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Essential Understandings for Non-Indigenous Science Educators when Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge and Ways Of Knowing
Get PDFHistorically, Indigenous Native American voices have been silenced and disregarded as a result of the US’ colonial history. Educators are in a unique position that allows us to begin healing from this past through equity and inclusion which studies show are essential to success for students in school and beyond. While many teachers acknowledge the importance of including Indigenous Knowledge in curricula, they lack the support and resources for how to start. This capstone aims to answer the question: What insights are necessary for non-Indigenous educators when incorporating Indigenous knowledge into climate change curricula? The final project is designed as a self-guided professional development for non-Indigenous science teachers, focused on increasing representation through the use of Indigenous Knowledge in science curricula. It uses guided questions to ask educators to reflect on personal biases, expand their knowledge of Native American culture and history, and begin the process of increasing Native American representation in science curricula. There is power in acknowledgement and there is power in visibility. As educators, we have the ability to leverage this in our classrooms, creating a safe and inclusive environment for all our students
From Charlottesville to Minneapolis: An Introduction to the Lift Every Voice and Teach Workgroup
Get PDFLeadership Challenges with Mental Health Literacy and Cultural Stigma in the Hmong Community
Get PDFIt has been nearly 50 years since Hmong refugees started arriving here in the United States, as a result of the Vietnam War. Currently, the Minneapolis-St. Paul area is home to the largest concentration of Hmong Americans here in the states, approximately 81,000 (Pew Research, 2019). Because of the war atrocities that many Hmong refugees experienced, scholars and researchers conducted diagnostic assessments during early resettlement, but the data was disaggregated and combined all Southeast Asian refugees together. This made it difficult to determine mental health needs among the different Southeast Asian ethnicities, specifically Hmong Americans. Many years later, the Wilder Foundation conducted an additional study in 2010 which yielded alarming results, which concluded that the Hmong were twice as likely, than the general public, to experience mental health issues and mental health symptoms are often internalized by some community members. Mental health concerns in the Hmong community have been sufficiently documented here in the United States but mental health literacy, reinforced by strong cultural stigma, still hinder understanding and acceptance. Systemic barriers and health inequity further complicate access to needed treatment and services. As a collectivistic culture, the onus is on community leaders to promote mental health awareness and reduce cultural stigma in the Hmong community. Exploratory in nature, this qualitative inquiry sought to examine the intersection of leadership and mental health literacy and cultural stigma in the Hmong community. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Hmong community leaders in an attempt to identify challenges hindering mental health literacy and contributing to cultural stigma. Suggestions for addressing these challenges were also solicited. Grounded theory analysis of the data revealed three primary areas of challenges hindering mental health literacy and strengthening the cultural stigma: cultural factors, communication, and services. Additional areas that leaders should consider are: selecting competent leaders and alleviating intergenerational disagreement among the different generations of Hmong Americans. Until Hmong Americans can agree on uniform leadership when it comes to mental health literacy and cultural stigma, challenges will continue to persist
The Devil in the Details: Sex Work Legalization, Sexual Violence, and Moral Subjectivity
Get PDFProstitution legislation has re-emerged in public and academic discourse in recent decades after relative silence on the issue since the mid-twentieth century, spurred by Sweden’s adoption of prostitution decriminalization - the first known legislation criminalizing the buyers of sex (rather than the sellers) to be actualized in legislation. Since then, scholarship examining the population-level effects of such legal changes has found evidence that changes in legislation affect rates of sexual violence, although the causal credibility and generalizability of some of this scholarship is disputed. Additionally, much of the previous scholarship examining this question used relatively small sample sizes that include only wealthy, industrialized, European Union (EU) member countries. In the current study, I leverage a uniquely constructed panel dataset of an international sample of nations from 1975-2006 to examine the relationship between sex work legislation and rates of sexual violence. Using a staggered adoption difference-in-difference design, I find that the impact varies by the type of legislation: moves to complete legalization as compared to states of criminalization and decriminalization significantly reduce rape rates, but decriminalization, as compared to states of criminalization, leads to an increase in rape rates. These findings suggest that moves towards legalization, and not decriminalization, are effective routes for reducing sexual violence
Connecting Urban Elementary Students To Watershed Health Through Aquatic Macroinvertebrates
Get PDFBodies of water play many important roles in the lives of everyone, but climate change and other human interference continue to threaten their health. In order to support the health of our watersheds for years to come, it is important that we find ways to help students develop environmental stewardship of their local watersheds. This capstone project answers the question: How can educators help urban elementary students become more connected to supporting the health of their local watersheds through the use of aquatic macroinvertebrates? Through research into this topic, it is concluded that place-based environmental education that allows students to identify and form connections with macroinvertebrates can help students become connected to supporting the health of their local watersheds. This research was used to develop an interactive activity book for elementary students about macroinvertebrates and watershed health. In the activity book, there is information and activities about: common aquatic macroinvertebrates in Minnesota, how macroinvertebrates are used as bioindicators, location-based pro-environmental actions that impact water health, and scientist representation for diverse students
