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The Importance of Building Positive Classroom Community for Adolescents After the Relational Disconnect from the Covid-19 Pandemic
Get PDFThis paper aims to analyze the importance of providing students with a positive classroom environment that supports adolescent mental health. Middle school can be a time when students feel lonely, isolated, and oftentimes, it can be physiologically confusing as the body is transforming to becoming an adult. The Covid-19 pandemic exemplified the negative characteristics of normal adolescence. Research suggests that schools that incorporate belonging, relationship building, resilience training, community, and conflict resolution into the classroom can translate to academic success. Social-emotional learning programs can build community and improve adolescent mental health by promoting well-being. Addressing mental health through these types of preventative programs can help decrease long-term mental health issues and substance abuse. Students who have participated in SEL programs have shown growth in both mental health and academic achievement
Successful Co-Teaching Models in the Secondary Setting
Get PDFCo-teaching is an educational practice that emerged in the early 1970’s with the creation of the IDEA act. In this inclusive teaching model, a special education and a general education teacher work together to share responsibilities of the classroom such as planning lessons, monitoring student progress, and managing student behaviors and learning. While some teachers are not able to implement this strategy successfully, other teachers and schools find great success in this inclusive practice. Studies indicate that teachers struggle with co-teaching when they do not communicate adequately or are not given the proper training or time to collaborate. Teachers who were successful in co-teaching were given adequate time and training to collaborate, used their planning time to discuss classroom norms and responsibilities, and communicated effectively. Students benefitted from a co-taught class through increased access to teacher feedback, the ability to group based on needs, and by working with other students in a collaborative model
Understanding How Higher Education Leaders Manage Their Personal Self in a Changing Environment
Get PDFThis research looked at how higher education leaders identified and managed their emotions in times of institutional change. Interviews were conducted with higher education leaders who were above the level of director and were not chancellors or presidents. The researcher sought to (1) discover the emotions of higher education leaders in times of change, (2) gain an understanding of how leaders managed their emotions, and (3) discover how leaders can build an understanding of emotional awareness in the workplace. Data collected from this study provides opportunities to understand the impact of emotions in the workplace and can benefit current and emerging leaders in higher education. Through researcher coding, the themes included: Positive and Negative Emotions, Positive and Negative Reactions to Emotions, Managing Change, Role, and Awareness. Participants in the study identified various emotions they experienced in the workplace, how they reacted to the emotions, how they regulated their emotions, and the management of change in the workplace. Study participants highlighted strong communication, emotional intelligence, awareness, and transparency
How Read Alouds Can Promote Higher-Level Thinking Skills in Students with Developmental Disabilities
Get PDFThis thesis consists of a literature review of research in the area of read alouds and how they can promote higher-thinking skills in students with developmental disabilities. Historically, read alouds have been used in early elementary schooling to expose children to their earliest reading experiences with an adult reading simple picture book stories. Recent research in read alouds has revealed strategies that educators can use to encourage the development of higher-thinking skills through ‘deeper’ comprehension of text. These techniques involve adapting both text material and literacy enhancements to text. Educators can improve outcomes through the use of prompting and time delay, modeling and scaffolding, and creating questions that require students to go beyond literal and basic recall. This moves their understanding, through analysis, prediction, and summation of text material, to a higher-level understanding of a text that prepares students to use those advanced thinking skills in making decisions that impact their future
The Importance of Teaching Middle School Social Studies in the United States
Get PDFIn the state of Minnesota, the standardized testing, known as the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) test, does not have a requirement for social studies. Math, reading and sciences are all tested, but social studies is left to the wayside. All across the United States more and more school districts are placing less value on social studies, choosing to focus more time on the subjects that will either be state tested or they deem “most” useful to students in their future careers. With recent current events rocking the United States, both politically and socially, it seems that the country is becoming more polarized and divided. This thesis will delve into the history of social studies and the various roles it has played in the United States at different times. How the subject has adapted and changed to fit the needs and times of its students is discussed as well as the relevancy and modernization efforts being set in place to educate future generations
Trauma-Informed Practices and Students with Disabilities in Elementary School
Get PDFTrauma-informed practices have become more utilized within the education setting, which has led to the need for teachers to be educated in these practices. Educators need to know how trauma impacts their students and appropriate interventions for their student who has experienced trauma. Through being educated on the signs of trauma, interventions to support students, and how trauma impacts students educators are able to meet their students’ needs. Students with disabilities are also impacted by trauma and can show internalized and externalized behaviors. Through recognition of these specific behaviors and how trauma can exacerbate these behaviors, it is vital that educators learn from trauma-informed practices, specifically at the elementary level
