Matching Items (8)
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- All Subjects: Secondary Education
- All Subjects: Curricula
- Creators: Division of Teacher Preparation
Description
The purpose of this review is to address issues that high school students face as future adults and the need for a comprehensive financial literacy program. Students today have a wider array of opportunities and a greater number of resources to help them achieve the goals they set for themselves. Financial literacy is the understanding of the impact of today's financial decisions upon one's future selves and their ability to manage their financial resources. There is a need to understand the human capital value of a post-secondary education and how to how to achieve it from a financially sound perspective. For those that choose to seek a post-secondary education there are many financial options for those who need assistance in paying for college. Additionally, it is not enough to succeed in affording a high education, but in also understanding the true worth of the resources one has and the significance of sustaining those resources to keep negative repercussions at bay. Thus, there are benefits of having a comprehensive financial literacy program for high school students, which allow them to make well-informed decisions that would influence their future in significant ways.
ContributorsLawson, Yvonne Terry (Author) / Panneton, Teresa (Thesis director) / Barnett, Juliet (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This project is a one-semester U.S. government curriculum that centers on encouraging students to be active and engaged citizens while they learn civics and history content. The curriculum includes discussion based instructional strategies that require students to analyze documents, understand the historical background of issues, and communicate ideas clearly and respectfully. These skills expose students to new ideas and allow them to develop arguments based on evidence. I designed the curriculum for a democratic classroom \u2014 one that provides students with more responsibility and ownership in the classroom and gives them a large role in developing classroom policies and procedures. Diana Hess (2009) argues that a democratic education pushes students to "do democracy" (p. 15). This participatory structure engages students and teaches them how to be active democratic citizens.
ContributorsShaw, Vanessa Anne (Author) / Simpson, Brooks (Thesis director) / Harris, Lauren (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Menstruation curricula in elementary schools presents an opportunity to better examine the early teachings about menstruation, as this is often the first time that young people learn about gender difference within school sanctioned curricula. A closer examination of this pedagogical moment from the perspective of educators helps us to understand the dissemination of the shame narrative present in menstrual socialization. Six teachers were interviewed about their experiences with administering the menstrual health curriculum in elementary schools across a large southwest metropolitan area. A discourse analysis of these interviews was completed in order to find themes of language used surrounding menstrual health curriculum. Themes of shame, legislative restrictions on sex education curriculum and personal narratives surrounding menstruation are discussed in addition to the current neo-liberal structure of public health curriculum. Future research into alternative modes of education on menstruation is proposed.
ContributorsGonzalez, Jaqueline Jean (Author) / Fahs, Breanne (Thesis director) / Grzanka, Patrick (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Since 2001, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) scores revealed that Finland has the most successful education system in the world, with their students consistently outranking global participants. These scores have granted Finland acknowledgement from educators across the world. Because of this, researchers have analyzed their system and classroom practices. Many of these researchers have focused on primary education and their implementation of play and discovery learning in the classroom. This paper contains a literature review that analyzed any current research written on the main attributes to the Finnish education system’s success. There appears to be a hole in the research in Finnish education regarding secondary education. For the study, research focused on secondary schools, with an emphasis on learning how educators foster student independence. It also defined the term “autonomous mindset,” which described students who have agency in their own education, in addition to being motivated and independent on a daily basis. The goal of the research was to interview secondary educators in Finland and interpret how American teachers can apply innovative strategies into their classroom that will result in students who have an autonomous mindset. Eleven teachers at Parhaat Secondary School were interviewed. These interviews were transcribed and organized into four main codes: Finnish culture, student teacher relationships, creative lesson planning, and personalized instruction. These codes were then expanded on as findings. The study revealed that, to cultivate student autonomy, teachers must get to know their students, build a mutual respect, and create student interest-driven lesson plans. These strategies were suggested to teachers who are interested in cultivating the autonomous mindset in their American classrooms.
