Digital Commons Network^™

The Iowa Caucuses: Effects Of Presidential Campaigns On State Politicians, Amy Kathleen Meyers

Honors Program Theses

The Iowa caucuses have been a topic of fascination for many political scientists, the media, and political junkies. Their prominent nature attracts media from all over the United States and can significantly impact the day-to-day lives of Iowans. In studying this topic, close attention must be paid to how campaigns necessarily treat elected state officials differently than ordinary Iowans. More specifically, legislators are treated differently in the processes by which campaigns lobby state legislators for support, the benefits officials receive, and the ways in which such lobbying can detract from their roles as state legislators. All of these factors are …

Mississippi River Towns: From Dubuque, Iowa To Hamilton, Illinois, Bonnie Jean Lawhorn

Graduate Research Papers

Knowing and learning about local history is considered to be important by both Iowa and Illinois State Departments of Education. School Districts have directed their teachers to teach the history of the state as well as the local community. The Mississippi River acts as a border between the two states and has played an important part in the development of villages and towns up and down the river. Living in towns that border the Mississippi River most of my life, I recognize the history that has played out in many of the locations from both sides of the river. Having …

Review Of Carmen Tafolla's The Holy Tortilla And A Pot Of Beans, R. C. Feddersen

Short Story

No abstract provided.

Upper Elementary Teachers' Perception Of The Pre-Referral Process, Lyndi Meyer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Teacher acceptance of the pre-referral process can have a significant effect on students in the classroom. This study examined upper elementary teachers perceptions of the pre-referral process. The pre-referral process was observed and upper elementary teachers were interviewed. Four themes related to upper elementary teachers' perception of the pre-referral process were identified: (a) decisions about referral, (b) impact of referral, (c), frustrations, and (d) suggestions for improvement. The limitations of the study and recommendations for future research and practice are discussed.

Home-School Collaboration : Strategies For Improvement, Kelly O'Bryan

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Home-school collaboration, the manner in which overt partnerships among schools, families, and the community are established, has been shown to be beneficial to all parties involved. Although the benefits of collaboration are known, empirical strategies to accomplish these benefits remain lacking in the literature. The current study examines the specific types of school practices occurring at the secondary level, as gathered through the 2003 Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey, and whether those practices predict involvement. Although parent education, parental work - . hours, personal notes from school, and memos from school were significant predictors of parent attendance at …

Women Chief Information Officers In Higher Education: Voices From The Field, Marilyn J. Ziesman Drury

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The lived experiences of women higher education Chief Information Officers (CIOs) were investigated and documented in this qualitative study. Three women higher education CIOs provided their perspectives on the opportunities and obstacles encountered as they pursued and achieved their current positions. These women's stories were gathered under a conceptual framework focusing on the intersection of applicable elements from gendered organizational theory, feminist standpoint theory, and occupational jurisdiction. Methods of overcoming obstacles and facilitating opportunities were discussed in relation to their lived lives and experiences. Examining institutional gendered norms accentuated the thoughts, values, practices, and processes that lead to muted women's …

Exploring The Relationship Between Parent Beliefs And Athletes' Perceptions: A Sport Commitment Approach, Heather M. Dewaard

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between parents' and gymnasts' perceptions on sport commitment constructs. The sport commitment model developed by Scanlan et al. (1993) provides a theoretical framework in which to explain why athletes participate. Two constructs in the sport commitment model, social constraints and support, represent the social influence factors which can be perceived as supportive or pressuring and may come from a variety of sources such as: parents, coaches, teachers, and peers. Parents tend to play an important role in their child's sport experiences (M.R. Weiss & Ferrer-Caja, 2002), and may influence an …

A Menu Of Activities In Different Intelligence Areas To Differentiate Instruction For Upper Elementary Students Related To The Book Because Of Winn-Dixie, Caroline F. Elser, Audrey C. Rule

Open Educational Resources

Today’s elementary classrooms are becoming more diverse, requiring teachers to provide effective instruction to children with a wide range of academic performance, ability, background, and interest. This work focuses on the development of a menu of differentiated instructional activities for teaching literacy to upper elementary students. The author, a former elementary teacher, worked with a faculty member and her literacy methods class of undergraduate preservice elementary teachers to develop this teaching unit based on a popular, award-winning children’s novel (DiCamillo, 2000). The menu of various activities organized in ten different intelligence areas (logical-mathematical, linguistic, bodilykinesthetic, spatial, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist, …

Hands-On Materials For Teaching About Global Climate Change Through Graph Interpretation, Audrey C. Rule, J. E. Hallagan, B. Shaffer

Open Educational Resources

Teachers need to address global climate change with students in their classrooms as evidence for consequences from these environmental changes mounts. One way to approach global climate change is through examination of authentic data. Mathematics and science may be integrated by interpreting graphs from the professional literature. This study examined the types of errors 72 preservice elementary teachers made in producing hands-on materials for teaching graph interpretation skills through graphed evidence of global climate change from the literature. The teaching materials consisted of a graph electronically manipulated on a colored background and enhanced with clip art related to the graph’s …

Interfaith Service And March Poster

Postville Project Documents

A poster announcing an interfaith service and march in support of immigrant families and a call for immigration reform.. in Postville, Iowa on July 27, 2008.

