Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 30 of 32
Full-Text Articles in Education
The Effects Of Gender Norms On Hiv Contraction And Treatment In The Hispanic-American Population, Madeline Gibson
The Effects Of Gender Norms On Hiv Contraction And Treatment In The Hispanic-American Population, Madeline Gibson
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has received significant attention in recent years due to the stigma of having the disease and the potentially fatal prognosis. Though the virus does not discriminate between groups of people in a biological manner, certain ethnic groups in the United States suffer from higher rates of transmission and lower rates of treatment. Among these groups is the Hispanic population, which accounts for 25% of HIV cases despite comprising only 17% of the US population. HIV is transmitted through contact with blood or sexual contact with infected persons. Cultural beliefs of the Hispanic population, such as machismo …
Error Processing In Speeded Response Tasks: Expertise Differences In Cognitive Control, Nicole Bing
Error Processing In Speeded Response Tasks: Expertise Differences In Cognitive Control, Nicole Bing
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
In speeded response tasks, the time between external stimuli and the time to react is both minimal and relatively fixed. In accordance with speed-accuracy tradeoff (SAT) theories, reaction time (RT) is often slower after error in order to improve accuracy, which produces post-error slowing. However, in speeded response tasks, typical post-error slowing patterns may not occur. We examined two neural indices of self-regulatory cognitive control, the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and the P300, to identify whether time constraints disrupted the normal processing of performance errors and the refinement of behavior during task execution through cognitive control processes in accord with one’s …
Modified Flexible Seating And Its Impact On Student Autonomy, Emma Lewis
Modified Flexible Seating And Its Impact On Student Autonomy, Emma Lewis
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
What is something you would never expect to hear or see in a first-grade classroom? Silence with every student working. Flexible seating classrooms gives students the autonomy to choose what kinds of learning spaces work best for them based on their personal learning style. With the implementation of flexible seating, students have “the ability to concentrate, focus, and learn effectively” (Harvey & Kenyon, 2013, p. 9). In this qualitative self-study, I explore how the use of flexible seating can provide students with a better understanding of what they personally need in order to learn best and what kind of seat …
Tiered Assessment: Supporting And Challenging Students While Utilizing Skills-Based Grading, Emilee Monken
Tiered Assessment: Supporting And Challenging Students While Utilizing Skills-Based Grading, Emilee Monken
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Creating a classroom that supports each student individually as well as the class as a whole has become increasingly difficult in recent years. Through tiered assessment, educators have the opportunity to alter assessments to further challenge or support students. Another implementation in many schools nationwide is standards-based grading (SBG). In SBG, students are assessed on each learning objective separately, meaning for each skill included on an assessment, students will receive an individual score. When tiered assessment is implemented alongside SBG, students have the unique opportunity to be assessed on each learning objective separately and to assess a skill based …
Modifying The Classroom For Diverse Learners, Natalie Moore
Modifying The Classroom For Diverse Learners, Natalie Moore
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Classrooms are continually becoming more diverse complete with students who have various needs. With more research being done, the structure of education in the classroom are changing. The CDC report as of 2014 was that around 5%-11% of the population shows symptoms of Attention Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). With more recognition of ADHD and other disabilities like it there is a need for more training of teachers to better accommodate students and make modifications to their instructional decisions. The purpose of this literature review is to enhance the knowledge of strategies in the classroom and examine what works and what may …
Student Choice And Motivation In The Secondary English Classroom, Matthew Wegh
Student Choice And Motivation In The Secondary English Classroom, Matthew Wegh
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Motivated students are far more likely to learn, but it can be difficult when students’ interests and inspirations all differ. One of the most effective ways to improve student motivation and attainment in the classroom is by giving students choice in assignments, following self-determination theory (SDT). Originally proposed by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan (1971)s, SDT suggests that students are more intrinsically motivated when their needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness are met. In this study, I gave students in a 12th grade African American Literature class choice in assignments, and kept track of the behavior of the …
The Effects Of Student Autonomy In The High School Setting, Elizabeth Ayala
The Effects Of Student Autonomy In The High School Setting, Elizabeth Ayala
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
The high school setting is not always a place where students like to be. Studies have proven that students benefit from being given the ability to have choice and their own voice present in the classroom and overall school setting (Brooks & Young, 2011). This paper will explore how giving students a free period in high school further encourages students to want to be in school, as well as to have a sense of ownership over their education. The collection of data took place where I was student teaching: an urban high school environment that initiated a free-period program that …
Exploring The Contributing Factors To Labor Market Assimilation Outcomes Across Refugee Groups In The United States, Lily Chang
