Education Commons^™

Birdshot Chorioretinopathy: A Review Of Diagnosis And Treatment, Jill Gottehrer Od, Steven Follansbee Od

Optometric Clinical Practice

Background: Birdshot chorioretinopathy is a rare, bilateral chronic uveitis resulting in choroidal and retinal inflammation in the form of vasculitis, papillitis, and/or macular edema. For an accurate diagnosis, a thorough patient history, fundoscopic exam, and appropriate ancillary testing are necessary.

Case Report: A 49-year-old male presented to the eye clinic due to vitreous floaters in both eyes that had worsened over the last year. The patient was new to the clinic with no prior history of eye examinations. At presentation, a mild vitritis was noted along with small, multiple white dots in the posterior pole of both eyes. Ancillary testing, …

Socio-Informed Policing: Applying Bourdieu To Mandatory Police Reform Training, Neil T. Shelton El

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Contemporary U.S. police reform policies rely on officer training as a primary mechanism to address issues of law enforcement legitimacy and accountability. Yet, despite legitimacy-based curricula such as procedural justice, research indicates that this training struggles to produce durable changes in police practice. This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to examine officers’ perceptions of mandated reform-oriented training. Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of practice, the study conceptualized police training as a sociological process shaped by habitus, forms of capital, and the policing field. Data were collected from six officers in a large urban police department to examine how they internalize, …

The Relationship Between Culturally Based Mentoring And Academic Persistence In African-American And Latino Male Community College Students, Corey M. Williams

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

Men of color, particularly African American and Latino males, continue to experience disproportionately low rates of persistence and degree completion in community colleges. While prior research has often focused on individual deficits, less attention has been given to the institutional conditions and relational supports that shape student success. This study examines how culturally grounded mentoring influences persistence, student involvement, and overall student success among men of color in a community college context. Grounded in Tinto’s theory of student persistence and Astin’s theory of student involvement, this qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of participants engaged in a structured mentoring …

Edu 26 Human Relations In Urban Schools, Elise Langan

Open Educational Resources

The syllabus for EDU 26 contains a course description, course objectives, course readings divided by week and a links to ZTC resources.

Edu 31 Introduction To Learning Disabilities And Inclusive Education Syllabus, Moet Bolden

Open Educational Resources

The syllabus for EDU 31 contains a course description, course objectives, course readings divided by week and links to ZTC readings.

Edu 40 Field Work Seminar, Tonya L. Johnson

Open Educational Resources

The syllabus for EDU 30 contains a course description, course objectives, course readings divided by week and links to OER textbooks and ZTC readings.

The Effectiveness Of The Fishbowl Strategy Int Eaching Mathematics On Developing Creative Thinking For Fourth Grade Students In Basic Education In Dhofar Governorate, Sabah Abdalla Elsayed, Najawa Said Al-Hatmi

Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies

The fishbowl technique improves the sharing of ideas in a structured conversational environment, adding depth and excitement to creative thought; it further promotes active observation and a secure discussion atmosphere, fostering the development of innovative solutions among learners, therefore; the current research aims to investigate the effectiveness of the Fishbowl strategy as one of the active learning strategies in teaching mathematics to develop creative thinking among fourth-grade students in basic education in Dhofar Governorate. An experimental approach with a quasi-experimental design was applied, where a sample consisting of two groups was selected: an experimental group (which studied using the Fishbowl …

The Lived Experiences Of Master's Level Counselors In Professional Counseling Association Leadership, Catalina R. Kraft

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Leadership and advocacy are essential for all counselors (Lewis, 2022; McKibben, 2016; Paradise et al., 2010; Sweeney, 2022). However, within research and professional counseling associations, there appears to be a bias in which counselor educators are the expected, default leaders within the counseling profession (Burns, 2015; Kleist, 2018; Speciale & Goodrich, 2020). While counselor educators may have experience as counselors, they primarily work in academia, so their experiences do not authentically represent the needs of professional counselors. Counseling leaders need to represent and understand the people they serve: counselors. Therefore, this study sought to understand the lived experiences of master’s …

Freedom Readers And Sustainable Development Goal 4: Advancing Literacy In Low-Income Communities Of South Carolina, Madison Hayes

Goal 4: Quality Education

No abstract provided.

