Research Problem Space
Context that creates the WHY
The Art of Prioritizing Reading and What it Can Do for the Life of a Teenager
Dan Fournier
Research Theory: Reading for enjoyment has been shuffled to the side in a lot of ways. Although reading opens so many important doors, students don’t see a point in reading books for enjoyment. The cause of the problem stems from a world full of more engaging activities coupled with busy schedules. Addressing this problem is important because reading for enjoyment can have endless benefits: can help students make good choices, help them gain empathy and see different perspectives, can peak curiosity leading to intrinsic learning, can raise test scores and open doors for life after high school.
What Does a Mathematician Look Like? (Einstein?!)
Lori Voss-Schoonover
Research Theory: Math and Statistics courses at both the secondary and undergraduate levels provide access and opportunities for societal advancement and personal success. While students from historically marginalized groups may have some access to the developmental mathematics which support higher-level mathematical and statistical reasoning, subsequent course enrollment in such higher-level classes does not reflect the diversity of enrollment in the developmental courses. Student perceptions that the material has no current-to-them relevance, limited representations of successful Mathematicians and Statisticians who are also Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, and a lack of social support for math/stat success may have all contributed to decreased enrollment in higher-level mathematics and statistics courses.
Foundational Research to the Launching of LSHS Microschool
Tammi Krones
Research Theory: The vast majority of secondary students are not engaged by the comprehensive high school’s educational approach and instructional philosophy. This can be a result of a lack of student voice and relevance of necessary skills to pursue future goals. Students follow a prescribed schedule that teaches content matter in isolation without real-world implementation. Allowing student choice in achieving high school competencies by working with interdisciplinary teams to engage in inquiry-based learning with the goal of fulfilling a capstone project as the culmination to high school will provide relevant learning to these students.
The Effects of Written Reflection in the Elementary STEM Classroom
Maeve Tung
Research Theory: STEM classes are fast-paced bell-to-bell classes that can leave students with a feeling of cognitive overload. Students are engaging with 21st-century skill building, working within a design process with criteria and constraints, applying content knowledge from core subject areas, and collaborating with peers while working through different group dynamics-- all in 45-minute classes. This can make it difficult for students to identify the important content and skill-based knowledge and retain it from week to week.
Building Growth-Minded Leaders Through Real-World Learning
Katie Durkin
Research Theory: Participants in RWL programs engage with community partners to explore real-world problems and create solutions with meaningful and lasting impact. In the process, students build research, writing, presentation skills (traditional or hard skills), as well as develop empathy and humility, practicing a growth mindset, and engage in social impact work (soft skills, attitudes and mindsets that are more difficult to measure). How do we evaluate students holistically and measure student growth and achievement within a numeric grading system that places a higher value on AP and traditional academic courses?
Building Growth-Minded Leaders Through Real-World Learning
Kelly Fast
Research Theory: How do we create and utilize authentic rubrics to measure “soft skills” like empathy, humility, and inclusiveness, and how do we communicate the importance of these skills to our stakeholders? How do we translate the evaluation of these skills to a traditional college-prep model that places greater value on AP courses and ACT/SAT scores?
Making Concrete Connections to Algebra Through Geometry
Kristi Hilgenfeld
Research Theory: Lack of retention of mathematical concepts has been observed by my colleagues and myself more frequently in the past few years. Some causes of this problem could include the lack of realization of the comprehensive nature of mathematics, the lack of confidence, a disconnection when students were learning the basics, and a lack of making proper connections to the subject matter. By focusing on making deeper connections, through inquiry-based instruction, and making connections to the different fields of mathematics, specifically in a Geometry class, we hope to increase retention of concepts.
Connecting Community with Catholicism Through Entrepreneurship
Tyler Baker
Research Theory: Service learning is a key component in many educational institutions. Entrepreneurship coursework encourages students to develop their personal vision and a why statement related to core values and “service for others”; however, for some students lack of exposure to social justice experiences in the community can limit or restrict their opportunity for service learning in areas of most need.
Building Castles, Building Proficiency, Building a Growth Mindset
Emily Monroe
Research Theory: Traditional language instruction has prioritized mechanical learning and teacher-centric practices. However, the value of language from the student perspective is contextualized, interactive and practical. Given our lack of access to native speakers, authentic, problem-based speaking among students is a perceived effective alternative.
St. Albert the Great (SAG) Lab
Jackie Heinerikson
Research Theory: Science is more engaging when it is experienced. Visible and accessible lab space can create opportunities for engagement in science in new ways (independent student/teacher research, extension opportunities related to curriculum, learning advanced lab procedures). Explicit opportunities for exploration and observation are needed to seed behaviors that will lead to a culture shift.
