Digital Commons Network^™

Redesigning College Algebra For Success: An Analysis Of Student Performance, Rhonda C. Porter, Chinenye Ofoldile, Janis Carthon

Georgia Journal of Science

A section of College Algebra was redesigned to consist of best practices in instruction and assessment, a lower enrollment, and a required lab component in an effort to improve student performance. This pilot course consisted of instructional methods such as whole class instruction, small group instruction, and student presentations. Additional course revisions included a writing component using personal reflections, an additional lab component, a software package aligned with the adopted textbook, and bi-weekly progress reports. There was a statistically significant increase from pretest to posttest, as determined by a T-test. Other comparative analyses showed the course had the highest passing …

The Introduction Of Informal Cooperative Learning Into Our Programming Laboratories, Guity Ravai, Ludmila Nunes, Ronald Erdei

IMPACT Presentations

Presented at the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) Change Leader Forum: Creating a Mindset for Action in Westminster, CO, USA

Assessment And Characterization Of Microbial Communities In Salt Affected Soils On Galveston Island, Elaine Fowler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

After Hurricane Ike in 2008, Galveston Island was flooded with sea water that left the soil and groundwater of the island with elevated sodium concentrations. As part of a long-term study that aims to restore plant life to the island, various soil amelioration techniques are being evaluated. Samples from bedded and non- bedded plots treated with gypsum, mulch, or both were assessed for microbial populations. Samples collected in July and October 2016 were cultured on Tryptic Soy Agar (bacteria enumeration), Pseudomonas Agar, Actinomycete Agar, and Rose Bengal Agar (fungi enumeration). Bacteria populations ranged from 4.07 to 5.12 log CFU/gram and …

Inventory, Assessment And Preliminary Management Planning For Utah's Sovereign Land Along The Bear River, Matthew Coombs

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

ABSTRACT

Inventory, Assessment and Preliminary Management Planning for

Utah’s Sovereign Land along the Bear River

by

Matthew S. Coombs

Master of Science in Bioregional Planning

Utah State University, 2017

Major Professor: Richard E. Toth

Department: Environment and Society

The Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL) is responsible for the management of state-owned sovereign land in Utah, which includes the bed and banks of the Bear River in Cache and Box Elder Counties. The purpose of this project is to provide relevant background information and data to support the future development of a comprehensive management plan for the …

The Introduction Of Informal Cooperative Learning Into Our Programming Laboratories, Guity Ravai, Ronald Erdei, Ludmila Nunes, Sahithya Kodam

IMPACT Presentations

Presentation given at the Midwest SoTL Conference. Discusses the effects of implementing informal cooperative learning techniques in an introductory programming course.

Dependence Of The Martian Radiation Environment On Atmospheric Depth: Modeling And Measurement, Jingnan Guo, Tony C. Slaba, Cary Zeitlin, Robert F. Wimmer-Schweingruber, Francis F. Badavi, Eckart Böhm, Stephan Böttcher, David E. Brinza, Bent Ehresmann, Donald M. Hassler

Physics Faculty Publications

The energetic particle environment on the Martian surface is influenced by solar and heliospheric modulation and changes in the local atmospheric pressure (or column depth). The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on board the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity on the surface of Mars has been measuring this effect for over four Earth years (about two Martian years). The anticorrelation between the recorded surface Galactic Cosmic Ray-induced dose rates and pressure changes has been investigated by Rafkin et al. (2014) and the long-term solar modulation has also been empirically analyzed and modeled by Guo et al. (2015). This paper employs the …

Real Data Is Messy... And Manageable, Beverly Wood, Carl Clark

Publications

Using real data in an introductory statistics course is a delicate balance between reality and manageability. The internet is awash with data that is useful for students to answer questions of interest to them but it is not always formatted as neatly as textbook data. The ASA's recently endorsed GAISE College Report 2016 points to the plausibility of considering multivariable thinking even if only at a rudimentary level. With both messy and multivariable data in mind, we present some activities/projects and sources for data to give introductory students the opportunity to engage with real data.

Student Assessment: Laboratory Format Preference, John Pratte, Matthew Laposata

Assessment and Feedback

The third student assessment asked students if they preferred to have all of their labs online, all of their labs hands-on, or a mixture (ESA21 exercises had three hands-on and nine online exercises). The survey was given to 163 students in Fall 2002 and to 577 students in Spring 2003. In addition to asking their preference in lab format, the instrument had students identify the reasons for their opinions in open-ended questions. In the Spring 2003 survey we included questions asking students about their class loads, time devoted to work outside of classes, commuting distance, and whether or not they …

Faculty Assessment: Outside Evaluators, John Pratte, Matthew Laposata

Assessment and Feedback

A questionnaire was also developed to solicit faculty perceptions of the laboratory programs. The primary focus of the questions for the faculty was on the efficacy of the laboratory program, their perceptions of its effectiveness, and their satisfaction with the laboratory report format. This questionnaire was given to several scientists from outside institutions, and an outside evaluator reviewed the activity modules and visited the campus to perform a holistic external assessment of the project. Responses from these evaluators were very positive. For example, the outside evaluators were asked to assess the activities on 12 factors such as clarity of writing, …

Student Assessment: Comparing Laboratory Programs, John Pratte, Matthew Laposata

Assessment and Feedback

The first assessment compared student opinions of the ESA21 activities to those of the previously utilized laboratory exercises. After the conversion of the Interdisciplinary Science courses to an environmental theme but before the use of the ESA21 exercises, the laboratory program for the course consisted of a series of on-campus activities examining basic principles in biology, physics, and chemistry. The exercises were a holdover from the course’s previous focus on multidisciplinary science, and they were modified (introductory material and questions added) for better relevance to the new environmental focus. As such, they were similar to many of the collections of …

Student Assessment: Perception Of Knowledge And Scientific Decision-Making Skills, John Pratte, Matthew Laposata

Assessment and Feedback

The second assessment measurement had students rate their perceptions of their own knowledge and scientific decision-making skills. The instrument was completed in a pre/post test manner by 100 and 79 students, respectively in Fall 2001 in Interdisciplinary Science I (the course utilizing the ESA21 exercises), and was also completed by 169 students in Interdisciplinary Science II at the beginning of the same semester. All of the students in Interdisciplinary Science II had utilized the old laboratory program, allowing us to again compare the ESA21 and conventional exercises. The survey included open-ended and Likert-scale questions, and had six questions regarding content …

Assessing Riparian Ecosystem Condition And Monitoring Recovery From Natural And Anthropogenic Disturbance, Rachel Powers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Riparian ecosystems are the transition zones between river systems and uplands. They provide many valuable ecological functions including creating habitat for wildlife, stabilizing banks from erosion and providing a buffer that prevents excess nutrients from entering streams. Fires and other disturbances alter the function of these ecosystems. Currently, there is a lack of broadly used standardized assessments and monitoring methods in riparian areas within our current water policy framework. This study aims to examine this gap in riparian ecosystem protection by reviewing the assessment methods currently in use, selecting one method for field testing, and analyzing the effort involved in …