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How Can The 5-E Learning Cycle Model Of Instruction Be Used To Develop A Differentiated Science Unit On Evolution Based On Six Minnesota Evolution Standards?, Monica Christine Digre
How Can The 5-E Learning Cycle Model Of Instruction Be Used To Develop A Differentiated Science Unit On Evolution Based On Six Minnesota Evolution Standards?, Monica Christine Digre
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this capstone was, how can the 5-E Learning Cycle Model of Instruction be used to develop a differentiated science unit on evolution based on six Minnesota evolution standards? The capstone documents a middle school life science teacher’s experience developing a curriculum for teaching evolution in a nontraditional way. The author explores the difficulties in teaching evolution with a traditional approach by researching experts in the field of both Evolutionary Biology and secondary science instruction. Through the use of the 5-E Learning Cycle Model of Instruction, the author develops an inquiry-based and hands-on curriculum to teach …
How Can The Relationship Between Climate Change And The Coast Redwood Forest Be Incorporated Into Fifth And Sixth Grade Environmental Education Programs?, Dorea Eve Martin
How Can The Relationship Between Climate Change And The Coast Redwood Forest Be Incorporated Into Fifth And Sixth Grade Environmental Education Programs?, Dorea Eve Martin
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The question for this research is: how can the relationship between climate change and the coast redwood forest be incorporated into fifth and sixth grade environmental education programs? Climate change is a real, global problem, and this capstone is intended as a resource for environmental educators to incorporate climate change into their programs. It includes a literature review of scientific research on climate change impacts on coast redwood forests and presents a lesson plan for teaching climate change in the redwood setting. The lesson plan covers basic climate science, dendrochronology, and carbon footprints, and was conducted at Westminster Woods, a …
The Confluence Of Stem Education And Language Learning: Curriculum Integration To Benefit Language Learners, Christian Joseph Engelbret
The Confluence Of Stem Education And Language Learning: Curriculum Integration To Benefit Language Learners, Christian Joseph Engelbret
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The number of elementary STEM schools has risen dramatically in the last decade. The national government has identified goals for preparing learners for the workforce in the STEM areas, while also decreasing the achievement gap between white students and their non-white peers. This research paper seeks to answer three central questions: 1) How can these various STEM disciplines be integrated in an effective and meaningful manner to improve both academic language and content area knowledge of English Learners? 2) What lesson design format best prepares teachers to implement a project-based or integrated curriculum? 3) How can partnerships between higher education …
Analysis Of Nominalization In Elementary And Middle School Science Textbooks, Breanna Marie Mueller
Analysis Of Nominalization In Elementary And Middle School Science Textbooks, Breanna Marie Mueller
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research in this capstone examines the existence and implications of nominalizations through a text analysis of first through fifth grade and middle school science textbooks. This study utilizes various tools based on Systemic Functional Linguistics to determine the quantity and types of nominalizations found in various text levels, to reveal how frequently nominalizations are modified by a prepositional phrase that shows agency or force, to uncover how nominalization might affect the syntax and semantics of a text, and to deduce how nominalization might contribute to lexical density. The author also compares the results to address what nominalizations look like …
Impacting Science Observation Skills Through Drawing Training, Andrew Keith Hale
Impacting Science Observation Skills Through Drawing Training, Andrew Keith Hale
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research addressed was, how does drawing training impact the observational abilities of students? The list of motivating factors for this capstone includes students exhibiting a lack of ability to sit still and observe details of the world around them as well as exhibiting a lack of ability to design and communicate through drawings used in engineering. The author teaches art and science and has experienced these deficiencies. The author used an in-class project currently in the curriculum as the basis for the research. This project involved observing a reptile habitat as a subject for drawing. Betty Edwards’ book Drawing …
Use Of Inquiry-Based Learning In A Content-Based Physical Science Course For English Language Learners, Otto Joseph Kraus
Use Of Inquiry-Based Learning In A Content-Based Physical Science Course For English Language Learners, Otto Joseph Kraus
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this capstone was, how can inquiry-based learning be used in a content-based physical science class for English language learners? The project provides one teacher’s creation of seven lessons that incorporate inquiry-based learning techniques into a content-based physical science course for English language learners. The lessons are intended to concurrently teach state physical science standards and WIDA language standards. The methods and rationale for the lessons are based on the importance of experience to the learning of language (Jackson, 2013; Robinson, 2011), as well as the overlapping pedagogies of inquiry learning and language learning, known as …
Variables In The Introduction Of The Species, Streptocephalus Sealii, Spinytail Fairy Shrimp Into A Local Seasonal Wetland, Jane Anne Porterfield
Variables In The Introduction Of The Species, Streptocephalus Sealii, Spinytail Fairy Shrimp Into A Local Seasonal Wetland, Jane Anne Porterfield
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed in this capstone is what factors play a role in the introduction of a wingless aquatic invertebrate to a recently restored mitigation wetland. The motivation for this capstone was the discovery of a fairy shrimp, Streptocephalus sealii in a Rosemount, Minnesota wetland in 2012. This organism was previously recorded from two other sites in Minnesota at least 35 miles from this location. Its appearance in a mitigation wetland generated questions as to whether restoration materials brought in the species or the mitigation created the environment in which the organism could thrive. This study investigates both of …
Presenting Evolution In Public Schools; Is It Indisputable?, Paul Andrew Erdman
Presenting Evolution In Public Schools; Is It Indisputable?, Paul Andrew Erdman
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed is, how do 10 public school teachers present the theory of evolution? The motivation of this capstone was my experience with teachers presenting evolution (all life having evolved from a simple single celled organism) to students as indisputable, and the seemingly lack of discussion about any problems with the theory or unanswered questions. A key influence was an older sibling, a mechanical engineer, who often provides scientific answers for me and provided many resources that challenge the so-called indisputability and possibilities of evolution. This study interviewed 10 public school teachers to identify how they present the …
The Effect Of The Mastery Learning Approach On Student Motivation In Middle Level Science, Phillip Jeffrey Hutcheson
The Effect Of The Mastery Learning Approach On Student Motivation In Middle Level Science, Phillip Jeffrey Hutcheson
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
The research question addressed was, How does mastery learning approach affect the motivation of students in a middle level science classroom? The project studied a group of 7th grade students' motivation as they completed a science unit using the mastery learning approach. Data were collected through pre- and post-surveys, observation, and assessment of benchmarks. The collected data showed that students had an increase in motivation after the mastery learning approach. Students' self reported motivation increased. The observed behaviors indicating motivation occurred more frequently. In the assessments, over seventy percent of all students showed mastery of the benchmarks. This paper provides …
Food Waste And Behavior Change Through Project-Based Learning, Patrick Cary Crawford
Food Waste And Behavior Change Through Project-Based Learning, Patrick Cary Crawford
School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations
This study aims to find if food waste behavior can be changed through project-based learning. Food is a valuable resource that is being thrown into landfills; I question how we can change that? After compiling research on food waste, pro-environmental behavioral psychology, and project based learning I have constructed a theoretical framework that can be used to teach behavior change through project-based learning. The following were created to attain this goal: (a) a project unit plan, (b) assessments designed to evaluate students content knowledge on food waste, and (c) assessments designed to evaluate students pro-environmental behavior based on Blake, 1999. …