Digital Commons Network^™

The Silk Road: The Trans-Eurasian Movement Of Goods, Ideas, Art, Science, And Innovation, Lisa Senne

Open Educational Resources

Students will diagram the “route” and identify geographical hardships travelers endured along the Silk Road. Students will be able to explain the purpose of the Silk Road, the impact it had on early trading, and it’s modern day relationship to international trade. Students will be able to visually track the spread of goods and ideas across Eurasia.

The Movement Of Iowa's State Capitol, Eric Pettit

Open Educational Resources

Students will be able to identify the three locations of where Iowa’s state capitol has been.

Tin Mining On The Jos Plateau, Natasha Cooper

Open Educational Resources

Students will understand the history of tin mining on the Jos Plateau. Students will be able to apply information and brainstorm as they construct a poster on the positive and negative consequences of tin mining.

The Thirteen Colonies, Mike Dugger

Open Educational Resources

Students will demonstrate understanding of similarities and differences between the Thirteen Colonies and their community today.

Traffic Flow In Nigeria, Dan Walsh

Open Educational Resources

Students will be able to describe some of the frustrations and problems of traffic in Nigeria.

The Virgins Of Chile, Erin Nennig

Open Educational Resources

Students will investigate the immigration stories and feast day celebrations of the Virgins of Latin America. Students will map where the ideas of each Virgin originated. Students will create and present a PowerPoint describing their assigned Virgin.

Traditional Musical Instruments, Natasha Cooper

Open Educational Resources

Students will understand the four categories of traditional Nigerian music. Students will be able to explain and display an example of the four types of instruments in a poster. Students will be able to apply knowledge as they create their own traditional Nigerian instrument.

Understanding The Wisdom Of A People, Kathy Sundstedt

Open Educational Resources

Students will compare Yoruba and United States values.

Transcontinental Railroad, Tyler Balow

Open Educational Resources

Students will map their own routes for the transcontinental railroad. Students will read and analyze several maps in order to design their routes based on the geographical factors.

Tracking Flat Stanley, Jennifer Hardee

Open Educational Resources

Students will use Google Earth to locate the places Flat Stanley visits and record the absolute location of each place.

Trees, Rodney Wallace

Open Educational Resources

The student will be able to locate, identify, and understand the photosynthic cycle of 6 species of trees. The student will also be able to explain physical observations made of each tree.

Baseball In The Heartland: Semi-Pro Baseball Survives In Iowa, Todd Michael Hospodarsky

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Baseball has been an important part of American popular culture for over one hundred years. In the early part of the twentieth century baseball was the nation's most pervasive sport and symbolized many values and attitudes that Americans held dear. During the late nineteenth century, adult baseball teams were formed within small towns across the nation. The team members were typically considered amateur athletes playing "town team" baseball. Over the years, as they were given opportunities to make money from their play, the term of semi-professional was applied to many of these players.

The decades following World War II were …

Destination Attractiveness Of The Silos And Smokestacks National Heritage Area, Puyong Choi

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of destination attractiveness of the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA) in Iowa using the relative attractiveness and importance of the 15 attributes identified by Gearing, Swart, and Var's (1974) scale and 3 attributes identified by Hu and Ritchie (1993). These attributes represent the overall destination attractiveness of the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA) in Iowa. This study focused on the perspective of visitors and tourism experts.

Fishbein's (1967) multi-attribute model was used to determine the attitudes and preferences of the participants. The model is used to …

Exploring New Roles Of Classroom Teachers In Iowa Communities Experiencing Rapid Ethnic Diversification, Cindy R. Lewis

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Non-English speakers are currently the fastest growing population group in Iowa schools. Immigrant and refugee families are choosing in record numbers to make Iowa their home. Across the state, newcomers are added daily to classroom rosters, and teachers are challenged to meet the unique social, emotional, and educational needs of students.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how selected teachers in classrooms across Iowa have responded personally and professionally to an evolving socio-political climate. The study examined how professional roles have been redefined and how teachers have responded to the changes. Three research questions guided this qualitative …

A Study Of Cultural Orientation And Attitudes And Meaning Toward Play: A Cross Cultural Investigation Among Emerging Adulthood In The People Republic Of China, Hong Kong, And United States, Winnie Wing-Sze Wong

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to examine play among emerging adults in the People Republic of China, Hong Kong, and the United States. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the respondents' perceptions of play and their personal cultural orientation. The study also explored the relationship between respondents' perceptions of play's importance and their cultural orientation. Respondents' frequency of play was also studied to determine whether there were relationships between frequency of play, countries of origin, and personal cultural orientation. Finally, the study considered the interactive effects among perceptions of play, play's importance, personal …

Morphological Variation Among Populations Of Uca Rapax In The Gulf Of Mexico And Northern Caribbean, Amanda L. Brase

Honors Program Theses

This study explores the relationship between phenotypic variation in the carapace morphology and the geographic distribution of Uca rapax population in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and the Northern Caribbean Sea. Carapace or body shape in 37 populations is analyzed quantitatively and correlated with two habitat variables: salinity and location. Although there is morphological overlap among populations grouped by habitat, they are significantly different when sorted by geographic region. Populations from the northern and western Gulf of Mexico diverge from those in Florida, the Yucatan and the northern Caribbean implying restricted larval dispersal and/or differential habitat selection.

