Digital Commons Network^™

Growing Minds: Planting A Lasting Seed Using The Learning Cycle, Jennifer Nicole Prindle, Lori Marie Ihrig

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

This article highlights modifying a common early elementary activity to move instruction beyond isolated activities into a full unit of instruction using the learning cycle. The unit is designed to tackle students' misconceptions and deepen their understanding of scientific inquiry and the growing requirements of plants. This activity promotes National Science Education Standards A and C, and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Hot Conceptual Change - You’Ve Got To Have Faith, Jerrid Kruse, Michael P. Clough

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

In the last editorial (Kruse and Clough, 2010), we addressed some common concerns educators raise when considering inquiry-based instruction. Addressing such concerns is of utmost importance to address the plausibility, intelligibility and fruitfulness of inquiry-based teaching. Unfortunately, such issues are not all that affect willingness to enact inquiry-based teaching. More personal and contextual factors also play a part in all learning, including learning how to teach more effectively.

Learning Under Pressure: Teaching Boyle’S Law Through Inquiry, Meagan Woestman, Adam Kent

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Boyle’s law is commonly addressed in chemistry and physical science textbooks, but rarely in a manner consistent with what we know best promotes learning (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 2000). We present the standard syringe activity as an exploratory inquiry experience followed by a more formal development of the relationship. The activity starts and concludes by having students examine how the volume of a crushed pop bottle changes in a vacuum. Through iterative concrete experiences and guided discussions, students construct Boyle’s law to account for the class data. This article address National Science Education Standards A, B, E, G, and Iowa …

What’S My Motivation? Ideas For Rethinking Student Assessment, Jerrid Kruse

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Three of the articles in this issue of the Iowa Science Teachers Journal address assessment in the science classroom. Jesse Wilcox and Frank Noschese each discuss standards-based grading (SBG). Frank provides examples of his approach to SBG in his physics classes and makes a strong case for SBG while Jesse adds detail by sharing the frameworks he uses to inform and implement his SBG practices. Joe Bower goes a bit further by encouraging readers to consider why we assign grades at all. Each of the articles raises important, and related, points about the connection between assessment and motivation.

A Better Road: Improve Teaching And Student Morale Through Standards-Based Grading, Frank Noschese

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

This article explores the benefits of using a standards-based grading system. Examples of how such a system is used in a high school physics course are also provided.

Holding Ourselves To A Higher Standard: Using Standards-Based Grading In Science As A Means To Improve Teaching And Learning, Jesse Wilcox

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Standards-based grading (SBG) has grown in popularity over the past few years. However, many teachers wonder why they should switch from a traditional grading system. This article explores how standards-based grading can more accurately reflect what students learn and encourage changes in students’ attitude toward learning in the process. This article promotes Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

A Content Analysis Of American Civil War Historical Fiction For Upper Elementary Grades, Gwen L. Van Dee

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to analyze the treatment of complex issues of the American Civil War in a fifth grade social studies textbook and historical fiction novels, written for upper elementary readers. The study focused on slavery and racial issues, the stresses of war on families, and the aftermath of war.

A content analysis was conducted, using the fifth grade textbook information as a baseline for concepts to be learned. A sample of American Civil War historical fiction books was gathered using the following method: the H W Wilson's Middle School & Junior High Core Collection database was …

National Board Of Professional Teaching Standards Certification Portfolio Option, Tracy Lynn Bell Maxted

Graduate Research Papers

The National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) is an independent organization that encourages teachers to voluntarily examine and reflect on their teaching. Twelve teaching standards are used for the evaluation. For Adolescence and Young Adulthood Science the standards are to show teachers:

■ Understand Students;

■ Understand Science;

■ Understand Science Teaching;

■ Engage the Science Learner;

■ Sustain a Learning Environment;

■ Promote Diversity, Equity & Fairness;

■ Foster Science Inquiry;

■ Make connections in Science;

■ Assess for Results;

■ Reflect on Teaching and Learning;

■ Develop Collegiality & Leadership; and

■ Connect with Families & Community.

