RSS 1.0Theses
Collections in this community
Recent Submissions
-
Preparing General Education Teachers to Support English Language LearnersWith ELL students being the fastest growing population in K-12 schools, the extensive need for preparing general education teachers to teach English Language Learners (ELLs) is trending across the nation. The issue is not the increase in ELLs, as teaching them should be celebrated and valued. Instead, the challenge lies in the unpreparedness of classroom teachers to teach ELLs. Research indicates that many teacher educators are unprepared to teach pre-service teachers about ELLs, which results in both to pre-service and in-service teachers being unprepared to teach ELLs in their classrooms. This issue has a significant impact on ELL academic outcomes. On-going, individualized, and collaborative professional development can improve the readiness of general education teachers to serve their ELL students. A professional development is designed specifically for general education teachers with ELLs in their classroom on TESOL in my school district. The goal of this professional development is to prepare classroom teachers to feel excited and more confident in their abilities to teach and work with ELLs, thereby helping our ELL students reach their full potential. Further recommendations include offering additional training sessions throughout the school year, conducting book studies, and embedding second language acquisition components into other content area trainings offered in our district.
-
The Effects of Oppositional Culture on the Academic Success of Low-Income Black Males in Higher EducationThis capstone thesis urgently addresses the adverse cultural development of low-income Black males and their lack of academic success in higher education. Throughout the nation, the retention and graduation rates for Black males in higher education institutions remain low despite higher education diversity initiatives and internal resources to assist them during their college careers. This research will examine the historical systemic factors that contributed to Black males' academic struggles and how these factors shape their culturally opposing behavior toward the U.S. educational system. In addition, I will explore the national and community-based organizations that strategically implement core value solutions suggested by scholarly experts in this thesis paper.
-
Creating Unbiased Culturally Responsive Health ClassroomAs educators it is our job to give students the most efficient opportunity to be successful. Not only do educators teach curriculums but they also teach life lessons, cognitive, social skills. This capstone project aims to inform educators on how to incorporate a culturally responsive framework to a health curriculum. Since, English language learners (ELLs) find it difficult to relate to material within the curriculum due to different experiences. In fact, to build opportunities for all our students is important to build an environment where all students feel comfortable, connected, involved, and valued. Health is a class that provides knowledge of health and safety to students. This capstone includes a professional development to teachers on how they can be culturally responsive with the context and topics that are covered in the curriculum. Therefore, the PD strives for teachers to be aware of different cultural views when teachings. Since the research shows that students are more responsible, respected, and engaged when their teachers are intuitive with them. In New York State it is required that in Middle School all students complete 54 hours of health class and high schoolers a health credit is a requirement for graduation. To ensure our students' success, this capstone proposes developing a more culturally responsive framework for health class for middle school curriculum.
-
African American Women and Mental HealthAfrican American women and mental health is an issue that is a struggle today. From being a minority and a woman, African American women face many struggles that other races and genders do not face. From racial discrimination, sexism, and different pay rates, African American women often suffer more from unfair practices and inequality. This frequently leads to mental health challenges. African American women are also looked at as always having to “be strong” and “deal” with whatever life throws at them. In addition to getting maltreated, African American women might try and get help but are often overlooked or overdiagnosed. African American women are usually not willing to seek mental health treatment because of how they are viewed and treated. Why are African American women viewed and treated differently than other races? Is there a correlation between how African American women deal with being oppressed and their mental health?
-
What is the Current State of New York State’s Indigent Defense System and How Can the Criminal Justice System Better Protect the Right to Counsel?This Senior Honors Thesis examines the current state of indigent defense and how the criminal justice system can better protect the right to counsel for indigent defendants. The paper begins by analyzing factors that may impact indigent defense systems throughout the United States as a whole and how these factors may impact outcomes for defendants. Then, the paper's focus shifts to New York State specifically and discusses issues specific to the state. Qualitative research from interviews with public defenders and assigned counsel attorneys from various New York State counties is analyzed alongside quantitative data from each county. The end of the thesis provides an answer to the question "how can the criminal justice system better protect the right to counsel?" based on the research presented throughout the paper.
