Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Online Collaboration Among Language Teachers: A Cross-Institutional Case Study, Nike Arnold, Lara Ducate, Lara Lomicka, Gillian Lord

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper focuses on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) among foreign language (FL) graduate students from three universities, who worked together to create a wiki. In order to investigate the nature of CSCL among participants, this qualitative case study used the Curtis and Lawson framework (2001) to conduct a content analysis of learners’ collaborative behaviors. Transcript and survey analyses indicate that the success of collaborative interaction depends largely on the group members themselves. Differing levels of participation indicate that not everyone was equally involved with the wiki project, which ultimately affected the level of collaboration, the group dynamics, and the final …

Holism And Human History, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper uses a systems-theoretic model to structure an account of human history. According to the model, a process, after its beginning and early development, often reaches a critical stage where it encounters some limitation. If the limitation is overcome, development does not face a comparable challenge until a second critical juncture is reached, where obstacles to further advance are more severe. At the first juncture, continued development requires some complexity-managing innovation; at the second, it needs some event of systemic integration in which the old organizing principle of the process is replaced by a new principle. Overcoming the first …

War And Hiv In Latin America, Shawn Smallman

International & Global Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Conflict has shaped the HIV pandemic from its inception, from the spread of HIV-1 in Central Africa, to the diffusion of HIV-2 from Portuguese Africa to the globe. At the same time, the relationship between HIV and conflict has been non-linear and poorly understood. Nancy Mock and her colleagues have been almost the only scholars to propose a model to understand this relationship. Their work suggests that several key variables (such as the time scale of the conflict, the characteristics of the parties involved, and the geographic scale of the fighting) explain wide variations in how warfare appears to have …

Being An "Other": The Significance Of Teachers' Lived Experiences In Working With Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students, Yumiko Otsuki

Dissertations and Theses

The study's goal was to understand what contributes to the formation of teachers' perspectives regarding the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Its focus was to portray through teachers' stories the experiences in their lives that may have contributed to constructing who they are as people and as educators.

Four teachers from one rural district participated. Using qualitative methods, the study explores and describes incidents in teachers' lives, looking at the way their life experiences are reflected in their relationships with students. In considering ways in which those experiences may have helped shape teaching philosophies and practices, the study …

The Effects Of Participation In Portland State University’S Mcnair Scholars Program On Undergraduates, Tyanne R. Conner

Dissertations and Theses

Compared with their multi-generation counterparts, first-generation college students face many challenges in the field of higher education. These students experience relatively lower levels of access to college, demonstrate lower rates of persistence through college, and exhibit lower bachelor's degree completion rates than multi-generation students. The results of these cumulative disadvantages are that, compared to multigeneration students, first-generation students do not complete Ph.D.'s at the same rates, have lower subsequent earnings, and are underrepresented as faculty at colleges and universities.

A review of the literature reveals that most studies on McNair programs focus on the instrumental effects of participation, such as …

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet May 2009, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The May 2009 Monthly packet includes the May agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held May 2009.

10 Key Principles For Designing Video Games For Foreign Language Learning, Ravi Purushotma, Steven L. Thorne, Julian Wheatley

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper was produced for the Open Language & Learning Games Project, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Education Arcade.

Story 1 (Part 2), George Tucker Childs

Mani, a Disappearing Language of Sierra Leone and Guinea

The is the second of two parts of a Mani folk tale.

Story 2 (Part 2), George Tucker Childs

Mani, a Disappearing Language of Sierra Leone and Guinea

Text of a performance of a Mani folk tale by a group of children in Moribaya.

Some Change, John Oddo

Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion

This short essay compares the war-time rhetoric of George W. Bush with the rhetoric of Barack Obama. The eerie similarities between the two lead me to question Obama's promise of change.

