Digital Commons Network^™

Why I Believe In The Power Of Positivity, Roy Lenfest

UCF Forum

When you first wake up in the morning, you make a conscious choice as to how the rest of your day will go. But remember, you have to choose it; it won’t happen if you don’t.

Why Do I Teach Journalism? Because It Is More Important Now Than Ever, Jeff Kunerth

UCF Forum

I hear this all the time from former newspaper colleagues who have left as the newsroom has diminished over the years: How dare you teach journalism? Or this version: There are still students who want to be journalists? Really?

Teacher Trainees’ Reasoning About Teaching Mathematics To English Learners In An Era Of Core Content State Standards, Sultan Turkan, Megan Schramm-Possinger

Journal of English Learner Education

Research has indicated over the years that English learners (ELs) are not supported to achieve their goals in learning academic content and acquiring English. Despite a growing body of research on the essential teacher knowledge-base for teaching ELs and effective linguistically-responsive teacher education, there is still a dearth of research on candidate content teachers’ reasoning and instructional decision-making especially regarding teaching mathematics to ELs. This paper explored how a group of ten future mathematics teachers reasoned about a handful of scenarios illustrative of teaching mathematics to ELs. Qualitative analyses of the candidates’ discourse revealed that pre-service mathematics teachers’ perceptions of …

Ell Families: Myths, Truths And Strategies For Engagement, Stephanie Knight, Marjaneh Gilpatrick

Journal of English Learner Education

This article is the first in our new category, Teaching Tips. These are practitioner articles designed to enhance existing in-service teacher's classroom strategies with ELs.

Parental involvement may be the strongest predictor of a child receiving a solid education. This means it is vital that teachers and administrators understand the students’ families’ culture and the way they view education. We also must be proactive with them so that we can empower them with literacy strategies to ensure academic success. Also, many English Language Learner (ELL) families are not familiar with the school system in the United States and may …

The Case For Grammar: What Preservice Teachers Need To Know About Metalinguistic Awareness, Aimee Schoonmaker, Kerry L. Purmensky

Journal of English Learner Education

The present study focused on preservice teachers’ grammar knowledge and its importance for their future students’ understanding and use of language, particularly English Learners. This quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest study investigated the grammar knowledge of preservice teachers who were enrolled in an undergraduate applied linguistics course at an urban university in the southern United States. The results confirmed prior research which found that preservice teachers are not knowledgeable enough about English grammar when explaining sentence level errors. This study demonstrated that preservice teachers’ basic understanding of English grammar can be increased in a short time, particularly in the recognition of simple …

Three Ways To Help Esl Content Linger Beyond The “El Course” In Teacher Preparation Programs, Melanie Gonzalez

Journal of English Learner Education

Like many other states, our teacher preparation program arrived at this compartmentalized, “single-experience” ESL-focused course model as a result of local, state, and federal policies in the United States that have increasingly placed ELs into mainstream classrooms rather than into language and literacy development courses (de Jong, 2014). TESOL faculty might have questioned: how can everything related to effective ESL teaching be covered in one semester? The fact of the matter is that the onus on this work largely rests upon teacher candidates’ shoulders after they depart the ESL-focused course. What follows are three practices that largely have arisen …

Estimating The Economic Impact Of Vacation Home Rentals In Florida, Robertico R. Croes, Manuel A. Rivera, Kelly J. Semrad, Jorge Ridderstaat, Valeriya Shapoval, Mehmet Altin

Dick Pope Sr. Institute Publications

This report takes an in-depth look at the economic impact of the Florida vacation rental home industry and its ripple effects across the state. It includes an estimate of the magnitude of the industry's impact on Florida's economy as well as profiles of the main stakeholders who generate this impact.

The report focuses on the economic impact of the vacation rental home industry in 25 Florida counties selected by the client, Florida Realtors® (Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, Franklin, Nassau, Duval, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Osceola, Brevard, Volusia, and …

City Of New Smyrna Beach Solar Feasibility Assessment, Florida Solar Energy Center, Charles Withers, Jr.

FSEC Energy Research Center®

At the request of the City of New Smyrna Beach, the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) assessed rooftop solar and building energy efficiency improvement potential for 17 city-owned facilities. The intent has been to assist City leaders in identifying opportunities to reduce the City's overall electricity consumption and increase its use of renewable energy.

The FSEC team conducted Level 1 energy audit activities and site assessments including:

On-site assessment

• Solar feasibility measurements and characterization including orientation, roof shading (adjacent structures, encroaching trees, etc.), available roof area, system output, annualized savings
• HVAC characterization
• Lighting survey
• Occupancy density, schedule, thermostat settings

Post …

Go Ahead — It’S Ok To Allow Yourself To Be Silly Sometimes, Lillian Caraballo

UCF Forum

Waiting in line at the movies, I saw a young woman do the “airplane run” over to the concession stand. You know, when you stretch out your arms to your sides and run forward, as if flying.

Baseball Hall Of Fame Vote, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

It was a little over a week ago that I read a small notice about the Baseball Hall of Fame voting for the class of 2020. Those on the ballot were listed, and as always the name of Marvin Miller was on that list. I skimmed over that name muttering to myself something like, “yea, sure, fat chance.” And that would be the end of it for another year. If there was one sure thing, betting that Marvin Miller would be rejected by Hall of Fame voters for the eighth time, was it.