-
College Students' Alcohol Consumption, Perceived Stress, Metacognition, and Mind WanderingCollege student typically experience being on their own for the first time as they enter adulthood, as well as beginning to experiment with drugs, specifically alcohol. The current study investigates the relationship between levels of alcohol consumption, perceived stress, metacognitive awareness, and mind-wandering in college students. These relationships have been demonstrated in previous studies but have not been studied simultaneously. Participants were recruited from Principles of Psychology and filled out a self-report survey that included 6 scales asking about their alcohol usage, metacognitive awareness, and mind wandering. The results indicated that there was a positive relationship between metacognitive awareness and alcohol usage, alcohol use and mind-wandering, as well as replicate the findings from a previous study, indicating a positive relationship between perceived stress, metacognitive awareness, and mind wandering.
-
Image Narration using APIs and NLPThe project aims to develop an interactive storytelling chatbot by integrating Google Vision API and OpenAI API, using natural language processing and deep learning algorithms. Google Vision API extracts diverse features from images, including landmarks, objects, colors, text, and logos, while OpenAI API processes this information to generate concise image descriptions. This collaboration seamlessly fuses visual understanding and language generation, creating a compelling storytelling chatbot that offers users an immersive narrative experience. The goal is to explore methods for synchronizing image analysis and natural language processing, enhancing education, entertainment, creativity, and accessibility. The project showcases the potential of cutting-edge API technologies in meaningful ways, demonstrating the continuous growth in AI advancements. The presentation will overview the process of how this has been done but also emphasize the potential of its impact and purpose to help improve education systems.
-
Exploring Classification Accuracy in the Assessments of Disabilities Among English Language LearnersThere are various challenges and strategies that correlate to accurately assessing learning disabilities in English Language Learners (ELLs), specifically focusing in on the classification accuracy. The impact of a lack of adequate understanding of second language acquisition among educational professionals is substantial. This is highlighted in issues such as difficulty distinguishing between learning disabilities and language differences due to similar patterns in language acquisition. Educators’ lack of training in second language acquisition is highlighted as a crucial barrier contributing to misdiagnosis of ELLs. Few assessments are often accurate for culturally and linguistically diverse ELLs, which also leads to over-and-under identification of ELLs. Environmental factors, specifically ones related to poverty, are considered factors with sustainable influence on language acquisition and academic performance, which leads to needing a comprehensive approach to assessment. The importance of assessing students in their first language, L1, in addition to English assists in granting a comprehensive understanding of the student’s abilities. To address these problems, a professional development, PD, session had been created for the Liverpool Central School District, where all educators will be explicitly instructed on second language acquisition, SLA. The goal of this session is to better inform the educators on SLA and techniques to use in their classroom and when giving assessments. Recommendations for further research and improvement includes longitudinal studies to track academic progress of ELLs over time, investigate the effectiveness of cultural and linguistically adapted assessment tools, and evaluate the effectiveness of PD programs that attempt to enhance educators’ understanding of SLA.
-
Promoting Parent Involvement with ELLsThis thesis aims to explore how educators can create a welcoming environment that promotes parent engagement. The research shows that parent involvement affects teachers, parents, and students. It highlights the challenges ELL parents face such as lack of resources, lack of communication, and language barriers. Teachers can help parents by creating a welcoming and inclusive environment that fosters collaboration and support. Teachers can invite parents into classrooms, communicate through various translation apps, and differentiate lessons to meet the needs of students. This capstone includes a professional development (PD) to inform parents and teachers on the benefits and barriers of parent involvement and the strategies to create a welcoming and inclusive environment. Additionally, the PD highlights the importance of communication to support students' learning and provides strategies and resources for communication between parents and teachers. The outcomes of the PD are for parents and teachers to work together to support students and to find ways to communicate. The implications of this thesis suggest that ELLs work better when parents and teachers are on the same page. It also discusses academic success and engagement when parents are involved. Further research is needed on how parent involvement affects ELLs socially.