Using Ecological Niche Modeling To Resolve Cryptic Taxa Within The Greenside Darter Species Complex, Jack Alphonse Kosmicki

Honors Program Theses

A major challenge for systematists is clearly identifying species early after a speciation event (Frost and Kluge, 1994; Wiens and Servedio, 2000; Coyne and Orr, 2004). Traditionally species delimitation is made based on morphological characteristics, behavioral differences, and/or genetic data. However, for cryptic species lineages, these approaches do not work as well because the lineages have subtle overlapping morphological and behavioral differences and lineage sorting may not be complete (Raxworthy et al., 2007). A far less common approach is to use ecological niche models (ENMs) to help identify new species. This approach holds strong potential for cryptic species in which …

Spanish Through Music: A Model For The Content-Based Classroom, Anna Gansen

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to identify reasons for Spanish teachers to implement content-based instruction and provide resources that support appropriate integration of musical content into foreign language classrooms while simultaneously upholding the priorities of the national standards for foreign language learning. I have combined research on content-based instructional methods with research on the relationship between language and music to determine common strategies foreign language teachers should remember when implementing music-based instruction. In addition, descriptions are included of a variety of music-centered activities that address national foreign language standards for learning and enhance both normal and content-based classrooms. Finally, …

Learning Transfer Of Geospatial Technologies In Secondary Science And Mathematics Core Areas, Curtis P. Nielsen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate the transfer of geospatial technology knowledge and skill presented in a social sciences course context to other core areas of the curriculum. Specifically, this study explored the transfer of geospatial technology knowledge and skill to the STEM-related core areas of science and mathematics among ninth-grade students. Haskell's (2001) research on "levels of transfer" provided the theoretical framework for this study, which sought to demonstrate the experimental group's higher ability to transfer geospatial skills, higher mean assignment scores, higher post-test scores, higher geospatial skill application and deeper levels of transfer application than the …

Using Google Earth To Track Carnegie Steel From U.S. History, Tim Curnutte

Open Educational Resources

Students will understand that Carnegie Steel owned all facets of steel production and transportation, effectively cutting out the middle men, thus maximizing corporate profits.

Using The Five Themes To Understand The Settlement Of The West, Ray Carlson

Open Educational Resources

Students will understand how settlers from the East modify the environment to meet their needs as they settled the West. Students will understand the humans adapt in response to their environment as the settled the West. Students will be able to identify characteristics that distinguish historic time periods. Students will have an introductory understanding of the Transcontinental Railroad, the Oregon Trail, the Gold Rush, and the Homestead Act of 1862.

West Creek Development Osae, Jeff Firsching

Open Educational Resources

Students will work cooperatively to speculate on the changes humans have made to transform farm fields into a housing development and what the consequences of those changes could be.

Well Bust My Buttons!, Rachel Hansen

Open Educational Resources

Students will understand and use the concepts of site and situation to evaluate the distribution of both original and current button factories in Muscatine.

Was China's One Child Policy A Good Idea?, Brittany Roberts

Open Educational Resources

Students will examine both sides of the one-child policy debate and examine consequences of the law.

What Makes A Location Unique?, Bob Gilbertson

Open Educational Resources

Students will:

• Analyze images from their country.

• Complete five themes of geography web cluster about their image.

• Review the information that classmates have written about a different image.

• Work collaboratively as a class to complete the large group web cluster.

• Complete a compare and contrast graphic organizer about Nepal and Egypt.

What Makes A Healthy (Or Unhealthy) Nation?, Jesse Dowell

Open Educational Resources

Identify and investigate the cultural, economic, and political factors that contribute to a nation’s health and well-being.

Where Does It Come From?, Barry Eberhard

Open Educational Resources

Students will predict where they think a majority of their clothing is produced, and then check each others labels to see if they are correct. Students will identify their favorite outfit and where each item of clothing was manufactured. Students will explore the places their clothing originates from via Google Earth and gapmider.com.

Where In The World Are You?, Carri Sawyer

Open Educational Resources

Students will be able to locate a destination given the latitude and longitude.

What's In A Name?: "Oruko Lonro Ni" Which Means "Names Affect Behavior", Anne Hoeper

Open Educational Resources

Students will be aware that Yoruba people believe the name a child bears can influence his/her behavior; therefore, the names given to a child in Nigeria are chosen for their meaning.

Where Do Zebras Live?, Dawn Wiley

Open Educational Resources

Students will be able to identify Africa on a map. Students will recreate a design in the feel of Kenya fabric design. Students will draw a zebra in its environment.