Evolving Humanity: Educational Leadership And Research In A Technological Age, Winona State University, Matthew G. Howard, Kari J. Johns, Peter Johnson, Kateri J. Johnson, Kelly Muller, Kate Glogowski, Niesha Conley, Sara Welch, Kristin E. Brendt, Cody B. Henrichs, Lance Davis, Kate Macdonald, Jody Shong, Oscar Uribe Mardones, Stacy L. Schilling, Allison R. Grainger, Kristen Fenlason, David E. Kline, Rachel Nihart, Rebecca R. Simataa, Steven M. Baule

Education Doctorate Books

The essays in this book are selected from Winona State University (WSU) doctoral students as part of the 2025 summer  WSU Doctoral Residency course. The residency course is a core portion of the WSU Education Doctorate Program.

Quote from the back of the book:

Our Doctoral students and doctoral graduate faculty are community members sharing experiences, asking questions, exploring our world, celebrating successes, and learning from missteps. We build and reconstruct our community as we learn, but never forgetting the end goal. We are together on this journey. This is the exciting part of learning. - Rhea Walker, Professor, WSU …

Steer For The Deep Waters Only: Exploring Student Value Creation Through Dialogue And Art, Amy Weatherford

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

With a focus on transformation within what educational philosopher and Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda termed the life-sized paradigm, this interpretive qualitative study drew heavily upon arts-based research practices to explore how dialogue with, through, and about art shaped student value creation and the development of global citizenship dispositions in an online graduate course. This study sought to address the need to explore curricular structures and pedagogical practices which center our humanity and cultivate epistemologies missed or minimized by traditional teaching methods. As this study focused on the activities of a particular class, purposeful sampling was used to recruit seven participants. …

“Affirming Minds, Lives, And Bodies”: Secondary English Teachers’ Perceptions Of Critical And Humanizing Antiracist Pedagogy In Urban Schools, Jennifer Leigh Ankerberg

Theses and Dissertations from DePaul University

This qualitative study explores how White secondary English teachers perceive and enact antiracist approaches when teaching a prescribed, canon-based curriculum to students of color. Drawing on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with four teachers in a large Midwestern urban district, the study finds that the participants, aligned with their district’s stated philosophies and experiencing significant instructional autonomy, leveraged professional and contextual knowledge to adapt and supplement mandated curriculum. Guided by critical pedagogy and critical literacy frameworks, the analysis reveals how teachers’ values, beliefs, and dispositions grounded an assemblage of embodied antiracist, critical, and humanizing pedagogies. The participants’ curricular and instructional choices reflected …

See These Great Speakers And Their Programs At Annual Session!, David Foe

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This feature highlights the speaker lineup and curriculum for the 2026 MDA Annual Session in Grand Rapids. The program offers diverse continuing education tracks for the entire dental team, including pediatric dentistry, oral pathology, risk management, and practice growth strategies. Notable speakers include clinical experts, legal professionals, and motivational keynotes. The document also explains the transition to a simplified registration system using one-day or full conference passes, allowing attendees more flexibility to choose sessions on-site without pre-registering for individual courses.

J Mich Dent Assoc April 2026

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Each month, the Journal of the Michigan Dental Association delivers news, information, and features about Michigan dentistry to our state's oral health community and the MDA's 6,200-plus members. It remains the main publication reaching Michigan dentists and is available worldwide through ADA Commons.

The April 2026 (Volume 108, No. 4) issue of the Journal is published in digital format to provide updates and insights for Michigan's oral health community and MDA members. Print editions occur every other month beginning with January.

This full issue provides a comprehensive overview of the Michigan dental landscape in 2026. Key features include a clinical …

April 2026 Ce Spotlight: Mate Training To Renew Dea Licenses Available Online, David Foe

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This document details time-sensitive continuing education opportunities for Michigan dental professionals. It specifically highlights eight hours of online MATE training required for DEA license renewal, available through April 26. Presented by Tom Viola, the training covers the roles of opioid and non-opioid analgesics and the clinical implications of substance use. Furthermore, the document provides resources for members to track their state CE requirements and access on-demand webinars and radiography training through the MDA website to ensure compliance with licensure standards.

