Digital Commons Network^™

Decodable Readers Versus Leveled Text, Taylor Leitch

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

A student’s ability to read fluently is an extremely vital skill, necessary to allow them to succeed both in an academic setting and in everyday life. To guide those developing readers in increasing their independent reading fluency, abilities educators must have the correct instructional methods and tools that are developmentally appropriate to provide meaningful instruction. This quantitative action research project explores the use of decodable readers versus leveled text for students who are still developing the phonemic skills and recognition needed to read fluently. A decodable reader allows a student to explicitly practice one phonemic skill to mastery before adding …

Standards Based Inclusive Preschool Curriculum, Bridgette Leigh

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to create an inclusive preschool curriculum geared toward all children ages 3-to-5 years-old. The curriculum demonstrated scripted and detailed instructions on how to conduct lessons in the developmental areas of cognitive and social-emotional. Those developmental areas were selected due to the research indicating the highest need areas for young children. In addition, the curriculum addressed: the Minnesota state educational standards for preschool age children, early childhood indicators of progress (ECIPs), and individual education plan (IEP) goals and objectives for young children who have special needs. The curriculum gives example case studies and ways …

Reading Instruction, Interventions, And Process, Chelsey Pederson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The project Reading Instruction, Interventions, and Process is a handbook for how a school can implement a structured system for implementing a district-wide process for reading instruction and interventions. This handbook is an important resource because it explains how an entire reading instruction system could work within a school while also including specific interventions, a pathway for determining what students need, and steps for how to assess students for effectiveness of instruction. The purpose of this project was to provide teachers and schools with an all-encompassing document to explain specific reading instruction and interventions, so teachers know how to help …

Manipulating The Distance Of Inter-Letter And Inter-Word Spacing To Improve Reading Accuracy And Speed In The Dyslexic Student, Jon Roemmich

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

Recent research studies have shown that increased inter-letter and inter-word spacing has a positive effect on the reading speed and accuracy of students with dyslexia. A few of these studies also included the use of increased font size. Research that has included using fonts designed for dyslexics in addition to increased font size has not produced favorable results in increasing reading accuracy and speed. In relationship to previous research our results have shown that a .5 inter-letter and inter-word spacing has a marginal positive effect on reading accuracy and speed. The use of .3 and .7 inter-letter and inter …

Video Coaching For First-Year Special Education Teachers, Katherine Gadient

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Topic:

Video Coaching for First-Year Special Education Teachers

Abstract:

There is a shortage of special education teachers, especially in rural areas (Hopkins, 2023). School districts have attempted to address this shortage by hiring people on a variance and providing them with a specific timeline to obtain a special education teaching license (Tier Requirements, n.d.). Based on my school district and my experience, many of these teachers are hired without formal training in education and/or experience teaching in a special education setting. They may not have background information regarding due process and may need guidance on special education paperwork as well …

P-12 Teachers' Perceptions And Knowledge About Students' Mental Health And Their Willingness To Provide Mental Health Supports Within Their Classroom, Tamara Engel

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

P-12 students are experiencing higher rates of mental health needs, which generates a growing concern among teachers, parents, and educational leaders. Students with mental health challenges may struggle socially, emotionally, behaviorally, and academically and become at a risk for lower academic achievement, reduced graduation rates, and increased school suspensions and expulsions. While most of the literature is qualitative and has consistently identified schools as the ideal location to provide targeted mental health supports to students, teachers have reported having insufficient knowledge, skills, and resources to provide these supports to students. This correlational study aimed to move forward the quantitative methodology …

Engaging Graduate Medical And Health Sciences Students In Scholarly Communication: The Des Moines University Library’S Research & Scholarly Communication Peer Associate Program, Gina Schlesselman-Tarango, Jill Edgerton, Elizabeth Pryor, Rainie Valencia

Communications in Information Literacy

This piece introduces the Des Moines University Library’s Research and Scholarly Communication Peer Associate Program, focusing on the curriculum of a five-day summer institute developed for graduate medical and health sciences students and rooted in a critical information literacy framework. The authors outline the institute’s philosophy and approach and provide readers with key content areas, materials, activities, and homework prompts. Initial program assessment is discussed, and the authors share their thoughts on how the program might continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of students. The article concludes with reflections from two peer associates who participated in the program …

Horse Cave Heritage Festival, 2021 (Fa 1409), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1409. Audio, photographs, and video documenting the Horse Cave Heritage Festival, an annual September event in Horse Cave, Kentucky celebrating local heritage with craft artisans, antique vehicles, children’s activities, food, music, and other attractions. Includes interviews and a narrative stage hosted by the Kentucky Folklife Program.