University Of Northern Iowa Fact Book, 2007-2008, University Of Northern Iowa

University of Northern Iowa Fact Book

Contents:

Message From President Benjamin Allen ... Inside Front Cover
Mission Statement ... 1
UNI Organizational Chart ... 2
UNI Administration ... 3
Definitions of Terms Used ... 4
Calendar ... 6
New Students ... 7
Enrollment ... 17
Alumni ... 49
Faculty and Staff ... 57
Budget and Finance ... 75
Academic Departments ... 85
Colleges ... 101
Graduate College ... 111
Library ... 125
General Information ... 127
Peer Institutions ... 141
References ... 149

University Of Northern Iowa 2004-2009 Strategic Plan: Progress Report [2007-2008], University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

A report detailing the progress on the strategic goals within the University of Northern Iowa's strategic plan.

This individual report was created in 2008.

National Board Of Professional Standards Portfolio Project, Daniel De Groot

Graduate Research Papers

The National Board Certification process is a detailed procedure which is designed for teachers to demonstrate mastery of the standards of excellent teaching. I went through the portfolio portion of this process as the creative component of my Master's of Science Education degree at the University of Northern Iowa. In the portfolio process I learned a great deal about my teaching in the science classroom, and how it can be improved.

The Teaching Of Elementary School Science In The Pre And Post No Child Left Behind Era: For Better Or Worse?, Jeffrey K. Perkins

Graduate Research Papers

A major problem confronting science education is the barriers elementary teachers face in teaching science. The reform efforts of the 1970's led initially to increased devotion of time in the area of science. The report "A Nation at Risk" published in the 1980's exposed the neglect of the American education system and helped lead to the establishment of standards and benchmarks for all school subjects.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the current state of elementary science in the No Child Left Behind [NCLB] school environment and compare this to the previous status of teaching science in the …

The Role Of Writing: Increasing Higher Level Thinking For All Students, Caroline Elser

Graduate Research Papers

Teachers can use writing in three important ways to increase higher level thinking skills for all students. First, they must increase writing proficiency for struggling writers; second, writing can increase higher-level thinking, and third, writing can be used across content areas to increase writing fluency while fostering higher-level thinking.

Rapid Elearning : Its Impact On Instructional Design In The Corporate World, Stephen W. Acheson

Graduate Research Papers

Rapid eLearning is a present and growing phenomenon in the world of corporate training that is challenging traditional instructional design ideas. The concept of Rapid eLearning represents a class of easy-to-use eLearning development tools, methods designed to shorten course development timelines, and techniques intended to enhance learner understanding and retention. Companies are adopting Rapid eLearning as a way to reduce costs and shorten the time it takes to disseminate new information and concepts to employees in geographically diverse locations. New software tools and instructional design methods are being developed to address the goals of Rapid eLearning.

To gain a broad …

Motivation Success And Failure, Dawn D. Buol

Graduate Research Papers

My research question for this paper is: how can teachers identify the different types of unmotivated students as well as motivated students in the classroom? Moreover, what strategies could be used to motivate those unmotivated students in order to make them become successful life long learners?

Music And The Brain, Kimberly D. Madison

Graduate Research Papers

A great deal of literature focuses on the subject of music and the brain and how music can affect learning. Music stimulates brain patterns, and therefore should be considered essential in an academic setting. This review was written to provide an analysis of the published literature and studies in the area of music and cognitive development, to examine how the brain is wired for music, and to determine whether music is an effective tool in enhancing environmental and cognitive learning conditions in classrooms.

Motivating Middle Level Students : Strategies To Help Reach And Teach Middle Level Students, Lisa L. Munsey

Graduate Research Papers

This review of literature focused on the strategies educators use for motivating the young adolescent in the middle level classroom.

Anderman and Maehr (1994) found motivation could be improved through a variety of methods by focusing on specific areas: developmental changes, intrinsic versus extrinsic, middle level transformation and classroom practice. Along these same lines, Curwin (2006) found motivation can be enhanced with practices in the middle level classroom through four main areas: (1) welcoming students to school and class, (2) stressing the effort students put forth, (3) increasing homework completion, and (4) turbo charging classroom lessons.