Annual Report Of The Registrar 2010/2011, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Contents:

--- Definitions
--- Annual Report Data
--- Summary of Attendance
--- Attendance by Session
--- Full-time Equivalency Enrollment
--- Degrees Granted
--- Degree Summary
--- Program Certificates
--- Pupils in Price Laboratory School
--- Miscellaneous Enrollment Information
--- Degrees Granted by College, Degree Objective, and Racial/Ethnic Classification

A Fine Balance: Tangible Or Electronic?, Gretchen Brooke Gould

Library Faculty/Staff Publications

As the government documents librarian, I was appointed to an ad hoc library task force in the spring of 2010. The task force was to determine if our library should remain in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) as a selective depository. Ultimately, the group recommended that we remain in the FDLP, and the library administration accepted our recommendations. The recommendations included shifting from tangible government documents towards electronic documents wherever possible. However, tangible government documents of significant historical and/or research value were to be retained. In addition, a special weeding project to reduce the size of the current collection …

Providing Preservice Teachers With Worthwhile Field-Based Experiences In Mathematics, Glenn Nelson

Faculty Work

Providing preservice teachers with worthwhile field-based experiences is recognized as an important component in their development as good teachers. Because mathematics instruction in general has moved from a teacher-directed, procedurally-focused process to a more student-centered, conceptually-oriented approach, preservice mathematics education classes – especially methods courses - should reflect this shift as well. Field-based opportunities can be instances for preservice teachers to personally experience such a shift to real-world relevance.

Work-Family Balance As A Mediator Of Relationships Between Family-Supportive Organizational Perceptions And Employee And Organization Outcomes, Jaimie Bell

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Work-family balance is a common term used in organizations with important implications for employees. The purpose of this research was to determine if the antecedent variable family-supportive organizational perceptions were related to four positive outcomes: engagement, intent to quit, physical health, and job tension/strain. More specifically, this research focused on determining whether or not work-family balance was the mediating variable in these four relationships. A 12 item survey was issued to those individuals who met specific inclusion criteria. This criteria stated that respondents had to have at least one dependent child currently living at home as well as work at …

Uni Graduating Senior Survey 2010-2011, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Contents:

Survey Administration --- 2

Distribution of Graduates by College --- 3

Plans Following Graduation --- 3

Characteristics of Respondents --- 5

Survey Highlights --- 7

Institutional Summary of Results --- 9

Summary of Responses by College --- 11

Multiple Year Comparison --- 60

Appendix A --- 69

Comparison Of Measures Of Marker Informativeness For Ancestry And Admixture Mapping, Lili Ding, Howard Wiener, Tilahun Abebe, Mekbib Altaye, Rodney Cp Go, Carolyn Kercsmar, Greg Grabowski, Lisa J. Martin, Gurjit K. Khurana Hershey, Ranajit Chakorborty, Tesfaye M. Baye

Faculty Work

Background: Admixture mapping is a powerful gene mapping approach for an admixed population formed from ancestral populations with different allele frequencies. The power of this method relies on the ability of ancestry informative markers (AIMs) to infer ancestry along the chromosomes of admixed individuals. In this study, more than one million SNPs from HapMap databases and simulated data have been interrogated in admixed populations using various measures of ancestry informativeness: Fisher Information Content (FIC), Shannon Information Content (SIC), F statistics (F_ST), Informativeness for Assignment Measure (I_n), and the Absolute Allele Frequency Differences (delta, δ). …

2011 Annual Governance Report On Faculty Activities, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Report of faculty activity broken down by rank

A Comparison Of Face-To-Face And Online Instructional Delivery Methods In Large-Group Settings In A University Undergraduate Wellness Course, Lea Ann Shaddox

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Utilization of online delivery of the lecture component in an undergraduate wellness course is unique and undocumented in research. Wellness courses are traditionally taught with face-to-face lectures plus an activity component. This discipline is distinctive in terms of its activity components that are not conducted online.

