DQ 1

Your dissertation topic captured my attention as gardening in schools has been a new topic being explored in Southern Nevada. At my school location, we have a garden program, and it seems to help students learn and connect to nature. Additionally, we host a yearly community dinner with sponsors from neighboring businesses who support the garden programs for kids. These activities have motivated several community members and families to start their own home gardens. Childs (2011) described school gardens as helpful to students' attitudes towards healthy eating and making healthy choices, and the garden programs enhance students' science knowledge and learning.

Gardens in schools started in the early 1900s, but the idea subsided for few decades before resurfacing again with new researched ideas. Stewart (2014) explained that 75,000 gardens were in production in 1906, but the projects were overlooked due to WWI. The new shift to attention to health has reformed the concept of school gardens to come back with a focus on healthy student, emotionally and mentally. Research has shown minimal evidence for gardens as the source for enhanced student academics, but the health benefits are drawn from the connectivity with nature. Some regions have set up funds for school gardens, especially in areas with high numbers of students under Free and Reduced Lunch. The new gardening focus has opened varied opportunities for school age children, including desire to grow and eat healthy foods.

Childs, E.A. (2011). Impact of school gardens on student attitudes and beliefs. Iowa State University, DOI: 10393. Retrieved from

http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1412&context=etd

Stewart, M. (2014). Student learning outcomes of garden-based education. UMD Center for Environmental Education, 2014. Retrieved from

http://www.lifelab.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Stewart-2014-Student-Learning-Outcomes-of-Garden-Based-Education.pdf

DQ 2

My dissertation topic is about studying the possible reasons for the existing reading gap between Caucasian and African American male students from their grade teachers' perception in Southern Nevada. The study will use an inductive approach, as explained by Bradley (2016) it is a methodology using research questions to narrow the possibility of the study, and it aims on exploring new phenomena from a different perspective. Therefore, since my study will be dependent on research questions and third grade teachers' perspectives on the causes of the reading gap, the approach falls under the identification of inductivity.

The design of the study will be composed of a specified questionnaire which will be sent to third grade teachers in a medium-high socioeconomic. Additionally, face to face interviews will be held with a number of teachers who will represent the study's participants. The reasoning of the selected region is to understand the reasons of existing academic gaps after poverty effects have been removed. Bradley (2016) said that inductive research uses data to generate a theory or an explanation. Answers received from the third grade teachers will assist in generating an explanation which could lead educators to have further knowledge to help close the reading gap.

Bradley, G. (2016). Role and purpose of chapter 2: Literature review in dissertation research. GCU Research: Analyzing Research, 2016. Retrieved from

http://lc.gcumedia.com/res861/gcu-doctoral-research-analyzing-research/v1.1/#/chapter/1

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