Education Commons^™

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy And Student Motivation: An Applied Study Of Their Relationship In Fourth Grade English Learners, Joy Mcclain

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this paper is: How are feelings of motivation observed in and

reported by English learners when they are educated in culturally relevant ways? Using Ladson- Billings’ definition of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Ryan and Deci’s self-determination theory

of motivation, and Gonzalez’ definition of culture as lived experience, the author conducts classroom research with fourth grade English learners in an urban setting in the American Midwest. Student surveys, teacher observations, and field notes are used for the duration of two co-taught lessons that can be classified as being culturally relevant. One lesson introduces the metaphor to students …

Involvement In Extracurricular Activities And Overall High School Experience: Academics, School Belonging, And Career/College Readiness, Mike Richards

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was to find out if there is a connection between extra-curricular (EC) activities and high school belonging, academics, and college/career readiness that makes school a more positive experience overall. The primary focus of this project was on finding if there is a positive impact on involvement in EC activities with regard to school belonging and college/career readiness along with higher achieving academics. An online survey was administered to the student body and there were individual interviews conducted. Along with analyzing literature, the researcher looks into his background of EC activities and how it …

Leveraging Writing Routines To Increase Achievement Of English Learners In Science, Monica Grubb

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Two research questions were investigated in this case study: How are 5th grade ELs’ performances on an objective portion of a science quiz on erosion and deposition affected after discussing concepts with a teacher and writing about these concepts? How are 5th grade ELs’ written explanations of erosion and deposition and use of genre-specific language structures affected after conferencing with a teacher about these concepts? Science literacy is for all, but many ELs struggle to learn science content. The literature points to academic language of science and its hierarchical knowledge structures as barriers to learning. Best practices to support ELs …

Communicating Student Achievement Through Standards-Based Assessment And Grading, Elizabeth Hennen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was: which method of grading is the most effective way to communicate a student's progress and growth through the course of a school year to students, parents, and future teachers? The motivating factor for this project was one teacher’s concern regarding the traditional grading system and the correlation between the grades given to students and what they were actually learning and retaining. This capstone details positives and negatives when implementing standards-based assessment and grading practices. This project was influenced heavily by the work of Dr. Robert Marzano and Rick Wormeli, although differing in …

How Can Fluency Instruction Using Readers' Theater And Paired Reading Impact Reading Comprehension In The Third Grade Classroom?, Angela Koski

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this capstone was, how can fluency instruction using readers’ theater and paired reading impact reading comprehension in the third grade classroom? It documents one teacher’s experience of implementing Readers’ Theater and Paired Reading in an attempt to increase fluency which can impact comprehension. The project integrates whole group, small group, and partner activities with a third grade class. The author details her review of best practices in reading instruction, implementation of Readers’ Theater and Paired Reading for fluency instruction, and the results seen from adding explicit fluency instruction. She describes the successes seen in teacher …

Effective Note-Taking Strategies In The High School Math Classroom, Michael Swenson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this action was, how can I implement effective note-taking strategies to improve my students’ performance on assessments? It details how one teacher implements Cornell notes and Foldables over the course of one trimester in two different Algebra 2 classes. A mixed methods approach was used to better understand effects of each strategy on three unit exams, three vocabulary quizzes, student surveys, and six student interviews. He describes the effects of each strategy on student achievement and concludes that: 1) Cornell notes and Foldables did improve student achievement on unit exams with Cornell notes showing higher …