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Classroom Questions: How Mainstream Elementary Teachers Use Questions to Support Achievement for English Language Learners
Get PDFThis small-scale study of an elementary classroom was designed to better understand the research question How do mainstream elementary teachers use questions in their instruction of ELLs? The goal of this study was to explore how one elementary teacher used questions in the classroom, how her class responded to the questions, and how she supported her learners along the way. A detailed literature review explored research that has already been conducted related to teacher questions and ELLs, and it included information about the following topics: second language acquisition, classroom questions in both the ESL/EFL classroom and the mainstream classroom, and scaffolding and support for students. Qualitative data was collected by observing a teacher and collecting information about the questions she asked and how students responded. The data from classroom observations was supplemented with information from a teacher survey. The data revealed that in this classroom the teacher asked a variety of types of questions and asked students to respond in a variety of ways. Overall, the English language learners in the classroom were responding to questions at a similar rate to their non-ELL peers, and the ELLs were answering both open-ended and closed-ended questions. Additionally, the teacher provided several different scaffolds to support students. Ultimately, these results were used to make suggestions for other educators. Personal learning, implications, limitations, and future research related to this study were also discussed
How Adverse Childhood Experiences Affect Children in School and What Protective Factors can Teachers Provide for These Students
Get PDFThe research question addressed in this Capstone Project is: How do adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect children in school and what protective factors can teachers provide for these students? I will start by giving an overview of ACEs, ACEs impact on adulthood, trauma and toxic stress, trauma informed practices, and finally discuss protective factors for children with ACEs. Research shows that having exposure to childhood adversity is connected to negative health and life outcomes. Protective factors against ACEs can be a buffer against the negative effects of ACEs. These factors can be provided in different contexts, for example in relationships, community, and society. The goal of my project is to inform educators on how they can be protective factors for their students using the context of the classroom community. The information will then be used to create a website where educational professionals can learn about ACEs and how they can be a protective factor by implementing classroom practices. The goal of this project is to inform educators on Adverse Childhood Experiences and to provide resources and strategies for teachers to provide an extra layer of support for children facing adversities
Best Practices Using Pair Work for English Language Learners
Get PDFThis project examined English Language (EL) learners and pair work in order to improve English skills and proficiency, answering the question: What are the best ways to use pair work to assist EL students in making English proficiency gains? There are many sources that show that collaboration and in particular, pair collaboration, supports language learning for all ages. One reason for this may be because language learning is most successful when there is plenty of feedback and interaction, creating plenty of opportunities to practice language skills. The project led to creation of a professional development course for educators that teaches many of the strategies and techniques for pair work with ELs for general educators and EL teachers alike. It is divided into topics that include pair work strategies with English speaking, reading, and writing, as well as overall techniques to improve language acquisition. The ultimate goal for this teacher course is to provide simple pair work strategies for educators so they can improve EL instruction in any content area
Re-Integrating Play-Based Learning (PBL) Activities into the Primary Classroom
Get PDFCan we even call it kindergarten anymore or should we rename it to be called first grade part one? Students entering into kindergarten today are now expected to meet much higher academic standards that were once designed for first grade. Five-year-olds are now expected to write complete sentences, and even read and comprehend complex texts by the end of the year with play having been removed from the kindergarten classroom completely. This leaves children with no prior exposure to school settings with a much steeper hill to success. Re-incorporating play-based learning experiences back into the kindergarten classroom could be the answer to this problem by providing vital hands-on learning experiences that will increase overall knowledge retentio. This capstone analyzes current literature surrounding the importance of play, developmental benefits of play, and the consequences to over-valuing academics in the kindergarten classroom to help answer the research question: How can teachers increase play-based learning (PBL) activities in order to supplement a rigorous kindergarten literacy curriculum and increase overall knowledge retention? The culminating project provides a wide variety of play-based learning activities that any primary educator can use in their classroom to better meet the needs of their learners. Final reflections upon major learnings, the literary analysis, and this project make evident that more needs to be done for our youngest learners in order to place them on a path to success in their coming school years
Experimental Archaeology: Assessing Methods in Lithic Debitage Analysis
Get PDFAlthough often referred to as ‘waste’ flakes, lithic debitage can provide a great deal of information about how past peoples lived and created their stone tools. While we can never have all the answers, lithic debitage analysis can help us fill in these historic gaps. This thesis employs lithic debitage analysis of nine experiments provided by expert flintknapper Dan Wendt to better understand early biface, late biface, and core/flake reduction techniques. Recording attributes including flake class, raw material, general size characteristics, platform grinding, platform lip, percussion bulb, and flake termination allow for a thorough and impressive dataset. Additionally, Wendt’s experiments have provided an opportunity to review and critique Hamline’s Archaeology Lab Lithic Waste Analysis Protocol, focusing on platform angles and dorsal flake scar counts. Analyzing these experiments helps us better understand the production stages and techniques of stone tool manufacture, as well as the role of raw material in attribute data collection. The resulting distinctions between reduction strategies lend themselves to later comparison and applications against debitage from archaeological pre-contact sites across Minnesota
No “Pobrecito Student”: Translanguaging High-School Science for Academic Language Development