Toward Death And Violence – Rhetorical And Creative Potential; A Reader's Text, Giovana Driussi

Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion

I wrote this essay for readers, hoping to provoke, inspire, enrage and enjoy. Death and violence have been painful and productive forces in my life, and specifically in my writing. In this essay I share some of these experiences and relate them directly to writing, as well as public, political, rhetorical, and historical topics. My desire is to affect personal and public reflection, and to display rhetorical agency in both spheres, thus demonstrating that such divisions, and most if not all binaries, are social constructs that beg for challenge.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet April 2009, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The April 2009 Monthly packet includes the April agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held March 2009

'Conflict Analysis:' Exploring The Role Of Kuwait In Mediation In The Middle East, Abdullah R. Al Saleh

Dissertations and Theses

The Middle East is a large geographical area, and while people think of it as a homogeneous area in terms of language and culture, the region IS actually more of a melting pot of ethnic, religious, racial and linguistic groups. Understanding the distinctions between these groups is of paramount importance to understanding the region. Historical rivalries between some groups, for example, Sunni and Shia Muslims, go back hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. Yet, people continue with life. How do countries continue to deal with each other when there are open, unsettled questions, such as boundaries or control of islands? Is …

"The Ivory Tower" On An "Unstable Foundation": Playful Language, Humor, And Metaphor In The Negotiation Of Scientists' Identities, L. David Ritchie, Char Schell

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this essay we argue that metaphor and language play generally should be analyzed in the context of actual conversations, not as a peripheral or incidental part of the discourse, but as an integral part of both topic-centered and relational work. We examine several instances of playful metaphor, humor, and irony that occurred during a one-hour focus-group discussion among a group of scientists discussing their role in communicating about science with laypersons. During the course of this discussion, word play, humorous insults, and the elaboration and reconstruction of metaphorical idioms are used for a variety of purposes, including reinforcement of …

Collaborative Writing In Wikis: Insights From Culture Projects In Intermediate German Classes, Nike Arnold, Lara Ducate, Claudia Kost

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation reports the findings of a study designed to investigate the collaborative writing and revision processes of foreign language learners in a wiki environment. Specifically, it is based on a comparison of two wiki projects in intermediate German classes in which small groups of students used wikis to collaborate on a project based on cultural and historical topics related to a novel. The archived versions of the wiki were analyzed for the amount, type, and quality of revisions. In addition, an end-of-semester survey was administered to assess learner attitudes towards the project and perceptions of the writing process.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet March 2009, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

Faculty Senate minutes from meeting held March 2, 2009. This item contains the agenda, minutes, and attachments for the Faculty Senate meeting on this date. Some issues accompanied by reports from officers of administration and faculty committees.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet February 2009, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The February 2009 Monthly packet includes the February agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held February 2009.

Raps Sheet, February 2009, Retirement Association Of Portland State

RAPS Sheet: Monthly Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Japanese International Graduate Students In U.S. Higher Education Classrooms: An Investigation Of Their Pedagogical And Epistemological Challenges And Supports, Miki Yamashita

Dissertations and Theses

International students have long been an important part of the U.S. higher education community, but generally they have received inadequate attention in the classroom. Also, American teaching and learning strategies have not taken full advantage of international diversity. The purpose of this narrative study was to qualitatively understand the experiences of Japanese graduate students in U.S. higher education classrooms. The study highlights the challenges that Japanese graduate students faced due to cultural differences, pedagogical differences, and language problems and provides a number of suggestions for faculty, domestic students, and institutions to help create a more welcoming environment for Japanese graduate …

Occupational Health And Safety Status Of Indigenous And Latino Farmworkers In Oregon, Stephanie Farquhar, Nancy M. Goff, Nargess Shadbeh, Julie Samples, Santiago Ventura, Valentin Sanchez, Pamela Rao, Shelley Davis

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Exposure to pesticides poses great risk to agricultural workers and their families. Of the approximately 174,000 agricultural workers in Oregon, studies estimate that up to 40% of the workers in Oregon are indigenous and may be particularly vulnerable to the health risks of working in pesticide treated areas. Surveys conducted with Oregon farmworkers suggest that Latino and indigenous farmworkers differ demographically and may have diverse occupational and health needs. All Latino workers reported Spanish as their native language, while indigenous workers spoke several different native languages. Latino workers were employed mostly in orchards (28%) and nurseries (24%), while indigenous workers …

Curriculum Change 2009-2010, Portland State University

Bulletin & Curriculum Change Documents

No abstract provided.

Bulletin: General Catalog Issue 2009-2010, Portland State University

Bulletin & Curriculum Change Documents

No abstract provided.