-
Increasing the Parental Involvement of ELL FamiliesParental involvement has been shown to lead to an increase in students’ academic and social-emotional growth. However, teachers often struggle to increase the parental involvement rate of English Language Learner (ELL) parents. ELLs are a growing population within public schools in the United States. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how to involve the parents from this population. The overarching research question that will be investigated is: How can we increase parental involvement at the elementary level within our English Language Learner population? The research shows that ELL parents have a difficult time being involved in their child’s school due to time constraints, being unaware of what is expected of them, and feeling unwelcome within schools. However, the research also suggests that modifying teachers' perceptions of what parental involvement looks like to fit the needs of ELL parents, including offering virtual options, helps increase ELL parental involvement. A professional development (PD) will be given to ENL, general, and special education teachers to go over these barriers and to learn about a new strategy that will be implemented to increase ELL parental involvement that meets the needs of this population. Future research on how these strategies are implemented long-term and throughout a large population is recommended.
-
Exploring the Needs of Newcomers for Effective Transitions to U.S. SchoolsThe thesis capstone project explores the question of how educators can effectively support newcomer students in adapting to U.S./English speaking schools. A professional development was developed to aid educators with this challenge. A review of the existing literature reveals that fostering newcomers’ sense of belonging facilitates an effective and positive transition. Several factors contribute to a newcomer’s sense of belonging including awareness of school expectations, perceptions of newcomers/teachers, school environment, and teacher preparation. These factors are categorized into internal factors such as perceptions of newcomers and external factors such as teacher preparation. These factors have been found to affect the newcomers’ second language acquisition (SLA) and reflect on their sense of belonging. The professional development model for educators of newcomer students focuses on engaging educators in the transition of newcomers from the outset and maintaining ongoing communication. Further research could explore the perspectives of newcomers during their transition phases.
-
Preparing Mainstream Middle School Teachers to Support English Language LearnersThe population of English Language Learners (ELLs) in schools is increasing across the U.S. However, mainstream teachers are facing issues in being able to adequately support ELLs in the general education classroom. The literature emphasizes the importance of teacher preparation, and providing mainstream teachers with the knowledge, strategies, and tools to effectively teach ELLs. To address these challenges, a professional development (PD) program was created for mainstream middle school teachers to expand their knowledge and skills in educating the ELL population. It is essential that teachers become educated in pedagogical frameworks, lesson planning for ELLs, and culturally responsive teaching. ELLs academic outcomes and social emotional well being will be positively impacted due to improved instructional strategies and a culturally responsive learning environment. Recommendations include school districts collecting data from teachers and students to discover the most relevant PD programs for teachers to attend. Another recommendation is for school districts to require new teacher candidates to participate in ELL centered training sessions that will prepare them specifically for the demographics of the school they will be teaching in. Extensive research beyond this capstone can be done in the area of teacher advocacy for ELLs to further support mainstream teachers in their work with ELLs.
-
Creating Welcoming and Affirming Environments for ELLs that Support Middle School StudentsEnglish language learners have many challenges in the middle school classroom. Among them are feeling a lack of belonging and welcome in the classroom and among their peers. This capstone project aims to present research and resources to create welcoming and affirming environments for ELL students that support the social-emotional health. When considering welcoming and affirming environments, it was found that some of the important factors to consider were student culture, family life, and classroom strategies. This capstone includes a professional development that builds on those three areas with a variety of resources and strategies for teachers looking to make their classrooms environments that benefit the social-emotional health of middle school students. Through the incorporation of research based strategies, teachers will gain the knowledge and resources necessary to make their classrooms places where ELLs can feel they belong and are welcomed into the learning environment.
