English Language and Literature Commons^™

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Technology Effectiveness In High School, Heather L. Gianfagna

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine high school teachers’ perceptions of technology in the classroom, including technology access, usage, and effectiveness. This study was conducted by administering a survey to high school teachers, Grades 9 through 12, in Indiana. The survey, entitled Teachers’ Perceptions of Technology Effectiveness in High Schools was used with high school teachers’ to determine their perceptions of technology access, usage, and effectiveness in classrooms. A total of 343 teachers submitted complete responses to the Teachers’ Perceptions of Technology Effectiveness in High Schools. I developed a survey to quantitatively measure the perceptions of teachers on …

Identifying, Cultivating, And Utilizing Elementary Teacher Leaders, April Holder

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how elementary principals identify, cultivate, and utilize teacher leaders within high-growth elementary schools. For the purpose of this study, high-growth schools are schools that surpassed the state average of high growth for the bottom 25% and top 75% in English/language arts and math for two consecutive years based on the Indiana Department of Education A-F Accountability Report Card. Through this qualitative study, the roles of the principals in three similar Indiana elementary schools were analyzed in regard to the commonalities of the identification of teacher leaders, cultivating talent and leadership, and …

Somewhere Amongst The Ashes, Keith Rebec

All NMU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

SOMEWHERE AMONGST THE ASHES

By

Keith Rebec

This story collection explores how human beings deal with loss. Whether the loss stems from death, the loss of personal innocence, or the loss of love, the characters within are forced to make decisions that he or she wouldn't make if given the choice. Some of the characters, in an effort to prevent the same or a similar type of loss from reoccurring in their lives, desperately seek ways to avoid the issues altogether, which further complicates their troubles. Others, unbeknownst to their impending loss, must make split second decisions that will …

The Complexity Of Common Core: Teaching Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince As A 7th Grade Complex Text, Allyson R. Jones

Honors Theses

With the implementation of the Common Core State Standards occurring across the country, schools and students are seeing changes in the organization of education. These standards, grounded in English Language Arts and Mathematics, are designed to push students’ critical thinking skills, writing ability, and methods of communication to prepare them for their life beyond secondary education. For English Language Arts, there is an emphasis on teaching complex texts. In this study, I examined the qualities of complex texts to determine if Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince could be considered a teaching tool for seventh grade students. To do this, …

The Representation Of Poverty In Great Depression American Literature, Cavel Austin

HIM 1990-2015

The objective of this thesis is to explore how American authors represented poverty across different states during the Depression Era. I have chosen to review social reform author John Steinbeck, and proletariat authors, Michael Gold, Meridel Le Sueur, and William Attaway. Before addressing the issues presented in the data collection tools (novels): The Grapes of Wrath, Jews Without Money, The Girl, and Blood on the Forge, I reviewed the fundamentals of the events leading up to the crash of the stock market, which spiraled the United States and the world at large in the greatest Depression ever known. In this …

America's Closet Door: An Investigation Of Television And Its Effects On Perceptions Of Homosexuality, Sara Moroni

Honors Theses

This study investigates the relationship between television and social perceptions. It uses the television shows Will&Grace, The L Word, Queer as Folk, and Modern Family for rhetorical analysis. Then, it uses the information gained from the analysis to hypothesize how and why these television shows both reflect and affect social perceptions of homosexuality.

Prompting Discussion : Writing Prompts, Habits Of Mind, And The Shape Of The Writing Classroom., William Matthew Wiles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Much of the important writing students will be tasked with in their college careers calls upon them to approximate the writing styles academics and professionals use to shape and advance their respective fields. Many disciplinary values are encoded within the such texts. Learning these styles can be difficult for students who lack the experience and ingrained habits that their instructors may take for granted. In most cases, college writers are outsiders peeking in from the outskirts of academic and professional discourse. Also, the “Expert Blind Spot” (Ambrose et. al) can make college instructors oblivious to the nuances of the writing …

Pedagogy : Reconsiderations And Reorientations., John Vance

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a critical intervention into the question of student agency. An interdisciplinary project that draws upon philosophy and linguistics, it reviews four major tendencies that have animated composition pedagogy over the last several decades— process theory, social-constructivism, procedural rhetoric, and trans-lingual pedagogies— and identifies some of the key tensions that both motivate and problematize these approaches. First, it examines the debate between Peter Elbow and David Bartholomae, and the interplay between teachers’ authority and student agency. Second, it explores the imbrications between representation and materiality in social constructivism. Third, it uses Alain Badiou’s Being and Event to analyze …

The Broadsheet- Issue 10, Merrimack College

The Broadsheet

Merrimack College's English Department newsletter.