Yes, I Waited 6 Hours In Line For A New Theme Park Ride, Emma Gisclair

UCF Forum

I’ll always remember the day’s outing — not just because of the four-minute ride — but also because of the whole shared experience with other fans.

The Scoop Vol. 6 Issue 9, December 2019, Health Sciences Library

Volume 6

Latest news and events from the Health Sciences Library in our monthly newsletter for December 2019.

Ucf Libraries Application For The 2020 Acrl Excellence In Academic Libraries Award, Ucf Libraries

Libraries' Documents

No abstract provided.

Featured Bookshelf: 2019 Staff Favorite Reads, Megan M. Haught

Featured Bookshelf

For the month of December, the UCF Libraries Bookshelf celebrates the favorite books of employees of the UCF Libraries. And you know a major thing about librarians? They love talking about their favorite books. The books listed below are some of the favorite non-fiction books we read in 2019.

Keep reading below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for the favorite non-fiction titles read in 2019 by UCF Library employees. These 30 books plus many, many more are also on display on the 2nd (main) floor of the John C. Hitt Library next to the bank of …

Who, Me? A Philanthropist?, Brenda S. Thompson

UCF Forum

I recently attended two fundraising events that were truly amazing in terms of the generosity of the attendees. These individuals were able to pay hundreds of dollars for tickets to attend the events; in addition, they gave thousands more during the events to support the mission of the sponsoring organizations.

Agenda 2019-11-21, Staff Council

Staff Advisory Council Meeting Agendas

No abstract provided.

Meeting Minutes 11-21-2019, Staff Advisory Council

Staff Advisory Council Meeting Documents

No abstract provided.

On Becoming A Mom In Central Florida, Katie Philp

UCF Forum

‘As our region grapples with a growing population and an affordable housing crisis, we must ensure the stability of women.’

Julian Is A Mermaid, Shannon M. Blake

Diverse Families Bookshelf Lesson Plans and Activities

No abstract provided.

Winter Holidays Around The World, Christopher Castro

Diverse Families Bookshelf Lesson Plans and Activities

No abstract provided.

From My First-Hand Experience, Unhealthy Sugar Habit Is Hard To Break, Syretta Spears

UCF Forum

Hidden sugar has kept me on and off the health and fitness wagon for most of my adult life.

Access To Awe, Wonderment And Beauty Are Basic Necessities, Chung Park

UCF Forum

“Going into my fifth year at UCF I’ve started to think more about access to the things that contribute to our happiness,” writes music instructor Chung Park.

Pfsa Newsletter. Volume 03, Using Self Care, November 2019, Pfsa

Newsletters

This month I am inviting you to practice self care. Often times we get caught up in the everyday hustle and forget that we are beings who need to pause and do the work to be more whole. As someone who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, learning to love myself did not come through the validation of others. Instead, it was being open to counseling, introspection, and leaning on my chosen family who wrapped me with love every time I had to face one of my fears. As the holidays approach and there is time to reflect, remember …

Featured Bookshelf: 2019 Native American Heritage Month, Megan M. Haught

Featured Bookshelf

November in the United States is Native American Heritage Month, also referred to as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. It celebrates the rich history and diversity of America’s native peoples and educates the public about historical and current challenges they face. Native American Heritage Month was first declared by presidential proclamation in 1990 which urged the United States to learn more about their first nations.

Join the UCF Libraries as we celebrate diverse voices and subjects with these suggestions. Keep reading below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for the featured Native American Heritage titles …

Installments, Fall Issue 152, November 2019, Renee Montgomery

Libraries' Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Installments, Special Issue, Winter Break 2019, Renee Montgomery

Libraries' Newsletters

No abstract provided.

The Scoop, Vol. 6 Issue 8, November 2019, Health Sciences Library

Volume 6

Latest news and events from the Health Sciences Library in our monthly newsletter for November 2019.

The Mountains Are Not In The Way—They Are The Way, Peter Telep

UCF Forum

If you want to get back into shape but find yourself staring up at that impossible mountain, don’t go it alone. We are stronger together.

Getting The Word Out - Review And Best Practices From Textbook Affordability And Oer Websites, Katy A. Miller

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This is the slides and talking points for a presentation at the 16th Annual Open Education Conference.

Two hot topics in education are Textbook Affordability (TA) and Open Educational Resources(OER). These initiatives can be under one umbrella at an institution, a collaborative effort, or led by completely different departments.

To assess and improve the current Textbook Affordability website, the Student Success/Textbook Affordability Librarian conducted a review of websites on Textbook Affordability and Open Educational Resources. The review examined websites from US academic institutions who were members of SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). Using this sample group, over …

All Nuts And No Bolts: The Evolution Of Undergraduate Research At A Small State School, James Hawker

Florida Statewide Symposium: Best Practices in Undergraduate Research

In fall of 2017, students first started doing research with their biology instructor, and just a few terms later, two students have earned Portz Interdisciplinary Fellowships. In some ways, the program is going well with students participating in high numbers, but organizers still have questions about the “nuts and bolts” of establishing the program within the institution. Enthusiasm is high! However, key metrics are not being tracked and the workload needs to be distributed more evenly. The organizers will be talking with the audience about different ways to integrate UGR into the institution.