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Translanguaging: The Instructor-Perceived Benefits of Use in the Adult English Language Learner Classroom
Get PDFThis thesis, seeks to answer the research questions: what are the instructor-perceived benefits of translanguaging in the adult second language acquisition classroom for students who have not had any prior English language experience when learning English as a second language? Additionally, is there an instructor-perceived increase in output and comprehension with adult learners when translanguaging is actively used, and how is it being used? Topics explored during the literature review process included translanguaging, perceived benefits and challenges of translanguaging in the classroom, age-related factors for language acquisition, and non-age-related factors regarding language learning. Six English language instructors of adult non-degree-seeking students participated in the data collection process. A qualitative research method was used to collect and analyze the data. The qualitative research tools that were employed for the data collection were surveys and interviews. Data revealed that while all participants had a varying level of understanding of translanguaging they were all in favor of its use in the classroom environment. Interviews provided additional insights into the perceived benefits and challenges that the participants have encountered and how translanguaging is encouraged and used in their classrooms. The final analysis suggests that translanguaging is an effective tool for use with adult non-degree-seeking learners. Study limitations, implications, and recommendations for future studies are also addressed
Anxiety Disorders In Elementary Students: Interventions For Classroom Use
Get PDFMany elementary students suffer from anxiety disorders. There are various types of anxiety disorders, risk factors, and effects on elementary students. The disorders described include generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, specific phobia, social phobia, separation anxiety disorder, and selective mutism. These can be influenced by interpersonal and environmental factors, leading to academic, social, emotional, and physiological effects.Research shows that educators can provide accommodations and classroom strategies to support students. The capstone project developed as a result of this research is a website that serves as a resource for educators. It explains the different types of anxiety disorders, their effects on students, and resources teachers can use to help students learn effectively, cope with symptoms, and develop strategies to manage their anxiety
Folktale Friends: An After School Club Curriculum For Building Community And Cultural Competency
Get PDFFolktale Friends is an after school club curriculum developed in response to the research question, how can global folktale studies be utilized to build cultural competence in the elementary setting? The curriculum and club Folktale Friends for students in grades two through four will help build safe, inclusive spaces where students can identify their own world-view, connect with others, and respectfully navigate cultural differences. Folktale Friends is designed using Wiggins and McTighe’s Understanding by Design framework (2005). Backwards design of Folktale Friends includes nine weeks of lessons, student materials, and lesson slides, recommended paired texts, and clear rubric for assessment. This project was born out of a deep concern for our children in a post 2020 world, having experienced a global health crisis, school and community lockdowns, and significant social isolation. In connecting with storytellers and cultural texts, practicing cross-cultural skills, and building their own cultural competence, educators and learners who are able to participate in Folktale Friends will have a positive impact in our society
Creating Equitable Mainstream K-6 Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Get PDFTalberg, C. (2023). Creating Equitable Mainstream K-6 Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The research question posed for this capstone project is: How does a general elementary classroom teacher create an equitable and accessible learning environment for students with ASD? This question was explored through extensive research which is reflected in this paper’s literature review. Research has shown that many mainstream educators do not feel adequately prepared or trained to properly support and include students with ASD in their classroom (Jaffal, 2023). The capstone project that accompanies this research is a three-part professional development workshop. This workshop series was created for K-6 mainstream educators with the goal of providing general elementary classroom teachers with useful and applicable knowledge, strategies, and resources for how to best support students with ASD in their mainstream classroom. Each of the three sessions in this professional development workshop has a main topic of focus. The first, is providing educators with overall knowledge on ASD. The next session concentrates on how to create an environment of inclusivity and belonging for all students. The final session provides teachers with adaptable, ASD-specific resources and strategies that are meant to be applied in a mainstream classroom setting. The overarching goal of this capstone project is to help K-6 general education teachers to feel knowledgeable and prepared to teach students with ASD in their classrooms. Project Type Professional development Keywords ASD, mainstream elementary educatio
Creating First Grade Math Learning Materials in the Chinese Immersion Learning Environment
