Term

Fall 2019

Capstone

Capstone Project

Degree Name

MAT

Facilitator(s)

Shelley Orr & Laura Halldin

Content Expert

Mary Green

Abstract

The research question addressed in this capstone project is: How can Socratic seminars be used as a culturally relevant tool to increase student engagement and science literacy? This capstone project is based largely off the work of Gloria Ladson-Billings, who promoted the critical idea of culturally responsive teaching in all classrooms to promote equity and social engagement. Through the lens of culturally responsive pedagogy, this project aims to address the large engagement gaps that exist in many diverse academic settings. Specifically, the project is a set of three 8th grade Earth science units. Each unit addresses Minnesota State Eighth Grade Science Standards and is organized around a central socioscientific question, for which evidence will be collected through the unit. That evidence will be used to argue a claim in a summative knowledge seeking discussion called a Socratic seminar. Each unit includes individual lesson plans, accompanying texts, and suggestions for accommodations.

Project Type

Curriculum

Keywords

At-risk Students, Curriculum, Multicultural Education, Science, Social Justice

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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