Get PDFThe research questions addressed in this study were: what are the impacts of translanguaging on academic language development? And what are the challenges and successes in implementing translanguaging in highly culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms? Thus, the topics explored in the literature review range from research on academic language development and the teaching and learning of science in high school and the struggles and challenges English Language Learners (ELLs) face when learning then different content areas. The literature review also reveals some of the findings emerging from the implementation of translanguaging in bi/multilingual classrooms. This study involved a cohort of 12 level 5 ELLs from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in an Academic Writing class. Participants were instructed and encouraged to strategically incorporate their home languages through the use of different translanguaging practices in a unit of work on Pollution and Climate Change. Participants were given a pre-test in which they had to write a paragraph describing the environmental issue they could see on a picture using the Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) format. The objective was to observe and examine the impact of translanguaging practices in the classroom and assess the challenges and areas of success. A mixed-methods approach was used to assess the impact and growth. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection tools were used including pre/post-test and observation rubrics, assessments given to students, and the teacher research journal. Data revealed growth in terms of paragraph organization and the complexity and variety of sentences. The results suggest that translanguaging impacted participants’ identity, sense of agency, and participation in class. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed
Not what they have chapter and verse for: On Judgments, Assumptions, and Expectations in Austen and Eliot
Get PDFThe nineteenth century left lasting impacts on our contemporary world, from political and economic developments to social and philosophical ones, and this extends to literature in the development of the novel as a major form. Jane Austen and George Eliot played integral roles in this maturation of the novel, as well as what Elizabeth Sabiston calls “the emerging female text and voice,” and thus both they and their art form merit continued reading and discussion (3). Novels are tools of social norms and revolution, and in the nineteenth century functioned as tools of the author in teaching their morals, worldviews, and philosophical perspectives to readers. Informed by feminist and narratological perspectives as well as by close readings and cultural and philosophical contexts, this project undertakes a sociocultural study of how fiction conveys ways of understanding and interacting with the world. Specifically, this project examines how in these texts, judgment, assumption, and expectation, of and from self and others, lead to better understanding and knowledge of others, self, and the world. I look at the ways Austen and Eliot deal with nineteenth century issues, such as tensions between society and the individual and questions of epistemology and morality, and how they reflect a shift across the century from a highly prescriptive society to a more flexible one that relies less on predetermined position to determine worth and morality. Both authors value similar social actions, but they have different perspectives on the reasons for their characters\u27 successes in meeting moral standards or failures to live up to them. Ultimately, this project views literature as a reflection of society which allows us to experience and understand others in ways that we cannot always in the real world
Supporting Kindergarten Multilingual Learners During Morning Meeting
Get PDFThe guiding question of this capstone project is: “How can kindergarten classroom teachers support Multilingual Learners during Morning Meeting to improve their ability to engage and communicate with classmates?” Morning Meeting is a daily classroom time that supports the building of a shared classroom community. Students are seen and heard as they share about themselves and learn about their peers. Research has demonstrated the need for students to make connections with their classmates in order to feel safe taking academic risks. Multilingual learners in kindergarten classrooms can struggle to make social connections and actively engage in learning when they are new to the English language. Multilingual learners are the fastest growing population in schools today yet many teachers lack the training to fully support students who are learning English. This project involved the creation of a Morning Meeting Guide for kindergarten classroom teachers. The content of the guide is meant to provide tools and resources for teachers to use to understand and support their multilingual learners. The guide provides information about language acquisition for English language learners. It also contains ideas on how to enhance, scaffold, and modify morning meeting activities to support active engagement of multilingual learners. The goal of the guide is to provide support to classroom teachers so they can create a morning meeting where multilingual learners can actively participate in community building activities alongside their peers
Does Lexia Core 5 Support Accelerated Reading Growth in Third Grade Intervention Students During Independent Reading Time With Minimal Teacher Support?
Get PDFThis capstone addresses the following research question: Does Lexia Core 5 Support Accelerated Reading Growth in Third Grade Intervention Students During Independent Reading Time With Minimal Teacher Support? The author first examines the previous research around Lexia Core 5 done by O\u27Callaghan et al. (2016) & Maracuso et al. (2019). This mixed methods study investigates how using Lexia Core 5 impacts participants’ overall reading growth via pre- and post- assessment data. It follows participants’ Lexia Core 5 usage over the course of 7 weeks tracking both the minutes spent and number of units completed. Data for this study also includes participant self-assessment surveys, which were meant to track on-task behavior, reading gains, and enjoyment of Lexia usage time. The findings suggest that 1) the more Lexia minutes completed does not affect oral reading fluency (ORF) growth; and 2) the number of Lexia units completed does have an effect on oral reading fluency. The closer the participants were to the recommended Lexia usage ratio of 1 unit completed for every 5 minutes, the more they grew on their grade level oral reading fluency
Teachers of Color and American Indian Teachers in Suburban Schools: Retaining Through Resilience and Community Cultural Wealth
Get PDFThe capstone question in this paper was: How can a Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) Model be used to develop the resilience, resistance, and retention of Teachers of Color and American Indian Teachers (TOCAITs) in suburban school districts? The paper addressed the contextual challenges in the suburban school districts and ways to retain Teachers of Color and American Indian Teachers (TOCAITs) in this context. The literature reviewed how suburban school districts responded to demographic shifts. It highlighted issues around systems and practices that were colorblind and inequitable to the diverse learners it served. In addition, these contextual problems were connected to the challenges TOCAITs have in suburban schools. It argued for strategies that better support the resilience and sustainability of TOCAITs within context. The project is composed of a series of professional development in a school district’s teacher of color mentorship program for new TOCAITs. A Community Cultural Wealth Model was used to explore and further develop the cultural capital TOCAITs possessed