IES Senior Symposium Showcases Student Work

The Attallah College of Educational Studies recently held its Fall 2017 Integrated Educational Studies (IES) Senior Symposium.

The Senior Symposium is the capstone event where IES students present the results of a year-long effort involving coursework, research, and on-site investigations and fieldwork. Across two semester-long courses, students choose and investigate a topic of interest, learning and applying critical tools of inquiry.

IES Senior Analise Cristino

IES student Analise Cristino ’18 explained, “The best part about the senior capstone experience was seeing all of my work come together for the final presentation. The IES program prepared me very well for the symposium. I could not be more grateful for my time in the program and the amazing professors I have had along the way.”

The ultimate goal is for IES students to gain practical experiences in educational settings associated with their career goals. The fieldwork in particular allows students to visit and explore real-world environments as well as network with local area professionals in the education field.

“This course allowed me to feel like a true scholar in my area of research, inclusive music education. I was given the unique opportunity to learn about and observe an inclusive music classroom,” said Jacqueline Blumer ’18.

During the Senior Symposium event, each student delivers a 10-15 minute presentation. The presentations are open to IES students, their families, and the larger Chapman community. Each session also includes a Q&A segment with panels of student presenters.

This semester’s event included presentations from students on a wide range of topics:

IES Senior Ariana Kornblau

• Jacqueline Blumer: “The benefits of inclusive school-based music education: What does this look like?”
• H Brown: “Kinesthetic learning analysis for child learning and development”
• Tristen Cashio: “The utility of video games and eSports as they relate to social interaction, inclusion, and social capital”
• Analise Cristino: “Funding and resources: Impacts on student learning”
• Ariana Kornblau: “Mindfulness at work: The impacts of mindfulness meditation on the working-adult population in reference to stress reduction, productivity, and relationship cohesion”
• Eliana Michelson: “Sense of belonging in college students: Through the lens of religious and spiritual groups”
• Caitlyn Payne: “School-based services with an emphasis on services for marginalized youth”
• Kayley Ray: “Multicultural and responsive pedagogy in elementary classrooms”
• Madison Spiegel: “Language acquisition in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder”
• Talia Youabian: “Benefits of inclusion for children with disabilities”

Attallah College Assistant Professor Quaylan Allen explained, “The symposium provides a wonderful opportunity for IES seniors to share their inquiry projects. So much thought, time, and effort are put into these projects, and it was great seeing such a great turnout of people who were interested in learning about the various presentation topics.”