Education Commons^™

The Effect Of Gratitude Journaling On Counselor Stress, Emily Kause

Graduate Research Papers

Stress and burnout are significant problems among those in helping professions, such as school counselors. High demands, time limitations, and vicarious trauma all contribute to the seemingly ever-rising levels of stress these individuals experience. It is critical for counselors to find strategies to lower their stress levels in order to prevent burnout, compassion fatigue, and the negative physical and mental health impacts of prolonged stress.

How Pizza And Stickers Drove My Kids To Read And Kept Them Reading, Tiya Montaño

Graduate Research Papers

Walk into any English/Language Arts (ELA) classroom across the country and you will find books on bookshelves, students on computers or cellphones, and a teacher struggling to garner the attention of their students long enough to make it through the short story, poem, or novel they are reading. This has become an all too familiar image that ELA teachers struggle with. Why won’t the students engage? Are the readings too difficult? Are the readings too boring? Am I teaching them all wrong? All these questions and more fly through our brains as they work towards trying to get the students …

Fostering Multiliteracies And Engagement With Multimodal Texts In The Secondary English Language Arts Classroom, Amanda J. Hargis

Graduate Research Papers

This study underscores the potential of multimodal texts to enhance student engagement and understanding in high school English Language Arts classrooms. While student preferences for different text formats varied, challenges remain in how to connect classic literature to contemporary students. However, the integration of multimodal resources can offer valuable opportunities for enriching the learning experience. Future research and continued adoption of culturally sustaining pedagogies in instructional practices will be key to maximizing the benefits of multimodal texts in diverse educational settings.

¿Adónde Ir? Los Efectos Perpetuos De La Formación "Inexistente" Para Maestros De Inmersión Lingüística, Cody J. Boozell

Graduate Research Papers

La inmersión lingüística ha sido un fenómeno emergente en muchos contextos en todo el mundo, y las complejidades que rodean este campo no se van tan pronto. Este área docente puede ser una tarea desafiante para muchos profesionales, especialmente cuando participan en formación asimilativa con educadores convencionales. Por eso, los profesores de inmersión lingüística se preguntan adónde deben ir para encontrar los enfoques para la enseñanza bilingüe. Con esto dicho, la visibilidad de los programas de inmersión lingüística ha aumentado sustancialmente en la última década, exponiendo a los estudiantes, profesores y padres a un enfoque diferente para el aprendizaje (Figura …

Diversity In Collections Utilizing Accelerated Reader Programs, Leah Cahill

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to compare current Accelerated Reader YA book lists to YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults lists from 2019 to 2022 to examine the number of current YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults titles included on the AR list and determine whether there is a discrepancy between the percent of YALSA books overall and the percent of YALSA AR books that meet the diversity definition (We Need Diverse Books, 2022). Data was collected by looking at 314 titles from the 2019-2022 YALSA Best of the Best List and then comparing two review sources to determine …

Communicating Emotions Through Art And Conversation, Paige E. Kayvan, Samantha R. Doyle, Payton Cannon, Traci Jolley

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Does Systematic Phonological Awareness In The Early Primary Grades Impact Student Learning Beyond Primary Grades, Renee Lyn Sorenson

Graduate Research Papers

This meta-analysis literature review was conducted by examining 24 scholarly articles to investigate the effects of systematic phonological awareness in the early primary grades and beyond. Children in these studies ranged from preschool, and in some studies continued to be monitored through fourth grade and beyond. The articles were gathered from APA Psycinfo and ERIC with search terms that included phonological awareness instruction in kindergarten aged students. The effects of these studies varied with the extent of the classroom’s rich phonological awareness and their intentional scaffolding.

This review was set up to investigate the correlation between phonological awareness and the …

Development And Implementation Of A Ngss Curriculum Unit For Astronomy In Ninth-Grade Earth And Space Science, Jessica Hughes

Graduate Research Papers

Since the release of the NGSS in 2013, there has been a gap in available curricula that is aligned with the new standards. To fill this gap, I created and implemented a unit of study aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) on the topic of astronomy for a ninth grade earth and space science course. Much of the available curriculum is above the level of ninth grade students. This curriculum approaches the astronomy standards at the level of ninth grade students.