Connecting Children To Urban Environments Through Picture Books, Sophie Taylor

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

More children than ever before live in urban locations, and many do not see their city streets and natural environments represented in picture books. In the midst of a climate crisis, educators and parents may be seeking environmental books and activities that seek to connect children to their natural communities. The purpose of this capstone project was to explore the importance of picture books in connecting children with their environment through the creation of an urban-based children’s book with embedded environmental terminology and concepts, as well as associated activities. A review of relevant literature uncovered five central themes: illustrated books’ …

Place-Based Environmental Education: Forming Connections To Your Local Environment And Community, Deanna Grelecki

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Growing research shows that engaging children in environmental education produces a myriad of benefits, such as improved social, physical, mental, and cognitive aspects of children' s wellbeing. Even with these beneficial outcomes, researchers find that a disconnect between youth and the natural world exists and is growing. This capstone answers the question, How can educators create place-based environmental education opportunities for middle school students?, and ultimately help students build positive relationships with the environment. Grounded in place-based environmental education and created for a rural community in Northern Illinois, this capstone project centers on a field study situated in a local …

A Set Of Grading Protocol Implementation Tools For A Unit Project In A High School Visual Arts Classroom, Brie-Anna Cabrera

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone explores the question: How can high school educators promote equity through their grading protocols? Realizing there is a gap in research combining the ideas of equity and grading, this paper uses culturally relevant pedagogy, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and cultural and linguistic responsiveness as a lens to determine effectiveness of promoting equity through a variety of grading protocols. Using the concluding evidence and honing in on Guskey's idea of multiple grades, the research was organized into a framework for more equitable grading that can be translated to the visual arts. This research resulted in the creation of a set …

Rooted In Wonder: Cultivating A Connection To The Environment Through Nature-Based Learning In Central Mexico, Mikaela Tennis

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Children are spending less time outdoors and feeling increasingly disconnected from the natural world. This reduced exposure and lack of interaction limits opportunities to form early connections with nature, which have lasting benefits into adulthood. Nature-based learning approaches have been proven to increase a sense of nature connectedness, which in turn strengthens one’s environmental attitudes and behaviors while supporting mental health and well-being. To address limited access to nature-based learning experiences in Central Mexico, this capstone draws from research on nature connectedness, nature-based learning, and nature center design to answer the question, How can a nature-based learning center be designed …

An Informal Environmental Education Curriculum To Help Learners Reconceptualize The Idea Of The “Wild”, Kimber Hendrix

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Philosophers posit that the “wild” is something often portrayed as elusive, dangerous, or out of reach. Research indicates that exposure to outdoor environments can yield positive outcomes. This project is designed to take learners into a specific outdoor environment and utilize Restorative Justice and Coyote Mentoring Techniques in order to assist them in reconceptualize their idea of “wild”. This project evolved into a ten-lesson curriculum designed for fourth- to sixth-grade learners, but it could be adapted for learners of any age. The curriculum is designed to take place in a consistent outdoor setting so that learners can build a relationship …

Implementing Outdoor And Nature-Based Learning For Infants And Toddlers, Kelly Kazeck

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Many early childhood educators in Minnesota are expanding outdoor and nature-based learning opportunities because of the positive developmental benefits they offer children. Time spent outdoors supports social, emotional, cognitive, and physical learning while promoting positive relationships with peers and the natural world. This capstone research found that implementing outdoor and nature-based learning requires more specialized training, safety precautions, equipment, planning, and preparation than typical indoor programming. However, much of the research focuses on preschool-aged children, although implementation with infants and toddlers presents additional challenges and requires specific supports. Therefore, this capstone project answered the question, “What can infant and toddler …

Home And School Connection: Enhancing Middle School Literacy Through Family Involvement, Katherine Loveless

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

With continued declines in literacy rates within the United States and a notable lack of parental involvement within a middle school student’s educational journey, this capstone project looks to address both issues with a single project around middle school literacy nights. By means of an in-depth review of timely and relevant literature this capstone addresses the barriers that are frequently encountered for literacy based events such as rivaling expectations for involvement, socioeconomic barriers, scheduling conflicts, and language barriers. Through the development of this project, a resource-based website was created for event hosts, school leadership, and parents to rely on to …

Building Teacher Capacity To Support Newcomer Multilingual Learners In Upper Elementary Classrooms, Grace Getchell-Ochoa

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

As classrooms become more linguistically diverse, many teachers are working with newcomer multilingual learners and questioning how best to support their learning and engagement. This capstone project explored the question: How can a web-based resource platform enhance teachers’ knowledge and practices for interacting with and engaging newcomer multilingual learners in upper-elementary classrooms? The purpose of this project was to create a practical and accessible resource that helps bridge the gap between research and classroom practice. This project was influenced by research on language development, structured student interaction, and culturally and linguistically responsive teaching (Alvarez et al., 2023; Umansky et al., …

