This collection includes Capstone Theses and Dissertations submitted by Hamline School of Education and Leadership master’s and doctoral students, respectively. Capstones are the culminating degree work and include research that draws from the student’s formal study as well as professional and personal development.
This is an online listing of the scholarly works of HSEL graduate program students. Works prior to 2015 are available in print in the Bush Memorial Library. Full text, online, prior to 2015, may be restricted to current Hamline students, faculty and staff.
See also: School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects
Browse Theses and Dissertations by Degree:Theses/Dissertations from 2008
Effective strategies a first grade teacher in a direct instruction setting can use to improve reading fluency in beginning readers, Laura H. Nelson
Learning disabilities: results of implementing a reading decoding program, Stacy LeAnn Nelson
Exploring effective co-teaching models, Lien M. Nguyen
Minnesota's Iron Range: the economic and the environmental impacts of iron mining vs. sulfide mining, Maria Jo Nuthak
For the love of chemistry: bonding with other subject matter, Carolyn Ferrer Ocampo
In what ways will participating in cooperative learning groups impact the self-directed nature of students in high school mathematics, Amy Jo. Oeltjen
The fight against obesity: creating intrinsically motivated, self efficacious youth, Heidi A. Olesen
Cellular basics: a curriculum design for an alternative high school biology class, Jesse S. Olson
Teacher in-service on diversity awareness in a multicultural setting, Karen Lee Olson
How teachers build a classroom community in kindergarten, Lisa Maren Opfer
Mini-lessons in revision to support the writing growth of primary grade students, Deborah J. Orgeman
Spanglish: identifying some motivations a group of bilingual adolescents had to code-switch in informal social interactions, Liliana Orsi
Traveling responsibly with students: local economy, learning, and environmental impact, Stephanie Owen
Strengthening the home to school connection of first grade readers, Margaret Louise Parker
Using visual supports to impact independence in students with autism spectrum disorders in the mainstream school setting, Therese Patterson
What literature circle instructional plan could be used with an integrated basal reading-writing model for fourth grade students?, Marion Sue-Carlin Patton
Strategies to improve elementary math education in the U.S., Ping Peng
Implementing partner reading routines to develop reading fluency and sight word vocabulary, Christine M. Peppel
Engaging and relevant professional development: teachers as leaders, Kari L. Peterson
Considerations for making and using visual displays for K-3 education, Sarah D. Pfahl
Building community in kindergarten with morning meeting, Cheryl Pilcher
A toolkit to support content-area vocabulary instruction for students with hearing loss who receive itinerant service from a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing, Cathleen Rae Pinkosky
How can I create a developmentally appropriate rubric for writer's workshop in the kindergarten classroom?, Stacey Poppler
The effects of teacher expectations and behaviors on student achievement, Seema Gundgovi Pothini
Experiential education for secondary urban students, Jodie Prohaska
Effective modeling and teaching of reading strategies to secondary content area teachers, Brenda Pulju
How do graduate students in an online graduate class titled teaching reading describe their experience of community, Elizabeth Christena Ragatz
The academic and financial gains of the four-day school week, Kendra Razink
Participation in a faculty book study for white teachers in diverse classrooms, Carol Beth Rengstorf
How effective read alouds can be used to develop comprehension skills and a love of reading in kindergarten, Erin Jennifer Retelle
Using graphic organizers when problem solving in high school mathematics, Michelle L. Ristvedt
Effective classroom management strategies for urban learners, Jennifer Roba
Inclusion: the new special education, Rebecca Lynn Robinson
A look into locus of control: how high school students perceive their ability to impact the environment, Lana Sue Rohrer
Text talk as a vocabulary teaching tool: does it meet the needs of English language learners, Jessica A Rooney
Reflecting on photography: a meaningful approach, Karen Marie Rossbach
Sharing poetry podcasts: connecting digital natives in community through story, Scott A. Ross
How to create a positive classroom community, Michelle Marie Rupp
How has the litigation of disciplinary issues influenced secondary school administrators' efforts to maintain a safe school environment?, Kathryn E. Russell
Using intervention strategies to improve kindergarteners' writing levels, Trisha Marie Meissner Rux
How does a teacher effectively use data to differentiate teaching and learning in a secondary classroom?, Rachel J. Ruzzi
Exploring the role of literature in the lives of college women: reflections on the influence of literature from adolescence, Amanda M. Sass-Henke
Building resiliency in adolescents in poverty, Tara Christine Guyer Saxhung
The application of reading comprehension strategies in a primary classroom, Kristen Elizabeth Scarpetta
