California State University, Monterey Bay
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The Importance of Social-Emotional Learning in Young Children
No full textThis capstone project investigates the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL) in preschool and kindergarten education. Many students struggle to manage their thoughts and feelings effectively, which could lead to behavioral and emotional problems. By drawing attention to self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and good communication, teachers can help prevent these issues and support students\u27 success inside and outside the classroom.
Three lessons centered around social-emotional learning (SEL) have been created for kindergarten and first-grade students at Elkhorn Elementary School. The first lesson focuses on recognizing emotions, the second focuses on building positive relationship skills, and the third on practicing mindfulness. The first session\u27s objective is to build emotional vocabulary and self-awareness through hypothetical scenarios and facial expression analysis. The second lesson supports positive relationship building through role-playing constructive conflict resolution and empathy-building activities. The third session introduces mindful breathing and an exercise activity that helps self regulation, and stress relief. These mindfulness practices will provide students with practical tools to apply both within the classroom and in their lives outside of school. These sessions will be conducted at Elkhorn Elementary School in Castroville and are designed for students aged five to seven
Bullying Prevention in a Preschool Setting
Get PDFThis capstone project focuses on anti-bullying and bullying prevention in early childhood education settings. Bullying is something that plagues schools across America. However, bullying in an early education setting can be difficult to distinguish because it can be misinterpreted as children discovering how to express negative emotions. According to Saracho (2016), preventing bullying in a preschool setting is important because it is a child’s first social environment outside the home. Educating children on bullying and how to prevent it in an early education setting is important because this is their first experience with peers and potential conflicts amongst these peers. Because of this issue, there is a need to educate children on bullying prevention in early childhood years. Because of this, I have developed a project that teaches children how to treat their peers kindly and how to speak up if bullying is occurring. The workshop covered what bullying looks like in a preschool setting, what children can do if they experience or see something, and how children can be kind friends to their peers. These three lessons took place over a school week at Carmel Child Development Center, in Carmel California, to educate them on how to prevent bullying
Teaching Future Educators How To Support Students with ADHD
Get PDFThe topic of my capstone project is teaching future educators how to support school-age students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is one of the most common mental disorders of children in the United States. According to the CDC (2023), an estimated 9.8% (6 million) of kids ages 3-17 are diagnosed with ADHD. Because of the difficulties that are symptomatic of ADHD, students with the disorder often fall behind and struggle in school. Many of the symptoms deal with difficulties in executive functions. Executive functioning is the cognitive processes related to skills such as planning, regulation, and memory. These students typically have difficulties starting or finishing tasks, following directions, and trouble staying organized. One of the problems is that ADHD is frequently misunderstood, with misconceptions and outdated information. Many parents and educators are unaware of the different manifestations of ADHD or how to support their struggling students. If more educators are aware of how the disorder presents itself and know how to support these students with helpful strategies, then more students can thrive in school and have better outcomes. Because of this need, I developed a workshop that will teach future educators this information. My workshop covers the basics of ADHD and how it presents, the common struggles with executive dysfunction that these students have in school, as well as tools and strategies to help support struggling students. My workshop was held over zoom with students that are studying to become teachers
[2024 Honorable Mention] Hasta que el Cuerpo Aguante
Get PDFThe focus of this project revolves around a critical examination of the alarming occurrences of heat stroke-related deaths among field workers in California, with a specific emphasis on cases documented in the Salinas Valley. The core of my artistic expression lies in a digital painting that captures the reality of a laborer enduring the devastating effects of heat stroke in the agricultural fields.https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/esa_submissions/1146/thumbnail.jp
Long-term tracking captures the timing of ontogenetic niche shifts in northeast Pacific white sharks
Get PDFOntogenetic changes in area use, habitat use, and trophic interactions play an important role in the ecology, demography, and ultimately population dynamics of many species. Assumed to be driven by shifting life-history requirements, trophic niche shifts in white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are well documented, but the timing of the spatial niche shift that is hypothesized to occur with the trophic niche shift remains poorly understood. To document how fine-scale area use varies as sharks age and the timing of the ontogenetic spatial shift of this top predator, we tracked individual white sharks tagged as young-of-the-year or young juveniles over multiple years. Using data from juvenile white sharks detected over multiple years in a nursery habitat with a high-density receiver array, we found no difference in area use with age. However, using a coast-wide receiver array including nursery and adult habitat, we found the probability of detecting a juvenile white shark in nursery habitat decreased with age, with a concurrent increasing probability of detection in adult habitat. As the conservation and management of this species relies on understanding nursery habitat use and age-related movements, data presented here address an important knowledge gap for the understudied juvenile to subadult life stages and the ontogenetic habitat shift of this species
