Digital Commons Network^™

Identification Of Threshold Concepts For Biochemistry, Jennifer Loertscher, David Green, Jennifer E. Lewis, Sara Lin, Vicky Minderhout

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Threshold concepts (TCs) are concepts that, when mastered, represent a transformed understanding of a discipline without which the learner cannot progress. We have undertaken a process involving more than 75 faculty members and 50 undergraduate students to identify a working list of TCs for biochemistry. The process of identifying TCs for biochemistry was modeled on extensive work related to TCs across a range of disciplines and included faculty workshops and student interviews. Using an iterative process, we prioritized five concepts on which to focus future development of instructional materials. Broadly defined, the concepts are steady state, biochemical pathway dynamics and …

President's Report, 2014, University Of Montana (Missoula, Mont.). Office Of The President

University of Montana President’s Report, 1993-2016

The President’s Report of the University of Montana, produced by University Relations on behalf of the President’s Office.

The Moment I Came In It Got Much Easier! I Should Come Here More: Student Experiences At Three Midwestern Lgbt Resource Centers, Burr Dyral Hartman Ii

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although LGBT resource centers have been fixtures on college and university campuses for more than 40 years, there is only limited research about these resource centers. To date no empirical evidence exists that supports the impact of LGBT resource centers in the experiences of undergraduate students who make use of these centers. This qualitative study examines the role LGBT resource centers play in the experiences of LGBT students at three Midwestern universities. The qualitative research methods employed for the study were case study and ethnography. Using semi-structured interview data and field observations, five major themes surfaced: (a) perceptions of campus …

Wilderness As A Social Movement: Expanding Cultural Relevance In The 21st Century, Dylan Lang

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This year is the 50^th anniversary of two monumental pieces of legislation: the Wilderness Act and the Civil Rights Act. Though these two laws exist within different arenas of public affairs, both have had significant effects on American society.

The Wilderness Act was signed into law in 1964 with almost unanimous support, at a time when American society overwhelmingly supported its passage. Since 1964, wilderness has been criticized as an elitist ideal representing a small interest group in the United States. As our country becomes increasingly diverse, and public lands protection loses popular support, making wilderness more relevant to …

Chemical Reactions As Petite Rendezvous: The Use Of Metaphor In Materials Science Education, Vuk Uskoković

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Every time we communicate our science, we are involuntarily involved in an educational activity, affecting the listeners’ methodology and motivation. In a beautiful metaphor, late Nobel Laureate, Richard E. Smalley compared interacting atoms and molecules to boys and girls falling in love. Elaborated and exemplified with a couple of entertaining analogies in this discourse is the effectiveness of the use of metaphors in illustrating scientific concepts to both scientific novices and peers. Human brain has been considered to be a complex neural circuitry for the computation of metaphors, which explains the naturalness of their usage, especially when solid arguments could …

Design Research Using Game Design As An Instructional Strategy, Jason Paul Siko, Michael Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

Game design as an instructional tool can be expensive and time-consuming, as new software requires not only capital outlay but also training for teachers and students. Therefore, researchers have looked at low-tech design platforms to accomplish the same educational goals. One such way is to use Microsoft PowerPoint as a game design tool. In the second iteration of a design study, we have changed the way a homemade PowerPoint game project is implemented in an environmental chemistry classroom by providing more structure and more opportunities for instruction and feedback on the elements of the game design. We compared the performance …

Fostering Significant Learning In Sciences, Tolessa Deksissa, Lily R. Liang, Pradeep Behera, Suzan J. Harkness

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The new global economy depends on workforce competencies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics more than ever before. To prepare a strong workforce, attracting and educating underrepresented minority students in science is a challenge within our traditional American educational approach. To meet this challenge, fostering significant learning in science that nurtures 21^st Century skills in students is crucial. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of a set of teaching and learning approaches that foster significant learning in sciences. Using a new introductory environmental science course in urban water quality management, the effect of a set …

The Emergence Of The New Woman In Victorian Children's And Family Literature, Geneva Korykowski

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

In the Victorian era, the first wave of feminism surfaced in several influential family novels that modeled the "New Woman" instead of reinstating the "Old Girl." Characters from the novels Little Women, Villette, Jane Eyre, and The Little Lychetts as they modernize the Victorian women in the fin de siecle. Now we see a trend similar to first wave feminism beginning to happen with biology, The Hunger Games and Will Grayson, Will Grayson show examples of how a "New Man" is defined in contemporary society.