The purpose of this study was to investigate two large group face-to-face and online courses to determine if the students enrolled were demographically equivalent and if there were differences in academic achievement in terms of final course grades and between subgroups of students. For the fall 2006 and spring 2007 semesters, 1,814 students were …

Wash Water In The Mix: Effects On The Compressive Strength Of Concrete, Brian Wasserman

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Beginning with the Water Quality Act of 1987, requirements were put in place to control sediment run off from construction sites, which typically meant silt fences were installed and maintained on job sites. In 2009, when Aggregate Industries was fined $2.7 million by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for poor management of concrete wash water, the disposal of concrete wash water became a significant issue. Following the EPA guidelines, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) currently allows the dumping of excess concrete on the job sites, but requires control of all water used to wash concrete ready mix trucks, delivery …

A Wireless System For Crack Monitoring In Concrete Structures, Souhail M. Saad

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The formation of cracks in concrete is a normal phenomenon. However, effective control and prevention of the formation of cracks is the key for successful life of concrete structures. Specifically, cracks represent a path of least resistance for moisture and corrosive ionic agents from de-icing salts to reach embedded steel in concrete. Commercial wireless sensor networks utilizing crack gauge sensors can be applied for crack monitoring in the common concrete structure. The crack sensors circuits' boards, which are used to stimulate the cracks, are currently unavailable for the SG-Link module platform.

The SG-Link module is an ultra-low-power module for use …

Pre-Service General Education Teachers' Attitudes On The Education Of English Language Learners, Rachel Margaret Zidon

Honors Program Theses

Although increasing numbers of English Language Learners (ELLs) are joining native English speaking peers in general education classrooms, little research has been conducted to investigate general education teachers' preparation to work with ELLs in a classroom setting or their attitudes toward teaching ELLs. This research surveyed 260 pre-service general education teachers at a mid-sized university in the Midwest to explore their perceptions in the following areas: (1) their level of training and perceived preparedness to work with ELLs, (2) accommodations they would make for ELLs, (3) their expectations for ELLs, and (4) their attitudes toward including ELLs in general education …

Variables Affecting Crime Rate, Jaime Zeigler

Honors Program Theses

The Federal Bureau of Investigation releases data about crime statistics. They publish the raw data and provide factors that influence the crime rate. They provide the general public with a few variables that they deemed most influential, but do not provide the statistical analysis to support. After performing a statistical analysis, I support or disprove their claims. Another way to question the validity of regression is comparing the current regression to a previous regression performed two years ago by myself with the same variables from the same source. An additional aspect that this paper explores the history of factors affecting …

Parent Involvement And Academic Achievement, Patrick Andrew Lussenhop

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Research has shown that increasing parental involvement has a positive impact on the academic performance of students yet, for a variety of reasons, many schools struggle to get parents involved. Providing online data systems to communicate student progress with parents is one way schools may encourage parent involvement in their children's education. This study explores the relationship between parent use of an online data system and student academic achievement. Data from a Student Information System (SIS), including course grades, grade point average, attendance, and parent log-in information, was gathered over a four year period for a cohort of students from …

Shared Superintendency In Iowa: An Investigation Of Organizational Perceptions Of Leaders In Districts That Employ A Shared Superintendent, Roark Ronald Horn

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The combination of declining enrollment and diminishing resources continues to pressure school leaders to make difficult choices; for an increasing number of districts one answer to this dilemma is to share a superintendent with a neighboring district. Research conducted by Decker, Talbot, and McCumsey (1990, 1991) showed that while potential financial benefits do exist to this type of organizational structure, this decision also comes with some cautionary concerns that must be considered. The purpose of this study was to provide additional information about shared superintendents to school districts that are considering moving to this kind of executive leader format. Specifically, …

Disney And The Classroom: How Children's Perceptions Can Help Inform Teacher Practice, Kimberly Lynn Burken

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this research was threefold: to examine how race was represented in cartoon Disney movies, to determine if cartoon Disney movies influence racial perceptions in children, and to determine how to effectively address racial perceptions in the classroom.