Literacy Leadership In Secondary Schools: A Case Study Of Teaching And Learning In Two School Districts, Gregory Berry

Dissertations and Theses

Improvement in literacy learning in secondary schools requires a dual focus: a district and school organizational leadership approach, and a classroom- and instruction-focused approach. To help close the achievement gap and improve learning for all students, whole school reform efforts must be focused on literacy. Elements of whole school reform may include professional development programs such as professional learning communities, peer coaching, and literacy coaching. The sociocultural contexts that these approaches incorporate can help improve the learning of both teachers and students and can bring about significant secondary school reform and academic improvement.

This dissertation study is a qualitative, collective, …

Intersections Of Language And Race For English Language Learners, Tonda Liggett

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper, I discuss the intersection of linguistic and racial hierarchies for English language learners in their school community. I argue that the mapping of one social hierarchy onto another is used to create Self-Other distinctions based on linguistic background. I examine how these hierarchies framed the social context in ways that marginalized this diverse group of learners. I draw on research data from six, white, middle-class English language teachers to analyze how their students experienced this intersection. I conclude with suggestions for teacher educators to include material and curricula that examines not only structural hierarchies of language and …

What Teachers Should Know About Racism, Prejudice, And Privilege: A Literature Review, Karie Mize

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Although racial groupings are not biologically determined, socially constructed racial categorizations greatly influence an individual’s material conditions and lived experiences. Social, economic, political, and educational realms are stratified as a result of racism, or the racist structures embedded in institutions and policies that allow whites to control the majority of resources. The extent to which the dominant group is collectively privileged in the United States’ society is difficult for whites to fully comprehend due to their social position. Teacher candidates need to understand the ways in which economic and social manifestations of racism affect educational institutions, which in turn perpetuates …

Methodological Note: On Using Personal Digital Assistants (Pdas) For Survey Administration In The Study Of Youth Development, Mona M. Abo-Zena, Amy Eva Alberts Warren, Sonia S. Isaac, Dan Du, Erin Phelps, Richard M. Lerner, Robert W. Roeser

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Applied developmental scientists face the challenge of identifying research methods that enable the efficient collection of data from youth of diverse social backgrounds (e.g., ethnic. racial, religious, economic) and varying levels cognitive-linguistic and attentional skills. In addition, because access to youth during school time is often limited by educators’ desire to preserve instructional time, finding methodologies to collect data from youth that are highly efficient, and also those that are feasible in less structured settings, are needed. This article outlines some of the benefits and limitations of using a voice enhanced survey delivered on a personal digital assistants (PDA) as …

The Nature Of People's Perceptions Of Wolves, Laura Briana Nobel

Dissertations and Theses

European immigrants once regarded wolves as the "devil in disguise" (Lopez, 1978, p.40). With our growing awareness of other cultural perspectives and flourishing body of scientific knowledge with regard to wolves' behavior, our perceptions of wolves have become more complicated and nuanced. Our collective awareness of the environment in which we live also gathers complexity. I examine these issues in this study. Wolves are returning to Oregon. The arrival of wolf B-45 in 1999 heralded the beginning of the return of wild wolves to Oregon. More wolves are expected to cross the border as young sub-adults disperse from the growing …

A Sequential Bayesian Approach For Hydrologic Model Selection And Prediction, Kuo-Lin Hsu, Hamid Moradkhani, Soroosh Sorooshian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

When a single model is used for hydrologic prediction, it must be capable of estimating system behavior accurately at all times. Multiple-model approaches integrate several model behaviors and, when effective, they can provide better estimates than that of any single model alone. This paper discusses a sequential model fusion strategy that uses the Bayes rule. This approach calculates each model's transient posterior distribution at each time when a new observation is available and merges all model estimates on the basis of each model's posterior probability. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of this approach through case studies that fuse three hydrologic …

Paraprofessionals Who Work With Elementary Grade Students With Significant Disabilities In Inclusive Settings, Regina Moreno

Dissertations and Theses

The use of paraprofessional services is an established and crucial aspect in the pursuit of a free and appropriate public education for students with disabilities. Paraprofessionals are often the primary providers of instruction for students with severe disabilities yet are the least trained instructional personnel in schools. Identified competencies and necessary training content for paraprofessionals who serve students with severe disabilities are nearly absent in the professional literature.

This study extended the current literature regarding paraprofessionals who serve students with disabilities in public schools by focusing specifically on those paraprofessionals who serve students with severe disabilities in inclusive general education …

Raps Sheet, January 2009, Retirement Association Of Portland State

RAPS Sheet: Monthly Newsletter

No abstract provided.