ContributorsHaagen, Paige Elizabeth (Author) / Saidy, Christina (Thesis director) / LePore, Paul (Thesis director) / Simpson, Darby (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
American youth are not well exposed to animal- and nature-related careers. This is especially important to consider due to the recent push to be more environmentally conscious. In addition, youth are spending less time outside and more time in front of screens. This is driving down biophilia strength. The combination of a weaker connection with nature and more screen time has been connected to a new condition named Nature-Deficit Disorder. In order to expose youth to animal- and nature-related careers while attempting to combat the growing presence of Nature-Deficit Disorder, a three day teaching program named Wild Careers was created. This program was presented to teens in December 2015 through a partnership with the education department of Arizona Animal Welfare League. The curriculum was centered on highlighting relevant careers and background information. Topics such as animal welfare and conservation were taught as cornerstones during the program due to their encompassing importance to the career fields in question. It was felt to be important to inform participants about the context of these fields through specially planned activities and guest speakers. Participants were challenged to conduct online research, think critically, and get hands-on during this program. Wild Careers also exposed the participants to animals and the relevant species management stories. The surveys given before and after the presentation of the created curriculum provided evidence that supported an increased understanding of careers and enjoyment of participants. I propose that other non-formal teaching environments should be created that target exposing youth to animals, nature, and related careers.
ContributorsTaubel, Samantha Kay (Author) / Smith, Andrew (Thesis director) / Minteer, Ben (Committee member) / Arthur, Emilie (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
For the past few decades, the education system in the United States has failed many students because of its inability to increase student achievement. While there are many layers to this problem that cannot be solved with one simple solution, a curriculum change that provides students with more engaging and hands on learning opportunities along with teaching them to be advocates for their own education and community betterment offers a great start to the momentum for change. Service-learning is an ideal way to accomplish this because it incorporates civic engagement and community service into lesson plans that directly align with academic standards. Through service-learning, students are given the opportunity to apply their knowledge in direct and hands on ways meanwhile witnessing the difference that they can make in their community with their knowledge and abilities. Service-learning is a type of instruction typically employed in high school or junior high grades because it requires the course content to coincide with a service project of some kind. In this essay, we look into the research behind service-learning as well as several issues within the community that could be addressed with this kind of curriculum. The aim of this research is to adapt the models of service-learning intended for more advanced grades to align with the standards of a first grade curriculum and also consider the critical thinking skills, self-examination abilities, and social awareness of students at this age when making these adaptations. We believe that service-learning can benefit young students just as much, if not more than older students because it can help them to see the value in their education from early on and demonstrates real life uses for what they are learning. The curriculum created from this research is intended for use at schools within low-income communities in order to empower the students to actively fight against the challenges they face that prevent them from succeeding. However, this curriculum can easily be used in any school setting and adapted to various different age levels.
ContributorsBayer, Kendall Rose (Author) / Oliver, Jill (Thesis director) / White-Taylor, Janel (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
I created a flash unit on American Ethnic Literature and delivered it in a high school classroom. The purpose was to introduce students to ethnic literature and to highlight the value of ethnic literature as a form of cultural agency and an authentic record of cultural history. I did research on the importance of ethnic literature, why it has been absent from the standard curriculum, and why it should be a part of the standard curriculum. Because of ethnic literature's importance and absence, I constructed the unit for secondary education and created a micro-unit on ethnic fiction and a micro-unit on ethnic poetry. I delivered the micro-unit on ethnic fiction at Metro Tech High School, gathered data, and reflected on the outcomes. Based on the outcomes, I revised the unit for future teaching and application.
ContributorsTran, Michelle (Author) / Dombrowski, Rosemarie (Thesis director) / Kirsch, Sharon (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
Students’ motivation is what helps them learn best and as a teacher, it is important to effectively use teaching strategies that enhance their students’ motivation. Strategies include establishing a connection with students that makes the class personal for them because this gives the students a safe space to learn and feel welcome. When students feel welcome and have a connection with their teacher, they are more likely to be excited to learn and their self-efficacy will increase. Their self-efficacy comes from their past experience in school and their level of confidence so ensuring that they are encouraged and have the confidence to learn helps them to be more open when encountering new concepts. Aside from creating a positive environment for students, teachers need to also teach their content in a way that increases their students’ motivation to learn. Establishing learning goals that connect to the students’ personal interests is one of the most effective ways to teach because the students are more likely to be interested in the content if they have a connection with it. Mathematics is a subject that becomes much more difficult to teach because of the bad reputation it receives. However, teachers can help their students learn more effectively and be excited to learn mathematical concepts by using a more conceptual approach. This includes utilizing discussions and visualizations to assist in teaching concepts. Both of these strategies help students understand the content at a deeper level which helps them in their future mathematical courses. Lastly, the student-teacher connection is very important, so the teacher should also establish a connection with their students’ parents. The parents should know about the class their child is taking and by creating this connection, students can learn more effectively.
ContributorsKranstuber, George (Author) / Farrand, Kathleen (Thesis director) / Boozer, April (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2022-05