California State University, Monterey Bay
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Benefits of Accommodating Students with Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Compliant School Playgrounds and Play Equipment
No full textAs part of child development, play is considered a critical component to help children acquire the skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Playgrounds are the primary platforms or spaces that would allow children to have the kinds of physical and social related interactions that would take place among children. This senior capstone examines the school playgrounds in the Salinas area to see if they meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Using literature review and interviews with educators and parents, the result findings indicate that school playgrounds are not in compliance with ADA mandates. It is recommended that additional equipment could be added to the existing school playgrounds to make them more accessible and inclusive for children with mobility impairments in the area
Volunteer Effectiveness on Nonprofit Organizations
Get PDFWhen a parent gets told their child has cancer it is a life changing and devastating moment. Although there are many factors that cause pediatric cancer, one thing remains constant. Families need to feel supported during these difficult times as their main priority is being with their child. Jacob’s Heart Children\u27s Cancer Support Services is a nonprofit organization in California that operates on donations, grants, staff and volunteer support to alleviate burdens accompanied by a pediatric cancer diagnosis. Volunteers are vital for nonprofit organizations as they provide dedication to fulfill the organization\u27s mission. Surveys were conducted to measure the effectiveness of the volunteer program at Jacob’s Heart. It was predicted to have over 20 surveys filled out via Google form by volunteers. The findings from this project indicate that Jacob’s Heart should establish clear communication, provide orientation, and acknowledge volunteers to ensure engagement and encourage a strong volunteer base
The Importance of Teaching Social-Emotional Skills to Young Children
Get PDFMy capstone project enhances the social-emotional skills of preschool children, which are fundamental for relationships, emotional management, and empathy. Children lacking these skills may struggle in learning, behavior, and socializing when they progress to elementary school. Studies have shown that social-emotional competence and cognitive competence are critical predictors of academic accomplishment (Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Student Benefits: Implications for the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Core Elements, n.d.). Children in preschool who lack these skills may experience difficulties in learning, behavior, and socializing as they progress to elementary school (Amy Morin, 2019). A significant issue arises when children encounter obstacles in the development of their social and emotional skills. This can manifest in behaviors including aggression, crying, misunderstandings, and difficulty regulating emotions.
The repercussions of such struggles extend beyond the child and can affect their peers and teachers in the classroom. Therefore, I designed a specialized curriculum for 3-5-year-olds that I implemented at Ocean Rock\u27s Preschool Ministry in Marina. Using Tucker the Turtle\u27s story to teach them to identify emotions, resolve conflicts, and regulate emotions. Additionally, we created a conflict resolution kit and conducted an activity on regulating emotions. By developing these skills, young learners will be better equipped to succeed academically and socially as they grow and learn
Emotional Regulation Strategies For 3 Year Olds
Get PDFMy capstone project focuses on teaching three year olds how to regulate their emotions. According to Parsafar and Davis, “emotional regulation refers to the set of processes involved in the way emotions are experienced and responded to” (2019, p 1935). There is a need for emotion regulation instruction for 3-year-olds because many 3-year-olds are having a difficult time regulating their emotions during a conflict with their peers. I have developed a set of lessons that will address this need by teaching 3 year olds different emotional faces, calming techniques, and ways to redirect their attention. The 3 year olds executive function skills are not fully developed which can cause lack of self control. It is vital to teach children from a young age to regulate their emotions because these skills will remain useful throughout their growth. For example, understanding how to regulate emotions can become very beneficial towards conflict resolutions with peers. The participants for this project will be three year olds who attend The Secret Garden Preschool located in La Selva, California. These children will be given three lessons with the goal in mind that these three year olds will be able to correctly identify three emotions using an emotional face chart, use one of the self calming techniques by demonstrating them during pretend scenarios, and they will be able to demonstrate how to redirect their attention after an angry conflict is solved. Each lesson will take place on separate days in order to allow the children to have enough time to do the activities that correlate to each lesson
Homework Perpetuating Inequalities for Low-Income Families in Education
Get PDFThis capstone project delves into the persistent issue of homework perpetuating inequalities among low-income families. Drawing on insights from North American public school teachers who have shared their perspectives and experiences, this research employs a combination of literature reviews, teacher interviews, and anonymous surveys. The collective evidence underscores the unsettling fact that homework drives educational disparities. Consequently, it calls for a broader acknowledgment among educators and schools that homework often hinders rather than enhances a student\u27s academic achievements
Survivors of Domestic Violence: Reclaiming their Freedom
Get PDFMonarch Services is an agency that is dedicated to helping victims or survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Human Trafficking. Their mission is, “Lives Free from Violence and Abuse.” Case managers want to empower their clients to take back control and gain their freedom and independence safely. As the agency grew there was a need to create programs that would cater to the needs of the client, with the Housing First Program as one of the newer programs. The Housing First Program is a homeless assistance model that focuses on prioritizing long-term permanent housing for individuals and families, thus ending homelessness and allowing individuals and families to pursue additional goals. As the program is fairly new some areas have not been established such as a procedure manual. The purpose of this project is to assist any new or upcoming case manager or intern. It\u27s a resource that establishes guidelines and protocols for making decisions, actions, and policies at Monarch Service. The procedure manual will be a physical copy and digital so it can be updated when documents or processes are revised. The expected outcome is to help improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and communication with the case manager and client. The agency can provide more workshops or training when introducing new case managers and interns to their responsibilities