Identifying Key Environmental Drivers of Reach-Scale Salmonid eDNA Recovery With Random Forest
Get PDFEnvironmental DNA (eDNA) sampling from rivers has emerged as a promising new method for monitoring freshwater organisms of management concern. However, eDNA sampling cannot yet offer reliable estimates of a target species\u27 abundance/biomass or confident determinations of a species\u27 absence from a river segment. To unlock these abilities—and thereby greatly improve eDNA as a tool for management decision-making—the influence of local environmental factors on eDNA fate must be better understood. At nine river sites across the central California coast, we added a known quantity of novel eDNA (Brook Trout, Salvelinus fontinalis) and collected eDNA at sequential downstream distances for qPCR analysis. We then used random forest modeling to identify the most important environmental factors to reach-scale (≤ 200 m) sampling outcomes and characterize salmonid eDNA fate. Our final model identified six factors important to sampling outcomes, including five environmental factors (discharge, local catchment calcium oxide content, average depth of the sampling cross-section, presence of pools, and impervious cover of the watershed) and one factor regarding our experimental design (the number of qPCR technical replicates). Our results highlight the notable effects of cross-sectional area, turbulence, and catchment geology on eDNA fate, and we suggest the discharge and presence of pools as useful proxies for evaluating a site\u27s favorability for eDNA recovery
Career Readiness
Get PDFThis project aimed to address the lack of job experience among adolescents, which often leaves them feeling unprepared for the job market or higher education. Career readiness workshops were conducted with 7th-12th grade students at Learning For Life Charter School to enhance their job preparation skills. It was hypothesized that the workshops would boost students’ confidence in tasks such as filling out job and college applications, creating resumes, and writing cover letters. Pre- and post-workshop surveys revealed significant improvements in self-assessed confidence levels. Based on these findings, the workshops were beneficial for students. To further leverage these results, it is recommended that the school implement a Career-Prep Week, providing students with additional opportunities to practice job readiness skills under the guidance of school staff. Additionally, incorporating career preparation into regular lesson plans could help students develop these skills without detracting from their academic progress. To improve the project, increasing student outreach is suggested, which would boost survey participation and provide a larger, more accurate sample for future evaluations
Addressing the Lack of Parental Involvement with Spanish-Speaking Parents in Education
Get PDFStudent achievement and engagement at an independent studies school must be improved by the lack of parental involvement among Spanish-speaking parents. Learning for Life charter school provides an alternative, flexible learning environment for middle and high school students (grades 7-12) who require more individualized attention and they serve students in Monterey, Salinas, San Benito, and Santa Cruz school districts. Identifying obstacles to parental involvement in Spanish-speaking families and creating plans to improve engagement and communication were the goals of this project. The project\u27s main objectives were to develop outreach strategies that are sensitive to cultural differences, provide language assistance, and strengthen ties between schools and families. Improved school performance, stronger community ties, and more parental involvement were among the anticipated results. The project resulted in a significant rise in parents showing no involvement from them due to family responsibilities and not having enough bilingual support. To further increase parental involvement, the organization could develop community-based outreach initiatives, provide more flexible meeting schedules, and increase the number of bilingual staff members
Art for the Heart; Elevating The Annual Gathering For Women Art Fair
Get PDFHomelessness among women in Monterey County has many women facing mental health challenges, social isolation, and financial instability. Gathering for Women, a local nonprofit, serves homeless and at-risk women by providing essential services, including opportunities for creative expression. The project focused on expanding art media workshops and hosting an Art Fair and Artist Showcase to amplify the voices of marginalized populations. Workshops introduced diverse artistic mediums including jewelry making, painting, knitting and design. The Art Fair showcased participants\u27 work online and at a local gallery, promoting community connection and support. The project successfully engaged nine participants, creating opportunities for artistic expression and financial empowerment. However, challenges included limited workshop attendance and difficulties recruiting local artists to lead sessions. Despite these obstacles, the initiative highlighted the resilience of homeless women and fostered greater awareness of homelessness. Future recommendations include strengthening outreach efforts, diversifying workshop formats, and building partnerships with local artists to enhance engagement
Breaking Barriers: Bridging Resource Gaps in Low-Income Communities
Get PDFLow-income individuals often struggle with access to resources. CHISPA, which serves low-income individuals in Monterey County and surrounding areas, aims to remove this barrier through its community services department. CHISPA worked to address the resource barrier by implementing a resource fair for its population of low-income individuals, families, and seniors. CHISPA’s residents were invited to come out, explore, and create connections with community resources during a resource fair. The expected outcome was for residents gaining new knowledge and the opportunity to use resources there or in the future. Results were measured through surveys which showed success and interest in the organizations. The resource fair met and exceeded its expected outcomes, with plenty of individuals expressing interest in alternative education. CHISPA found, through surveys, that residents are interested in hosting something similar again with a different variety of organizations. A recommendation for CHISPA would be to continue hosting small resource fairs throughout the year at different locations or bring out the agencies to do specialized, individual workshops