Term

Summer 2025

Capstone

Capstone Project

Degree Name

MAT

Facilitator(s)

Karen L. Moroz

Content Expert

Jeff Huth

Abstract

Near-peer mentoring involves pairing students with peers who are close in age but slightly more advanced in experience ensures the students' needs are met in ways that feel supportive and accessible. This capstone project explores how peer mentoring fosters social-emotional resilience in elementary students. The project is designed for a ten-week curriculum using the Minnesota SEL standard, which uses CASEL’s five competencies to be integrated into the classroom. Frameworks that carry this project include Bandura's social learning theory and self-efficacy, Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), Identity-Based Motivation (IBM), along with Masten’s ordinary magic. Research on resilience highlights that resilience is fluid and can be nurtured through consistent practice and relational support. Although this project does not create empirical results, it provides a structural foundation for support. Concluding that near-peer mentoring, when aligned with the SEL framework, has the potential to strengthen student emotional regulation, social relationships, and academic resilience.

Project Type

Curriculum

Keywords

Curriculum, Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Motivation

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Projects

Included in

Education Commons

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