Educational Methods Commons^™

Employing Word Study With Spanish-Speaking Els, Timothy Rodriquez

ECTESOL Review

Phonics Instruction has had a controversial history. How to teach phonics to Spanish-speaking ELs is also controversial. Understanding the differences between Spanish and English and how phonics instruction occurs in each language would be insightful. Also, knowing how the nature of the two languages affects instruction would be beneficial. Furthermore, exploiting similarities between English and Spanish and examining differences will bolster instruction. This paper will discuss the reasons for word study and how it may be utilized to teach spelling and decoding to Spanish-speaking ELLs.

Context-Focused Grammar Teaching: A Comparison Between English Present Perfect And Past Tenses And Affects On Korean English Learning, Seungheui (Ellie) Lee

ECTESOL Review

Despite massive amounts of time Korean English Learners (KLL) study English grammar, they continue to have problems becoming proficient in verb tenses, especially the present perfect. This study examines this problem through a linguistic comparative analysis of Korean and English present perfect and past tenses. Two possible reasons for KLL difficulty with verb tenses could be mode of instruction and L1 interference.

Not “One China,” Not “One Culture”: Multicultural Exploration Of Differences And Similarities Between Mainland China And Taiwan, Philip J. Ward, Michelle Loo

ECTESOL Review

This study focuses on the outwardly similar cultures of Taiwan and mainland China and the subtle differences within them. The study was conducted as part of the requirements of doctoral program in Instructional Design and Development at a public university in the southeastern United States. Using a qualitative case study approach, the study demonstrates that there are cultural similarities between mainland China and Taiwan, however instructors should also be aware of the differences when developing relationships with students and developing course content. A mini-workshop was developed for the study to help teach instructors about the two cultures. However, the mini-workshop …

Using Tpack To Explore The Integration Of Virtual Microscopes Into An Introductory Biology Course, Bobbie Seyedmonir

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to determine the effectiveness of virtual laboratories relative to traditional or blended laboratories in the attainment of conceptual knowledge and skill in microscopy, and (2) to explore how such technologies are integrated in real world classrooms. Four sections of a non-major’s introductory biology course were utilized for the study (N=100). After attrition, the maximum number of intact cases for each question was utilized. Results show no difference between groups in the attainment of conceptual understanding of microscopes parts and functions; however, the Traditional treatment condition scored significantly higher than both the Virtual …

To What Extent Does Transcendental Meditation (Tm) Relieve Symptoms In Patients With Ptsd?, Sanya Dhami

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that is currently increasing among the general public. Unfortunately, researchers have yet to find an effective treatment. Due to the lack of treatment, Transcendental Meditation has become a popular option and may potentially be an alternative treatment therapy. The aim of this paper is to investigate the extent to which Transcendental Meditation (TM) relieves symptoms in patients with PTSD by analyzing brain activity. A comparison was also made between traditionally used PTSD therapies and TM. Because the research regarding this topic is relatively new and was more heavily focused on patients with …

Utopia And Contemporary Human Society: A Model For Sustainable Continuance, David Blake Corman

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Sir Thomas More’s Utopia outlines a bustling, blissful society in which all individuals live equitably, happily, and comfortably. Utopia, which literally means “no-place,” simply does not exist. However, More provides Utopia as a progressive template through which analogous contemporary social and economic structure may be assessed. Juxtaposing contemporary society with Utopia, a relatively superior or perfect state, illuminates some factors inhibiting modern society from otherwise ascending to the state and functionality of a Utopia.

Free To Hate: Can We Justify Curbing Hateful Speech?, Logan Drake

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Hate speech and free speech, and the relationship between the two, have been prominent in the news lately, especially regarding speech on college campuses. It seems to me, however, that the debate usually lacks nuance. One side is portrayed as being free speech absolutists, while the other is seen as creating rules and restrictions that send us down a road towards totalitarianism and tyranny. In reality, however, very few people actually desire either of these extremes. No one wants tyrannical totalitarianism, and nearly everyone will admit that there needs to be, at the very least, restrictions on who can speak …

Consanguinity On The Canvas: Studying Inbreeding In The Habsburg Dynasty Through Portraits, Megan Dillion

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

During the height of their rule in Spain and Austria, the Habsburgs intermarried in order to preserve a strong, purely royal bloodline and to ensure that a Habsburg remained on the throne. For the Habsburg kings in Spain from 1516 to 1700, limpieza de sangre, literally “purity of blood,” was a central principle among Iberian peoples by the fifteenth century that focused initially on keeping Jewish and Moorish blood out of prominent Catholic families. This standard had been crucial since the Reconquista -the gradual expulsion of the Moors which lasted from the 1100s to the 1400s -and took on a …

She Asks For Something Hopeful, Alexander Lane

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

I reach into my pocket

searching

not for the cold-jagged teeth of car keys

—I was going to see him,

the autodidact—

not for almost empty key lime chapstick

—on our one and only coffee

date I took the plastic wrap

of the cap and frayed the edges

small—at first—then

larger—like a flower slow splitting

itself—

—apart—

Walking With Helen, Carter Johnson

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Walk with me, Helen.

Come walk in the Garden of the Gods.

Sit with me under the red rocks

and look - the snowy peaks reach at the sky.

This is a worthy spot to talk,

Here among the green and grand.

Helen, my love,

Your face launched a thousand ships,

And burnt the topless towers of Ilium.

Your name will not die,

And your story will not cease.

But was it worth it?

Golden Honey, Dom Fonce

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

In the pews, the whispers say

the Eucharist discs delight

the tongue with a dab of golden honey.