Increasing Student Engagement through New Freshman Seminar Program
Maggie Petz
Research Theory: Often students are unprepared to meet the demands and expectations of high school because of a lack of executive functioning skills. Current freshmen are entering high school after two disruptive years due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic and with varying levels of experience, instruction, and skills based on their middle school curriculum and involvement. Addressing the gap in executive functioning skills will lead to holistic student development, short and long term success, and greater academic achievement.
Helping All Students Reach Their Learning Goals in the SPARK Center
Samantha Hendrix
Research Theory: We want all students to learn to their potential. Often a high school serves students from 35+ feeder school with different resources. Additionally some students are not likely to seek help outside of their school day due to family responsibilities, sports, etc. Will the addition of provided spaces and resources beyond the classroom during the school day help students be more successful in their Math and English classes specifically?
Everyone's Welcome - Increasing Interest and Enrollment in AP Computer Science Courses
Christine Lemmon
Research Theory: Too often student perception fails to recognize the ubiquitous need for foundational Computer Science experience. As a Computer Science teacher, it’s easy to appreciate the need for creativity and more stereotypical analytic thinkers. A focus on changing perceptions, motivation, and recruitment will create opportunities to engage students and increase enrollment.
Teenage Job Podcast
Tim Wuebker
Research Theory: I believe that work is good for people. But for the high school student, there are two major factors involved in this claim: the teen themself, and also the work that the teen is doing. Will a podcast where I interview teens about their jobs help the listeners (and the teen being interviewed) improve their life: first, in terms of their employment; second, in terms of their career prospects, and third, in their lives, overall?
Helping Students Own Their Learning Through Standards-Based Teaching and Learning
Renee Blake
Research Theory: Many students struggle with taking ownership of their learning and work. As we prepare them for the real world, there needs to be more emphasis on building accountability for their own learning in the classroom. Standards can offer ways to equalize the opportunities for our students to measure their own learning without teachers having to constantly create assessments that may or may not be measuring their progress. Developing an effective measuring tool is essential for building learning ownership.
Creating Partnerships that Extend Learning Outside the Classroom
Kelly Finn
Research Theory: One primary challenge includes defining and distinguishing how experiential learning is different from a traditional learning experience. Not all partners have a clear and agreed upon understanding of the term. Once parameters are set, we can identify goals and objectives and successfully communicate them to all constituencies (alums, faculty, businesses/community and students). With clearly defined goals and objectives, we can establish mechanisms to measure success.
Building Capacity for Campus Sustainability Through a Student-Led Apiary
Sarah Holmes
Research Theory: Engaging our students and school community in environmental sustainability requires understanding baseline perceptions and attitudes. Too many times environmental sustainability projects aren’t sustainable because there isn’t buy-in or a mechanism for longevity.
Building Project Skills for the Future
Matthew Lewis
Research Theory: A common problem encountered when implementing long-term learning is maintaining momentum and interest in the project. Students seem to “run out of steam” after the initial phase of the project, especially when realizing the difficulty and scope of the project. Scaffolding of goals and introduction of time-management techniques might help students overcome the perceived difficulty of the project. I posit here that to build momentum and maintain interest in a project, students should be introduced to executive skills, such as time management and problem-solving techniques.
Asking Better Questions
Mary Montag
Research Theory: In the fast paced college preparatory environment, students are increasingly stressed and anxious. Students chase the points and grades and want to move onto the next thing on their checklist. How do I guide and measure a more in-depth, reflective learning space and experience focused less on me as the teacher and more on the student as a reflective, curious learner.
Expanding School Leadership Opportunities
Nicole Brewington Smith
Research Theory: The pursuit of leadership opportunities in education occasionally causes a departure of seasoned classroom faculty members. The revolving door of faculty members produces a loss of experienced faculty and a decrease in continuous student relationships with faculty.
An internal leadership development program would allow faculty members to explore administrative opportunities in a familiar environment and positively impact existing faculty, students, and leadership.
Women Can Do IT - Diversifying Informational Technology
Jeff Zimmerman
Research Theory: One obstacle to female student interest in IT courses is the lack of exposure that drives misunderstanding and low interest. This could be due to the observation that Information Technology is a male-dominated field. Addressing this issue is important to diversify and bring new perspectives to the field, and introduce female students to non-traditional career opportunities.
"Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience." - David A. Kolb
Emilie Lai
Research Theory: Does experiential learning positively impact student achievement? If so, how best do you address stakeholder concerns about "lost" classroom time and student preparedness?
Digital vs. Traditional: The Future of Art in School
Emily Young
Research Theory: How can project-based learning, especially produce design, best blend student appreciation for the arts and STEM elements such as sustainability?