On Being Transminded: Disabling Achievement, Enabling Exchange, Anne Dalke, Clare Mullaney

Literatures in English Faculty Research and Scholarship

We write collaboratively, as a recent graduate and long-time faculty member of a small women’s liberal arts college, about the mental health costs of adhering to a feminist narrative of achievement that insists upon independence and resiliency. As we explore the destabilizing potential of an alternative feminist project, one that invites different temporalities in which dis/ability emerges and may be addressed, we work with disability less as an identity than as a generative methodology, a form of relation and exchange. Mapping our own college as a specific, local site for the disabling tradition of “challenging women,” we move to larger …

The Academic Life Of Part-Time Professors In Chile, Paulina Berrios

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines the academic life of part-time professors at the five biggest universities in Chile. By examining part-timers' academic life, including both who the part-time professors are and what their academic work is, this study sheds light on the complexity and diversity of the part-time world.

Self-Confidence Of Anglers In Identification Of Freshwater Sport Fish, Christopher J . Chizinski, D. R. Martin, K. L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Although several studies have focused on how well anglers identify species using replicas and pictures, there has been no study assessing the confidence that can be placed in angler’s ability to identify recreationally important fish. Understanding factors associated with low self-confidence will be useful in tailoring education programmes to improve self-confidence in identifying common species. The purposes of this assessment were to quantify the confidence of recreational anglers to identify 13 commonly encountered warm water fish species and to relate self-confidence to species availability and angler experience. Significant variation was observed in anglers selfconfidence among species and levels of self-declared …

The Social Ecology Of Men's Sexual Self-Efficacy In The Mississippi Delta, Vanessa Ann Parks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mississippi often has some of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections in the country. To combat this, the state uses abstinence-based sexual education in an attempt to discourage young people from having sex. I conducted 27 interviews and one focus group to talk with young men in the Mississippi Delta about their opinions on birth control. Using the social ecological model and self-efficacy framework, this thesis considers the influences on young men that shape their attitudes and behaviors regarding sexual health topics such as birth control. Primary findings include their learning from teachers, parents, …

Critical Race Theory : A Lens For Viewing Racism In American Education Policy And School Funding, Susan A. Klupchak

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This thesis discusses Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a foundation to understand race and racism in the U.S. and provides a brief introduction to how components of CRT can be used as a conceptual framework to understand how educational inequity undergirds the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race To The Top (RTTT) policies. This thesis also provides a comprehensive review of CRT and uses CRT as a method of analysis to fully understand how race and racism are applied in NCLB policy. CRT is used as a method of analysis to show that race and racism are embedded in …

The Effect Of Education On Elder Abuse, Kathleen M. Evanina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed examine the effect of education on prevention of abuse in a long term care center. Participants in this study included direct care worker staff at a nursing home and nursing home residents.

Are You My Brother's Keeper: Challenging The Systemic Racism That Fosters Low Expectations For Black Males In Public Schools, Shana Denise Nelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation in practice investigates the problem of systemic racism fostering a culture of low expectations for Black males in public schools. This work frames this problem as a matter of social justice and utilizes Critical Race Theory to examine how it robs Black males of their academic potential. This work argues that to address this problem, educators must engage in learning opportunities that help to identify and challenge their race-based assumptions and stereotypes, develop their racial consciousness, cultural competencies, and professional practices, and recognize, interrupt, and address systemic racism. Provided is a working agenda that offers recommendations for how …