I smell a tart perfume not far away.

There is a nakedness being raked

up and caked against me. I have come

here drunk and contrary, losing myself

in these halls—a hum sways from the podium

dais. I want to meet my maker calmly.

I want to beat my faith off walls.

My father’s shadow murmured the Lord’s

Prayer whenever I looked above. My eyes

were young and seething. He died at fifty—

shriveled down and minced, powder-soft,

Lyrics For Magnolia, Too, Sreyash Sarkar

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

As the beats of summer

Went down

Went down in Sorbonne

We were together

We were together

In the shades

Of perplexity

And magnolia too.

Talking of death

What would

What would indeed

Happen after that

A Comparison Of Corrosion Potential, Installation, Maintenance, And Anti-Microbial Efficacy: Copper Combined With A Polymer Matrix Or Stainless Steel For Use In A Hospital Setting, Barika Mirza

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

According to Boev and Kiss in their article, “Hospital-Acquired Infections,” hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), also known as nosocomial infections, are currently the leading cause of deaths and disability in hospitalized patients (2017, p. 51), so they cost both patients and hospitals a lot of money. As of right now, QualityNet reports on their “Scoring Methodology” page that Obamacare’s Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program requires for hospitals with high cases of HACs to be subject to a reduction of Medicare payments (n.d.). The World Health Organization explains in Prevention of hospital-acquired infections: A practical guide, 2nd edition that HAIs can be acquired …

1 In 4, Audrey Miklitsch

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

The statistic that 1 in 4 women are sexually assaulted has been repeated over and over again. I wanted to create a piece that allowed women to react to their experience with sexual assault. Through the Red Tape Project at the University of Denver, as well as my own friends and family, I found a variety of women to participate in the piece. Some participants chose to do it together, while others made their creation in private. Each participant was given six cardboard squares. They were simply told to react to their experience using the squares. They could do anything …

Flawed And Formidable: Galadriel, Éowyn, And Tolkien’S Inadvertent Feminism, Rachel Maddox

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

inspiring an intense fan base and Peter Jackson’s multimillion-dollar film series. However, the trilogy’s acceptance in the literary canon has been tepid at best, with critics discrediting the work for relying too heavily on elements of fantasy, while those who accept the trilogy as worthy of literary consideration are forced to confront Tolkien’s sexist views and the manifestation of these beliefs in his work. In keeping with his well-documented misogyny, it appears that Tolkien intentionally excluded women from his narrative: the Entwives are all inexplicably absent, powerful women are excluded from major scenes and events, and there are “more named …

Burger Reward, Spencer Patterson

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Family pictures deserve a reward. I’m not trying to pull off facial yoga for an hour and not get something out of it. My fifteen-year-old self can only handle my five younger brothers for so long. So, what exactly is the reward? A trip to Five Guys, featuring greasy burgers and big wedgy fries.

“Order number fifty-one, fifty-one!”

Dad holds both Nehemiah, eight months old, and the door to Five Guys for my mom, myself, Samuel, Elijah, Caleb, and Luke. I breathe in the smell of burgers that weigh in at three-and-a-half inches and 800 Calories. A fat man who’s …

Health Is Wealth: Behavioral Economic "Nudges" Applied To Health Care, Cameron Watts

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

“Health is wealth,” is a common catchphrase adopted by non-profits and clinics to describe the inherent value of investing in one’s physical and mental wellbeing. However, most people do not recognize the truth behind the phrase – the financial return on health investments. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in 2010, that over 2.3 trillion dollars were spent to treat chronic and mental health diseases, many of which were preventable (Gerteis et al., 2016); Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office expects 966 billion dollars to be spent on Medicare and Medicaid alone in 2018 (Projections for Major Health …

Conservative Colonization: An Ethical Analysis Of Galactic Expansion, Parker Vesely

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Space: the final frontier. Humanity has long held a fond appreciation for this vast unknown, and it has been featured in both art and academia since the dawn of time. Scientific knowledge of both the Earth and the solar system have greatly advanced in the last seventy years since humanity launched its first object, a German V-2 rocket, into the atmosphere. This obsessive curiosity did not cease with the Lunar Landing, but instead increased ten-fold with dreams of extraterrestrial life and extraterrestrial living. As the day humans will set foot on Mars steadily approaches, humankind faces a daunting dilemma: how …

Closet Land: Combining Theatre And Film For A Psychological Thrill, Ashley Snead, Janet Hayatshahi

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

This paper reflects an intense study of the benefits of how film can be integrated into theatrical live performance. Traditionally, live theatrical performance has used three-dimensional bodies in space to help in its storytelling. This research seeks to find ways in which live performance can be complimented through the use of multimedia components. Based on an analysis of the script Closet Land, by Radha Bharadwaj, this research highlights moments from the text by showing how the use of video and still images displayed through projectors in the live performance enhances the storytelling and gives broader depth to the characters’ subconscious …

Place Based Learning Community Planning Guide, Katlin Goldenberg, Jessica Matthews, Raven Palomera, Steven Margell, Alex Gorman, Amy Sprowles, Matt Johnson

University Reports

The introduction of Place Based Learning Communities (PBLCs) at HSU in 2015 has become an increasingly discussed topic throughout the university. We use the term “Learning Community” in its strictest sense - a curricular approach to education that intentionally links a cluster of courses around an interdisciplinary theme and enrolls a common cohort of students. The production of higher GPAs and retention and significant achievement gap closure among the HSU PBLC cohorts is undeniable.

All components are comprehensive in the fact that they build a sense of community, belonging, and accountability within the students which serve as factors for higher …