The Relationship Between the Implementation of Response to Intervention and Students’ Achievement on Eighth Grade Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments
Get PDFThe purpose of this research study was to determine if there is a relationship between the implementation phase of Response to Intervention (RTI), an academic multi-tiered system of support, and eighth grade students’ mathematics, reading, and science Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) proficiency achievement. Data for this study were collected using a RTI phase survey sent via Qualtrics to Minnesota middle school principals and publicly accessible MCA proficiency data via the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) website. The researcher analyzed data using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS). Each principal’s survey response was aligned with the school’s eighth grade students’ achievement results as measured by the MCAs. A Pearson r analysis was completed to determine if a relationship existed between the variables. There was no statistically significant (p \u3e .05) relationship between implementation stages of RTI and eighth grade students’ mathematics and science MCA proficiency achievement in Minnesota middle schools. There was a statistically significant (p \u3c .05) and positive relationship between the implementation phase and eighth grade students’ reading MCA proficiency achievement in Minnesota middle schools
Development and Evaluation of the Clinician-Rated Humility Scale
No full textHumility is a key virtue in most religious traditions, and empirical evidence links it with healthy religious leader development. Psychological evaluation often forms part of the vocational discernment process for religious leaders. We evaluated development of the clinician-rated humility scale (CRHS) within the clergy candidate psychological evaluation context at a community mental health center in the United States. In Study 1, we examined inter-rater reliability of the CRHS using three methods across 10 calibration tests with clergy candidates (female = 1, male = 9; average age = 34.6 years). Combined convenience and comprehensiveness provided the best method for obtaining the highest agreement. In Study 2, we evaluated the internal and external factor structure of the CRHS using clergy candidates (n = 70) receiving psychological testing (29% female, 70% male; average age = 34.5 years). A final six-item version of the scale showed acceptable model fit, with evidence of a unidimensional factor structure, good internal consistency, and theoretically consistent associations with correlates. The results suggested the CRHS tapped dimensions of caring for others, openness toward personal beliefs, and self-growth. This observer-rated humility scale holds potential in conjunction with self-report measures for use in clinical assessment and research on client humility
The Relationship Between Staff Burnout and Staff Morale in Private International Schools in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Get PDFThis research examined the significance of the relationship between educators\u27 burnout and morale in three private international schools in Sharjah, UAE. Correlations between individual variables from the Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey, the Areas of Worklife Survey, and the Morale variables from the Charles F. Kettering School Climate Profile produced distinct statistical evidence, rejecting the hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between educational staff burnout and morale. The study revealed a significant relationship between morale and the domains of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. A total of 249 educational staff members participated in the study by completing the survey. The study explained the difference and relationship between stress and burnout by elaborating that stress can exacerbate burnout but is not always the primary cause. Educators may suffer stress due to their workload, yet they may not always develop burnout. The results indicated multiple predictors of burnout, including workload, accountability measures, and a multidimensional conflict of internal resources, emotions, and behaviors at work and home. The results will influence the policies and practices and open doors for further research, collaboration, transparency, and collective reflection in Sharjah, where no prior research exists on educators\u27 burnout and morale
Down Syndrome and the Importance of a Neutral Diagnosis Delivery: A Community Service Project
Get PDFApproximately 6,000 babies are born with Down syndrome each year in the United States – with an increasing prevalence. The literature suggests that negative societal attitudes surrounding the diagnosis of Down syndrome are often reflected in the terminology used by the medical providers delivering the diagnosis and that medical providers lack training regarding appropriate counseling. Jack’s Basket is a non-profit organization that aims to celebrate babies with Down syndrome and connect families to local resources. The researchers partnered with the organization to further explore the relationship between the diagnosis delivery method and how the recipient perceives the diagnosis. Jack’s Basket also provides educational presentations for medical providers on how to deliver unexpected news using neutral terminology to avoid implicit bias. However, their presentations lacked specific data regarding the diagnosis delivery and its effect on parental acceptance of the child. Therefore, the researchers assisted Jack’s Basket in creating a survey for the organization to gain a better understanding of the Down syndrome diagnosis and receive feedback on their current programming. The researchers also secured Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval of the survey to ensure an ethical data collection process with appropriate informed consent. This survey was sent to approximately 4,000 families in Minnesota who received a Jack’s Basket between the years of 2018-2021. The survey achieved a 13.1% response rate. The survey results allowed Jack’s Basket to identify areas for improvement in their programing, including communication to new members and volunteer engagement. Also, the data collected on diagnosis delivery supports further development of the organization’s educational initiatives to reduce stress and anxiety among medical providers, so they can better deliver the prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome using neutral terminology