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The Impact Of A Year-Long Professional Development On Teacher Self-Efficacy In Personal Writing And The Teaching Of Writing, Guang-Lea Lee, Terri Brodeur, Cherng-Jyh Yen, Tian Luo, Pauline Salim Muljana

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Long-term professional development (PD) initiatives are scant in the extant literature. This study examines the impact of a year-long, face-to-face teacher PD provided for teachers from a high-need elementary school to improve their personal writing and writing instruction. A mixed-methods approach was used to collect and analyze data primarily from pre- and post-surveys and interviews. Statistical analyses suggest that teachers’ self-efficacy toward writing instruction was improved, but not self-efficacy toward their personal writing. Various means of how the year-long teacher PD influenced their self-efficacy were demonstrated through qualitative analysis. Implications of conducting teacher PD on writing instruction were discussed.

Review: Steven C. Harper. First Vision: Memory And Mormon Origins. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019., Stephen C. Taysom

Mormon Studies Review

Steven C. Harper’s book First Vision: Memory and Mormon Origins is, if nothing else, perfectly titled. The book is like none other of the dozens written over the years about what Latter-day Saints call “the first vision.” To this point, authors interested enough to take up the subject have done so out of a variety of motives, which in turn have predictably produced an equally various collection of writings. The most common motives, of course, were, and remain, the apologetic and critical (what used to be known as the “anti-Mormon”). Harper demonstrates, with admirable lightness of touch, the fundamental, categorical …

Review: Terryl Givens With Brian M. Hauglid. The Pearl Of Greatest Price: Mormonism’S Most Controversial Scripture. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019., Jeffrey (Kapali) Lyon

Mormon Studies Review

If you are looking for a quick takeaway from this review, here it is: I have never read a better book about Mormon scripture, and maybe not about any scripture from any religious tradition. The book is meticulously researched, both critical and sympathetic, but never apologetic nor debunking. The author aims to understand, laying out the origins and textual history of the Pearl of Great Price and its significance, both in the development of Mormon theology and as a tool for understanding Joseph Smith’s prophetic vocation.

A Comparison Of The Book Of Mormon’S Subordinate That Usage, Stanford Carmack

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

This paper compares the Book of Mormon’s subordinate that usage with what is found in the King James Bible, pseudo-archaic writings, and the greater textual record. In this linguistic domain, the Book of Mormon manifests as thoroughly archaic, and it surpasses all known pseudo-archaic writings in breadth and depth of archaism. The implications of this set of linguistic data indicate that the translation as originally dictated by Joseph Smith cannot plausibly be explained as the result of Joseph’s own word choices, but it is consistent with the hypothesis that the wording was somehow provided to him.

This Holy Mess, Sharlee Mullins Glenn

BYU Studies

When we go on road trips as a family, we often play what we call “Deep Questions.” One person asks a probing question, and then the rest of us have to answer (“What is the bravest thing you’ve ever done?” “If you could spend one hour with any historical figure, who would it be?” and so on). On one such occasion, someone asked: “What is your greatest fear?”

Prophets, Pagans, And Papyri, Stephen O. Smoot, Kerry Muhlestein

BYU Studies

Egypt has a long history of exchange and contact with a variety of people. Ancient people of diverse ethnic backgrounds made their way into Egypt—whether as war captives, mercenaries, merchants, invading armies, members of diplomatic parties, refugees, or simple migrants—bringing with them their language and culture. One such group was the ancient Jews, whose enslavement at the hands of “a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph” (Ex. 1:8), and exodus under the prophetic leadership of Moses may be the best-remembered incident of a Hebrew presence in Egypt, but it was not the only one.