-
Misrepresentation and Misidentification of English Learners in Special EducationThis thesis capstone project aims to support teachers and educational staff that work with ELs (English learners), who often face misrepresentation in special education—being both overrepresented and underrepresented. This misrepresentation is due to numerous factors including a lack of teacher training on how to effectively educate these students. Misidentified students face many challenges, including loss of instructional time, unaddressed learning needs, lower academic achievement, restricted opportunities for higher education and career, decreased self-determination and self-esteem, double stigmatization, and social isolation. Although overrepresentation and underrepresentation are significant issues, the former is more prevalent. To address this concern, a professional development program was created to help educators at Riverhead Elementary School accurately identify and address students’ educational needs to decrease the overidentification of ELs in special education. The goal of this professional development is to equip teachers with the knowledge, skills and resources to more accurately identify the cause of ELs’ academic struggles.
-
The Experiences of Teachers in Implementing TranslanguagingResearch indicates that teachers of English Language Learners face many obstacles and challenges when implementing translanguaging strategies. Some teachers hesitate to employ translanguaging due to language barrier, political views, and ideologies. Research has highlighted teachers’ struggle with integrating both the home language and the target language in the classroom due to a lack of adequate training and professional development. The literature suggests addressing these issues by enhancing training and professional development to equip teachers with the necessary knowledge and resources for effective translanguaging implementation. In response, a professional development is designed for teachers from grades 1-4 at Riverhead Central School District. This program aims to deepen teachers’ understanding of translanguaging concepts and offer them extensive training and strategies to implement translanguaging in the classroom. Recommendations for future research on translanguaging as a practice in the classroom would be to provide teachers with more professional development sessions, invite district superintendents to the professional development sessions, and allot more time for teachers to meet with the ENL team.
-
Increasing Academic Vocabulary Acquisition in ELLsThis thesis capstone project aims to assist teachers, school counselors, and administrators who all work with English Language Learners (ELLs). At Sayville Elementary School, ELLs are a population that keeps growing as the years progress. This group of learners are impacted by the teacher's language output, language practices across disciplines, and the views, interpretations, and motivations of teachers toward academic vocabulary. To increase ELLs academic vocabulary acquisition, Sayville Elementary School must be looked at through a multilayered lens to provide effective changes for Sayville Elementary School District. Solutions to the problem at Sayville Elementary School include implementations of staff lists including faculty that are bilingual or foreign language speakers, changes to school signage, lesson plan templates designed specifically for ELLs, monthly professional development meetings for faculty, and an annual Cultural Welcome night for ELL students and their families. Several culminations are applicable to reducing and eliminating the gap in academic vocabulary acquisition that exists between ELL and non-ELL students. Recommendations include embodying future programs for ELLs and allocated staff to help the school and the population of ELLs. Moreover, programs that were newly established, for instance, the comprehensive vocabulary plan, should be evaluated to aid with obligatory changes for sizable improvement.
-
Teacher Burnout: A Crisis Much IgnoredTeacher burnout is a serious concern that is threatening the wellbeing of our educators and the future of our education system. In the context of an ongoing teacher shortage the presence of teacher burnout is causing many educators to retire early or leave the profession outright as they come face to face with the harmful effects of this condition. Teacher burnout is contributing to the teacher shortage further perpetuating the crisis by continuing to drive skilled educators from the field. Research shows that teacher burnout has serious mental, physical, and emotional effects on teachers due to a vast variety of work-related factors that collectively harm the mental health of our educators. Although this phenomenon can be observed across all grade levels and domains there is particular concern for our TESOL educators as the job demands for their positions put them at particular risk for burnout. With factors such as compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress, intense workloads, and identity dissonance weighing on the shoulders of our TESOL educators, there is concern for how teacher burnout will affect the future of TESOL education and our educators in the field. A mindfulness-based stress reduction program is designed to support our educators, reduce their stress, and mitigate the threat of teacher burnout.
-
Productive Struggle in an Algebra 1 ClassroomThis curriculum project aims to transform students' struggles with Algebra 1 into opportunities for growth and learning. Recognizing that almost all students encounter challenges with mathematical concepts, the curriculum seeks to shift students’ mindset from self-identification as a student who is not good at mathematics to one that embraces productive struggle. By actively engaging students with various algebraic topics and providing comprehensive support for teachers, this curriculum can support teachers who seek to help students overcome struggles in learning mathematics. Students will see opportunities for productive struggle as steppingstones rather than stumbling blocks. This curriculum includes four Algebra 1 lessons with teacher support materials, student materials and answer keys. These materials are located in the appendix.
