Education Commons^™

Intersections Of Environmentalism, Chemistry, And Racism: An Experimental Study Of Halobenzene Hydrogenolysis And Critical Communication Studies Of Equitable Learning Practices Rooted In Black Feminism, Lauren O. Babb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing concentrations of fluorinated aromatic compounds in surface water, groundwater, and soil pose threats to the environment. Fundamental studies that elucidate mechanisms of dehalogenation for C-X compounds (where X represents a halide) are required to develop effective remediation strategies. For halogenated benzenes, previously published research has suggested that the strength of the C-X bond is not rate-determining in the overall rate of dehalogenation. Instead, the rate-determining step has been hypothesized to be adsorption of the C-X compound onto the surface of a catalyst. Building on this hypothesis, in this work, we examine the reaction kinetics of fluorobenzene conversion to benzene, …

Where Do I Belong In The United States Public School System?, Christiana R. Becker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I seek to inquire about the world as it relates to my identity as a first generation descent of the Penobscot tribe living in the United States by utilizing four methodologies in my research: life histories/autobiographies, narrative inquiry, a/r/tography and practice-based and practice-led. Through coupling my artistic practice with those four methodologies I am able to creatively show the information I have unearthed in hopes that others will benefit from a fresh and augmented understanding of what it historically and culturally means to be a part of a community that makes up a very small percentage of the United States …

Embodying Resilience In The Writing Center: A Study Of Tutor Training Handbooks And Videos Towards An Understanding Of The "Ideal" Tutoring Session, Katelyn Emily Parsons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines two distinct datasets (handbooks and videos) to explore whether writing tutors embody their training. This research project was grounded in Bruffee’s (1984; 1995) work with collaboration and its link to conversation (both verbal and nonverbal communicative acts) to analyze the peer-to-peer relationships that are observable in writing center tutorials. Research on collaboration and conversation provided a useful framework for qualitatively coding six (6) tutor training handbooks and sixteen (16) tutor training videos. In taking up Thompson’s (2009) and Olinger’s (2014; 2020) calls for further research on writers’ embodied understandings of language, the video component of this research …

Empathic Instruction Through Literary Narratives: A Quasi-Experimental Study Of An Occupational Therapy Course, Cavenaugh P. Kelly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines concerns within the field of occupational therapy on the growing disconnect between the profession’s roots and espoused beliefs in empathic-centered care, and the modern realities of health care. In particular, the study examined whether the empathy levels of occupational therapy students would change after a course involving the close reading of literary narratives. Close reading of literary narratives has correlated with improved levels of empathy. Empathy is defined as a four-step dynamic process involving Theory of Mind (ToM), emotional resonance, emotional regulation, and empathy as a willful act. Initial study of the proposed curriculum found improved scores …

An Examination Of Community Band Members' Ratings Of Skills, Traits, And Behaviors Of Community Band Conductors, Anita-Ann Jerosch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine community band members’ perceptions of the skills, traits, and behaviors of community band conductors. Community band members rated the importance of a range of such skills, traits, and behaviors in relation to their experience within their band. Adult community band members learn differently from the ways that school-aged students do because they have different life experiences, motivations, and educational needs. Adult learners desire to be part of their own learning, and they need a conductor who has the skills, traits, and behaviors that are important from their perspectives.

The conductor/musician relationship is …

Language, Identity, And Citizenship: Politics Of Education In Madawaska, 1842-1920, Elisa E A Sance

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The establishment of the international border between Maine and New Brunswick in 1842 through the signature of the Webster-Ashburton treaty divided the Francophone population of the Madawaska region along the Saint John River. As a result, each half became administered by an Anglophone government. The linguistic and cultural differences between the Madawaska French and the Anglo-Saxon Protestant ruling majority in both the state and the province complicated the establishment of new public institutions. The language of both administrations as well as the language of public education was English; a language that very few people among the Madawaska French spoke or …

"There Isn't Anything That Guy Can't Teach About Cars": How Nontraditional Female Career And Technical Education Students Perceive Instructor Effectiveness, Christopher J. Healy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored how female Career and Technical Education (CTE) students who enter predominantly male-attended programs perceive instructor effectiveness. Although previous research has shed light on structural and social barriers faced by females wanting to enter these programs (Whitehead, 2013), new information suggests that CTE instructors engaged in prolonged professional development focused on improving instructional skills can support beneficial learning outcomes for their students (NRCCTE, 2013). It has also been suggested that improved knowledge of instructional approaches can increase nontraditional female students’ successful completion of their CTE programs (NRCCTE, 2013). Consequently, I sought to better understand three factors associated with …