Tackling Urban Poverty In The Secondary Learning Environment, Nina Marie Sacco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem of practice examined in this dissertation in practice is that many urban schools that serve low socioeconomic communities fail to engage and, therefore, empower students to succeed. The purpose of this dissertation is to identify how urban poverty presents in secondary learning environments (i.e. high schools), to report findings on how urban poverty presents in one urban high school, and to report on an emerging model for engaging stakeholders across the boundaries of school, academy, and community to improve student success for those who attend such schools. Urban students of low socioeconomic status who attend secondary schools with …

Graduate Students' Perception Of Curriculum-Based Efficacy Of The Acquisition Of Multicultural Counseling Skills, Demond Ethridge Bledsoe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States is undergoing a period in which the demographics of the population are shifting drastically. The profession of counseling is tasked with providing services to diverse groups of clients, many of whom may have experienced racism, prejudice, and oppression as a result of their cultural or ethnic identity. Literature suggests that cultural and ethnic minority clients have poorer outcomes than their majority counterparts, and a significant factor in gaining positive treatment outcomes is the multicultural skill development in the clinician; however, little research focusing on effective delivery methods for multicultural skill development in counselor trainees has been conducted. …

Still Unconstitutional: Our Nation's Experiment With State-Sponsored Sex Segregation In Education, David S. Cohen, Nancy Levit

Faculty Works

Since federal regulations authorized single-sex education in 2006, there has been an explosion of single-sex schools and classes. Although the Supreme Court has not ruled, three federal court decisions have addressed the constitutionality of single-sex classes, and the issue will percolate toward Supreme Court review soon. The arguments are that parents should have choices and “diversity” of educational options, that “brain research” shows that boys and girls are so biologically different to need sex-specific educational environments, that educational outcomes are better, and single-sex learning environments allows boys and girls to break through gender stereotypes. This article dissects these arguments within …

Competencies For The 21st Century: Teaching An Understanding Of Others, Critical Thinking, Leadership And A Sense Of Obligation. Perceptions Of Educational Leaders., Michael F. Schwartz

Doctoral Dissertations

In the 18th century, utilitarian writers highlighted the importance of a sense of obligation, an understanding of others, and the ability to think critically (Daniels, Bizar, & Zemelman, 2001; Kant, 1785/2008). Additionally, scholars stressed the importance of leadership (Burns, 1978). Teacher instruction in the 19th century incorporated many of these values (Kliebard, 2004). However as the common school developed in the early 19th century there was a shift from these values toward a common curriculum meeting industrial needs (Tyack, 1974). As the 20th century ended, significant federal and state legislation further funneled school curriculum to focus on very specific instruction …

Evaluation Of Health And Education Impacts Of A Girls’ Safe Spaces Program In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar, Girmay Medhin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Approximately one in eight of the world’s population is a girl or young woman aged 10–24 and attention is increasingly focusing on the central role of adolescent girls in achieving global health and development goals. Areas of focus by the development field include girls’ education, health, child marriage, and the experience of violence. This study analyzes the educational and health impacts of a program for slum-dwelling girls, including child domestic workers and rural-urban migrants. Established in 2006, Biruh Tesfa (Bright Future) aimed to increase social networks and support for the most marginalized girls in the poorest urban areas of Ethiopia. …

Gender Spectrum : Exploring Gender Diversity In Schools : A Project Based Upon An Investigation At Schools That Received Gender Spectrum Training On The Topics Of Gender And Gender Diversity, Meredith S. Abrams

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The world is witnessing a major shift in the way individuals in the helping professions and Western society understand gender outside the historical binary of male/female. In response to the limited literature that examines how gender and gender diversity is understood, taught, and integrated into educational institutions, the researcher provides an overview of a selected literature which informs the specific topics of gender and gender diversity in schools. This study explored how the information presented in Gender Spectrum trainings was utilized and integrated into four identified natural entry points (personal, structural, interpersonal, and instructional) for creating gender inclusive schools and …

Education Ain't Black: The Disidentification Of African American Students, Erica Lynette James

