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Does Changing The Definition Of Science Solve The Establishment Clause Problem For Teaching Intelligent Design As Science In Public Schools? Doing An End-Run Around The Constitution, Ann Marie Lofaso

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] "When Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection in 1859, it sparked some of the most contentious debates in American intellectual history, debates that continue to rage today. Although these debates have numerous political ramifications, the question posed in this paper is narrow: Does the Establishment Clause permit a particular assessment of current evolutionary theory – intelligent design (“ID”) – to be taught as science in American elementary and secondary public schools? This article shows that it does not.

To understand current disputes over whether and how to teach the origins of life …

A Comparison Of The First Fifty Words Of Typically Developing Children To The First Fifty Words Of Typically Developing Children Exposed To Manual Communication, Emily Woodacre

Master's Theses and Capstones

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of manual communication in the acquisition of the first 50 spoken words in typically-developing children. It was hypothesized that typically-developing children exposed to manual communication would have a different composition of their first 50 words compared to typically-developing children not exposed to manual communication. More specifically a greater portion of dual-functioning words and action words were predicted as a result of the visual and motor aspects of gestures and manual communication.

Twelve participants who were enrolled in a six-week baby-sign playgroup were involved in the study. Parents recorded their …

When The Workplace Is On Campus: Learning To Write For A University Speech Language Clinic, Michelle Cox

Doctoral Dissertations

Much of the literature on academic and workplace writing focuses on the differences between these two writing arenas, leading Dias et al. to describe writing for school and work as "worlds apart." Using insights from activity system theory and rhetorical genre theory, this dissertation project investigates the possibility of middle spaces between academic and workplace writing. Set in a Communication Science and Disorders (CSD) master's program, this qualitative study follows five graduate students as they learn workplace writing in a space that physically bridges academia and the workplace, an on-campus speech-language clinic.

Findings indicate that the genres used in the …

Toward Eco -Citizenship: A Praxis For Empowerment, Penelope S. Morrow

Doctoral Dissertations

My teaching practice and research is about holistic education which assumes that, at some fundamental level, everything is connected. Holistic education is a philosophy, a worldview, that challenges the fragmented, reductionist, mechanistic and nationalistic assumptions of mainstream culture and education. The ultimate goal is to transform the way people look at themselves and their relationships in/to the world from a fragmented to an integrative perspective. This emerging paradigm can also be called ecological, evolutionary, spiritual and global. There is a growing belief that such education is fundamentally spiritual, in its search for wholeness.

Western civilization has been dominated from its …

Mentoring In The Learning Community: Problematic Practices And Outcomes Of Initial Implementation Of Formal Mentoring Programs In Two New Hampshire Public School Districts, Pamela Ann Miller

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study uses a grounded theory methodology to examine how seven teacher mentors in two formalized New Hampshire public school mentoring programs conceptualize their roles and what happens to that conceptualization as they go through their first year of mentoring. The findings suggest that mentors, who have a history of engagement in buddy support, have difficulty shifting their conceptualization of supporting new teachers from the directive practices characteristic of buddy support to the relational practices that characterize "learning-focused" mentoring. Simply having a formal mentoring structure does not ensure such a shift. In fact, a number of major drawbacks to …

An Investigation Of Pre-Service Teachers' And Professional Mathematicians' Perceptions Of Mathematical Proof At The Secondary School Level, David M. Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM] states that by the time students graduate high school, they should learn to present "arguments consisting of logically rigorous deductions of conclusions from hypotheses" (NCTM, 2000, p. 56) in "written forms that would be acceptable to professional mathematicians" (NCTM, 2000, p. 58). Research studies indicate, however, that students and teachers have difficulty with many aspects of mathematical proof, including its nature and meaning. In addition, there appears to be a disconnect between school teachers' and university mathematicians' expectations for their respective students regarding mathematical proof. This study examined the perceptions of thirteen …

Exploring Lesson Study As A Form Of Professional Development For Enriching Teacher Knowledge And Classroom Practices, Melissa K. Mitcheltree

Doctoral Dissertations

This study tracked the development of teacher knowledge through a professional development experience called lesson study. Lesson study is a Japanese professional development process in which a group of teachers develop a series of lessons using the following stages: planning lessons, teaching/observing the lessons, reflecting on lessons taught as well as sharing and discussing the lessons with their colleagues (Lewis, 2002). The aim of this study was to explore how the lesson study process influenced teacher knowledge of mathematics content and pedagogical content.

Study participants were four secondary mathematics teachers from a rural high school in the Northeast. All participants …

Aiding Foster Children In Their Construction Of Self: Clinical Intervention Strategies For Children In Care, Cheryl Regal

Master's Theses and Capstones

This thesis looks at the development of the self within foster children and examines clinical intervention strategies that focus on the internal world of the child. Using architectural metaphors, this thesis aims to change the perspective within which clinicians think about the experience of the foster child and their view of self. Within this framework, the counseling experience works to bring the foster child out from behind their protective walls and journeys with the child through their past and present histories. Throughout this journey, the clinician joins with the child and allows an attachment bond to develop in order for …

Teacher Concerns About Service-Learning, Michael Kern

Master's Theses and Capstones

Service-learning is a rapidly growing teaching innovation. Despite the proliferation of service-learning research, little has focused on the teacher, particularly the personal dimension involved in implementing such an innovation. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' concerns regarding service-learning using the seven developmental Stages of Concern proposed by Hall, George, and Rutherford (1977) as a framework. Eleven teachers who were engaged in service-learning were interviewed and completed the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ). Together, the profiles generated by the SoCQ and the interview analyses, provide a rich description of teachers' concerns. Since at the outset of this study, …

The Power Of Film: A Model For The Use Of Group Cinematherapy In The Therapeutic Treatment Of Clinically Depressed Adolescents, Erin E Farrell Bowen

Master's Theses and Capstones

The following thesis proposes a model for the use of cinematherapy as part of treatment for clinically depressed adolescents. The thesis outlines the rationale for such a model, including the relative convenience and potential benefits of using movies as a therapeutic technique. This thesis also examines the professional literature regarding the topics of cinematherapy, bibliotherapy, group therapy, therapeutic metaphor, metaphoric techniques in therapy, and adolescent depression. A model is proposed to offer a specific framework in which cinematherapy may be used in the group treatment of adolescent depression, as well as tools that may assist clinicians in monitoring treatment outcomes. …