans in Barron, Wisconsin, and Gonzalez and Mendez-Pounds’(2018) study on Mexican-American families and parents’ approaches to home language maintenance. In addition, this thesis explores the various connections between language, culture, …


Toxic Math-Masculinity: Changing Harmful Lay Theories Of Mathematics To Improve Student Achievement, Zac Kamm Apr 2021

Toxic Math-Masculinity: Changing Harmful Lay Theories Of Mathematics To Improve Student Achievement, Zac Kamm

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Students often come into the secondary math classroom with an implicit understanding of mathematics that negatively affects their performance in the classroom. These lay theories often reinforce an entity theory of mathematical ability that views ability as fixed and unchangeable. In turn, this view of mathematical ability influences students’ goal orientations. Research shows the positive benefits of an incremental theory of mathematical ability and a mastery goal orientation on mathematics student achievement. Much of the research literature focuses on describing or quantifying the connection between incremental theories of mathematical ability and student achievement rather than describing effective strategies for changing …


Utilizing Public Involvement As A Driver For Conservation Efforts, Alexander Colling Apr 2021

Utilizing Public Involvement As A Driver For Conservation Efforts, Alexander Colling

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Public lands have long been treasured by the citizens and communities that surround them. They provide a multitude of recreational opportunities to the people as well as needed ecological services to the greater ecosystems in which they are located. The management of these lands traditionally on governmental agencies or non-profit organizations. The goal of this project is to explore and develop avenues for public involvement in the natural resource management process and to answer the question of: How can land managers harness public involvement and understanding to advance conservation efforts? The Public Parallel Natural Areas Management System (PPNAMS) was developed …


Improving Student Learning And Number Sense Through The Combination Of Cooperative Learning And Number Talks, Timothy Augustin Apr 2021

Improving Student Learning And Number Sense Through The Combination Of Cooperative Learning And Number Talks, Timothy Augustin

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This study explores the combination of two pedagogical techniques contributing to the development of mathematical literacy in one sixth grade mathematics class. The techniques involved in this project are cooperative learning, which focuses on the learning environment and Number Talks, which focuses on the development of number sense. This three month study involves implementing cooperative learning groups and instilling Number Talks to one sixth grade class of 20 students daily. For this study, the teacher and students participate in a series of monthly assessments, quantitative and qualitative, that are designed to measure the success of the project. This study intends …


Will Building A Healthy Community In The Elementary Classroom Reduce Disruptive Behaviors?, Samantha Janchan Apr 2021

Will Building A Healthy Community In The Elementary Classroom Reduce Disruptive Behaviors?, Samantha Janchan

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Community building in the elementary classroom can reduce disruptive behaviors. Elementary teachers wear many different hats during the school day, and managing behavior expectations is one hat. This paper explains the purpose of building relationships with students to reduce disruptive behavior. Teachers will spend time building relationships through activities, routines, and positive feedback. Chapter one provides background knowledge and the author’s personal investment in the subject area of relationship centered classroom management. Chapter two explores research on relationship building and the positive results of a community in the elementary classroom. Chapter three describes the author’s capstone project and the professional …


Building Collective Ownership In The School Community Through Authentic Engagement Of Latino Families And Students: A Professional Development For School, Molly Barajas Apr 2021

Building Collective Ownership In The School Community Through Authentic Engagement Of Latino Families And Students: A Professional Development For School, Molly Barajas

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that students who have parents that are involved in their education have higher school attendance, school participation and graduation rates. The professional development series developed for this project focuses on the most effective methods teachers and support staff can utilize to authentically engage Latino families in their child's education. In the past, teachers and support staff have expressed frustration at what they perceive as lack of participation in school activities by English Language Learner families. This project discusses traditional and non traditional methods for authentically engaging Latino parents in their children’s education. These methods first require staff …