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Upon arrival in the United States, refugees suffer from a substantial disadvantage in the US labor market when compared to economic immigrants and natives. However, over time, labor market assimilation occurs for refugees as their employment outcomes improve, but the degrees and rates of assimilation vary greatly among refugee groups. This paper aims to analyze why some refugee groups perform worse than others in the US labor market when human capital differences have been accounted for. This paper has two foci; firstly, it looks at how the quality of source country human capital and its transferability to the host country …
Mathematical Student Choice In The Elementary Classroom, Natalie Fletcher
Mathematical Student Choice In The Elementary Classroom, Natalie Fletcher
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Incorporating student choice in the classroom provides opportunity for students to take responsibility of their learning (Goodman & Eren, 2013; Williams, Wallace, & Sung, 2016). By presenting students with choice in mathematics, their engagement, motivation, and understanding grow by their willingness to complete the task. Student choice must be meaningful to student’s interests so that they understand the importance of their choice. Throughout this self-study, first grade students were provided choice for small group math activities. All choice included the same content varying the representation. The purpose of this research was to examine the effect that student choice can have …
Student Choice And Alternate Work Spaces, Sydney Seeman
Student Choice And Alternate Work Spaces, Sydney Seeman
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Alternate work spaces are seating choices that offer other options to a desk and chair. In this study, students were allowed some choice in which work space they used because, student choice increases engagement and decreases the amount of disruptive behaviors (Lane, Royer, Messenger, Common, Ennis, & Swogger, 2015). However, student selection of their own seating has also been shown to increase off-task behaviors such as talking (Bicard, Ervin, Bicard, & Baylot-Casey, 2012). The purpose of this study is to determine how student choice impacts the effectiveness of alternative work spaces in the classroom. Fourth grade students were observed while …
The Value Of Green Certification On Single-Family Houses In The Chicagoland Area, Raymond Bolton
The Value Of Green Certification On Single-Family Houses In The Chicagoland Area, Raymond Bolton
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
In the United States, residential buildings alone account for 33% of energy consumption. Rising concerns about environmental impacts due to human consumption, as well as health concerns related to pollution have caused there to be a higher demand for environmentally conscious houses. Homebuilders have responded by providing green certifications for houses, attesting to a building’s efficiency in various aspects, such as site design and energy and water consumption. Using Multiple Listing Services real estate data on zero- to five-year-old houses sold between 2010 and 2017 in the Chicagoland area, this study examines whether there is a price premium associated with …
Engaging Students In Learning Style Based Activities, Sarah O’Rourke
Engaging Students In Learning Style Based Activities, Sarah O’Rourke
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Our world is changing every day and the educational classroom is not an exception: the way in which students learn has changed. In previous studies, researchers found that incorporating students’ learning styles into the classroom, through the use of a learning styles inventory has improved student engagement as well as assessment scores (Guven & Ozbeck, 2007; Faulk & Faulk, 2013). This study aims to identify how incorporating students’ learning styles can improve student motivation, confidence, and engagement in the classroom. This study was conducted in a rural high school with a class of twenty-five students. The students engaged in activities …
Restorative Justice Circles In The Elementary Classroom, Shannon Green
Restorative Justice Circles In The Elementary Classroom, Shannon Green
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Social complications are inevitable in an elementary classroom. The way that these complications are handled can have a great effect on the classroom environment. Restorative practices are alternative discipline methods whose main values focus on developing good relationships while restoring a positive classroom environment (Costello, 2009). The purpose of this study is to explore how incorporating restorative practices through weekly restorative justice circles affect the classroom environment. Students were in charge of the topics that were discussed during the circle facilitation. I found that students were willing to discuss disputes even if they were directly involved in the particular conflict …
Determining Soil Science Lab Protocol To Measure Soil Fauna Influence On Nutrient Flow From Leaf Litter To Soil, Kiersten Bergquist
Determining Soil Science Lab Protocol To Measure Soil Fauna Influence On Nutrient Flow From Leaf Litter To Soil, Kiersten Bergquist
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Soil science is an essential part of ecosystem and agriculture health but is unfortunately not a priority in most non-science students’ education. To counter this, the goal of this study was to determine the best protocol for a general education science lab that would use soil microcosms to explore nutrient cycling from leaf litter decomposition. The experimental procedure was designed to test different combinations of soil organism type, organism density, and leaf density in simple Tupperware microcosms. The best combination was defined as a combination that met the following traits: significant decrease in leaf litter mass and high nutrient flow …
Efficacy Of Group Counseling On Students’ Social Skills, Cameron Earley
Efficacy Of Group Counseling On Students’ Social Skills, Cameron Earley
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Social skills are defined as any competence that facilitates interaction and communication with other individuals where social rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways. Factors such as family, school, or integration into social groups can affect the development of students’ social skills. Through group counseling, students can not only gain a sense of community among peers, but also begin in developing important social skills that can be carried throughout adulthood. The purpose of this literature review is to provide useful insights into the role of group counseling to develop students’ social skills, as well …
