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Full-Text Articles in Education
Embedding Phenomena-Based Learning Practices Into A Middle School Science Curriculum, Allison Kubat
Embedding Phenomena-Based Learning Practices Into A Middle School Science Curriculum, Allison Kubat
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The history of science education has seen dramatic changes since its formal introduction to school curriculum in the last half of the 1800s. Science has moved from a passive learning experience to much more active and student-driven pedagogy. In 2014, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were introduced and states have been adopting these since then. As a way to meet the demands of the NGSS, inquiry-based science lessons have been created. One branch of inquiry-based learning is using phenomena as a way to introduce new content and having students use prior knowledge and models to explain the science behind …
What Methods And Models Can Be Used To Translate Science To Levels Developmentally Appropriate To Be Taught In Preschool In The State Of Massachusetts?, Donna Phillips
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone project examines the changes in curriculum for early childhood education, specifically preschool aged children. In reviewing and learning about the history of preschool education and how its curriculum has evolved over time, this capstone project was developed to understand the question of, what are methods and models that can be used to translate science to levels developmentally appropriate to be taught in preschool in the state of Massachusetts? While preschool's curriculum main focus was in teaching fine and gross motor skills, research has shown that children as young as 3 years old are able to learn basic science, …
Designing Curriculum For Emerging English Learners: Using Science Themes To Teach Productive Academic Language In A High School El Classroom, Cassandra Chandler
Designing Curriculum For Emerging English Learners: Using Science Themes To Teach Productive Academic Language In A High School El Classroom, Cassandra Chandler
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
English Language (EL) teachers often do not have a rigorous curriculum for Emerging students that uses grade-level themes to teach English language acquisition. Additionally, many of the commercially-available English language instructional materials do not have a strong focus on teaching academic speaking. At the same time, writing also continues to be an area of challenge for many ELs. This capstone project addressed the question: How can a science-themed curriculum be designed for Emerging-level high school English learners that focuses on teaching productive academic language? The literature reviewed showed that instruction in academic speaking and writing is incredibly important for ELs. …
Creating Environmental Education Programming And Access To Diverse Students, Heidi Hanson
Creating Environmental Education Programming And Access To Diverse Students, Heidi Hanson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The racial diversity of students in environmental education (EE) is minimal for a myriad of reasons. Factors that environmental educators can control in welcoming students to programming is content and teaching. Research on racial diversity, past and present environmental education, students’ land histories and different pedagogies that incorporate culture and address discrimination and justice inform educators how what and how to optimally teach racially diverse students to maintain engagement. Research finds that incorporating students’ cultures into teaching, representing diverse people in lessons, understanding systems of racism, how that impacts people’s actions along with finding ways to change and or confront …
Addressing Issues Surrounding Food Insecurity And Promote Environmentalism In Urban Settings Using Community Gardens, Tucker Jensen
Addressing Issues Surrounding Food Insecurity And Promote Environmentalism In Urban Settings Using Community Gardens, Tucker Jensen
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This capstone project reviews the effect community gardens have on the low-income, urban population. After reviewing the history of racism in America, disproportionalities of food insecurity, how poverty correlates to health, and various environmental impacts specific to urban communities, this project was an effort to expand on that research and provide a solution. Food deserts exist in many of today’s American cities, which lead to food insecurity and negative health outcomes. A community garden is a low-cost, effective way to obtain healthy food and simultaneously benefit the environment. This five-day unit of study takes place at an established community garden. …
Environmental Education Lessons Connecting Middle School Students To The Natural World, Kari Brant
Environmental Education Lessons Connecting Middle School Students To The Natural World, Kari Brant
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Research has repeatedly indicated that exposure to nature and the outdoors has a range of physical, mental, emotional, social, and educational benefits. The research question that is addressed in the work of this capstone is: Which middle school environmental education lessons aligned with science standards enable students to connect with the natural world? In reviewing causes of lack of exposure to nature, the benefits that being outside can offer, and closely reviewing both Minnesota standards as well as environmental education goals, the aim of this capstone is to incorporate environmental education into middle school. The curriculum includes units of study …
A Framework For Pre-Laboratory Instructional Design To Support Student Inquiry In High School Chemistry, Naomi Golden
A Framework For Pre-Laboratory Instructional Design To Support Student Inquiry In High School Chemistry, Naomi Golden
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
