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Writing Workshop And Creativity Despite Standardization: An Exploration Of Elementary Teachers' Practices, Darcie Kay Kress

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Writing instruction in today’s classrooms is often structured with “formulaic, sterile writing instruction” (Brown, Morrell, and Rowlands, 2011, p. 17). The focus on formulaic approaches can be problematic, for it may inadvertently cause the quality of students’ writing to decline (Brown, Morrell, & Rowlands, 2011; Gillespie, Olinghouse, & Graham, 2013). The National Writing Project (NWP) provides teachers with professional development to strengthen their own skills as writers, and also to learn how to effectively incorporate evidence-based practices into their writing instruction.

The aim of this study was to explore the practices of three elementary classroom teachers (second, fifth, and sixth …

Teacher Candidate Immersion Into Bilingual/ Dual Language Classrooms In Largest Urban District In Texas, Bobbette M. Morgan, Criselda Garcia, John Jauregui

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Prevailing teacher education reform initiatives call for preservice preparation to be "clinically rich" shifting the primary locus, and therefore location, of learning from within university walls to schools (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, 2010; New York State Department of Education, 2011; U. S. Department of Education, 2009, 2011). In an effort of the largest school district in Texas to recruit our bilingual preservice teachers and for us to expose our students from the Rio Grande Valley to a highly populated urban setting, our students are invited to spend one week with host families and shadow an experienced teacher …

Secure Networked Control Via Software Rejuvenation, Paul Griffioen, Raffaele Romagnoli, Bruce H. Krogh, Bruno Sinopoli

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Software rejuvenation has been proposed as a prevention mechanism against unanticipated and undetectable attacks on cyber-physical systems. Without needing to implement any detection algorithm, the system is periodically refreshed with a secure and trusted copy of the control software to eliminate any malicious modifications to the run-time code and data that may have corrupted the controller. Previous work has considered using software rejuvenation while being able to disconnect from the network when recovering from dangerous situations. In contrast, we consider using software rejuvenation in cases where a network connection is needed in order for proper recovery to occur. We present …

Cultural Practices And The Transmission Of Ebola In Sierra Leone: Lessons Learned From A Medical Anthropology Perspective, Abubakarr Jalloh

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The link between culture and infectious diseases has long been established. This is primarily due to the notion that culture shapes and influences people’s beliefs, actions, and ways of life. Such beliefs and their accompanying actions ultimately contribute to people’s risk of contracting an infectious disease. As such, there is a need for a cultural perspective in understanding infectious diseases because human behavior plays a significant role in the emergent, transmission, and spread of such diseases. This study explores the cultural practices that may have contributed to the transmission of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Sierra Leone during the 2013-2016 …

Trainers' Perspectives Of Teacher Professional Development, Harun Parpucu

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Considerable attention in the literature has been given to perspectives of teachers and administrators regarding effectiveness of professional development for teachers. However, there is a paucity of research regarding perspectives of trainers and facilitators of professional development for educators. Thus, this dissertation study focused on trainers’ perspectives on effective professional development. More specifically, the study investigated these research questions: (1) What goals and objectives do trainers set for their professional development sessions?; (2) How do trainers facilitate professional development?; (3) How do trainers know they achieved the goals and objectives of their professional development?; (4a) Why do trainers do what …

Understanding Esl Undergraduate Students' Beliefs About Learner-Centered Instruction, Mahjabeen Hussain

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study was undertaken to determine undergraduate ESL students’ beliefs about learner-centered teaching (LCT) practices in English classes and to understand to what extent their learner-centered learning experiences influenced their beliefs about the quality of LCT practices. The study involved explanatory sequential mixed-methods. The Learner-centered Battery Student Survey and focus group interviews were used to collect data. One hundred and twelve undergraduate ESL students at a Midwestern university took part in the survey, 17 of whom, predominantly Asians, subsequently took part in multiple mini focus groups that lasted approximately 50-70 minutes each. Quantitative data analysis included descriptive statistics, t-Tests, and …

Investigation Of The Changes Of Preservice Teachers' Efficacy Beliefs In Teaching Students With Special Needs, Pujaningsih Pujaningsih

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study was designed to examine preservice teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in teaching students with special needs during student teaching and to explore potential influential factors contributed to its change. The efficacy theory (Bandura, 1977) was applied as the theoretical frameworks of this study. This framework guided this study for a deeper understanding of how preservice teachers interpreted their experiences when teaching students with special needs.

The participants were preservice teachers in one of a university in the Midwest who enrolled in the student teaching program in Spring 2018 and taught students with special needs in their classroom(s). Collecting data, this …

Analysis Of A Paleoglacier Reconstruction Model For Valley Glaciers Of The Wind River Range, Wyoming, Taylor Rae Garton

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Various approaches, ranging from in-field morphological reconstructions to more technology-based modelling practices allow us to reconstruct and understand the long-term geomorphic evolution of landscapes. The study of paleo-environments by reconstruction can also give us profound insight into paleo-climate. A new model, GlaRe (Glacial Reconstruction), has been introduced into the alpine glacier modeling community to facilitate glacier reconstruction. In this research the mathematical equations representing the basal shear stress parameter are tested to determine the applicability of the GlaRe model to alpine glaciers in the American West. Known ages and extents of past glacier advances were used to test the reconstructions …

Perception Of Preservice Teachers On The Implementation Of Multicultural Education, Winnie Esther Akinyi

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the study was twofold:

(1) To examine perceptions of preservice teachers on the implementation of multicultural education; and

(2) To investigate the extent to which preservice teachers are willing to implement multicultural education.

Snowball sampling method was used to find the participants for this research study because part of the sample for the study was very rare or limited to a very small subgroup of the population (minorities and seniors). Three preservice school teachers participated in the interview process, the results were audio recorded.

The results indicated preservice school teachers of different demographic characteristics held different beliefs …

Beyond "Born This Way": Reconsidering Trans Narratives, Ashley Elizabeth Meyers

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

When most Americans hear the words “trans” or “transgender”, celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner, Chaz Bono, or Laverne Cox likely come to mind along with their highly public stories of medical and social transition. While these celebrity representations have served to increase visibility for the trans community throughout the United States over the past decade, trans representation remains limited in terms of intersectionality and a narrow focus on celebrity stories and themes of essentialization, dysphoria, and medical transition. At the same time, research on trans narratives also remains focused almost exclusively on trans women and men who experience dysphoria and undergo …