The research questions were “how well does the curriculum prepare students for the disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) …

A Next Generation Science Standards (Ngss) Aligned 3rd Grade Weather Unit, Jennifer Hageman

Graduate Research Papers

This unit is the culmination of work on taking the NGSS for weather and climate and creating an inclusive unit for third grade students. At the time this unit was started, many teachers were taking the NGSS and creating units for the classrooms. This unit integrates math, literacy, and social studies standards to help explore the NGSS for weather and climate.

After completion of this unit it was given to two reviewers in the field of teaching. They read the unit and provided feedback for improvement. After review of the feedback it was noted that adaptations for students need to …

Building An Understanding Of The Common Core State Standards And Complex Texts, While Supporting Upper Elementary Readers With Complex Text Through Shared Reading, Joanna Mae Carlson

Graduate Research Papers

The Common Core State Standards have caused changes to happen within classrooms. Teachers are teaching using complex text, and students are expected to read and comprehend grade-level complex texts. In order to successfully teach with these types of texts, teachers must have an understanding of what makes a text complex and how text complexity is measured. Building an understanding of these ideas will help teachers support all students with comprehension. Shared reading is a teaching strategy that teachers can implement in their classrooms to support students with the reading of complex texts. In upper elementary classrooms, shared reading can be …

High School Earth Science Students Evaluating Agricultural Solutions, Jaclyn Citlali Sanchez Erickson

Graduate Research Papers

With the Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) implementation it is imperative to include three-dimensional learning in any curriculum designed. In addition, NGSS lends itself well to inquiry based and project based learning.

I chose to focus my curriculum project on developing a project-based learning (PBL) piece targeting NGSS ESSS 3-4: Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems. The PBL was designed for ninth-grade earth science students at a rural school. This project was designed with 5 E-learning in mind to help organize the end product, a presentation. It was developed using an …

Partnership To Grow Effective Readers: Professional Learning For Interventionists And Classroom Teachers, Jennifer Lane

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Identifying Misconceptions About Evolution Relative To Science Curriculum Exposure At The Secondary Level, Rachel Carney

Graduate Research Papers

Evolution is the foundation of the biological sciences. Addressing misconceptions related to biological evolution ensures students have a solid understanding of evolution so that they can become scientifically literate members of society. While studies have identified misconceptions about evolution, there is much less research on the degree to which specific biology curricula address these misconceptions. The goal of this study is to determine how exposure to the SEPUP biology curriculum affects the misconceptions about evolutionary theory held by 10th grade students.

This study took place at a moderately-sized school located in the Midwest. Students respond with their agreeability to a …

Pleasure Reading Workshop: Meeting Sel Competencies Based On Sustained (And Maybe Not So Silent) Reading, Lora Sink

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the benefits pleasure reading had on students' understanding of social emotional learning and the Teacher Librarian’s (TL) foundational role for providing an environment for pleasure reading that fostered social emotional learning (SEL) at the middle school level. The participants included one language arts class of 14 seventh graders at a private K-8 school located in the Midwest. Students were given ample class time to read, and their writing, discussions, and evaluations centered around social and emotional learning. Results in 6 themes showed that using pleasure reading as a base, teachers …

The Influence Of Book Club Conversations On Reluctant Or Struggling Readers, Jadee Jo Gloede

Graduate Research Papers

This qualitative case study reports the TL impact on reluctant readers’ sustained engagement in conversations about reading, and the impact the participation in the book club has on a student’s motivation to read. This study from a small, rural area in Northwest Iowa consisted of six fourth grade students and their teacher librarian who met in a book club over a four week time period during summer school. The students were taught different reading roles and utilized them throughout the discussion of the book. The researcher discovered five main themes in response to the research questions. Theme one is Diverse …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Brenda M. Boleyn

Graduate Research Papers

Throughout my life I have tried to engage myself in activities that were opportunities for me to "make a difference." Whether it be involvement in community clean-up projects or parks and recreation programs for children, my intentions were always to use my time to do good for a cause or another person. I carried this belief with me into college while I was in search of what I wanted to become "when I grew up." I looked in several directions on the basis of some fundamental goals I had for myself. First, I knew I wanted to be in a …

Accuracy Of Self-Assessment In A Ninth Grade Earth Science Classroom, Alyssa Jacobson

Graduate Research Papers

Student engagement is a constant struggle teachers and schools work to address. Students who are not engaged are more likely to drop out of school and participate in risky behaviors that negatively impact themselves and society as a whole. As a means to combat student disengagement, school districts have begun to implement The New Art and Science of Teaching, a framework meant to engage students by involving them in the learning process through self-assessment.