High school chemistry laboratory experiments offer a context-rich environment for learning chemistry. However, the complexity of the lab environment can also complicate the learning experience. This capstone explores the question: How can a pre-laboratory instructional framework help high school chemistry students independently design experiment procedures in order to transform inquiry experiments into an effective tool for content learning? The literature review explores how four instructional approaches (science writing heuristic, writing-to-learn strategies, pre-laboratory instruction, and demonstrations) impact learning outcomes. Using that research as a foundation, the capstone proposes an instructional framework utilizing a teacher-led demonstration to engage prior knowledge and teach …
How Can Citizen Science Be Used Effectively Within Environmental Education In Order To Foster Environmental Change?, Michelle Sagers
How Can Citizen Science Be Used Effectively Within Environmental Education In Order To Foster Environmental Change?, Michelle Sagers
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Citizen Science, the crowdsourcing of scientific data collection, is becoming a valuable education tool for environmental educators and classroom teachers. Citizen Science has the capacity to teach students STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) and inquiry-based learning skills in a real-life setting, close to home, that matters to them personally. It provides participants with the skills to face future environmental problems and become civically engaged on environmental topics. This capstone project focuses on creating an education curriculum utilizing Citizen Science to answer the question: how can Citizen Science be used effectively within environmental education in order to foster environmental change? …
Scaffolding Oral Language For Elementary English Learners In Content Classrooms, Jamie Bushey
Scaffolding Oral Language For Elementary English Learners In Content Classrooms, Jamie Bushey
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
This project addresses the question: What strategies could be provided to content and English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers to help scaffold oral language use for English Learners in the elementary content classroom? This project was born from the author’s experience as a language teacher and the need to provide language supports for her students in content classes such as science and social studies. Literature regarding second language acquisition, science education, and oral language supports were consulted in the development of this project. A portfolio of resources to support oral language development was created, which includes an example science …
Incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge To Support Critical Thinking In Environmental Education, Nicholas Koerbitz
Incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge To Support Critical Thinking In Environmental Education, Nicholas Koerbitz
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was how can traditional ecological knowledge be implemented in environmental education? Research indicates that traditional ecological knowledge aids student understanding in environmental education, as it provides holistic viewpoints to problem solving. Available Indigenous teachings from cultures across North America explain the connectedness between all living and nonliving things, yet are very underused resources. This curriculum was created using the Understanding by Design framework consisting of four units including ecology, natural resources, climate change, and current environmental challenges. These lessons include a combination of a teacher centered and student centered classroom, along with provided …
Developmentally Appropriate Environmental Stem Curriculum For Kindergarten And First Grade Students, Mary Sweeney
Developmentally Appropriate Environmental Stem Curriculum For Kindergarten And First Grade Students, Mary Sweeney
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The purpose of this capstone project was to create a developmentally appropriate environmental science, technology, engineering, and math (E-STEM) curriculum for kindergarten and first grade students. This capstone seeks to answer the question: What are qualities of developmentally appropriate environmental education curriculum for kindergarten and first grade students? The research explores physical, cognitive, and social and emotional growth, in addition to multiple intelligences. Developmentally appropriate kindergarten and first grade classrooms encourage play, choice stations, movement, utilizing all of the senses, and a nurturing environment. Best practices in Environmental education combine developmental needs of students, authentic experiences in the environment, and …
Designing And Implementing Argumentation Through Digital Platform: A Framework For Beginning 3rd-6th Science, Alexandra Melin
Designing And Implementing Argumentation Through Digital Platform: A Framework For Beginning 3rd-6th Science, Alexandra Melin
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Extensive research in science education has underscored the importance of argumentation and discourse as a critical tool for helping students understand the natural world (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Despite these findings, argumentation is used inconsistently across classrooms due to numerous implementation challenges (e.g., limited teacher training, insufficient resources, classroom management difficulties, unique science language and practices). The design and implementation of science argumentation has been further challenged by the growing proportion of English Language Learning students and the shift to online learning, making clear the need for a framework that included support and adaption to both. To address this need, …
Fostering Joy, Enriching Relationships, And Encouraging Growth Through Outdoor Education Curriculum, Emma Chapman
Fostering Joy, Enriching Relationships, And Encouraging Growth Through Outdoor Education Curriculum, Emma Chapman
