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Modeling Phosphorus Loading Dynamics In Milford Creek Watershed: With Comparison To A Consent Decree Tmdl, Olivia Calvin

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In 1998 Milford Creek, located in northwest Iowa, USA, was included on Iowa’s Impaired Waters List due to its inability to support aquatic life and excessive algal growth that was attributed to an overabundance of phosphorus within the body. In 2001 there was a lawsuit filed against the U.S. EPA regarding the status of Iowa’s Total Daily Maximum Load (TMDL) program. The lawsuit resulted in a consent decree that required the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to develop a TMDL for all bodies of water on Iowa’s 1998 impaired waters list by December 15, 2009, this list included Milford …

Teacher Use Of Rubrics To Assess Claim, Evidence And Reasonings In The High School Science Classroom, Brianna Finnegan

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This qualitative study examines how high school science teachers in an eastern Iowa high school utilize rubrics to assess students’ claims, evidence, and reasoning (CER) in the science classroom. The research investigates the methodology teachers employ in assessing student proficiency using their own rubrics they have created. Data were collected through think-aloud interviews with participating teachers as they evaluated and scored CER examples. Analysis of interview data involved inductive coding to identify common themes and categories, shedding light on teacher’s scoring practices, rubric construction, and perceptions of student proficiency and rubric validity.

Findings reveal that teachers often weigh evidence and …