This paper focused on …

Identity In Second Language Learning: Access To The Target Language Group, Stephanie J. Marra

Graduate Research Papers

In recent years the role of identity in SLA has emerged in the literature as the linguistic community develops an understanding of the significance of identity in language learning (McKay & Wong, 1996). Norton (2000) refers to identity as “how a person understands his or her relationship to the world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the person understands possibilities for the future” (p. 5). An understanding of identity in language learning and the relationship of the language learner to the learning environment helps to illuminate what previous theories about the role of affective variables …

Barriers Of Technology Integration In Kindergarten Through Fifth Grade, Theressa Northouse

Graduate Research Papers

Many teachers understand the benefits of integrating technology in K through 5th grade classrooms, however, technology is not being effectively integrated. The purpose of this review is to identify the barriers of technology integration in kindergarten through 5th grade and discuss ways in which to remove those barriers. This review includes many research articles, books, websites, a blog, and an interview.

For the purposes of this review, the barriers to integration have been divided into two categories: first and second-order barriers. First-order barriers are extrinsic to the teacher and include issues such as lack of time, money, and technical support. …

Promoting Student Success In Online Courses, Cecilia Ruhlmann

Graduate Research Papers

This review examines the factors promoting student success in online courses. The first part of the study examines how prevalent the dropout rate is in secondary education, not only in the United States but also in Asia and Europe. The second part examines how online courses differ from face-to-face courses. The third part covers skills that are essential for succeeding in an online environment. The skills discussed are self-regulation, self-efficacy, motivation, and depth of learning. The fourth part of the study discusses what can be done to strengthen online courses.

Implementing Electronic Portfolios, Courtney Rogne

Graduate Research Papers

This literature review addresses the topic of assessing students with the use of electronic portfolios. The purpose of the review is to document for educators the advantages of electronic portfolios, the media selection options, as well as implementation procedures. Electronic portfolios are an alternative authentic assessment method that invites active student learning and provides an opportunity for instructors to design assessment strategies based on desired student-learning outcomes.

The review also found that many media options are available to meet the needs of the individual courses; however the web-based options are the easiest to use and modify. The review recommends that …

Standardized Testing And Alternative Assessment As A Means Of Measuring The Science Student, Johnpaul L. Collins

Graduate Research Papers

Should standardized tests be used as a means to effectively measure the work that is being done in today's science classroom. Accountability is a major issue in the subject of standardized testing, and constitutes the importance of this study. A review of literature has indicated that standardized testing has not necessarily improved education; and that alternative assessments are a more accurate measure of a student's knowledge. However cost, distribution, speed /accuracy of correction and distribution of data are on the side of the standardized format. There is a move by some states to alter the format of standardized tests, so …

Insects: A Sixth Grade Curriculum Unit, Katherine Schultz

Graduate Research Papers

This unit is designed to teach sixth grade students the importance of insects to our world. Insects appear everywhere on Earth in an amazing number and with great diversity. There are over a million species (York, 2002) identified and more are being discovered. Insects have adapted and multiplied to the point where they represent over eighty percent of the animal species that are found on Earth (Walters& Johnson, 1999)

National Board Of Professional Standards Portfolio Option, Rochelle Rene Wilkins

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Curriculum Reform: A Comparison Of A Teacher Created Rock Unit And The Sepup Rock And Mineral Unit, Derek Thomas Wibe

Graduate Research Papers

When the Cedar Rapids Community School District selected a new science curriculum for the fall of 2007, questions arose about how this new curriculum compared with the old curriculum. The new curriculum is similar to the old curriculum when compared by content standards and benchmarks but when the curricula as a whole are compared there are some differences. The seventh grade content curriculum did not experience many significant changes since the new curriculum still covers a large amount of Earth science. Specifically both curricula covered rocks so I decided to focus my research study on comparing the two curricula and …

Artificial Satellites: Lessons About Perspectives, Tom L. Wagner

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

No One Will Love You If You Are Fat, Mary Lynn Gerzema

Graduate Research Papers

Research shows that media plays a dominant role in influencing teenage females' perception of the world around them, as well as helping them to define their sense of self. This paper examines the influence that media has on the adolescent females' feelings towards their sexuality and self-esteem with their perception of a thin body image as emphasized in six of the most popular magazines that teenage girls read: CosmoGirl, Elle, Glamour, Seventeen, Teen People, and Teen Vogue. The study examined magazine advertisements, feature articles, and photographs of other teens in influencing what body types are acceptable, attractive, and popular. Advertisements, …

Effective Homework In The Middle School, Kelly J. Simon

Graduate Research Papers

This literature review examines the studies and research of the best practices and most effective implementation of homework in the middle school classrooms. It is found that parental involvement, teacher design and proper implementation of the homework are the most important factors for homework to have the desired effect on an adolescent's success in a subject. There are significant differences of opinion on many homework related issues, especially with regard to the overall contribution of homework academic success. However, one aspect that is universally agreed upon is that students, teachers, and parents are all important in determining the degree to …