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

Education Commons

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

Achievement

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

2020

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Education

Shifting Literacy Methods And Teaching Practices To Improve Equity In Schools For Black Girls, Danae Ross Oct 2020

Shifting Literacy Methods And Teaching Practices To Improve Equity In Schools For Black Girls, Danae Ross

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Throughout the United States’ history, Black girls and women have found themselves as one of America’s most oppressed groups due to the systemic discrimination of both their race and gender. This problem still persists today and has made schools a place for oppression against Black girls from the time they enter the school system in kindergarten, creating low self-esteem, a feeling of alienation, and a disdain for the school system. Using an intersectional lens, this capstone explores the oppression of Black girls from the past to the present, beginning with slavery and ending with criminalization and the school-to-prison pipeline. This …


Increasing Student Engagement And Success In Reading: A Reading Workshop Unit For Grade 7 Ela, Megan Wilson Oct 2020

Increasing Student Engagement And Success In Reading: A Reading Workshop Unit For Grade 7 Ela, Megan Wilson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The goal of this capstone project was to design and implement a digital reading workshop unit that is based on the Investigating Characterization: Author-Study Book Clubs (Calkins, Ehrenworth, & Wischow, 2018). This project sought to answer the question Can student-selected texts and the use of a reading workshop model improve student reading engagement and success? My early teaching experiences inspired me to consider whether or not traditional reading instruction methods were resulting in student reading engagement and success. The research studied in this capstone revealed that increasing student engagement in reading is highly reliant upon building student motivation, including student …


The Importance Of Sleep For Learning And Behavior, Alison D’Antonio Oct 2020

The Importance Of Sleep For Learning And Behavior, Alison D’Antonio

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Sleep is a necessary action humans need in order to survive, yet often it is neglected. The importance of sleep ranges from poor health defects to lack of performance in schools. The research question addressed in this project is “How does sleep affect a student’s behavior and learning?” The rationale for this topic was the lack of information provided about sleep’s importance in schools. The project associated with this capstone is a website. The goal of the website is to enlighten educators and parents/guardians on the importance of sleep and show ways to implement changes within schools and at home. …


Developing A Growth Mindset Through Teacher Training, Pedagogy Development, And Community Reform, Kailtyn Joyce Jul 2020

Developing A Growth Mindset Through Teacher Training, Pedagogy Development, And Community Reform, Kailtyn Joyce

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

A consistent problem in teaching has been keeping students engaged and motivated in their studies. Typically these problems were equated to either a student’s inability to make a connection to the information, the material being too difficult, or a student feeling inadequate. To promote a deeper understanding and discover ways to ease these issues, this capstone project used the following question as a focal point, what drives students’ motivation to achieve and what steps can be taken to develop a growth mindset in students? This project was centered around growth mindset as it has shown to be an effective tool …


Best Practices In Online Learning For Language Learners, Peter Christopherson Jul 2020

Best Practices In Online Learning For Language Learners, Peter Christopherson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Because of the global coronavirus pandemic of 2020, understanding how to do online learning well has become a necessity for educators. Online learning, though it has clear advantages over face-to-face learning such as the flexibility of time and space, variety and speed of delivery of materials, and anonymity, it is not without significant challenges that must be addressed in order for students to be successful. My research question was: Research Question: What are the most effective ways to help language learners to be successful in an online learning format? The goal of this research was to understand these challenges, a …


Effectively Enabling Translanguaging In The Classroom, Kelly Miller Apr 2020

Effectively Enabling Translanguaging In The Classroom, Kelly Miller

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Bilingual students have historically been pushed to become as fluent in English as quickly as possible in order to have the students keep up with the rigor of the mainstream classroom. This has the potential to push those students to lose their native languages (L1) and a part of their culture in order to maintain the norm of language within the American public school. This capstone explores the concept of translanguaging through a website, professional development, survey, scholarly research to answer the question How does an educator effectively implement translanguaging strategies in a classroom? Research shows that translanguaging is an …


Impact Of Homework On Learning, James Mcpherson Apr 2020

Impact Of Homework On Learning, James Mcpherson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Homework is a common feature in many middle and high school classrooms around the world, but it is not always utilized effectively. In some instances, homework is assigned with little consideration for its effectiveness and the impact it has on students. Extensive research has been conducted on the topic of homework and its impact on learning and on students. This research indicates that homework can sometimes provide benefit to the student when designed appropriately, but its benefit has a limited impact. This project explores the various reasons that teachers have for assigning homework, such as practice, communication, or as a …


Advisors Help You Get There: Personalized Learning Plans In The Alternative School, Christy Irrgang Apr 2020

Advisors Help You Get There: Personalized Learning Plans In The Alternative School, Christy Irrgang

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

As has been discussed in many venues, the achievement gap continues to be a problem for underserved learners of all ages, and it also poses issues for the larger society. Personalized learning plans and specialized advisories that utilize culturally contextualized learning may improve student outcomes and help close the achievement gap. The theoretical backing used to design this project for an urban Indigenous alternative school included personalized learning, culturally relevant pedagogy, teacher-student relationships, and advisement programs. Outlined herein is a year-long program, but three- and five-year implementation models are also provided. The concepts may be successful in other alternative schools …


How Can Teachers Empower Students With Learning Differences Towards An Equitable Education?, Samuel Ryan Apr 2020

How Can Teachers Empower Students With Learning Differences Towards An Equitable Education?, Samuel Ryan

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Students with learning differences and disabilities in today’s schools face numerous challenges towards an equitable learning experience. Educators and scholars have also developed mindsets and pedagogical approaches that aim to disrupt inequitable experiences for students with learning differences. This capstone examines the nature of challenges facing students with learning differences. It also shares ways teachers may empower students with learning differences despite the challenges they face. A presentation, resource guide, and reflective questions crafted for teachers’ professional development are included in this project to support teachers in learning how to empower students with learning differences.


Best Practices For Professional Development Of Alc Teachers To Assist Gifted And Talented Students, Julia Wallner Apr 2020

Best Practices For Professional Development Of Alc Teachers To Assist Gifted And Talented Students, Julia Wallner

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

According to the Minnesota Department of Education, most recent statistics suggest that 11,180 of Minnesota’s students attended an Alternative Learning Center (MDE, 2018). An Alternative Learning Center (ALC) provides a safe learning environment for students who are either at risk of not graduating, or struggling to strive in a traditional public schooling system amongst a plethora of other reasons personal to a student. Many ALCs provide less traditional learning options such as project based learning and experiential learning such as work based learning opportunities (Owens, 2016). Many people think of an ALC as a place where at-risk or failing students …


Program Design: A Practical Guide For Creating El Programs With A Focus On Social-Emotional Development, Brigitta Bognar Cronin Apr 2020

Program Design: A Practical Guide For Creating El Programs With A Focus On Social-Emotional Development, Brigitta Bognar Cronin

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this project was, how can English Language (EL) teachers design a program that best serves the social-emotional needs of English Learners (ELs)? The author of this capstone documented her personal experience as a first-year teacher, which inspired her to research methods to improve students’ social-emotional skill sets. The available research on social-emotional learning was merged with theories concerning second language learning to create a framework that addresses the social-emotional learning of ELs. A website was created for secondary EL teachers featuring articles and teaching resources.