The purpose of this study is to determine how accurately high school aged students can self-assess and how students make decisions when they self-assess. To …

Analysis Of Assessments On Secondary Students' Development And Interpretation Of Models, Alaina L. Appley

Graduate Research Papers

As districts are making the shift to three-dimensional learning the development of a coherent set of high-quality task-based assessments has been a challenge. For this research I collected and analyzed twelve of my district's assessments over the scientific skill of modeling from grades seven through 12. The analysis involved two tools developed by NGSS and Achieve.org to determine the extent to which the assessments ask students to perform tasks that are driven by phenomena and use the three-dimensional in service of sense-making, the Task Screener and the Framework to Evaluate Cognitive Complexity in Science Assessments. The findings support what …

Inspiring Students To Take Action In Order To Make Positive Change Through The Integration Of Social Studies Themes In Children's Literature, Morgan Ives, Taylor Marsho, Ashtyn Riley, Deidra Rudd

Graduate Research Papers

This study explores the use of children literature to teach social studies concepts within literacy instruction. Fifty-eight kindergarteners and twenty seventh graders, attending four different rural elementary schools, are the participants in this study. All four schools included in the study were racially and ethnically homogeneous, with a majority of the students being White. The study focuses on the effects of limited social studies instruction within all schools and how social studies can be integrated within a literacy time block. The kindergarten general education teachers and the seventh grade English Language Arts teacher provided all of the instruction. The results …

Mental Illness Representation In Young Adult Literature, Ashley Aberle

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this qualitative content analysis is to study the portrayal of characters who have a mental illness in award-winning young adult books for teacher librarians to recommend for young adult readers and for teachers to use in teaching and curriculum for mental illness acceptance. The research questions asked the following: how does award-winning young adult literature that includes characters with mental illness portray interactions with peers and adults; This study used qualitative content analysis to examine 10 novels portraying multiple mental illnesses and that were published from 2013 to 2020. This research identified three themes: Theme 1 is …

Teaching Race Through Multicultural Children's Literature, Kaley Bailey, Maiya Duthoo-Wolpert

Graduate Research Papers

There is considerable confusion in today’s society when it comes to talking about race. In result to this, race talk in schools can be overseen with challenges, leading to problematic conversations, disconnection, and ultimately student disengagement. This study is used by two Elementary educators one an Asian, the other a Caucasian - found in the Midwest, showing how teachers can break that uncomfortable barrier of the topic about race and navigate conversations through multicultural children’s literature books. The study demonstrated how to choose the most effective multicultural children’s literature to share to a classroom of students and how beneficial it …

Human Impact On The Environment: A Middle School Project Based Learning Unit Development, Shannon Power

Graduate Research Papers

I chose to focus my creative component on the development and implementation of a Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) aligned earth science unit for an 8th grade science course taught using Project Based Learning (PBL) and graded using Standards Referenced Grading (SRG) philosophies and a proficiency scale. The unit focused on the Performance Expectation MS-ESS3-3: Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment (NGSS, 2013e). This standard includes the Science and Engineering Practice (SEP) of constructing explanations and designing solutions, a Cross Cutting Concept (CCC) of cause and effect, and a …

Immediate Vs. Deferred Feedback During Formative Assessments In A 9th Grade Physical Science Course, Jordan Sonntag

Graduate Research Papers

For educators, feedback has become a very important part of the teaching practice that is taught in both teacher education programs and building-level professional development. While many studies have been done on feedback itself, there is much less research on the effectiveness of certain types of feedback used within a Learning Management System (LMS). The goal of this experiment is to determine if there is any difference on summative assessment scores based on the use of different types of feedback on formative assessments using an LMS.