The Effects Of Hypergravity On Xenopus Embryo Growth And Cardiac Hypertrophy, Bryce Joseph Duchman

Honors Program Theses

All life on earth has developed and evolved in a 1 G environment. Therefore, any deviation below or above unit gravity will likely have an effect on the development of organisms, including the migration of cells and the dispersion of nutrients. The purpose of this research project is to analyze the effects of hypergravity on the overall body length and cardiac growth of Xenopus laevis embryos. I predict that cardiac hypertrophy will occur in embryos subjected to hypergravity because of the increased force required from the heart to adequately circulate blood and, thus, disperse nutrients. Upon reaching early gastrulation, embryos …

A Different Kind Of Garden: Seeding The Growth Of Tas2 Nanostructures With 3d Transition Metals, Kayla Rose Boyle

Honors Program Theses

An investigation into the synthesis of TaS₂ nanostructures was performed through the comparison of four growth methods. Each method utilized a 3d metal, Mn or Cr, or a comparable metal sulfide compound as a potential nucleating compound to seed the growth of these nanostructures, and all samples were produced using similar heating conditions. Sample imaging of the final products was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while the chemical compositions were determined by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS). From these analyses it was determined that the most effective growth process for these TaS2 nanostructures resulted …

Exploring Literacy Across The Curriculum: Writing In The Mathematics Classroom, Sarah E. Heddinger

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of my Honors thesis is to find evidence that writing in mathematics benefits both students and teachers. To research this claim, I viewed how writing takes place in mathematics within a specific elementary classroom. I hoped to view mathematics lessons in which literacy, specifically writing, was involved as an integral part of every lesson.

Traditional Vs. Alternative Assessment Methodology In Iowa's Secondary Social Science Classroom, Jake Edward Hoversten

Honors Program Theses

This thesis is a product of an interest I had in classroom assessment as a future educator of Iowa. I wanted to know which types of assessments were being used in order to direct my own teaching practices. The purpose of this project is to determine the extent that alternative assessment is used compared to traditional assessment in Iowa's secondary social science classrooms. This project draws information from current educators and an array of other resources in order to determine the frequency of each method of assessment and the reasons behind any potential trends in methodology. This project reveals current …

Designing For The User: Exploring The Interface Design Of Web Services, Katelyn Anne Haw

Honors Program Theses

My thesis investigated the ideas of usability and the design process to create software that is considered usable. I developed a web interface for a Plan of Study Application that would help students make the educated decisions about their studies at UNI. Throughout the development of this application I addressed the following questions: "What makes an interface usable?" and "How does the design process affect a system's usability?" User interface design is an interdisciplinary process and it often involves computer programmers and graphic designers working together. Without clear communication and vision between the groups, the software being developed has little …

Earnings Management And The Effect On Long-Run Performance For Firms With Seasoned Equity Offerings, Danielle Enderson

Honors Program Theses

Managers of publicly traded firms use various methods to signal to the market their beliefs about their company's current performance and future prospects. These methods include, among others, the declaration of dividends to common stockholders, a firm's repurchase of its shares in the market, or the issuance of seasoned equity. Each of these actions can be used to send a specific signal to the market based on management's beliefs regarding the firm's financial outlook.

This study focuses on a firm's issuance of seasoned equity. Seasoned equity offerings, or SEOs, are the issuance of additional shares of stock by a firm …

The Effects Of Myd88 Inhibition On Bovine Lung Endothelial And Epithelial Cell Cytokine Expression, Cassandra Kay Hayne

Honors Program Theses

Bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) has major economical implications on the beef industry due to the severe health problems it produces in calves. Although several organisms are associated with it, Mannheimia haemolytica induces the severest amount of damage to the lungs. It has previously been demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produced by this bacterium causes significant permeability increases and cell apoptosis in bovine lung endothelial cells (BPMEC) but not bovine lung epithelial cells (TBPE). The purpose was to determine whether the main signaling pathway for cells that respond to LPS signaling, the Myeloid Differentiation 88 Pathway (MYD88), is present and functional …