Education Commons^™

How Alumnae Of A Feminist Organization During Middle-High School Perceive Their Involvement As Related To Their Academic Self-Concept, Miranda R. Snyder

Honors College

Research has found that youth involvement in activism can benefit sense of self and belief in one’s abilities to make positive change for those involved through unique communication with people who are passionate about the same issue, a sense of personal empowerment, and a deepened sociopolitical consciousness to understand the complexities of social-justice issues.

This qualitative study provided greater understanding of how youth perceive their involvement in a feminist organization related to their academic self-concept in middle- high school. Six alumnae of the Girls Advisory Board (G.A.B.) of Hardy Girls Healthy Women, a Maine-based nonprofit that focuses on the empowerment …

Honors College_Honors 112 Class "Screw This Virus"_Essay, Patrick Fleming

Honors College

Essay by University of Maine student Patrick Fleming for HON 112, featuring COVID-19.

Idiom Comprehension In Adults With And Without Reading Comprehension Difficulties, Molly Brown

Honors College

Figurative language, also known as nonliteral language, is the use of words in a way that deviates from their intended or literal meaning. Idioms are a specific form of figurative language, where the words of the phrase are not reflective of the meaning of the idiom. For example, to tie the knot means to get married, which is different from the physical act of tying a knot in a string. A great deal of research has focused on idiom comprehension in children with reading difficulties, while few studies have examined this issue in adult struggling readers. Many of the skills …

An Evolutionary Approach To Crowdsourcing Mathematics Education, Spencer Ward

Honors College

By combining ideas from evolutionary biology, epistemology, and philosophy of mind, this thesis attempts to derive a new kind of crowdsourcing that could better leverage people’s collective creativity. Following a theory of knowledge presented by David Deutsch, it is argued that knowledge develops through evolutionary competition that organically emerges from a creative dialogue of trial and error. It is also argued that this model of knowledge satisfies the properties of Douglas Hofstadter’s strange loops, implying that self-reflection is a core feature of knowledge evolution. This mix of theories then is used to analyze several existing strategies of crowdsourcing and knowledge …

The Educational Needs Of Children Ages 0-5 Born With Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome In Maine, Julia Casey

Honors College

The goal of this study is to better understand the educational needs of children born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in Maine. This study will consider two questions. First, what is currently being done to help children born with NAS in Maine? To answer this question, I looked into previous studies that evaluate the needs of children born with prenatal drug exposure. I also looked into Maine’s Strategic Action Opioid Plan to determine what initiatives the state is taking towards helping these children. Second, what should Maine be doing to help the children born with NAS? To answer this question, …

Room For Opportunity: An Investigation Of Catholic Student Life At The University Of Maine, Jacob Buttarazzi

Honors College

Like most Honors graduates before me, the final work for this thesis became something much different than what I had originally intended. Originally, I wanted to make short videos and blog posts about the nature of religion at UMaine. However, the project evolved into a short documentary focused specifically on Catholic students. I produced, directed, shot, and edited the film. My primary goal was to investigate whether or not Catholic students felt like a minority and how that affected them. I was repeatedly forced to reevaluate my own experience with faith throughout the production process. As a practicing Catholic, I …

Applying Cluster Analysis To Student Responses From Energy Surveys For Identification Of Commonalities In Their Understanding, Arianna Giguere

Honors College

Energy is a complicated model that has been developed to describe matter to matter interactions. Since energy can be challenging to define, there are inconsistencies among even teachers and physicists in how they define the concept. It is no wonder that students themselves carry misconceptions and confusions. While it may be difficult to teach, an understanding of energy from a young age is essential for the future of technology, climate change, and scientific discoveries. Middle school students in Maine are required to learn about energy transformation, conservation, and forms, and from 2011-2018, researchers at the University of Maine administered multiple …

Honors College_Honors 112 Class "Screw This Virus"_Alternate Final Exam Prompt, Sharon S. Tisher, Melissa Landenheim

Honors College

Email thread featuring messages from Melissa Ladenheim, Associate Dean, Honors College, University of Maine to the Provost Office and from Dr. Ladenheim to Sharon S. Tisher, Lecturer, School of Economics and Honors College, University of Maine regarding one optional prompt for Tisher's take home exam in the two Honors 112 classes that incorporated COVID-19.

Honors College_Honors 112 Class "Screw This Virus"_Examination & Essay Responses, Katie Quirk, Melissa Ladenheim

Honors College

Honors 112 Final Essay Exam questions and excerpts from student's responses for a class taught by Katie Quirk, Lecturer, Honors College and College of Education, University of Maine.

Also, includes email thread featuring messages from Melissa Ladenheim, Associate Dean, Honors College, University of Maine to the Provost Office and from Dr. Ladenheim to Professor Quirk regarding the course material.