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Implementing Phenomenon Based Learning Into English Language Development Curriculum
Get PDFFinland has one of the most successful education systems in the world, and a significant reason behind that is their utilization of Phenomenon-Based Learning. Students work together to solve real-world problems in project-based learning units, while using language to problem solve alongside their peers. This capstone answers the question, How can a professional development workshop be created that teaches educators in the United States how to build an English Language Development curriculum that is centered around PhenoBL and language domain incorporation while being as culturally inclusive and responsive as possible? Collectively, these pillars of instruction promote a learning environment that fosters daily academic and social language acquisition practice for emerging bilingual students
Holistically Discouraging School Aged Students and Youth From Joining and/or Becoming Affiliated With Gangs and Gang Violence
Get PDFCurrently there is varying research on gang affiliation and how it impacts various communities. Schools are one place where we see gang affiliation and violence affecting a large community. The present Capstone project attempts to look at how school communities can holistically discourage young students from joining a gang or being involved in gang violence. Most importantly, how can educators create a plan to systemically change the way students, especially Black students and students of color, move within the space of education and a school community. Research from Hagadorn (1998) was highly influential in the project. His gang research conducted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin provides a holistic overview of gang membership, gang history and how systemically society pushes groups of people into gang life. The professional development that was designed for this project allows educators to learn about gangs and gang affiliation, dismantle their biases as individuals, and create a holistic plan for their community that will begin to create spaces for students to experience education in a way that does not push them out of schools and into gang life. The goal of this project is to inform educators as well as provide context and a space for them to create a school environment for all students
Instructional Support for Vocational ESL Teachers
Get PDFWorkplace/Occupational/Vocational ESL (VESL) is a growing approach within English for Specific Purposes (ESP), fueled by national initiatives such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and Integrated Education and Training (IET) among others. However, teacher training and support is often lacking for ESL teachers within these areas. This led to the research question, how can instructional support be provided to teachers of adult learners in Vocational ESL (VESL) programs? The creation of a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) for VESL instructors was developed in response to this question, which is collected into a facilitator guide. The Faculty Learning Community is designed to bring together a small group of dedicated ESL faculty who are interested in exploring issues related to how to best support Limited English Proficient (LEP) learners in their vocational ESL classrooms, and to address other challenges that they as instructors may face when teaching in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) context
Implementing Inquiry-based Learning Into A High School Science Classroom To Improve Student Engagement And Learning Outcomes
Get PDFInquiry-based learning is the practice of teaching and learning through asking questions and discovering answers through scientific processes. Rooted in progressive education, inquiry-based learning focuses on giving students the opportunity to actively engage in their learning, and improve learning outcomes. Inquiry-based learning has been met with skepticism due to the required resources and training to prepare educators to effectively implement inquiry lessons.The Next Generation Science Standards were written to implement inquiry-based learning methods in science curriculums across the United States. Due to the Minnesota Department of Education’s decision to draft the 2019 science standards using the Next Generation Science Standards, Minnesota science educators are required to implement inquiry practices to fulfill the new standards by the 2023/24 school year. This capstone reviews the literature on inquiry-based learning, the Next Generation Science Standards, and student engagement to develop a curriculum to help answer the research question, how can inquiry-based teaching models promote learning in a high school biology class
Incorporating Mathematics Stations Into The Current Curriculum
Get PDFMeeting the needs of every single student in a classroom is a struggle. However, providing a variety like math stations will help students succeed. Providing students with interactions, movement, independence, and small groups are some ways to solve that problem. Thus, I came up with the research question: How can mathematical stations be incorporated into the current curriculum and increase students’ math skills in a kindergarten classroom? The project will be a revision of Unit One of the Math Expressions curriculum for kindergarten. The project will include math stations and include what math stations are, what to do, and how to start them in your classroom. This will be a tool that can be altered to any curriculum and grade levels. Meeting the needs of every single student in the classroom is the number one priority. Thus, providing math stations to provide differentiation will help students succeed in the classroom
Balancing Screen Time: Teaching To The Whole Student