-
Culturally Responsive Teaching for ELLsThis capstone project aims to support teachers, school faculty and staff, and administrative personnel who work with English Language Learners (ELLs) at Eastport-South Manor Central School District. ELL students are a population that is impacted by teacher preparation in culturally responsive teaching strategies and materials, or a lack of such, in many U.S. school districts, including the Eastport-South Manor Central School District. The lack of professional development and teacher training in TESOL instructional strategies, unawareness of how to build relationships between school faculty and ELL students, and lack of culturally responsive classroom settings can prevent ELL students' academic achievement and social development. Solutions include the successful preparation of teachers to provide a culturally responsive learning experience for ELL students to close the achievement gaps and thrive in their learning and language acquisition. Recommendations include maintaining a membership with the local Title III Consortium and monthly professional development days focused on culturally responsive teaching strategies and materials.
-
Great Lakes Lake Trout Thiamine Status and Influencing Factors in Lake OntarioChapter 1: Though stocking lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in the Great Lakes has found success in establishing some self-sustaining populations, a return of consistent natural recruitment of lake trout in Lakes Michigan, Erie and Ontario remains unachieved. A major impediment has been thiamine deficiency complex (TDC). Insufficient maternal deposition of thiamine (vitamin B1) into eggs during development is a major consequence of TDC and leads to mass mortality of fry prior to their first feeding. Monitoring of egg thiamine concentrations is a critical indicator for TDC impacts on lake trout populations. Since 2001, the USGS Great Lakes Science Center in cooperation with partner agencies has monitored egg thiamine concentrations in lake trout eggs throughout the Great Lakes region. Our analysis of the resulting dataset reinforces prior findings connecting the presence of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) in the diet with reduced egg thiamine concentrations. Relationships between total length of egg producing females and total egg thiamine concentrations of lake trout eggs in Lake Ontario suggest that a shift in diet from a round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) dominated diet, to an alewife dominated diet, results in lower total egg thiamine concentrations among larger lake trout. Long-term trends in lake trout egg thiamine concentrations are closely linked to changes in prey base composition. Following the crash of the alewife population in Lake Huron, lake trout egg thiamine concentrations increased considerably. Similarly, reductions in site specific alewife abundance preceded lake trout egg thiamine increases in Lake Michigan and may have helped to facilitate a recent trend of increasing natural recruitment. The introduction of alewife to Lake Champlain in 2004 lead to large declines in lake trout egg thiamine concentrations in the lake, but also appears to have facilitated natural recruitment of the same lake trout population. Egg thiamine concentration from Cayuga Lake lake trout increased following the 2013 introduction of round goby, presumably offering lake trout an alternative to alewife as prey, however, lake trout egg thiamine concentrations in Cayuga Lake have returned to pre-introduction concentrations. Chapter 2: The specific mechanism behind the induction of TDC by a diet rich in alewife is yet to be fully explained. The thiamine degrading enzyme thiaminase I is present in the visceral organs of alewife and represents the leading hypothesized cause of TDC. However, oxidative stress in the form of lipid peroxidation and the consumption of thiamine through its role as an antioxidant is thought to be the mechanism behind thiamine deficiency in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) in Northern Europe. In this chapter we explored relationships among lake trout egg thiamine concentrations, belly flap fatty acid compositions and concentrations of the primary lipid peroxidation disrupting antioxidant, α-tocopherol (vitamin E), in lake trout livers and eggs. α-tocopherol concentrations in lake trout eggs appeared to be driven by diet and have a negative relationship with length in both Lake Ontario and Lake Superior. Egg and liver α-tocopherol concentrations did not appear to have a direct impact on egg thiamine concentrations. Integrating recent findings on the roles of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in cellular antioxidant defense activation into a calculation of peroxidation potential, led to an improved negative relationship between belly flap unsaturation index and lake trout egg thiamine concentrations, potentially implicating lipid peroxidation as a source of thiamine consumption.