Introduction, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

The Book of Abraham is accepted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an inspired or revealed translation of the writings of the biblical patriarch Abraham. Joseph Smith began the translation of the text after he acquired some Egyptian papyrus scrolls and mummies in summer 1835. Canonized as scripture by the Church in 1880, the book narrates an account of the patriarch’s near-sacrifice at the hands of his idolatrous kinsfolk, his journey into Canaan, the covenant he entered into with God, and his visions of the premortal world and the Creation. Although a short book of only …

Shinehah, The Sun, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

One of the astronomical terms defined in the Book of Abraham is Shinehah, which is said to be the sun (Abr. 3:13). Earlier in the Book of Abraham, the “god of Shagreel” is identified as the sun as well (Abr. 1:9). The context of these passages suggests that Shagreel is a West Semitic name or word while hinehah is an Egyptian name or word, although this is not explicit in the text.1 We do not know how Joseph Smith intended the word Shinehah to be pronounced; whether, for instance, shine-hah or shi-ney-hah or some other way. However it is pronounced, …

Egyptianisms In The Book Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

One way of determining whether the Book of Abraham is a translation of an underlying Egyptian document or whether it was originally composed in English is to see if the text contains what might be called Egyptianisms, or literary and linguistic features of the Egyptian language. The presence of Egyptianisms in the text of the Book of Abraham “might indicate some knowledge of Egyptian on Joseph Smith’s part.” Because “Egyptian was not really understood in Joseph Smith’s day,” any knowledge of Egyptian Joseph Smith may have possessed could only have come by revelation.

Book Of Mormon Studies: An Introduction And Guide By Daniel Becerra, Amy Easton-Flake, Nicholas J. Frederick, And Joseph M. Spencer, Matthew B. Christensen

BYU Studies

The aptly titled Book of Mormon Studies: An Introduction and Guide gives readers a welcome, straightforward, and helpful overview of where the field of Book of Mormon studies has been, where it is currently, and where it may go in the future. The book is coauthored by Daniel Becerra, Amy Easton-Flake, Nicholas J. Frederick, and Joseph M. Spencer—all professors of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University.

Utahisms: Unique Expressions, Inventions, Place Names, And More By David Ellingson Eddington, Roger Terry

BYU Studies

This slim volume by Brigham Young University linguistics professor David Eddington should interest anyone who grew up in Utah, lived in Utah, or is curious about the linguistic, geographic, and historical curiosities of the Beehive State. The book offers numerous surprises and debunks several common misconceptions about the origins of Utah names, places, inventions, and novelties.

Ur Of The Chaldees, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies

The opening verse of the Book of Abraham places the beginning of the patriarch’s story “in the land of the Chaldeans” (Abr. 1:1). Several references to the city of Ur and “Ur of the Chaldees” are also present in the text (Abr. 1:20; 2:1, 4, 15; 3:1). This location is said to be the “residence of [Abraham’s] fathers” and Abraham’s own residence and “country” (Abr. 1:1; 2:3).

“The Wind And The Fire To Be My Chariot”: The Anachronism That Wasn’T, John Gee

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

In the Book of Abraham, God tells Abraham in Haran, “I cause the wind and the fire to be my chariot” (Abraham 2:7). While this initially might appear to be an anachronism, as the chariot is normally thought to have been introduced later, archaeological finds of chariots at the site of Harran predate Abraham by hundreds of years.

Perspectives On Georgia Vowels: From Legacy To Synchony, Joseph A. Stanley, Jon Forrest, Leila Glass, Margaret Renwick

Faculty Publications

Nexuses of change in Georgia English

Mid vowels

• How are FACE and DRESS distinguished over time?
• Which speakers show DRESS raising/fronting (SVS, AAVS)?
• When does DRESS lowering/backing begin (LBMS)?
• Which speakers show GOAT fronting (SVS, LBMS vs. AAVS)?

Low vowels

• Which speakers show TRAP raising/fronting (SVS, AAVS)?
• When does TRAP lowering/backing begin (LBMS)?
• Which speakers have the LOT/THOUGHT merger (LBMS)?