Translanguaging in Adult Education: Technology Curriculum Project
Get PDFThe use of technology in the classroom is constantly increasing. In the world of adult education, these skills are even more important for students to be successful both inside and outside the classroom. As a way to improve those skills while also accounting for the needs of English language learning students, this capstone project explores the following question: How can teachers support best translanguaging instructional practices in an adult basic technology curriculum? The literature review explores the practices of adult education, translanguaging, and digital literacy pedagogies that contribute to the formation and foundation of the curriculum support materials created. The materials design focuses on the use of technology tools that help with translations, collaboration, and polling during the five-week-long email unit. These materials not only help students and teachers build in-class authentic experiences but can also be adapted and put into practice in various other settings. The design and use of the materials promote the values of equity and inclusion that are the centerpiece of the research and a way to continue to push the fields of technology and adult education forward
Fostering Emotional Resilience
Get PDFSocial-emotional learning (SEL) has become a cornerstone of modern education, emphasizing the importance of emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills alongside academic achievement. This capstone project explores the impact of social-emotional learning (SEL) programs on student behavior and academic performance in a fifth-grade classroom. Grounded in the implementation of the Be Good People SEL curriculum, the research focuses on developing core competencies such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Data was collected through classroom observations, behavioral trend analysis, and Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) academic standardized testing to analyze changes in student academic and behavioral outcomes. Results indicated that the SEL program positively influenced both behavior and academic performance, fostering a more inclusive and supportive classroom environment. These findings suggest the importance of integrating SEL into daily teaching practices and advocating for its adoption at a broader school and district level. This project concludes with actionable recommendations for sustaining SEL initiatives through professional development, family engagement, and ongoing program evaluation to ensure long-term benefits for students and educational stakeholders
Building English Proficiency in Young Multilingual Learners: The Impact of Consistent and Equitable Assessment
Get PDFssessment of elementary-aged multilingual learners (MLLs) is often narrowly associated with the ACCESS test, an annual evaluation designed to measure English Language Proficiency (ELP) across the four domains: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. However, research highlights the benefits of equitable and ongoing methods of assessment for MLLs. This capstone project, based on an extensive literature review and a professional presentation of findings, addresses the question: In what ways do frequent, more consistent assessments support early elementary-aged multilingual learners’ English development in all four domains? The research concludes that ongoing, inclusive assessment practices benefit MLLs by providing up-to-date and valid data to inform instructional decisions, identifying students’ strengths and areas for growth, delivering consistent feedback, and fostering stronger student-teacher relationships
Supporting Secondary Math Students in Developing a Positive Math Identity
Get PDFIt is not uncommon for students (and adults) to experience anxiety when it comes to math class. The underlying notion that mathematics is simply not meant for some while being meant for others permeates the culture in the United States. For students, the development of their math identities begins at an early age and is heavily influenced by their experiences in school, specifically the math classroom. With so much at stake in terms of identity development, achievement, and future success, this capstone project sought to explore the question: How can students be actively supported in building a positive math identity through the middle years? Current literature suggests the immense impact teachers and their classrooms can have on positively shaping students’ math identities. An eight-day professional development series was designed in response to the opportunity teachers have to reflect on their own math identities, and intentionally craft learning spaces conducive to fostering positive math identities in their students
From Academia to Character Education: Using Contemporary Neuroscience Research and Executive Functioning Skills to Develop Classical Virtue
Get PDFThe research question explored through this capstone project is: How can a professional development series for teachers foster student development of classical virtue in a neuroscientifically-informed manner? This project is a three-part professional development series with each session focusing on a specific classical virtue (fortitude, justice, or wisdom) and its relation to particular executive functioning skills and neuroanatomy. Once this knowledge is had, the teachers tap into their prior knowledge on classroom practices and combine their new knowledge of virtue and neuroscience with it through a collaborative process which creates high-quality, classroom-applicable ideas for all teachers to implement into their craft. This project combines ancient history and contemporary neuroscience to support a school character education program centered on classical virtue and utilizes research-based adult learning approaches to support teacher practices which foster student character growth. The literature reviewed includes scholarly work focusing on what makes adult learning effective, the effectiveness of character education programs, the history of classical virtue, what executive functioning skills are and how they develop, and what specific neuroanatomy is related to specific virtues. This project developed an effective way to support teacher knowledge and skill of how to implement classroom applications of neuroscientifically-informed character education development. A hope of this project is that educators can use its professional development approaches as a benefit for the important work of supporting the positive development of the humanity of all students