This issue features:

• Senior Seminar Reflection
• Alison Leonard Profile
• Maleficent Film Review
• Dracula Untold Film Review
• Guest Book Review of Let’s Take the Long Way Home
• English Fall Excursion 2014

Black Heart, Brandon Rashod Hodges

Theses and Dissertations

Identity is something that I believe we all struggle with at some point in our lives. Whether it is trying to find one's identity via place, culture, or response to power structure, the struggle to identify one's self seems to take precedence over anything else. Thus, identity is the main concern of this thesis. Moreover, while writing my thesis I have attempted to describe my journey towards discovering my identity, which includes being an agnostic born into a very religious family and society, identifying as a lover who struggles to define and understand love, defining my masculinity, especially my black …

Libraries In Battle: An Analysis Of The Image Of The Library In Texts By Swift, Borges, And Sloan, Elyssa M. Gould

All NMU Master's Theses

This essay examines the image of the library in texts by Jonathan Swift, Jorge Luis Borges, and Robin Sloan. Libraries are prevalent institutions in many cultures throughout the world, often known through positive or negative stereotypes. By studying texts whose time periods, subject matter, and genre all differ, an image of the library appears that takes into account both positive and negative aspects to create a holistic image. The methods used to evaluate the texts include close reading, Frye’s archetypal theory, and approaches to the semiotic method championed by both Tancheva and Stelmakh. This study found that each story reveals …

The Urgency Of Ecocriticism And European Scholarship, Simon C. Estok

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "The Urgency of Ecocriticism and European Scholarship" Simon C. Estok argues that there continues to be unduly disproportionate attention within ecocriticism on US-based scholarship and proportionally less on ecocriticism from other parts of the world. Estok focuses on European ecocritical work written in English and published by Rodopi in recent years and argues that this work attests both to the urgency and resolve of European ecocritics. Estok looks at some of the primary contributions of twelve books published within the past ten years by Rodopi in order to show the importance of bending our ecocritical ears, to …

Ecocriticism And Gender/Sexuality Studies: A Book Review Article On New Work By Azzarello And Gaard, Estok, And Oppermann, Keitaro Morita

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

To A Poor Old Woman / A Una Pobre Mujer Vieja, Francisco Plata

Verbum

Translation of the poem "To A Poor Old Woman," by William Carlos Williams, into Spanish.

"This Masterpiece Of Nature:" An Ecocritical Study Of Joseph Conrad's Fiction, Sonja Luther

Dissertations

This dissertation employs an ecocritical approach to explore the relationship between humans and nature in the works of Joseph Conrad. In his fiction, Conrad draws an impression of nature that was unusual for its time because of its complexity. Nature is not just simple scenery or a stage set in Conrad’s fiction; it plays a major role in his characters’ regression, which develops parallel to their alienation from nature. This dissertation explores the origins of man’s alienation from nature in Conrad’s work, particularly his early fiction, and the implications for society if such alienation continues.

Chapter I serves as an …

The Best Bullies: A Critical Analysis Of Young Adult Anti-Bullying Novels, Nina Marie Bone

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Recently, bullying has become a critical area of research across disciplines exploring effective tools for dealing with this increasing problem. Emerging from this critical research is a new sub-genre of young adult (YA) anti-bullying literature that is becoming increasingly popular. This thesis offers a critical analysis of the contemporary YA anti-bullying literature and how it corresponds to The Bullying Circle, a highly effective bully prevention program tool. This work will incorporate scholarship about the educational interpretation of YAL and the potential impact it has on adolescents. Looking at The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier and Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli with …

Landing: On The Other Side, Marianita Escamilla

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Landing: On the Other Side a collection of essays that discuss one woman's struggle with the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia (FM). The narratives are organized non-chronologically because the more pervasive effects of this chronic illness manifest in waves that do not follow a simple means of progression. Rather, FM's most powerful symptom is the highly variable pain strength coupled with its unpredictability.

The mass marketability of this text, as with other illness/disability narratives, lies in the universal message of prevailing against adversity. A person need not suffer from this illness or any ailment to comprehend the narrator's plight. While this …

Developing The Modern Heroine Of Fantasy Literature: An Examination Of Lyra From "His Dark Materials" And Clary From "The Mortal Instruments", Diana Aileen Borghols Herrera

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This work looks at the figure of the heroine as present through the characters of Lyra Belacqua in His Dark Materials and Clary Fairchild in The Mortal Instruments. The characters will be analysed within the fantasy genre and the tradition of the heroic figure. By defining the hero and the heroine, two types of characters with different traits, I will show that the heroic archetype for the female is not entirely set. Lyra and Clary share some similarities but their relation to their respective role is perceived and fulfilled through varying degrees of commitment. The analysis will be contained to …

Online Credibility Testing In Small Organizations: A Case Study Of The Global Village Gifts Website, Natalie Cheney Homan

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

A visitor's perception of the credibility of a website and the organization behind it is a matter of great importance to any business. A theory known as prominence-interpretation theory suggests that users make credibility judgments through a two-step process: "1. The user notices something (Prominence), and 2. The user makes a judgment about it (Interpretation)" (Fogg, et al., 2003). With this theory as a basis for support, Heidi Everett (2012) developed a credibility test for small businesses to assess the credibility of their website through a focus group.

Global Village Gifts (GVG) is a not-for-profit fair trade store in Logan, …

Reforming The Performance Of Masculinity: Stephen Crane's Critiques Of Riis's And Roosevelt's Civic Militarism, Cambri Mcdonald Spear

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The Progressive Era (1890-1920) marks a unique period of social change in American history not only because of reformists' muckraking attacks against political machines and other corrupt social practices, but also because gender permeated every aspect of reform. The doctrine of separate spheres, which had been such a mainstay of Industrial Revolution-era America, was blurring rapidly, as many reformists, like suffragists, pressed for greater gender equality. However, an extremely fascinating characteristic of this period that is often overlooked is the inevitable way in which the performance of gender became essential for reformists to be successful.