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Providing Heritage-Based Social and Emotional Learning Opportunities for Middle Grade Latina Students
Get PDFAll students deserve opportunities that help them feel safe and connected to their school environment. For my capstone, I designed a culturally responsive extracurricular program designed for Latina immigrant-origin middle school students, focusing on heritage-based learning and gaining social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies. My capstone project sought to answer the question: “How can Latina immigrant-origin middle school students benefit from a culturally responsive extracurricular program that revolves around the explicit instruction of SEL skills?” In response to this question, I have designed an after-school curriculum that integrates heritage-based elements to address and support the distinct social and emotional needs of Latina middle school students. The curriculum is informed by a comprehensive review of relevant literature and is enriched by my own personal experiences. The first chapter emphasizes the importance of culturally tailored and comprehensive mental health care for immigrant-origin youth, and outlines the personal and professional relevance of this research to me. Chapter Two reviews the existing literature, acknowledging previous researchers and delving into the rationale behind focusing on Latina middle school students, heritage education, mental health, extracurricular programs, and social-emotional learning. Chapter Three presents the design of the capstone project, including its rationale, setting, audience, project outline, and timeline, covering preparation, implementation, and assessment. Chapter Four discusses insights gained from the project, including personal reflections and professional growth, revisits key elements of the literature review, addresses any project limitations, and suggests directions for future research
Putting Play in the Elementary School Classroom
Get PDFElementary school is a major setting for children’s development and the beginning of their academic journey learning language arts, math, and more. One of the primary ways that children learn and develop is through play. This capstone addresses the research question: How can organized play opportunities in elementary schools be leveraged to help nurture students’ development and strengthen their academic learning outcomes? This capstone report delves into the author\u27s personal and professional connections to the topic of children’s play. Through the process of literature review, evidence is compiled to show that play opportunities strengthen the development of children’s physical health, mental health, social and emotional learning, and cognitive ability. They are also shown to enhance academic performance. Tied to this report is a capstone curriculum project composed of a game guide with twenty-three games that elementary teachers can use to incorporate organized play experiences in their classrooms. While most of the existing articles of research about the developmental and academic benefits of play experiences for elementary students are focused on unstructured play opportunities, it is predictable that those benefits would also come from organized play experiences. The capstone project is designed to support future research that focuses explicitly on the impacts of organized play. Such future research can benefit the field of education by uncovering what kinds of play opportunities should be emphasized and what an optimal time balance between play and academic instruction looks like. These discoveries could maximize positive developmental outcomes as well as academic performance and growth for elementary school children. More directly, the capstone project’s game guide can be shared with and utilized by any elementary school educator looking to start incorporating organized play experiences into their classroom so their students can achieve the benefits of play
Best Practices in Screening Kindergarten Students for Multilingual Services
Get PDFThis research paper aims to answer the question, “what do teachers need to know in order to effectively screen kindergarten students for multilingual services?”. Through a synthesis of relevant research, the paper details the multilingual learner screening process in Minnesota, identifies inefficiencies and validity issues with the process, and suggests revisions to make the process more accurate. Researchers have emphasized the importance of accuracy in screening students, arguing that the overidentification of multilingual students is costly, stealing time and resources from students and teachers. There are many different strategies that can be taken at each step of the kindergarten multilingual learner screening process to make it more accurate. For example, the home language screener can be standardized and simplified, and supports can be offered to parents filling out the forms. In addition to the home language survey and W-APT, alternative assessments can be used to identify MLs, including parent interviews and academic performance portfolios. Finally, screener administrators should ensure that students are comfortable in their test-taking settings. The conclusion of this paper outlines ways in which the multilingual learner screener process for kindergarteners is flawed and provides actionable strategies for teachers and other stakeholders to rectify the process. This paper was written with the idea that its accompanying project, a professional development seminar, will amplify and leverage multilingual teachers’ wealth of knowledge on the process and continue to evolve with teachers’ collaboration
Ocean Literacy: Understanding the Importance of Sharks in Marine Ecosystems
Get PDFThe ocean covers about 71% of our planet’s surface and provides us with food and marine resources. It regulates global climate and weather patterns, and acts as a climate change carbon sink yet remains largely unprotected. A restorative human-ocean relationship is urgently needed to combat the negative impacts of humanity and climate change and support marine biodiversity. Sharks, one of the oldest fish species and apex predators, play a crucial role in maintaining a balanced marine ecosystem and healthy ocean. However, sharks are threatened by climate change and illegal, unregulated, unreported fishing and finning. A radical behavior change is also necessary to demystify the false and negative images portrayed by the mass media. Ocean literacy is an understanding of the influence of the ocean on us and our influence on the ocean. It has integrated ocean science into principles and content within US school science curricula for two decades. Through regional networks, the United Nations Ocean Decade has accelerated the global reach of ocean literacy internationally through regional networks and schools. Educational efforts on shark science, shark conservation, and pedagogical approaches for effective marine education have become essential. The capstone answers the research question: How can ocean literacy enable elementary teachers and students to better understand sharks and their role within marine ecosystems? Research shows that elementary teachers often lack ocean-related resources and professional development. The project Teachers4Sharks is a bilingual, interactive blog created to support elementary formal and non-formal educators. It presents current credible and scientific-based information and educational resources about the fantastic shark species living in our ocean. A shift in the ocean literacy concept is making learning more inclusive and participatory, following a systems approach or a holistic and interdisciplinary understanding of the ocean. It is the perfect time for all educators to act and become ocean- and shark-literate and help protect these unique and majestic animals
Creating Outdoor Learning Opportunities For Neurodiverse Students: An Outdoor Learning Curriculum for Neurodiverse Students