How Can Professional Development Be Designed To Better Equip Teachers To Support Multilingual And Immigrant Students Emotionally, Socially, And Academically In U.S. Elementary Schools?, Safiie Seitaptiieva

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone project examines how professional development can better support teachers working with multilingual and immigrant students in elementary classrooms. Research highlights that culturally responsive teaching, inclusive curriculum design, and social-emotional learning are essential for improving student engagement and academic success in diverse learning environments, and this project draws on these frameworks to explore how educators can create more equitable and effective instructional practices. The study uses a qualitative approach, combining a review of existing research with professional classroom experience in the United States, and focuses on strategies such as adapting instruction, building meaningful relationships, and creating accessible learning environments …

Building Argumentative Writing Skills In An Adult Esl Classroom, Cristina Lighthiser

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone project addressed the challenge that adult English Language Learners (ELLs) faced in meeting the complex demands of argumentative writing in academic and professional settings, and was guided by the question, How can the design of an adult ESL curriculum support students in developing argumentative writing through scaffolded lessons on hortatory exposition? This research sought to address a gap in instructional supports for adult ESL students as they developed persuasive writing skills. The curriculum design explicitly focused on language features essential to hortatory exposition. The resulting unit was a six-lesson, twelve-hour curriculum for intermediate adult ESL students at a …

Evolving Approaches To Teaching Secondary English Language Arts In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence, Timothy Crepeau

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Centered on the question of how to foster academic integrity while maintaining accountability for AI-assisted plagiarism in secondary English language arts (ELA) education, this project responds to the growing reality that students can outsource core cognitive tasks—reading, analysis, and writing—to AI tools. Informed by key influences from neuroscience and educational research, particularly studies on neural plasticity, the reading brain, and cognitive offloading, the project draws on scholarship by Collins, Wolf, and contemporary AI-in-education theorists. These influences underscore the central premise that meaningful learning is not merely demonstrated through output, but developed through the neurological processes activated by sustained cognitive effort. …

A Guide To Facilitating Outdoor Learning And Play Spaces That Foster Emotional Regulation In Elementary Aged Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders, Elizabeth Fish

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone project addresses the research question: How do outdoor learning/play spaces aid in emotional regulation in students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD) throughout the primary grades? The research examined in this paper explores the needs for high quality education focusing on the development of emotional regulation skills. The review of the literature shows clear emotional benefits of outdoor learning and play spaces for young children. This information prompted the writer to create an informational website for educators to use while planning and implementing outdoor learning experiences. While there is much more to be researched on this topic, the …

Social Emotional Learning In A High School Setting, Aaron Stack

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project examined the capstone question: How can one design and implement a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program for high school students? This topic is important as more and more students are exhibiting less desirable behaviors inside the classroom. While exploring this question, several key findings emerged. First, SEL programming in a high school setting may have a positive impact on students’ academic performance and behaviors. Second, there is no clear distinction between the effectiveness of the program as long as the SEL ideas are consistently explored. Based on these two findings, an SEL program was developed for high school …

Practices That Improve Critical Thinking Development In Secondary Classrooms, Brian Mueggenberg

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone examines how mathematics teachers can more intentionally develop students’ critical thinking skills through classroom instruction and how professional development can support that practice. The guiding question for the project was: How can secondary mathematics teachers intentionally design and implement instructional strategies that promote students’ critical thinking within the constraints of classroom instruction? A review of educational research identified a recurring problem with traditional instructional practices: direct instruction effectively supports procedural fluency, but often provides limited opportunities to develop higher-order thinking and conceptual fluency. Key influences on this project included research on thinking classrooms, productive struggle, and dialogic teaching. …

The Causes, Effects Of, And Solutions To A Nation-Wide Reading Comprehension Decline And Answers To The Question Of What Can Teachers Do About It?, Otto Harris

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project was to research the causes and effects of the reading comprehension decline in America. The research question: What is causing this decline, and how can we combat it? stemmed from personal interest in this topic and its relevancy in the school district I taught in. Research into this topic revealed factors such as texts lacking relevance to student lives, inaccurate comprehension measurement tools being used year after year, and the lifelong effects of lowered reading comprehension on adults’ lives after high school. In response to this need, a capstone project was developed that would provide …