Temporal Fluency And Floor/Ceiling Scoring Of Intermediate And Advanced Speech On The Actfl Spanish Oral Proficiency Interview–Computer, Troy L. Cox, Alan V. Brown, Gregory L. Thompson

Faculty Publications

The rating of proficiency tests that use the Inter-agency Roundtable (ILR) and American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) guidelines claims that each major level is based on hierarchal linguistic functions that require mastery of multidimensional traits in such a way that each level subsumes the levels beneath it. These characteristics are part of what is commonly referred to as floor and ceiling scoring. In this binary approach to scoring that differentiates between sustained performance and linguistic breakdown, raters evaluate many features including vocabulary use, grammatical accuracy, pronunciation, and pragmatics, yet there has been very little empirical validation …

The Case For Data Privacy Rights (Or 'Please, A Little Optimism'), Margot E. Kaminski

Publications

No abstract provided.

Identity By Committee, Scott Skinner-Thompson

Publications

Even in school districts with relatively permissive approaches to defining and embodying gender, the identities of transgender and gender variant students are often governed by complex regulatory protocols. Ensuring that a student is able to live their gender at school can involve input from a host of purported stakeholders including medical providers, mental health professionals, school administrators, the student’s parents, and even the broader community. In essence, trans and gender variant students’ identities are governed by committee, which reduces students’ control over their lives, inhibits self-determination, constricts the scope of permissible gender identities, subjects them to incredible degrees of state …

Ecofeminism(S): A Closer Look At Ana Mendieta’S Bacayu (Light Of Day), Catriona Reid

Hemisphere: Visual Cultures of the Americas

No abstract provided.

Trademark Law And Consumer Constraints, Laura A. Heymann

Faculty Publications

Trademark law’s focus is on the consumer. Both the trademark literature and the marketing literature, however, tend to assume a consumer with few constraints on economic or cognitive processing resources. For example, scholars have argued that some confusion in the marketplace is not only inevitable but is also an overall positive in that encountering confusion trains consumers to be more resourceful and to learn how to interpret marketing communications more carefully. But not all consumers have the same level of cognitive and economic resources. Disadvantaged consumers—such as those not literate in the English language, those with lower socioeconomic status, and …

Mirabile Dictu: Newsletter Of The Bryn Mawr College Libraries

Mirabile Dictu: Newsletter of the Bryn Mawr College Libraries

No abstract provided.

The Problems, And Positives, Of Passives: Exploring Why Controlling Passive Voice And Nominalizations Is About More Than Preference And Style, Jacob M. Carpenter

Faculty Publications

As professional writers, attorneys should understand and have command of two of “the worst writing weaknesses”—passive voice and nominalizations. Studies show that compared to active voice, passive voice and nominalizations can make writing slower to read, harder to read, harder to comprehend, harder to remember, less concise, less familiar feeling, and less engaging. However, passive voice isn’t always bad. Expert writers can use passive voice to create cohesion, shift emphasis, imply objectivity, and make readers feel more distant and less emotional about an event. The problem is that attorneys commonly use passive voice indiscriminately, unknowingly, and excessively, amplifying its negative …

Instructors’ And Students’ Attitudes And Practices Towards Using Critical Pedagogy In Taiwan, Chiaping Jennifer Chang

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to investigate instructors’ and students’ attitudes and practices towards using critical pedagogy (CP) in Taiwan. This study integrates critical theory and emphasizes the necessity of examining the historical, political, social, and language education contexts. Respondents included 68 instructors and 265 college EFL students in Taiwan. This study used mixed-methods, which combined quantitative and qualitative data collection. The quantitative data used two instruments developed by the researcher: 1) the critical pedagogy inventory for instructors and, 2) the critical pedagogy inventory for students. The qualitative data were collected through interviews with six instructors and six student-focus …

Understanding The Challenges And Ways In Which High School Principals Lead For All, Alexia Adele Ellett

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the complexities of equity work in suburban high schools and the challenges in leading this work as a high school principal, and it is organized into three separate parts. Paper 1 is a review of the literature defining equity, examining equity of what, and delving into the many reasons why there is resistance to this work. All three of these topics are interrelated and help one to understand why creating schools that work for all students has become increasingly challenging work, and also, the most important work that we, as educators, must focus on to truly serve …