Get PDFThis project aimed to answer the question, how can special education teachers provide outdoor learning opportunities for neurodiverse students? The benefits of outdoor learning are well-researched and documented. Spending time in nature reduces stress levels and positively impacts mental health. However, many neurodiverse students in special education settings have limited access to outdoor learning due to concerns about safety, accessibility, and lack of training in environmental education for special education teachers. The need for access to outdoor learning is especially true for students in more restrictive special education settings. This project addresses barriers by providing outdoor learning opportunities that are accessible and can be used in the classroom, outside of the building, and in the community\u27s outdoor green spaces. It includes 20-30-minute learning activities with visual supports commonly used for neurodiverse students in special education settings. The capstone project, Creating Outdoor Learning Opportunities For Neurodiverse Students: An outdoor learning curriculum for neurodiverse students, was created to support special education teachers in providing outdoor learning opportunities
Vicarious Trauma of Adult TESOL Educators: A Brief Investigation of Screening Methods
Get PDFThis study explored the question: How do Adult Education and Literacy Program teachers in the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages context describe their experiences with teacher vicarious trauma, and does a commonly used screening tool show similar levels of teacher vicarious trauma?. Social science research has used the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL; Stamm, 2010), a quantitative screening tool to explain vicarious trauma and related measures, and these methods have been recently adopted in research in adult education settings (Hickey et al., 2020). This study used a mixed methods approach, with 10 Adult Education and Literacy Program teachers in Minnesota in the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages context completing the ProQOL, a demographic survey, and an interview. Quantitative analysis of the ProQOL and demographics was completed. Qualitative analysis of the interview data consisted of coding for key themes, with weighting based on frequency of coded data. Results of this study show that the ProQOL in the adult education setting does not fully capture the differences in vicarious trauma and related measures that I observe in my qualitative analysis, suggesting that this benchmark measure does not holistically explain vicarious trauma and related measures. Vicarious trauma requires a combination of subject narrative and screening measures to fully capture subject experience for a full picture of the phenomenon, mirroring clinical judgment used to diagnose in the mental health field. I suggest researchers do not implement the ProQOL screening tool alone to attempt to capture vicarious trauma among adult educators, but also employ the use of interviews to capture the full phenomenon. Limitations, implications, and recommendations for future research are discussed
Identifying Inclusive Practices for Youth with ASD in an Outdoor Environmental Education Setting
Get PDFThis project aims to answer how outdoor environmental education programs (OEE) can be more inclusive for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through staff training, program design, and facilitation. The research focuses on what inclusive means in the context of OEE, how OEE programs benefit youth with autism, and what specific learning differences and pedagogical approaches need to be considered when designing and facilitating inclusive programs for youth with autism. The project created is a two-day professional development workshop for informal educators working in environmental education settings. The goal of the project is to provide instructional content that increases educators’ knowledge of ASD and evidence-based practices for working with youth with autism, equip educators with tools they can use when developing or modifying programs to be inclusive, and allow educators time to collaborate and develop a pilot program that puts into practice what they have learned throughout the workshop. The intended impacts of this project is to increase the necessary knowledge and skills among educators working in informal OEE settings and increase opportunities for meaningful participation for youth with autis
Increasing Student Retention and Engagement of Learned Concepts, While Fostering Connections to the Cultural and Ecological Significance of the Galapagos Islands Through Pre-Travel Lessons and Reflection
Get PDFStudent travel has the potential to provide once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Travel combines authentic experiences and exposure to multiple perspectives in a way unlikely to happen in the classroom. Authentic experiences answer the age-old question, “Why do I have to learn this?” The reason for learning becomes tangible in the moment. Broadening our perspective increases empathy, reduces bias, and improves problem-solving skills. Travel provides the opportunity to experience many perspectives different from those experienced in our daily lives. The impact travel can have on a student can vary based on the experiences before, during, and after travel. Through the use of pre-travel lessons centered around the science and culture of the Galapagos Islands and the use of reflection this capstone looks to answer the question, How can focused pre-travel lessons and reflection enhance students\u27 retention of learned concepts, increase engagement, and foster connections to the cultural and ecological significance of The Galapagos Islands
Enhancing Two Units of 8th Grade U.S. History Curriculum to Support the Development of Experienced Multilinguals’ Usage of Oral and Written Academic Language
Get PDFInspired by a group of middle school experienced multilinguals (EMs), this capstone project sought to take an asset-based approach to redesigning two units of U.S. history curriculum so that the strong oral language skills of these students could be used as an educational tool for practicing academic language in speaking and writing. To complete this project, the researcher first studied the importance of using asset-based language and referring to this group of students as experienced multilinguals in lieu of long-term English learners. The researcher also examined theoretical frameworks such as Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Bakhtin’s theory of dialogism that support the usage of the speaking-writing connection in target language instruction. This work led to the implementation of the Instructional Framework for Experienced Multilinguals (Huynh & Skelton, 2023) and Weissberg’s (2006) General Scheme to embed speaking opportunities and other collaborative, multimodal learning activities into units on the Three Branches of Government and World War One
Examining Factors Affecting the Implementation of Restorative Practices in Elementary Schools: Supporting and Challenging Aspects for Principals
Get PDFThis qualitative research seeks to gather information that will be useful for successfully implementing Restorative Practices from Minnesota elementary school principals. Elementary Principals have been interviewed to share their experiences with implementing Restorative Practices. It specifically focuses on identifying the successes and challenges, particularly in efforts to reduce racial disparities in discipline data.The study also examines how principals apply these practices in their elementary schools to create caring communities. Restorative Practices have emerged as more schools and states move towards non exclusionary discipline practices to better support students and build caring school communities. This research seeks to provide insights into leadership strategies that foster inclusive and restorative school communities