Teaching and Teachings of Black Mixed Girls as Unveiling Femme-Centered Anti-Blackness in US Education
Get PDFThrough a lack of Black-centered, Black-empowering policies and strategies (Dumas, 2016), Black people are overlooked in the US public education system. Though this general disregard (and disdain) for Blackness in the education system is found to keep communities segregated and result in higher rates of expulsion and punishment for Black students (Dumas, 2014; Wun, 2016), we know relatively little about how experiences shape identities for Black girls in their schools. For Black girls, and specifically Black mixed race girls, we do know that physical attributes like hair texture and skin color shift the girls’ sense of racial identity (Hunter, 2016) while attending school. However, intersections of mixed racial identity and femininity are left out when in conversation with the (male-centric) topic of students’ Blackness and identity development. This research complicates current acknowledgements of racism and aggravations of intergenerational trauma by highlighting the experiences of Black mixed race girls in a Black affinity program at a San Francisco Bay Area middle school. The preliminary study included semi-structured interviews with 2 students via Zoom. Interviews inspected how Black mixed race girls’ identities are formed and understood through their schooling and the Black affinity program. By analyzing interview data, findings suggest that Black education empowers the girls’ sense of self and pushes them to connect past to present to future. Thus, further research and an emphasis on Black femininity through space-times may explain how (anti-)Blackness manifests in these girls and their schools
Adolescent Girls and Self-Esteem
No full textFor my capstone project, I focused on girls 11 to 13 and the impact of self-esteem on the mental health and academic engagement of adolescent girls. According to self-esteem expert Morris Rosenberg ”Self-esteem is quite simply one’s attitude toward oneself.” Studies have found that self-esteem dips in adolescence, but adolescent girls suffer from low self-esteem at a higher rate than adolescent boys (Quatman, T. & Watson, C., 2001). During this time, girls become much more aware of their changing bodies and how others view them. With the prevalence of social media and its unrealistic images of what a woman should look like. This can have detrimental effects on adolescent girls\u27 self-esteem (Harris M. & Orth U., 2020). In a study on self-esteem and academic engagement and performance, The results showed that self-esteem predicted academic engagement through the indirect role of self-efficacy. It also found that when students felt supported by their peers, the impact of self-efficacy on their level of academic engagement was even greater (Yu W, Qian Y, & Abbey C, 2022).Therefore, providing services that teach students the importance of self-esteem is essential. To address this, I presented two workshops that focused on improving self-esteem. The first workshop will define self-esteem, its importance, and how it affects adolescent girls\u27 mental health and academic performance. The second workshop will be focused on ways to improve self-esteem for oneself and through peer support. I will hold two workshops with 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade girls at Tierra Pacifica Charter School in Santa Cruz County over two weeks. Tierra Pacifica is a small school with around 150 kids from kindergarten to 8th grade
Supporting multilingual learners’ reading competence: a multiple case study of teachers’ instruction and student learning and motivation
Get PDFSupporting students’ reading competence (i.e., their comprehension and vocabulary) is complex, particularly when working with multilingual learners, and involves implementing instructional practices to support their behavioral engagement in reading as well as their reading motivation. The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to examine changes in multilingual learners’ reading comprehension, academic vocabulary, reading engagement, and reading motivation after participating in a 7-week intervention called United States History for Engaged Reading (USHER) and then examine qualitative data to explain why these changes may have occurred. We found changes in the reading comprehension of MLs across all four teachers’ classes, and variable changes in academic vocabulary, reading engagement, and reading motivation. We highlight specific instructional practices that may have led to these changes, including engaging students in discussions during explicit vocabulary instruction, allowing students choice and the opportunity to collaborate, and making the content relevant by relating it to students’ lives, among others
Social Media Effects on Adolescent Social Skills and Mental Health
Get PDFThis capstone project focuses on young adolescents’ use of social networking sites. As technology continues to grow and progress, its influence on adolescents grows and progresses along with it. Social networking sites provide adolescents with the opportunity to present their individuality to the digital world and the opportunity to connect and communicate with their peers. On the other hand, these sites also present vulnerabilities such as exposure to strangers, predators, and potential bullies. Due to the related psychological development, mental health and perspective of self issues with adolescents on these sites, it is important for parents to teach them how to positively navigate through them. It is also important for the parents of these adolescents to understand how they might help protect their children from these vulnerabilities. My capstone project first taught parents about the dangers of social media. This will address topics such as interacting with strangers, how they may be exposed to predators online and the dangers of cyberbullying. Secondly, they will be able to identify ways to teach their adolescents to protect themselves while they spend time on these social networking sites. Lastly, they will be able to identify ways that these sites may affect adolescents’ mental health and well being. This project will be presented to parents as a one hour workshop session to teach them about the effects of social media use for their children. This will be made available to parents living in Mountain House, California