Teaching fluency to emergent readers, Jill L. Schlaak
Incorporating pre-reading skills into environmental education, Sarah Schmidt
The power of coteaching: predictors of attitudes on elementary ESL/general education coteaching, Stephanie DeFrance Schmidt
Practice, perception, and proposal of interdisciplinary curriculum, Dana Schreiner
The effect of reading fluency practice on overall comprehension of non-fiction content-area texts in grade four English language learners, Karn Michelle Schwartzhoff
The educational gains of online communication, Barb Schwarz
Teacher collaboration at Oltman Junior High: its use, value, and role in school culture, Solomon Senrick
How do you change the waste culture, while reducing the amount of trash, at an elementary environmental magnet school?, Maureen Skelly
Using portfolios to increase self-assessment in student learning, Stephanie Ann Skelly
Resiliency: development & support an autoethnography, Travis M. Skoda
How does the research defined instructional strategy known as the learning cycle impact the achievement and attitudes of girls in middle school science, Alecia N. Smith
Identifying and quantifying anomalous standardized test scores in middle school students, James L. Smith
Using brain research to create optimal learning environments in middle school classrooms, Jennifer Karen Sorensen
Understanding each others differences to build community in the elementary classroom, Deborah Spangberg
Using visual representations to build vocabulary in a science classroom, Jennifer L. Spitzner
Fostering watershed awareness, conservation, and stewardship through the use of an interactive website, Deborah Jo Springman
Incorporating effective science instruction in the elementary classroom, Jessica L. White Stanley
Using components of responsive classroom to positively impact differentiated math instruction in a primary classroom, Jennifer A. Stedje
How does providing parents with literacy strategies impact their involvement in their fourth grader's education?, Kellie Stofer
A model for successful collaboration with paraprofessionals, Connie Mae Strandquist
Cultural competency: improving the dynamics of a high school, Kathryn M. Sundlin
Lasting lessons: experiential learning, direct instruction and the brain, Lori L. Swanson
Using literacy centers to support a balanced literacy program in a kindergarten classroom, Amy J. Taylor
Quilt voices: encouraging students in multicultural questioning, Debra Thibault
Vocabulary development with a whole class novel study, Carol L. Thomton
Personality, priorities, and perspective: what determines how teachers deal with the demands of teaching?, Carissa Jean Tobin
9th grade writing using the writer's workshop, Stefanie R. Tschirhart-Jones
How teachers perceive the impact of all school meetings, Elizabeth R. Ulmer
Developing number sense in third grade students, Amy VanderMeeden
An autism resource book: enabling parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder attain effective care, Tanya L. Verdugo
Collaboration in special education, Victoria Volkert
Educational experiences of Liberian immigrants: a case study of four middle level Liberian students, Elizabeth Kinville Vu
Learner response to integrating music and visual arts into the second grade curriculum and classroom, Jennifer Raechel Weinand
An investigation of how well our students transition from the middle school to the high school, Travis J. Wiebe
Building fluency through repeated readings, Mary Lee Wilson
Student families: building community and making connections, Laurie Jean Wofford
Effective modeling and teaching of reading strategies to secondary content area teachers, Stacey Wollschlager
Effectively engaging selective mute ELL students in learning, Allison Ann Wood
Twenty-first century learning for first graders, Anne M. Young
The academic and financial gains of the four-day school week, Terri Zondervan
Theses/Dissertations from 2007
Creating an engaging curriculum that cultivates critical thinking on the elements and principles of art, Katie Abbring
Engaging curriculum in a non-ensemble music class in grade seven, Lon E. Anderson
Kindergarten teachers and Asperger syndrome: what do teachers know?, Sara L. Anderson
Enriching or entangling?: ELL vocabulary mapping strategies in the intermediate ESL classroom, Shery Anderson
A comparison of 5th grade standardized reading test scores following implementation of a reading workshop, Nicholas Ardito
How does using picture books to teach punctuation impact fourth grade students' writing?, Jaron S. Aune
Teacher and student perceptions of learner engagement after exposure to research based teaching strategies during fifth grade mathematics instruction, Angela Bailey-Aldrich
Dialogue journals and second grade English language learners: how does providing additional scaffolding through dialogue journals affect student writing success?, Jennifer Barrett
Using teacher peer observation sessions as a tool for building collegiality and improving teaching, Mike Bast
Never again: voices of remembrance a theatrical production about the holocaust, Susan Jane Beaubaire
Students, parents, and calculators, Asia Bednar
The effects of teaching cognitive reading comprehension strategies to sixth grade English language learner (ELL) students, Robin Corton Bellamy