LSU Master's Theses

In this thesis, I will discuss the influence of education on the identity formation of African American students. Based on the scholarly literature in education theory, I will argue in Bourdieuan theory education, formal education, fails to accommodate the specific needs of African American students because education influences African American students to develop constructions of “whiteness" that education reinforces. As education attempts to uphold the “status quo” of American society, education simultaneously forces African American students to question the relevance of education. In questioning the relevance of education through high-achieving African American students’ use of language and pursuit of academic …

Exploring Ways White Children Are Taught About Race And Racism, Angela M. Clark

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

In this theoretical study, I will explore ways White children are taught about race and racism, and ways this subject can be explored with White youth in therapeutic contexts. In the United States, racism continues to have a significant negative impact on the material and psychological experiences of people of color, limiting life chances while it is largely ignored by White individuals and White-dominated institutions. One factor that serves to maintain the existence and influence of racist systems is White people's ignorance of the degree to which racism is present in our institutions, dominant discourse and ideology, and in ourselves. …

The New Scarlet Letter? Negotiating The U.S. Labor Market With A Criminal Record, Steven Raphael

Upjohn Press

This book explores the difficulties facing ex-offenders as they try to enter and remain in the U.S. labor market.

Perceptions Of Teachers And Administrators In Private Christian School Settings Regarding Spiritual Formation Programming For Millennials, Anne Puidk Horan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One mission of Christian schools is to foster teenagers’ spiritual formation so that they are equipped to confront challenges and contribute to their communities as Christians after high school. A private Christian school identified inadequate spiritual formation in its teenagers and a need to implement a spiritual formation program. Using a nonexperimental, mixed methods study, the purpose of this study was to (a) investigate spiritual formation programs used by private Christian schools and (b) explore educators’ perceptions of the most effective ways to bolster spiritual formation. The framework that drove this study was adolescent Judeo-Christian spiritual development. A questionnaire containing …

Implicit Category Priming Capacity, Edward Paulus Hahn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past research has shown that accessing a memory allows faster subsequent access to the memory activated as well as to related information (priming). There has been much research devoted to implicit category priming (unintentional priming of a category of information), but this research has not determined the number of categories that can be implicitly primed simultaneously. The goal of the present quantitative study was to address that gap. Twenty participants (ages 27-54 years, M=44 years), who volunteered through an online participant pool, were presented with 2 tasks over the Internet. A scrambled phrase task implicitly primed 5 unrelated categories and …

Inspiring Change: Exercise Self-Efficacy, Dispositional Optimism, And Perceived Stress In College Seniors, Joshua M. Garrin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prohealth competencies, positive outcome expectancies, and adaptive stress appraisals have profound implications for the real-world transition of college seniors—a population for which engagement in physical activity reflects a preeminent concern. Prior studies on exercise self-efficacy (ESE), dispositional optimism (DO), perceived stress (PS), and physical activity have yielded inconclusive evidence of the emergent psychosocial challenges encountered during the final year of the college experience. Using a triadic framework of self-efficacy, attribution, and cognitive appraisal theories, this crosssectional, quantitative study was conducted using a web survey to examine (a) the impact of physical activity level on ESE, DO, and PS; (b) the …

Tennessee Higher Education Fact Book 2012-2013, Tennessee. Higher Education Commission.

Higher Education Fact Book

No abstract provided.

Grieving, Dafna Yosef

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Creating Teaching Champions: Taking The Graduate Teaching Experience Outside The Classroom, Jill Mcsweeney, Nayha Acharya, Giovanna Celli, Colin Jackson, Marissa Ley, Raghav V. Sampagni

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Teaching and learning (T&L) is considered an essential skill for graduate students (Rose, 2012). University T&L centres offer a range of workshops, seminars, and certificates, which allow students to engage with peers who are interested and enthusiastic about T&L and gain support for and confidence in their own teaching (Hughes, 2006). Still, there can be little opportunity for students to engage in more informal T&L dialogue within or outside of their department (Leger & Young, 2014). Through informal student feedback, the Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) at Dalhousie University identified this gap in graduate student T&L development, and created …