Quantization Of Spherically Symmetric Loop Quantum Gravity Coupled To A Scalar Field And A Clock: The Asymptotic Limit, Rodolfo Gambini, Jorge Pullin

Faculty Publications

We continue our work on the study of spherically symmetric loop quantum gravity coupled to two spherically symmetric scalar fields, one which acts as a clock. As a consequence of the presence of the latter, we can define a true Hamiltonian for the theory. The spherically symmetric context allows to carry out precise detailed calculations. Here we study the theory for regions of large values of the radial coordinate. This allows us to define in detail the vacuum of the theory and study its quantum states, yielding a quantum field theory on a quantum space time that makes contact with …

University Of Northern Iowa Graduate Council Minutes, December 14, 2023, University Of Northern Iowa. Graduate Council.

Documents - Graduate Council

Meeting minutes from the Graduate Council of the University of Northern Iowa.

Promoting Parent-Child Relationships Through Community-Based Family Wellness Programs To Improve Mental Health In Children, Maria Elena Falcon

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Objective: Adverse childhood experiences can affect a child mentally and lead to mental, health, and learning problems later in life. Establishing healthy parent-child relationships through family-oriented programs can promote mental well-being, improve behavior and learning in children and strengthen positive parent-child relationships.

Methods: A systematic electronic search using databases Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed, and PsycINFO, contextualized current research on the importance of parent-child relationships and their influence on mental health. The inclusion criteria for the review used were articles in the English language and relevant dates from 2014 to 2021. The key terms used …

Gabrielle Flannery, Soprano, In A Graduate Recital, December 14, 2023 [Program], University Of Northern Iowa. School Of Music.

Music Recital Programs

Program of a music recitals given by faculty, students, or guest artists from the School of Music at the University of Northern Iowa.

Courageous School Leadership: Rural Principals’ Perception And Self-Efficacy In Implementing Culturally Responsive Leadership (Crl), Angela Denise Young

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Dissertations

Many rural school districts face concerns stemming from rural areas’ demographic and economic state— increased student diversity, high poverty, little parental involvement, lack of technological infrastructure, low student achievement, and difficulty hiring and retaining teachers (Gutierrez, n.d.). In increasingly diverse populations, rural school leaders need culturally responsive practices to address the various traditions and needs of the changing demographics of their schools and communities. Cultural responsiveness in schools begins with resilient, courageous leadership. Culturally responsive leadership (CRL) is a concept commonly associated with urban schools; however, there is a pressing need for such leadership practices in rural districts serving diverse …

Understanding The Impact Of Asset-Based Teaching On The Academic Motivations Of High-Achieving Marginalized High School Students, Nichole L. Gilliam

Doctor of Education in Secondary and Middle Grades Education Dissertations

High-achieving marginalized students of experience many barriers, influences, and distractions during their high school journey, which can impact their academic motivations. However many students are resilient and also overcome these challenges to achieve academic success. How do these students persist and remain motivated throughout high school despite various challenges? Applying Albert Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory, this case study will examine the motivational factors of high-achieving marginalized high school students in the southeastern part of the United States. Using journal entries, surveys, and focus groups, this study will examine what motivates these students to achieve academic success. Based on the results, the …

How Participation In A Peer-Led Writing Center Impacts Struggling Students’ Self-Efficacy And Motivation, Laura Peterson

Doctor of Education in Secondary and Middle Grades Education Dissertations

Many secondary students struggle with writing, both in terms of skill and confidence. This qualitative case study follows six students who have a history of struggling in English Language Arts class as they undergo a tutoring intervention based on the writing center model of peer tutoring. Students were observed in seven writing sessions which took place at multiple stages of the writing process and with informational, narrative, and analytical writing assignments. Through interview and observation, the researcher examines how students’ self-efficacy and motivation shift over the course of the intervention. Students who began with low self-efficacy and low motivation were …

Teachers Re-Imagining Parental Involvement: Using Parents' Funds Of Knowledge In Math Lesson Designs, Enyinnaya Onyeukwu