Looking At Innovation Dialogically: Teaching Communication And (Social) Change In The Innovation Engineering Program At The University Of Maine, Mark J. Congdon Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Higher education institutions face two concurrent demands: preparing students for the job-market, while also developing informed and engaged citizens (Frey & Palmer, 2014; Gould, 2003). How universities reconcile these demands varies. The Innovation Engineering program (IE) at the University of Maine strives to both, “change the world by enabling innovation” (concern for social issues) and educate entrepreneurs (students) whose innovations reach markets quicker and at a decreased risk (capitalist orientation) (Hall, 2013; Kelly, 2014). The program uses a systems approach to innovation by teaching tools and methods for creating, communicating, and commercializing meaningfully unique ideas. Processes and contexts are important …

Maine Literature 101: A Course For High School Seniors, Courtney Hawkes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In various schools across the state of Maine are teachers devoting their classroom time to exploring the rich history of Maine. At the high school level, many schools now offer at least an elective course in “Maine Studies” and Maine state standards require that local history is covered to a certain extent in high school history. Missing from these courses, however, is a study of Maine’s literature. Literature puts a realistic face to the events of history in a way that helps students see through the eyes of the people from that time period. Literature reveals internal emotions and conflicts …

Liminal Surfaces, Georgina E. Grenier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The poet Ben Okri wrote: “Stories are the secret reservoir of values: change the stories individuals and nations live by and tell themselves, and you change the individuals and nations.” (Stibbe)

In the early 21st Century we are facing numerous environmental problems that are being caused by human activity. This era is termed the Anthropocene , a time when accumulated pollutants are causing detrimental ecological change. Ocean creatures are threatened by increasing seawater temperature, acidifying pH levels and melting ice. On land we are experiencing droughts, alteration of biomes, extinctions and an atmosphere that contains less oxygen per breath than …

Pairing Young Adult And Classic Literature In The High School English Curriculum, Anne V. Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Literacy experts recommend young adult literature to engage teens and scaffold their developing reading and literary analysis skills. Yet, the American high school English curriculum is dominated by a narrow list of classics, virtually unchanged since the late 19^th century. This static curriculum neither reflects the diversity of American culture nor the lives of students in the 21^st century. Adolescent literacy scholarship can support practitioners by expanding the research on effective strategies for using young adult literature. This research study examines the effects of an intentional pairing of a classic work of literature with a work of young …

A Promising Candidate: An Exploration Of Graduate Matriculation Genres, Megan D. Bishop Gervais

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study emerges from the author’s personal experience of interacting with unfamiliar genres as she prepared her application for a graduate program in English. In a liminal space between graduating from her undergraduate program and applying for admission to a graduate program, her interaction with graduate admission genres was fraught with tension and a lack of the assumed knowledge that would inform her on how to strategically interact with these genres. This lack of tacit knowledge and absence of scaffolding lead her to compose a “statement of purpose” that did not adequately demonstrate that she was a “promising” graduate student, …

Window Into Cultural Manipulation: The Conservative Attack On National History Standards, 1994-1995, Todd Blanchette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research looks into the public debate surrounding the release of proposed voluntary National History Standards within the context of the 1990s culture wars in the United States. The goal is to offer a glimpse into how history education is tied with notions of culture, and how conceptions of history and national identity were manipulated by individuals, spear headed by former NEH chairwoman Lynne Cheney, with a political motive. The author gives a brief context of the United States’ during the mid-1990s, including tenuous issues of race, gender, sexuality and multiculturalism. The origins and development of the national history standards …

The Ecology Of Peer Tutoring: Perspectives Of Student Staff In One High School Writing Center, Cynthia Dean

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In high school writing centers that employ students as tutors, staff members can face challenges as they transition into a tutorial role. The purpose of this study was to document the challenges high school writing tutors may encounter as they transition from and between their roles as students and peer tutors. Two conceptual frames, performance theory and social ecology, guided this study. The former framed analysis of peer tutors’ performance in the writing center while social ecology disclosed how the acquisition of identity in one context affects a peer tutor’s activity in others. This qualitative study used a case study …

Girls In The Woods: An Exploration Of The Impact Of A Wilderness Program On Adolescent Girls' Constructions Of Femininity, Anja Whittington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically, the wilderness and outdoor recreational activities have been portrayed as a masculine domain. In spite of this, women's participation in wilderness programs has increased, illustrating what research has proven-that women reap positive mental, physical, and spiritual outcomes from participating in outdoor experiences. Research on the benefits for female participants focuses primarily on women's experiences; however, little research investigates the outcomes of girls' participation. More specifically, the literature neglects the study of how participation in outdoor wilderness programs challenges conventional notions of femininity. The goal of this study was to 1) add girls' voices to the research on the outcomes …

The Church Music Program: The Effect Of Moving From Performance-Based To Education-Based Emphasis In A Church Music Program, Ronald Glynn Sherwin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project sought to answer the primary research question: What occurs when the music program in a church changes its emphasis from performance to education? This qualitative study of a church choir included participant observation of Wednesday evening and Sunday morning rehearsals over a 12 week period, individual interviews, group interviews, written responses, and written and visual assessment of musical skills. The goal was a rich description of the participants and emerging themes resulting from the shift in emphasis. Analysis of data occurred through inductive processing. Data was initially coded and then the codes were categorized into sub-themes, and …