The Role Of Social Integration And Anti-Immigration Attitudes In Motivating Support For Brexit, Olivia Heffernan
The Role Of Social Integration And Anti-Immigration Attitudes In Motivating Support For Brexit, Olivia Heffernan
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Right-wing populism has experienced a surge in popularity among advanced democracies around the world. The success of right-wing populism has changed the course of history for the United Kingdom, which will become the first state to ever leave the European Union due to the success of Brexit. Recent research has identified several potential grievances that have motivated support for right-wing populism. The first theory points to the economic grievances that result from the economic displacement that accompanies modernization. The second theory emphasizes cultural grievances, with those that feel their traditional values have been challenged and displaced taking part in a …
Engaging Students With Style, Amber Stringer
Engaging Students With Style, Amber Stringer
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Student engagement is a key factor in the middle school classroom; with many students, all of whom have different needs, it can be difficult to maintain. One of the best ways to engage students lies within the teacher’s style of teaching (Everston & Weade, 1989). In this qualitative study, I discuss how various aspects of my teaching style affected student engagement in a sixth-grade mathematics classroom to determine if certain facets of my teaching style consistently fostered student engagement. In this study, student engagement was defined by students’ emotional engagement, or students’ reactions to classwork, school, and people and how …
Technology Integration In Elementary English Language Arts, Emma Hanzelin
Technology Integration In Elementary English Language Arts, Emma Hanzelin
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Technology integrations in the elementary classroom are becoming more common in today’s advancing society. As communication through technology evolves, it is important for teachers to adapt and provide a curriculum that promotes communication skills students will need to succeed in the future. Recent research reminds teachers that the key to successful technology integration is to “pay close attention to students’ responses to the use of [information and communication technology] in teaching by balancing these with traditional teaching” (Parvin & Salam, 2015, p. 57). This self-study research focuses on the implementation of Google Docs during the writing process. It takes place …
Applying A Multisensory Approach To Teaching, Claudia Mcgee-Morales
Applying A Multisensory Approach To Teaching, Claudia Mcgee-Morales
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
This study was conducted to explore the benefits of taking a learning-style approach to elementary instruction, opposed to the traditional lecture-style approach. For this study, I observed students’ growth and attitude in English Language Arts and mathematics classes with the implementation of grouping, based on learning style. Farkas (2003) found that the retention of new and more complex information significantly increased when students engaged in lessons that incorporate some aspect of learning styles. Through the analysis of field notes, student anecdotal records, student work, and feedback my students gave me on what worked best for them, I revealed the relationship …
Talk It Out: Peer Collaboration In The Writing Process, Alyssa Dorning
Talk It Out: Peer Collaboration In The Writing Process, Alyssa Dorning
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
This self-study explored how students working with a partner during writing activities not only affected their writing, but confidence in themselves as well. Often times, students struggle to find a topic to write about and do not have the opportunity to talk out their thoughts and ideas with a partner. Peer collaboration gives students an opportunity to do just that as well as build relationships with their peers within the classroom. During my student teaching placement, I conducted a writing unit in a third-grade classroom where students worked with a partner to discuss ideas, edit, and revise their personal narratives. …
Student Choice: How Does It Relate To Student Behavior?, Stephanie Prentice
Student Choice: How Does It Relate To Student Behavior?, Stephanie Prentice
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
The purpose of this self-study research is to examine how incorporating student choice in an elementary classroom influences student behavior. Student choice or student agency, is an important concept in education because it gives students the opportunity to be empowered in their own learning. In an effort to examine the ways in which student choice directly impacted student behavior, I reflected upon my own teaching practices through field notes and lesson plans, analyzed anecdotal records, behavior logs, and the different choices students made during lessons. Findings demonstrate that student-choice leads to increased motivation levels among students, resulting in a …
Newly Discovered Phage Xuper: Single Ready To Mingle With Rhodobacter Capsulatus, Julia Chen, Ria Patel, Julie Xu
Newly Discovered Phage Xuper: Single Ready To Mingle With Rhodobacter Capsulatus, Julia Chen, Ria Patel, Julie Xu
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Bacteriophages, viruses that infect and replicate in bacteria, are the most abundant biological entities in the biosphere. Despite their prevalence, the evolutionary relationships between these viruses as well as the functions of many phage genes remain unknown. This is largely due to the fact that only a relatively small number of bacteriophages have been isolated compared to the estimated 1031 phage particles that exist in the world. The goal of this study was to characterize and genomically analyze a new phage in order to learn more about its unique features, as well as explore the vastly diverse evolutionary relationships …