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Research has shown that spending time learning and exploring outdoors can be a vital part of emotional and academic development of students. Connecting with the outdoors is also a foundational aspect in the development of environmental stewards. Many students aren’t given the opportunities to connect with the environment for a number of reasons including lack of access to outdoor spaces and/or lack of role models. This project resulted in the creation of seven lesson plans with the goals to foster joy, enrich relationships, and encourage growth in the outdoors. The lessons target primarily middle school students, but can be adapted …
What Interactive Strategies Promote Engagement For English Language Learners In A Post-Secondary Science Classroom?, Kristal Newman
What Interactive Strategies Promote Engagement For English Language Learners In A Post-Secondary Science Classroom?, Kristal Newman
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The attendance rate of international students has nearly doubled in U.S colleges (Bergey et al., 2019). Many English Language Learners (ELL) are learning the English language while attending regular subject classes, such as biology. There can be many difficult challenges that arise for ELLs in science classes, such as the complex vocabulary of scientific terms. ELL students struggle in science classrooms and have less engagement in the material because of the language barrier and the complexity of the content (Short et al., 2011). Interactive lecturing is a great way to promote engagement in a science classroom with ELLs. Interactive Lecturing …
Inquiry-Based Science And Higher-Order Thinking Skills In Upper Elementary Science Education, Emily Culhane
Inquiry-Based Science And Higher-Order Thinking Skills In Upper Elementary Science Education, Emily Culhane
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project is: How can curriculum design in upper elementary science education enlist students in practice and demonstration of higher-order thinking skills? The purpose for this project was to explore how inquiry-based science can further develop students’ higher-order thinking skills of synthesis and evaluation. Synthesis and evaluation were chosen because they are transferable to other content areas as well as everyday life. In the literature review, many different research studies were examined in order to learn more about inquiry-based science, higher-order thinking skills, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and curriculum design. The project is a …
The Role Of Environmental Education In Steam Education, Elise Malecha
The Role Of Environmental Education In Steam Education, Elise Malecha
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Research has shown that both STEAM education and environmental education have similar goals: equipping students with 21st-century skills such as communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. These skills are essential for students to know in order to be successful in their future careers. However, while both STEAM education and environmental education have similar goals, they are often not taught together. This project takes time to answer the question: How can incorporating more environmental education into STEAM help create students that are equipped with skills needed for future careers? The supplemental curriculum designed for this project is intended to be woven into …
Using Digital Communication Technologies To Record A Student’S Thinking During The Solving Of Physics Problems, John Gaalaas
Using Digital Communication Technologies To Record A Student’S Thinking During The Solving Of Physics Problems, John Gaalaas
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The question addressed in this project aims to develop strategies to record student thinking while solving physics problems. Literature pointed to the benefits of conversation as a form of assessment and strategies for developing good physics problems. The project demonstrates two different ways to implement the recording strategy and develops ways to assess these recordings. A slide presentation is developed for use in workshops with other physics teachers demonstrating how to put the strategies into place. Future research might involve quantitative measurement of the effects of these strategies in physics classrooms.
Developing A Framework For Citizen Science: Preparing Researchers For Success, Michelle Chmura
Developing A Framework For Citizen Science: Preparing Researchers For Success, Michelle Chmura
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Citizen science is a growing field of research that relies on public participation for successfully collecting and processing data in fields of ecology, astronomy and sociology. Citizen science has potential to connect diverse communities with science literacy, but historically has only reached a small portion of the population already invested in scientific research. Many citizen science projects fail to launch within the first year from researcher expectations not meeting volunteer expectations. Researchers face the same common pitfalls that others before them have with few stories sharing how success was achieved. A three day workshop was developed to explore the relationship …
Implementing Project-Based Learning Within A Standards-Based Grading System, Hannah Yokom
Implementing Project-Based Learning Within A Standards-Based Grading System, Hannah Yokom
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
The research question addressed in this project was, how can teachers implement interdisciplinary, project-based learning to teach and assess multiple standards in a standards-based grading system? Teachers need to shift their role from being the keeper of information for students to being a guide that helps as they ask questions, lead their own learning, and carry the cognitive load. Standards-based grading is a research-based best practice, but it requires that each standard be taught and assessed individually. This project integrates research in the areas of developing and implementing project-based learning in the classroom, and standards-based grading. It presents a fully-developed, …