Get PDFMath is everywhere in people’s daily lives. It is also a universal subject taught everywhere. Research has demonstrated that math education includes many different components, the most essential mathematical skill for younger learners is to establish their number sense. Students’ math fluency will increase and will develop their math automaticity once they have strong number sense. According to studies, the Mandarin Chinese language helps students effectively master basic mathematical skills due to the uniqueness of the language, such as the pronunciation of each Chinese character, the “base ten” number system, etc. The project involved creating a pacing chart that aligns with the math lessons taught at Yinghua Academy, the only full-immersion Mandarin Chinese K-8 school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The pacing chart will primarily be used by the first-grade teachers whether are new to the country and the American education system, or the teachers who are new to the school’s expectations. The goal of the project is to help teachers have clear guidance on the teaching objectives, so that the students will receive clear instructions and learning expectations during their mathematical learning journeys
Exploring How School Choice Affects the Distribution of Educational Resources in Ramsey County Minnesota
Get PDFThis study investigated how school choice affects resource distributions, mainly the socio-economic status of students, and the potential impact this has on equity in Minnesota’s education system. The literature review outlines the origins and history of school choice and discusses court cases related to school choice in Minnesota. The literature review explores the benefits of competition in an educational marketplace and also examines how school choice sorts students. Additionally, the literature review considers the importance of socio-economic status to educational outcomes. The research methodology was quantitative and involved graphing the distribution of socio-economic status as measured by the percentage of free and reduced lunch within the three public school types (magnet, charter, and neighborhood). The study found that neighborhood schools had relatively uniform distributions while magnet and charter schools had relatively skewed distributions. The study found that charter schools in particular had a large number of schools with high concentrations of free and reduced lunch-eligible students
Improving Early Literacy Outcomes Through Play
Get PDFThe research question asked in this capstone project is: how might incorporating playful learning into a literacy framework help improve early literacy outcomes? There is a growing body of evidence that playful learning, a mix of free and guided play, has a slew of benefits to school-aged children including: physical, emotional, social, and cognitive. The foundational research for this project explores the intersections of educational neuroscience, Culturally Responsive Practices, and foundational literacy skills and practices. In particular the scholarship of Eric Jensen, Drs. Gloria Ladson-Billings, Zaretta Hammond, and Hollis Scarbourough were foundational in the conception and development of this project. The curriculum designed for this project provides a series of playful learning activities to embed within a kindergarten literacy block. The project involved creating two to three playful learning activities that are designed to be embedded within small-group instructional time. While this project specifically aligns with a particular curriculum, it can easily be adopted to benefit a variety of environments, time constraints, and curricular materials. The goal of this project is to reinforce foundational literacy skills while also providing a host of holistic benefits including creating even more joyful classroom environment
Whale Watching in Early Childhood
Get PDFWhale watching (WW) is a growing business in the ecotourism industry. Two main goals of this industry is to support local conservation efforts and increase pro-environmental behaviors by altering participant environmental attitudes and beliefs. This capstone answers the research question: How can whale watching experiences contribute to the conservation efforts of ecotourism, educate youth on the importance of whales, and enhance the human-nature connection during early childhood? Research concludes that education plays a vital role in affecting participant environmental attitudes and beliefs. In addition to providing unique experiences to observe whales in their natural habitat, whale watching companies also have the opportunity to increase pro-environmental behaviors among participants through education. This project involved working with an ecotourism whale watching company, Eco Migrations, to create an activity book aimed to educate youth on the importance of whales: in balancing marine health, their role in climate change mitigation and how humans impact population levels
Utilizing Classical Literature in Kindergarten Classrooms: A Tool for Developing Social Emotional Skills and Reading Comprehension
Get PDFThis capstone project seeks to answer the question, How can educators use pedagogical storytelling with classical literature to address the social-emotional needs of their students while also increasing reading comprehension in early years? For the purposes of this research, classical literature is defined mainly as fables, folk stories and fairy tales. In answering my research question, I explore the research that underpins the history of pedagogical storytelling, classical literature, best practices in reading comprehension and academic language instruction, and the foundations of social emotional learning. This Capstone Project includes a two week, ten lesson literature unit that weaves together these themes by using classroom read alouds to explicitly teach story structure and emotional awareness. The curriculum focuses on utilizing specific reading comprehension strategies, mainly, Read, Stop, Think, Ask, Connect (RSTAC), to help students engage with literature to deepen their understanding of texts and build connections to their own lives (McKee & Car, 2016). This curriculum was designed utilizing the principles of understanding by design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2011).While this project is tailored to a classical kindergarten classroom and intended to be implemented at the beginning of the school year, the overall lessons learned indicate that it would be beneficial in many classroom settings and can be easily expanded on throughout the school year