Education Commons^™

Mindfulness-Based Interventions: The Implications For Stress Management And Academic Performance In Undergraduate Students, Kathryn Johnson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Johnson, K. Mindfulness-Based Interventions: The Implications for Stress Management and Academic Performance in Undergraduate Students (2019). Mindfulness activities and programs are becoming increasingly popular in post-secondary settings. At the same time, stress and mental health of students is an increasing concern at institutions of higher learning. This capstone sought to answer the research question: how do mindfulness-based intervention programs impact students’ stress management and academic performance? The culminating project is a website that provides an overview for post-secondary educators interested in implementing a mindfulness program with undergraduate students. The website includes information on mindfulness programs, ways of implementing a mindfulness …

Engaging The Safety System Of The Brain: Training For Teachers Of Immigrants Who Have Experienced Trauma, Lindsey Grace Crifasi

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that trauma makes changes in our brain chemistry. In the space of teaching and learning, these changes can inhibit students from reaching their goals effectively. This research focused on addressing the questions: What are the key aspects of trauma-informed teaching, specifically for the immigrant population? What happens to the brain when it is dealing with trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or grief and how does that affect learning? With inspiration from Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s book The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, Body and the Healing of Trauma and studies into the Polyvagal Theory …

Using English Language Arts As An Outlet For Addressing And Defining Student’S Past Trauma, Dalton J. Pieske

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research supports the notion that trauma can have a list of negative social, psychological, neurophysiological, emotional and physical ramifications on at-risk adolescents. Research has also shown that trauma-occurrence is affected based on racial demographics and geographical location. Therefore, this capstone project intends to answer the question: How can ELA teachers use their classes as an outlet for addressing and defining ethno-racial minority and U.S. born student’s trauma? There has been an increase in mental health professionals in schools to address increasing student trauma but this project argues the English Language Arts classroom can provide students an outlet for building skills …

Transformational Leadership Professional Development Website For Leaders Of Urban, Voucher Schools, Christina Lundberg

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Teachers in the United States are leaving the classroom at alarming rates (Ingersoll, Merrill & Stuckey, 2014). In order to give all students access to high-quality education, this issue of teacher retention needs to be addressed. The professional development website designed for this capstone project focuses on answering the research question: What effects does a principal’s transformational leadership style have on teacher retention at an urban, voucher school? There has been a great deal of research dedicated to the causes and solutions to teacher attrition (Darling-Hammond, 2003); however, there is little research specifically on how transformational leadership affects the retention …

Social-Emotional Learning For The Alternative High School, Lindsay A. Bednar

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone is to provide social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies for educational professionals to use with high-school students in the alternative high school. Included in this capstone is a detailed description of SEL as well as an analysis of the need for SEL offering in alternative high schools. The project provides three succinct strategies that educators and professionals can implement within an alternative education setting to best support the high needs of their students. Adapted from Nancy Hellander Pung’s UpCoaching framework, the three strategies focus on deepening questions that allow students to realize their values, their intentions, and …

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 …

Cultural Capital And English Language Learner Educational Outcomes, Maddie Kiley

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Through researching cultural capital, I was able to identify how cultural capital is developed and its impact on English Language Learners’ educational success. The underlying guiding question addressed throughout this project was: How can teachers be informed about cultural capital and its impact on students’ educational outcomes? Although there is a vast selection of research in the field, there has been little resource creation and implementation in response to what research would suggest as it relates to a teacher’s role in cultural capital development. To assist teachers in increasing English Language Learners’ capital, an activity resource was developed. The intent …

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 …

Preparing To Successfully Co-Teach For English Language Learners On The First Day Of School: A Series Of Professional Development Sessions, Carter Haaland

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

As the population of the United States continues to grow more and more diverse, schools are adapting to meet the needs of their changing student populations. A common program model for educating English language learners is co-teaching between an ESL teacher and a general education teacher. This paper seeks to answer the questions How can teachers be prepared to successfully co-teach for English language learners on the first day of school? This paper begins by discussing the author’s experience that led to the research question, while also situating the topic in the context of today’s public education system. In order …

Entering And Continuing The Journey In The Classroom: Personal Explorations, Professional Learning And Cultivating Emotional Resilience, Jillian Stockmo

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Data shows that Minnesota teachers are leaving the classroom at alarming rates; teacher retention is an issue for both new and tenured teachers that must be addressed for the sustainability and longevity of our schools. The professional development sequence designed for this capstone project focuses on answering the research question: what impact does cultivating emotional resilience in teachers’ professional development have on teacher retention for both new and tenured teachers? Much research has been devoted to teacher retention and attrition, its causes and potential solutions - however research on how teachers can build habits and dispositions that lead to greater …

Rural Community-Based Organizing For Social Change, Alexandria V.S. Romano

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this capstone was, How can community organizers design and facilitate a series of workshops to develop rural leaders for social change in southeast Minnesota? In my effort to pose a solution to this question, I collaborated with other

community organizers to design educational activities and facilitation techniques used in four in- person, two-hour long sessions that would engage rural community members in social

investigation, reflection, and action. I analyzed literature detailing the rise of alternative learning models in U.S. adult education, social theories centered around liberation which drove the

popular education approach to critical inquiry, …