Risk-Aware Path Planning For Autonomous Vehicles, Shaghayegh Gaeini

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Autonomous vehicles have been the subject of intense research leading to great improvements in safety, comfort, accessibility, efficiency, etc. Path planning which provides the autonomous vehicle with a smooth, collision-free, and safe path towards its destination, is a crucial part of autonomous vehicles (AVs). Various path planning techniques have been developed in the past decades that can successfully plan a smooth and safe path in various driving scenarios. Nevertheless, these algorithms perform poorly in critical situations where the vehicle needs to quickly make a decision. To address this issue, a couple of algorithms have been proposed to replace the AV’s …

Preservice Teacher Socialization For Social Justice: Exploring Stances And Enactments Of Social Justice Pedagogies, Eric R. Junco

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This multicase study examined the socialization experiences of four preservice high school English teachers from four different Midwestern teacher education programs to understand how their acculturative and professional socialization experiences influenced their social justice beliefs. This study also examined how participants’ most salient social justice beliefs took shape within their social justice stances, mission-oriented approaches to enact social justice pedagogies like culturally responsive teaching, antiracist pedagogy, and culturally sustaining pedagogy within their classrooms. This study was framed by occupational socialization theory and critical race theory. Data were collected from the Learning to Teach for Social Justice Belief Scale, interviews, and …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Factors Contributing To Adult Education Students’ Transition To Credit Courses, Heather Martin

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Adult education programs serve students with low literacy and numeracy skills. They provide instructional services below the postsecondary level for students who have limited English proficiency and students who are working towards obtaining their high school equivalency. Once adult education students complete their programs, they may choose to transition to college credit courses or enroll in a job training program. This study examined student factors that impact the likelihood of adult education students transitioning to college credit courses. Stepwise regression was used to analyze five years of adult education data from over 3,000 students in an adult education program in …

“It Takes A Village”: Student Mothers’ Experiences With Barriers And Support While Navigating Community College, Jeanine Mcmillen

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Student parents may feel invisible on college campuses, especially student mothers, who often feel ignored and overlooked when institutional policies and practices are not tailored to their needs and challenges. These students are especially vulnerable to withdrawing from college, even in institutional contexts that boast a positive and welcoming climate for underrepresented students. Using validation theory with a critical lens as the guiding theoretical framework, this qualitative case study examined how student mothers at one community college navigate barriers and supports within and outside of the institution. Findings revealed three themes, indicating that student mothers must cobble together a village …

Writing In Film Studies: Poetics And Pedagogy, Bryan Mead

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is writing instruction inside undergraduate film courses. While the existence of textbooks devoted to teaching students how to write about film highlights the need for such instruction, evidence suggests many courses underuse or neglect such texts. Instead, most instructors focus their efforts on content instruction, expecting students to translate an increased content knowledge into written argumentation. Yet, as is the case across the disciplines, students struggle to write successfully in these disciplinary courses. One of the main reasons for this disparity between instructor expectation and student success is the notion of disciplinarity, and how influential …

Evidence-Based Decision Making In Elementary Schools: A Case Study Of How Districts Make Decisions When Implementing Foreign Language Programs, Danielle Elizabeth Moran

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Learning another language is considered a key 21st century subject, something that all students should begin in elementary school. However, most school districts in Illinois do not offer students the opportunity to learn another language in elementary school. There are effective and high quality programs available to learn another language that are also mutually beneficial to English learners (ELs). District leaders in charge of planning curricular programs have choices about which programs are offered and are tasked with considering the many needs of the districts they serve. The purpose of this study was to learn about the decision making of …

Engagement Detection Using Prosodic Cues: An Approach For Measuring Child Emotional Engagement Level In Child-Robot Interaction Scenario, Mustafa Oztoprak

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The ultimate goal of advanced child-robot interaction is to develop a high-level intelligencecommunication channel in a closed-loop configuration with the child as the focal point of the instructional scenario. This goal can be met by establishing efficient sensing mechanisms on the robot’s side, such as automatic engagement measuring, which will allow the robot to alter its behavior or even the instructional scenario’s execution.Recent researches, regarding engagement recognition systems mostly based on facial or multi-modal features.We would like to investigate this topic using prosodic cues only. We believe speech characteristics are more likely to be related to child speaker engagement level.This …