Making Waves In Phage Research: Pacific’S Journey Through Discovery, Experimentation, And Clustering, Meghan Bowler, Greg James, Sydney Longfellow
Making Waves In Phage Research: Pacific’S Journey Through Discovery, Experimentation, And Clustering, Meghan Bowler, Greg James, Sydney Longfellow
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Phages are a class of viruses that specialize in the infection of bacterial cells. The purpose of the research is to locate and discover new phages to gain a better understanding of the vastly unknown area of microbiology. We began our research by first hunting for phages. They were amplified using sample enrichment, had their DNA extracted, then had their genome sequenced. In order to group the phages into clusters of known type, we utilized tests such as: transmission electron microscopy (TEM), lysogen testing, and host range testing. Our research focused on the isolation and sequencing of a cluster D …
Impact Of Differentiation On Student Engagement, Shelby Thomas
Impact Of Differentiation On Student Engagement, Shelby Thomas
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
When teaching elementary students, teachers face the challenge of getting students to be authentically engaged in the content. Tomlinson (2012) argues that differentiation in the classroom can help to engage students by ensuring that content is at their level, process meets matches learning profile, and level of support is appropriate to their ability. Differentiation is a way of recognizing and teaching according to the different readiness, interest, and learning profile of students (Tomlinson,2008). This self-study sought to explore the impact of differentiation on student engagement. Lesson plans, field notes, student surveys, student work, summative and formative assessment data, and anecdotal …
Comparison Of Muscle Development In Moenkhausia Sanctaefilomenae And Danio Rerio, Alysia Gazder
Comparison Of Muscle Development In Moenkhausia Sanctaefilomenae And Danio Rerio, Alysia Gazder
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Previous research has shown that larval redeye tetra Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae have large craniofacial skeletons compared to equivalent zebrafish Danio rerio. In order to understand the further development of the craniofacial region, the development of the craniofacial musculature in both species were examined at different stages using whole mount immunohistochemistry. In addition, Alcian blue staining was used to observe their craniofacial cartilage to better understand the anatomy and identify the individual muscles. Unexpectedly, the muscle development was found to be more robust and intense in three day old D. rerio compared to equivalent M. sanctaefilomenae specimens. Differences were also observed …
Conquering Constella: A Journey Of Phage Discovery, Megan Frederick, Lilia Garcia, Rosemary Josenkoski
Conquering Constella: A Journey Of Phage Discovery, Megan Frederick, Lilia Garcia, Rosemary Josenkoski
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, are among the most abundant biological entities on Earth, with an estimated 10³¹ bacteriophages in existence today. Although numerous, bacteriophages have traditionally been difficult to isolate, study, and categorize. As members of the SEA-PHAGES program, we attempted to find unique phages, extract their DNA, and characterize their genomes. Bacteriophages can be isolated from soil environments, so we began by collecting soil samples from multiple diverse locations in an attempt to find a greater variety of phages. Once a phage was found, we then worked on understanding how unique this particular phage was by comparing it …
A New Species Of Pristimantis (Amphibia: Anura: Strabomantidae) From Northern Peru, Shenyu Lyu
A New Species Of Pristimantis (Amphibia: Anura: Strabomantidae) From Northern Peru, Shenyu Lyu
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Frogs of the genus Pristimantis are most diverse in northwestern South America. They are distributed from lowland rainforest to elevations of about 4000 m in the Andes. Of the 516 species currently assigned to the genus Pristimantis, 138 species occur in Peru. Herein, we present a new species of Pristimantis from the Cajamarca Region of northern Peru. The new species is known from four male and five female specimens found in high Andean grasslands hiding in the rosette of Puya fastuosa (Bromeliaceae) at 3600 m above sea level. The new species is phenotypically distinguished from its congeners by having …
Self Awareness In Elementary Students, Alexandra Hurth
Self Awareness In Elementary Students, Alexandra Hurth
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
Being self-aware and making smart decisions are important skills for elementary students. By teaching students to be self-aware, they are able to learn positive habits that will remain with them throughout the rest of their schooling. This study was conducted to provide teachers with practical ways to guide students to be self-aware and promote pro-social behavior within the classroom. Pro-social behavior is when a student displays voluntary actions that are intended to help or benefit another individual or group of individuals. Using slight behavior modifications to promote pro-social behavior, students were given opportunities to play a role in their learning. …
Student Choice Is Lit!, Erich Lieser
Student Choice Is Lit!, Erich Lieser
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
This study investigates assessments that offer student choice in a secondary English classroom. After reading a short story or novel, assessments traditionally ask students to find themes or answer a question with evidence from the text. While this system promotes close reading and writing skills, unique interpretations are not represented. In response to this, I compared the traditional process to a student choice assessment. I administered a single question literary analysis based on The Necklace written by Guy de Maupassant to gauge student understanding and writing skills without student choice present. After the following unit, I created a new assessment …
Committee Thanks And Introduction, Undergraduate Research Advisory Committee
Committee Thanks And Introduction, Undergraduate Research Advisory Committee
John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference
No abstract provided.