Get PDFIn a technology driven world, I often wonder where the balance is between the utility of technology tools, such as smartphones, tablets, or computers, and the social and health implications of the intense use of these technologies. On the one hand, smartphones, tablets, and other like devices, deliver information at the touch of our fingertips in ways only imagined just a few decades ago. The use of these technologies has greatly increased our capacity for research and learning new information. Because of this speed and efficiency of accessible information, along with the ability to reach anyone at any time, it seems that most of the population has a smartphone, and a growing number of people also have tablets or laptops that they can take with them anywhere. This phenomenon of constantly being accessible and “plugged in” is no different for our school-aged kids, and often even impacting younger kids as well. I think it is time to take a hard look at the potential consequences of students always being connected to these devices. What does this mean to child development and mental health? And what are the consequences, good and bad, for learning and education? It is through this lens that I explore my essential question: To what extent should student screen time be managed to maximize learning? In a review of selected literature influenced by Adam Alter, Eric Jensen, Catherine DeWeese and many others, my capstone paper and website-based project aims to add to the conversation of why balancing technology use is important for students, and really for everyone. Misuse of technology can impact learning, sleep, and overall well-being. The capstone website is designed to be an accessible way to raise awareness of this amongst administrators, teachers, parents and guardians, as well as students
Culturally Relevant Pedagogies and Literacy Programs For Newcomer Somali High School English Language Learners
Get PDFFor over 30 years, Somalis have fled dire situations in Somalia in search for a better life in the United States and other countries of asylum. As Somali students enroll in schools in the United States, they must learn the new culture as well as the English language. Many of these students are grade levels behind in the English language. This capstone project uses a synthesis from a literature review and the creation of a website in order to answer the question: What are the most successful pedagogies to use with newcomer Somali high school English Language Learners to bring them to grade-level English reading proficiency as quickly as possible? The answer to this question is to employ a combination of culturally relevant pedagogy and a literacy program in order to teach newcomer Somali high school English language learners English and bring them to grade-level proficiency
A Capstone Project Concerning Social Justice In Secondary Science Education
Get PDFMinnesota began collecting and analyzing the graduation rates of different student demographics starting in 2012. This has led to the exposure of the Achievement Gap, in which students of color graduate from high school at an alarmingly low rate compared to white students. Minnesota ranks nationally at the bottom for the graduation rates of students of color. This Capstone Project had the driving question of, How can secondary science teachers bring Social Justice into the classroom in order to help close the Achievement Gap? The literature reviewed showed that effectively using Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Disaggregate Pedagogy can increase intellectual capacity and increase student understanding of concepts being taught. A six part professional development series was created as part of this Capstone Project. This professional development allows ample opportunities for teachers to implement these pedagogical practices into daily lessons to best support students of color
Shifting Voices: Facilitating the Ideal L2 Self Through the Development of Imagined Communities in the Language Classroom
Get PDFMuch can be learned about second language (L2) learner identities by understanding imagined communities which learners create to imagine participation in a target community. As L2 learners’ identities are varied, vast and imagined, it is important to line our pedagogical practices to help learners connect to and explore their various imagined communities and ideal L2 selves. Transformative pedagogy views language not simply as a set of governing rules, but more importantly from a social perspective, taking into account learner identities as they shift in accordance with the social world. The classroom is viewed as a place where learner investment in the language can be enhanced, and if it is not, gains in language learning are restricted. Additionally, teachers allow opportunities in not only the classroom, but the school and the community for learners to gain various identity positions in which they can participate (Norton, 2010). This capstone was influenced by the question, how can a classroom environment be created which allows Japanese EFL learners to identify their ideal L2 selves and imagined communities. The results of this capstone were used to create a website, which includes insights for transformative instructional practices and lesson materials influenced by imagined communities and the ideal L2 self as they pertain to language learning. A podcast was also created to help further the discussion of L2 learning as it relates to identity, engaging with learners of various languages around the world
The Phenomenology of Independent Living: Examining the Lived Experience of Young Adults From Out-of-Home Care in Wisconsin
Get PDFAbstract:
Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used to examine how young adults with prior out-of-home care experience make meaning of the Independent Living (IL) process (Smith, Flowers & Larkin, 2009). Participants had been in foster care, kinship care, and informal care settings. All participants were enrolled at the university or had recently graduated from the university. All participants were female, white, and from mixed geographic background. None registered as having disability, although evidence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) was shared. Only one study participant had prior experience with an IL contractor.
Individual interviews were conducted, followed by a focus group. The how and what of the learning about topics of IL were explored. Additional questions probed how meaning was made from the formal or informal IL learning experience. Familiarity with New Public Service themes found in local, county, state government was also explored.
While each participant pointed out the uniqueness of their experience, the study found similarities sufficient to identify themes, sub-themes and patterns in their experiences. Themes included context of Basic Needs, as well as content in Priority of Education/Work, Attention to Task/Organization, and Challenges with Health/Relationships. Patterns woven through the experience and meaning expressed by participants included safety, work ethic, and healthy relationships. The participants’ desire to impact public policy through the study was apparent. Recommendations for practice, research and policy were addressed, along with need for collaborative research among professionals in the field, academics, and the young adults whose voices of experience need to be at the policy table reinforcing the theme that grounded the study, “Nothing about us without us” (Charlton, 2000)