Digital Commons Network^™

Defending Difference: Translingualism In The Composition Classroom, R. Elle Smith

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Translingualism includes 1. appreciating how people use language differences to produce meaning, 2. recognizing that all language is fluid, and 3. helping students and teachers question standard language ideology. Translingual pedagogy should be process-oriented rather than product-focused. Instead of focusing on the writing product matching or not matching the standard, translingual pedagogy should focus on questioning standard language ideology and being more flexible in our language beliefs. Additionally, most scholarship surrounding translingualism has focused on the multilingual community. This thesis expands on the scholarship by asking how translingual pedagogy must shift in a primarily white monolingual classroom. Also included is …

Mining For Gold: Reimagining The Role Of Curricular Texts In Writing Instruction, Carrigan Price

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Secondary schools in northern Utah frequently combine literature and composition studies into a single English Language Arts course, limiting the time English teachers have to teach the skills and content important to both. Literature and reading often overshadow writing instruction in this situation, leading to concentrated writing instruction dependent on pre-made writing curriculum and texts. The way curricular materials used during writing instruction in ELA courses present the purpose of writing, the process of writing, and the identity of writers can impact student learning and academic identity in the short- and long-term. A rhetorical analysis, looking specifically at the writing …

Friends Or Foes? Composition And Creative Writing, Christopher N. Davis

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In the current realm of collegiate English, there exists a polarized separation between two fields: composition and creative writing. Though there are a number of ways these two fields intersect, they are seen and taught as distinct entities, and have been so for much of the last three decades. Some scholars see the blending of the two fields as potentially hindering to students’ writing development in either field – the idea that attempting to do two things at once, rather than focusing on each one at a time, will inevitably result in less-effectiveness in both. Others see creative writing as …

Modernizing Composition With An Online Photography-Themed Course, Sharolyn Richards

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this thesis, I argue that it is important for students in a Freshman English Composition class to learn to compose with images and text. This builds on what other research and professors have done in having students turn in multimedia compositions. Since there is opportunity for students to compose with images and text in print as well as online, it is important for them to know how images and text work together. This thesis includes the research I did and lesson modules for an example semester.

The Role Of Fine-Scale Habitat Associations In Structuring Spider Assemblages: Determinants Of Spatial Patterns In Community Composition, Stephanie M. Cobbold

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ecologists strive to identify the mechanisms that drive the identity and abundance of species in different locations, because a better understanding of such factors enables them to better predict the effects of habitat modification on organisms, and to identify landscapes in which species are likely to benefit from conservation interventions. However, there is still no consensus on the mechanisms behind geographical variation in species diversity. The primary objective of this dissertation was to focus on spider assemblages to investigate how the fine-scale habitat associations of organisms may drive the composition of their communities at larger scales. Research was conducted in …

Spider Community Composition And Structure In A Shrub-Steppe Ecosystem: The Effects Of Prey Availability And Shrub Architecture, Lori R. Spears

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Habitat structure is cited as an important factor influencing organisms, but few studies investigate whether habitat structure interacts with other environmental variables to affect community dynamics. The purpose of this study was to determine, using field experiments, the importance of prey availability and shrub architecture on a spider community in northern Utah, USA. We were also interested in determining whether surrounding shrub architectures influence spider and prey responses.

Our results suggest that spider distribution, abundance, and biodiversity are influenced by shrub architecture. Shrub architecture influenced spiders both directly and indirectly via associated changes in prey availability. Spiders were also directly …

The Life And Works Of Edvard Grieg, Leah Kennedy

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Composer Edvard Grieg merged a Classical and Romantic style of music with traditional Norwegian characteristics to create his own unique, complex style that is still widely performed today. His music changed the way we think of Romantic music and foreshadowed 20th century styles that would emerge only a few years later. His compositions vary throughout his life based on other composers’ innovations and his own preferences, but how much did Grieg’s personal life affect his music? And how did his life events shape his emerging style during his career? This information is displayed in a lecture recital format and will …