Doctor of Education in Secondary and Middle Grades Education Dissertations

Abstract

Students often possess unique extensive bodies of knowledge that they have acquired through social, historical, and cultural backgrounds and experiences from their homes that are valuable in the teaching and learning of mathematics. This study, “Teachers Re-Imagining Parental Involvement: Using Parents’ Funds of Knowledge in Math Lesson Designs” used a qualitative single-case research design, bounded contextually within a church congregation located in a suburban community in the southwestern United States, included six parents of middle grade students and two middle grade mathematics teachers. The study utilized questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis to gather data to explore how Black …

Navigating The Digital Realm: Perceptions And Challenges Of High School Educators In Fostering Digital Citizenship, Kristopher P. Daniels

Doctor of Education in Instructional Technology Dissertations

Prior research indicates that researchers and teachers feel that digital citizenship should be an essential part of a student’s education; however, there is a lack of knowledge about teachers’ perceptions of the efficacy and challenges of digital citizenship initiatives. It is unclear which digital citizenship instructional strategies support effective curriculum implementation, enhance students’ safety and learning, and reduce educational disparities. Addressing this gap in understanding is crucial to the ongoing development of digital citizenship education and ensuring that students are adequately prepared to navigate the digital world responsibly. In this dissertation, I examined the perspectives of six Georgia high school …

8th Grade Students’ Perceptions Of 1:1 Laptops In Algebra 1, Richard Wilford

Doctor of Education in Secondary and Middle Grades Education Dissertations

One-to-one (1:1) initiatives in education refer to the practice in which schools provide each student with a personal computing device, such as a laptop or tablet, for students to have access to the internet to complete coursework and access digital course materials. One-to-one initiatives are becoming more popular as more school districts are investing in them as there is an increased emphasis on technology use to support students’ technological skills. This qualitative case study informed by phenomenography aimed to investigate how eighth-grade Algebra 1 students at a school district implementing a one-to-one laptop initiative perceived their learning and engagement in …

“I Forget To Enjoy The Book”: A Narrative Analysis Of Adolescents’ Perceptions Of Their Real Selves And Ideal Selves As Readers, Brittany Mcwhorter

Doctor of Education in Secondary and Middle Grades Education Dissertations

In the present study, the researcher sought to understand student perceptions of themselves as readers compared to their ideal selves as readers. This is in response to personal experience with struggling readers, as well as GADOE data showing the magnitude of the issue surrounding struggling readers at Mountain Middle School (MMS). The data collected included student drawings and accompanying interviews. Findings revealed that students placed their perceptions of self within specific classroom situations and settings, which reveals the complexity and contextual nature of perception of self as a reader. Though individual stories and experiences were unique, six major themes emerged …

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In High School Science: Assessing The Implementation In Title 1 Classrooms, Micah Ducre

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy is defined as, using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively (Horowitz et al., 2018). Building relationships with students to understand their backgrounds and experiences to implement the best teaching practices such as accessing prior knowledge and making connections is imperative in a culturally diverse school with students with various learning styles, abilities, and interests. Moreover, the state of Georgia requires teachers to implement instructional practices relevant to students’ culture and learning abilities to receive proficient scores on their yearly evaluations. However, the state must provide its …

Broadband, Social Justice, And The Future Of Universal Connectivity

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

No abstract provided.

Race: An Efficient Redundancy-Aware Accelerator For Dynamic Graph Neural Network, Hui Yu, Yu Zhang, Jin Zhao, Yujian Liao, Zhiying Huang, Donghao He, Lin Gu, Hai Jin, Xiaofei Liao, Haikun Liu, Bingsheng He, Jianhui Yue

Michigan Tech Publications

Dynamic Graph Neural Network (DGNN) has recently attracted a significant amount of research attention from various domains, because most real-world graphs are inherently dynamic. Despite many research efforts, for DGNN, existing hardware/software solutions still suffer significantly from redundant computation and memory access overhead, because they need to irregularly access and recompute all graph data of each graph snapshot. To address these issues, we propose an efficient redundancy-aware accelerator, RACE, which enables energy-efficient execution of DGNN models. Specifically, we propose a redundancy-aware incremental execution approach into the accelerator design for DGNN to instantly achieve the output features of the latest graph …

Topical Gabapentin Solution For The Management Of Burning Mouth Syndrome: A Retrospective Study, Alessandro Villa

All Publications

Objective: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of topical gabapentin solution (250 mg/mL) for the management of burning mouth syndrome (BMS).