An LMS is a program that allows the educator to create step by step …

Enhancing Scientific Literacy Through Attention To Argumentation As A Disciplinary Literacy Practice, Whitney Mcwilliams

Graduate Research Papers

This project is partly driven by Science Writing Heuristic as writing to learn is part of a larger objective to help students develop literacy. While research on the SWH examines its own effectiveness through the lens of literacy, it only looked at its impact on science content knowledge. This project will examine five assessment tasks structured around the practice of argumentation. Data collected will measure use and inclusion of phenomena, three dimensional learning, and alignment to Performance Expectations. The content of the performance expectations center around two standards focused on electromagnetic radiation’s effect on matter and technological devices used to …

Examining The Impact A Teacher Librarian Has On Students' Self-Selection Strategies, Stefanie Throndson

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the impact a Teacher Librarian has on students’ self-selection strategies and the broader impact on a culture of reading in a school building. Data was collected from 263 students in middle school (grades 5-8) resulting in 1322 reponses over eight weeks. Research Question 1 asked, What appeal strategies do students use when selecting an independent reading book? “You liked the author or it is in a series” was the number one book selection approach used with 21.6% of the responses indicating this approach when selecting a book. The least helpful book …

Effects Of Stepwise Guided Inquiry On Students' Attitudes And Depth Of Knowledge From Written Lab Reflections In High School Chemistry, Melissa Rae Campbell Johnson

Graduate Research Papers

Many teachers find it challenging to embed guided inquiry into high school chemistry courses. Although guided inquiry provides excellent opportunities for students to engage in data analysis, misconceptions and loss of class time are teacher stated problems with guided inquiry. A stepwise inquiry project can slowly introduce students to the inquiry process of data analysis in high school chemistry.

This stepwise inquiry project examined three different inquiry labs designed around the anchoring phenomenon, “ Which toothpaste protects our teeth the best?”Each lab progressed in inquiry level. Lab one was written at inquiry level one,confirmation. The second lab was written at …

Autoethnography On Teaching During A Pandemic, Kelsey Ufford

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted and changed teaching strategies in a young adolescent science classroom and how the pandemic changed personal ideas around online learning. Prior research shows how online learning can be implemented successfully in collegiate classrooms, but it is rare to find research that shows how to successfully implement online learning in a young adolescent classroom. This point of view is from a rural, Iowa middle school standpoint and data was collected through the use of personal journals, emails, and a timeline from March 2020 and May 2020. After the …

Impact Of Inquiry Science Courses On Preservice Elementary Students' Ideas On Science, Lance Charles Baetsle

Graduate Research Papers

This study examines how students' scientific ideas compare between students who have taken different numbers of general science and inquiry science courses at a midwestern university. The purpose of this study is to gain perspective and to inform current teaching practices based on how preservice elementary education teachers view scientific ideas after taking a different number of inquiry science courses. Students in a science inquiry course completed a science survey (Appendix B) of science and non-science questions and were asked to explain their reasoning. A scoring rubric (Wilson et al., 2010) was used to apply a score for correct and …

Data-Driven Decision Making In Nonprofit Organizations, Amanda Kline

Graduate Research Papers

In recent decades the nonprofit sector has come under significant scrutiny from funders, clients, and the general public. This has led to a focus on programmatic and organizational outcomes data gathering and reporting aimed at increasing accountability throughout the sector. This study analyzes the literature on how nonprofit organizations use this data to drive strategy and decision making. The three specific area reviewed are strategic fundraising, mission drift avoidance, and limitations and obstacles organizations encounter regarding data gathering and analysis usage in the decision making process. Implications and recommendations for nonprofit professional are also discussed.

Representation Of Native Peoples In Picture Books About Christopher Columbus: A Literary Analysis, Mari Butler Abry

Graduate Research Papers

This qualitative content analysis analyzes how Native peoples and their culture are represented in 21 children’s picture books published between 2008-2019, written for students in grades K-4, about Christopher Columbus or Columbus Day. The books were evaluated using Slapin, Seale, and Gonzalez’s (1992) framework: “How to Tell the Difference: A Checklist for Evaluating Children’s Books for Anti-Indian Bias.” This study found that books in the sample did not represent Native peoples well, with only four books having positive and detailed representations overall.The most common offense in the sample was a stereotypical portrayal of Native people. This study concluded that one …