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Full-Text Articles in Education

Effective Teacher-Parent Communication Tools To Empower Families To Be Active In Their Children’S Learning, Ellis Richardson Oct 2022

Effective Teacher-Parent Communication Tools To Empower Families To Be Active In Their Children’S Learning, Ellis Richardson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Creating an environment that is conducive for learning is an essential component of education. In search of ways to achieve this goal through family engagement the question was posed, How can educators effectively communicate with families to empower them to take an active role in their child’s learning? Research has demonstrated that there is a link between student success and teacher-parent partnerships through one way and two way communication methods. The project involved creating a set of resources for educators to foster and maintain teacher-parent partnerships with the goal being student success. The resources are accompanied by a professional development …


Developing Effective Resources To Maintain The Target Language Of A Dual Language Immersion Program, Sofia Henao Oct 2022

Developing Effective Resources To Maintain The Target Language Of A Dual Language Immersion Program, Sofia Henao

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Dual Language Immersion programs (DLIPs) have been around for more than 60 years in the United States. DLIPs focus on teaching students subject matter in a second language. This project connects the topics and goals of dual language immersion education to a website that can be used as a source of practice for students that are no longer directly in an immersion program by investigating the question, “What supports can teachers put in place that students can use when they are not directly in a dual language immersion program?” The research intends to illustrate the importance of continued practice and …


The Science Of Reading For English Learners, Allison Hanson Jul 2022

The Science Of Reading For English Learners, Allison Hanson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

In recent years, a movement of researchers, educators, and parents promoting the science of reading has been reigniting the so-called “reading wars.” This movement has pointed out the ways in which typical balanced literacy practices do not reflect research on how students learn to read, especially in the acquisition of word recognition skills. However, the current debate is sometimes ignoring the unique needs of a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. student population: English Learners (ELs) and other multilingual students. This capstone project addresses the question: How does the science of reading inform reading instruction for ELs within a balanced …


Strengthening Early Literacy Skills Through Data-Driven Decision Making, Kaari Bly Jul 2022

Strengthening Early Literacy Skills Through Data-Driven Decision Making, Kaari Bly

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

As part of this research, nine professional development sessions and a data workbook were designed to address the research question: how can a school establish a sustainable system for making data-based decisions to strengthen the literacy skills of kindergarten and first-grade students necessary for further educational success? Data-driven decision-making is an essential component of an MTSS framework and is based on the steps of a problem-solving model. Key tenets of a data-driven school include strong leadership, a comprehensive assessment system, easy access to data, time and resources to examine data, and clear connections between data and potential interventions. Often schools …


English Language Learners: Closing The Achievement Gap, Silyvanus Juma Jul 2022

English Language Learners: Closing The Achievement Gap, Silyvanus Juma

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research is to investigate the best practices and effective teaching strategies that teachers and other educators can use with English Language Learners (ELLs) to close the achievement gap. The research intends to illustrate that English language proficiency requirements should not in any way be a barrier to the academic performance and achievement of English Language Learners. ELLs are continuously lagging behind their native English speaking peers academically. Various reports indicate that ELLs continue to under-perform in state tests, course grades, and college placements tests. They face numerous challenges including lack of interaction with native speakers of …


History Day: Adapting The Program For The Sixth-Grade Classroom, Hannah Crook Jul 2022

History Day: Adapting The Program For The Sixth-Grade Classroom, Hannah Crook

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone paper and project seek to answer the question: How can the Minnesota Historical Society’s History Day program be differentiated and adapted for sixth-grade students? Feedback from teachers has found that there is a level of difficulty in the implementation of the project-based learning program, History Day, at the sixth-grade level. Sixth-grade is the group with the lowest participation in the program, and therefore has the fewest grade-appropriate resources available. The website designed for this capstone project focuses on interweaving the theories of Gloria Ladson Billings’ culturally relevant pedagogy to connect the History Day projects with working towards equity …


Effects Of A Nontraditional Multi-Age Learning Environment On Academic And Social-Emotional Learning: A Case Study, Nicole Black Apr 2022

Effects Of A Nontraditional Multi-Age Learning Environment On Academic And Social-Emotional Learning: A Case Study, Nicole Black

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this study was: how are struggling, elementary-aged students’ academic and social-emotional learning impacted by a nontraditional, multi-age learning environment? Topics explored in the review of the literature include struggling learners, academic performance, social-emotional learning, and learning environments. The case study was based on a pilot program, in which 22 students with academic and social-emotional needs were co-taught by three teachers in a multi-age, grades 2-4 environment. To answer the research question, qualitative and quantitative academic and social-emotional data was collected over a nine-week period. Individual goals were set for and with students in the areas …


Teaching Growth Mindset In A Secondary Mathematics Classroom, Katherine Sneider Apr 2022

Teaching Growth Mindset In A Secondary Mathematics Classroom, Katherine Sneider

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Carol Dweck’s research in fixed and growth mindsets has garnered attention in mathematics education, especially as the frustration of students of mathematics becomes more apparent with new or more difficult content. The literature review and subsequent project seeks to answer the question: How can teaching high school students about growth mindset affect their attitudes toward mathematics learning and academic achievement? Research demonstrates that students with a growth mindset perform better academically than students with a fixed mindset. While these mindsets may be more inherent in nature, students have the potential to develop a growth mindset through classroom learning and skill …