Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Education Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Education

Substitute Salvation: An Online Classroom Resource, Rachel Callaly Dec 2017

Substitute Salvation: An Online Classroom Resource, Rachel Callaly

Honors Theses

As a teacher, not having a plan for days when you are not in the classroom is not an option. Usually, a teacher can plan a few days in advance and be prepared for a substitute teacher to come in. However, more often than not, the substitute is not certified to teach in the subject they are covering, which becomes particularly difficult in a World Language class, such as Spanish. Additionally, some days there is no advanced notice for an absence, and a last-minute plan has to be made. That is where Substitute Salvation comes in. Substitute Salvation is a …


Cross-Curricular Writing In Mathematics For Comprehension, Kirsten Stowell Dec 2017

Cross-Curricular Writing In Mathematics For Comprehension, Kirsten Stowell

Honors Theses

Even though the idea of implementing writing in a mathematics classroom is far from new and the benefits from doing so are hardly nonexistent, this concept is often not found in modern secondary mathematics classrooms. Writing about mathematics allows students to organize and communicate their thinking, gain a better conceptual understanding of mathematical topics, develop a stronger sense of mathematical procedure, move beyond surface-level thinking, and place abstract ideas into context. Writing can also be used by teachers as a formative assessment to explicitly determine if students are struggling conceptually or procedurally in a mathematics classroom to then adjust instruction …


Relative Rates Of Success Of Students In Calculus I, Joshua Ayerdi Jun 2017

Relative Rates Of Success Of Students In Calculus I, Joshua Ayerdi

Honors Theses

Students that enroll in Math 1220, Calculus 1, can be categorized into two groups after completion of the course; those that are successful and able to proceed to the next course by earning a grade of “C” or better (pass) and those that are not successful and unable to proceed to the next course by earning below a “C” (fail). The Mathematics Association of America (MAA) has reported the national average of unsuccessful Calculus 1 students to be 25%. At the conclusion of the spring 2015 semester at Western Michigan University (WMU), the rate was approximately 40%. Institutional data was …


Delving Into Multicultural Literature With Inquiry, Juan Gonzalez Apr 2017

Delving Into Multicultural Literature With Inquiry, Juan Gonzalez

Honors Theses

This paper argues for the use of multicultural literature in the classroom, and puts forth a unit plan that uses critical literacy in an English 11 classroom, though it can be readapted to fit other grade levels. Bishop (1990) describes multicultural literature as a set of windows, that people use to view the experiences of others, and mirrors, that reflect and validate peoples’ experience, a core principal in this paper. Critical literacy is comprised of four dimensions (Lewison, Flint, & Van Sluys, 2002) that allows for analyzing literature in a different and meaningful way. The final part of this paper …


Curriculum Bien Fait: The Quest For A Coherent High School Literature Curriculum, Shelby Reed Knighten Jan 2017

Curriculum Bien Fait: The Quest For A Coherent High School Literature Curriculum, Shelby Reed Knighten

Honors Theses

This literature review examines sources of incoherency——both macrocosmic and microcosmic——that impact the goal of establishing a coherent high school literature curriculum. Macrocosmic sources of incoherency involve the institutions through which standards and curriculum are constructed while microcosmic sources concern issues within the discipline of English. Among the macrocosmic/institutional sources of incoherency are an unclear division of power between federal and state government, the lack of a professional vocabulary in education, competing interpretations of standards and reforms, and a lack of educational infrastructure. Microcosmic/disciplinary sources include competing ideologies within English education as well as the weakening of the classical, ethical, and …


A Case For Collaboration: A Manual For Bringing The Collegiate Tutoring Model To The High School Level, Veronica A. Beaupre Jan 2017

A Case For Collaboration: A Manual For Bringing The Collegiate Tutoring Model To The High School Level, Veronica A. Beaupre

Honors Theses

Colleges across the United States have peer tutoring centers designed to support diverse student bodies in their efforts to learn. At the surface level, peer tutoring provides tailored one-on-one instruction that meets the varied learning needs of a large learning community. In addition, peer tutoring has been shown to benefit not only the tutees coming to the center for assistance, but also increase the performance of tutors and change the learning culture of the rest of the learning community. As a powerful resource, the collegiate peer tutoring center model would greatly benefit high schools across the United States, who also …


Small Town, Big Future: Preparing Rural Maine Students For College, Elizabeth C. Huber Jan 2017

Small Town, Big Future: Preparing Rural Maine Students For College, Elizabeth C. Huber

Honors Theses

While the need for a college degree has increased in the knowledge economy era, acquisition of this degree has remained difficult for low-income and first-generation students. At the same time, college preparatory programs designed for this demographic of student tend to be clustered in urban centers while very little focus is given to disadvantaged students in rural communities. The academic prospects of rural students in regards to higher education are the focus of this project. More specifically, this project explores the ways in which college-cultured programs may address the educational needs of students living in rural communities. By doing in-depth …


The Implementation Of Multicultural Literature In The Secondary English Classroom: A Preservice Teacher's Experience, Jenna L. Smiley Jan 2017

The Implementation Of Multicultural Literature In The Secondary English Classroom: A Preservice Teacher's Experience, Jenna L. Smiley

Honors Theses

Even though the United States is more diverse than ever before in its history, selected literary texts in the secondary English curriculum have largely remained the same over past decades with minimal inclusion of multicultural literature - literature that is written by or about minority cultures. Multicultural literature is a subset of the greater idea of multicultural education, which is an education that is inclusive of all cultures with the goal of preparing all students to be productive citizens in a diverse, global society. Teachers are hesitant to use multicultural literature because of their implicit biases, neglect of inquiry, and …