Study design: A retrospective chart review was conducted of all patients diagnosed with BMS and managed with gabapentin 250 mg/mL solution (swish and spit) between January 2021 and October 2022. Patient-reported outcomes included changes in burning score ranked on a 10-point numeric rating scale (NRS) and reported adverse drug reactions (ADR). Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to assess differences in the oral burning score ranked on a NRS (0-10) between the baseline …

What Do Infectious Disease Specialists Think About Managing Long Covid?, Maureen D Lyons, Susan E Beekmann, Philip M Polgreen, Jonas Marschall

2020-Current year OA Pubs

This survey of infectious disease providers on long COVID care revealed a lack of familiarity with existing resources, a sentiment of missing guidelines, and scarcity of dedicated care centers. The low response rate suggests that infectious disease specialists do not consider themselves as the primary providers of long COVID care.

Ud Political Science Professor Looks At Campaign Visits In New Book, Meagan Pant

College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

Don’t believe the hype about campaign rallies, says University of Dayton political scientist Christopher Devine in his new book.

Strategic Morphology Interventions For Vocabulary Knowledge In Reading Comprehension, Danielle Marie Sharpe

Masters Projects

Many adolescent students have been shown to fall behind gradually as they reach

secondary grade levels. This has been researched as the effect of socioeconomic factors,

lack of immersive vocabulary backgrounds, and gaps in elementary years. Extensive

research has shown the benefits of morphology instruction in secondary students in

bridging vocabulary gaps, yet many schools have yet to provide them with the support to

comprehend difficult texts across content areas. This project explores the possible benefits

of offering adolescents the extra support and resources that can leverage reading

comprehension across content areas within secondary education. Through the use of

implementing …

Construction Of A Human Pangenome Reference To Improve Structural Variation Detection, Wen-Wei Liao

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Structural variants (SVs) significantly contribute to genetic diversity among individuals and impact gene regulation, disease, and evolution. The predominant approach to profiling these genetic variants in large-scale population studies is through short-read whole-genome sequencing (WGS). This approach involves sequencing millions of short reads, aligning them to a linear reference genome, and subsequently identifying variants relative to this reference. However, its capability to detect SVs, especially long insertions and complex rearrangements, is limited. The primary limitation arises from the insufficient representation of structural diversity across human populations in the linear reference genome. As a result, short reads derived from non-reference SVs …

Investigating The Role Of Bhlhe40 In Host Responses To Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infection And Myeloid Cell Development, Skyler Hendrix

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Infections with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of the disease tuberculosis (TB), remain a prominent global health threat that affects millions of people annually. While antibiotic treatments for Mtb infections are available, the increased prevalence of drug-resistant Mtb cases has highlighted the urgent need to develop additional therapeutic options such as host-directed therapies. Development of host-directed therapies, however, first requires a better understanding of the protective immune responses required to control Mtb infection. Such responses must strike a precise balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses that promote bacterial clearance while also minimizing tissue damage. Here we show that the …

Exploring The Coverage Of Cyberchondria Addiction In Newspapers: A Perspective From The Usa, Rifat Afrin, Mumtahina Obaid, Gayle Prybutok, Ahasan Harun, Victor R. Prybutok

Information Systems Faculty Publications

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate how US newspapers reported cyberchondria from 2009 to 2021. Cyberchondria shares similarities with addiction, making it imperative to delve into its representation in media. Cyberchondria refers to an issue of excessive and repetitive internet searches for health information often accompanied by obsessive-compulsive behavior. The goal of this research is locate the frames that appear in cyberchondria coverage, look at how the frames have changed over the given time span, and assess the emotions that the news frames portray.

Method: After collecting the relevant news items, the study applies correspondence analysis, sentiment …

Adaptation Of Several Hybrid Maize In West Nusa Tenggara Drylands Using Modified Plant Spacing For Optimal Seed And Biomass Productions, Karlina Syahruddin, Suwardi, Slamet Bambang Priyanto, Roy Efendi, Herawati, Abdul Fattah, Rahman, Hasbi, Aminah, Fatmawati, Sigit Budi Santoso, Lesty Ayu Bidhari, Muhammad Abid

Jurnal Kultivasi

Maize is a crucial multipurpose strategic food crop in Indonesia. Land expansion employing dry land, row-space technology, and suitable varieties, is emerging as the solution to fulfill the rising need for seeds and biomass. The study was carried out from August to December using a factorial randomized block design consisting of two treatment factors, namely the treatment factor of 6 varieties and 2 row-spacings, to verify the new superior hybrid maize, which is adaptable in dry land Senayan village, Poto Tano sub-district, West Sumbawa district, and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). The results showed that JH 37 and JH 29 varieties …