Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Science Accessibility And Engagement For Students With Visual Impairments: A Randomized Trial Of The Talking Labquest In Nigerian Schools, Sariat A. Adelakun Dr

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Students with Blindness in Nigeria are often erroneously perceived as incapable of engaging with science at the basic education level, contributing to their low enrolment in science-related careers. Although various techniques and materials have been proposed to support students with blindness in science, many lack empirical validation. This study investigated one such approach by examining the impact of the Talking LabQuest on the interest of Students with blindness in science subjects.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted in inclusive junior secondary schools in Nigeria, involving 20 classrooms over an 18-week period. Twelve classrooms were randomly assigned to the intervention group, …

Teaching Leadership In The Classroom: Peer To Peer Learning, Leadership Theory, Unsd Goals, And Community Building, Emma Wilson Parker

Professional Learning Day

Teaching LEADership in the Classroom: Peerto-Peer Learning, Leadership Theory, UNSD Goals, and Community Building highlights IMSA’s LEAD program, where students engage in leadership-centered activities that connect theory to practice. Participants will explore how peer-to-peer teaching, reflective dialogue, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals create intentional spaces for growth. This session offers strategies to implement peer-led models, build community, and design meaningful learning experiences that develop empathy, self-awareness, and purposeful leadership in and beyond the classroom.

Data At Hand: Statistically Speaking… Which Hand Is The Real Mvp?, Lindsey Herlehy

Professional Learning Day

Explore a lively, hands-on investigation into which hand truly performs better. Participants will collect their own data, analyze their results, and use statistical reasoning to uncover surprising findings. Through quick experiments and collaborative challenges, this session brings data to life while modeling engaging, classroom-ready strategies. Come ready to move, measure, and rethink what you thought you knew about your “better” hand.

How Much Do Your Questions Matter?, Dr. Janice Krouse

Professional Learning Day

As much as we are accustomed to answering students’ questions, how this is done can radically influence the amount of thinking that goes on in the classroom. Our answers should stretch each mind, extend students’ thinking and also further access to all learners, inviting them into the conversation. In addition, posing a well-planned jump-start can set the ideal tone the minute students walk in the room. Come, and question your questions! *OPTIONAL - Participants may bring a lesson or warm-up used in their classroom*

What Are Your Students Doing This Summer? We Have Some Ideas., Dr. Anita White, Jacqueline Salinas

Professional Learning Day

IMSA offers summer programs for students who are currently in 8th grade and interested in math and science enrichment , and students in grades 10 and 11 who would be interested in a summer research opportunity. The directors of the PROMISE (Providing Opportunities for Mathematics and Science  Enrichment) and SRELO (Summer Research and Experiential Learning Opportunities) programs will provide information, answer questions and share activities that are a part of the programs.

Csi: Costa Rica--Turning Phenomena Into Engaging Biology Storylines, Cassandra Armstrong

Professional Learning Day

Immerse yourself in a problem-based storyline and work to solve the case of a mysterious illness that has taken over a Costa Rican village. Experience an accelerated student journey as you ask questions, build and revise models, analyze outbreak data, and design investigations. We’ll connect the activities to NGSS performance expectations and explore how anchoring instruction in compelling phenomena increases understanding, engagement, and authentic scientific reasoning.

Chances Are...Culture Counts! Teaching Probability Using Culture Games Like Mahjong And Yet Nori, Dr. Brian Trainor

Professional Learning Day

How can games of chance deepen students’ understanding of probability and culture? This session explores how traditional games like Mahjong and Yut Nori can make abstract probability concepts tangible, engaging, and culturally responsive. Participants will experience hands-on demonstrations, discuss classroom adaptations, and consider how to to incorporate a cultural context when discussing probability. Discover playful ways to connect mathematics, culture, and critical thinking through the use of games.

The Chemistry In Art, Joyce Symoniak

Professional Learning Day

This workshop explores how chemistry drives this creative process. We’ll examine how pigments, polymers, and additives interact to affect surface tension, viscosity, and flow, producing the fascinating patterns seen in paint pours. Through hands-on experiments, you’ll observe chemical reactions in action and learn how understanding molecular behavior deepens both scientific knowledge and creative expression, revealing the powerful connection between chemistry and art. You’ll leave with a deeper appreciation of how science shapes what we see and create.

Programming Made Fun: Exploring Cutebot And Block Coding, Kavithaa Suresh Kumar

Professional Learning Day

Discover how to make coding come alive with Cutebot, a programmable robot designed for middle school learners! In this engaging session, participants will experience hands-on block coding using Microsoft MakeCode to bring Cutebot’s sensors, motors, and LEDs to life. Learn strategies to foster creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration while integrating robotics into your STEM curriculum—all while making programming fun, accessible, and meaningful for every student.

Pick Me Please! Interactive Ways To Teach Natural Selection (Hs-Ls-4), Dr. Zachary Conley

Professional Learning Day

Participants will examine a combination of free simulations and practical activities useful for teaching natural selection standards. Ideally participants will leave with a small toolbox of lesson starting points for phenomenon or inquiry driven activities.

Enhancing Stem Learning Through Industrial Robotics, David Hernandez

Professional Learning Day

This workshop introduces educators to the role of industrial robotic arms in modern product development. Participants will engage in hands-on activities to explore how robotic arms automate repetitive tasks in assembly and packaging, improving precision and efficiency. Through guided demonstrations and collaborative problem-solving challenges, attendees will gain insight into programming, workflow optimization, and real-world manufacturing applications. Educators will explore practical strategies to integrate robotics into STEM curricula, connecting classroom learning to industry-relevant skills.

Architectural Design Generation Using Graph-Based Constraint Optimization And Conditioned Generative Models, Arpit Goyal

Defensive Publications Series

Generative models for architectural design can have difficulty adhering to complex constraints, such as directional rules from specific cultural frameworks, which may result in layouts with functional or symbolic limitations. A computational framework can address this by integrating rule-based logic with generative models. The system can translate user requirements and geospatial data into an abstract graph where rooms are represented as nodes. A logic engine, which can utilize a component such as a graph neural network, can optimize the placement of these nodes according to predefined adjacency and directional rules. The resulting optimized spatial graph can be used to create …

Battery State Estimation, Kang Kang, Yu Wang, Alex Pelosi, Emil Chen, Ishu Pradhan

Defensive Publications Series

Estimating a battery's state of charge (SoC) can become more difficult as a device, for example a mobile phone or vehicle, ages. This difficulty may be partly due to a potential circular dependency where SoC calculations may depend on the battery's state of health (SoH), and SoH estimation may in turn rely on an accurate SoC. A technique is described to address this challenge by decoupling these two estimations. A system can use a machine learning model to generate an independent SoH estimate based on operational data features, such as differential charge with respect to voltage. This SoH estimate can …

Evaluating Regularized Logistic Regression And K-Nn On Mnist Under Increasing Random Missingness, Daniel Markwei

Data Science and Data Mining

This paper investigates the effect of random missingness on the performance of regularized multinomial logistic regression and the k-nearest neighbors (k-NN) classifier for handwritten digit recognition on the MNIST dataset. In particular, we study L1-regularized (LASSO) logistic regression and L2-regularized (Ridge) logistic regression alongside k-NN. Varying percentages of random missingness were introduced into the original dataset, and each model was evaluated in terms of its classification performance. The results show that random missingness degrades the performance of all three classifiers. Overall, k-NN consistently achieves higher accuracy than both L1- and L2-regularized logistic regression across all missingness levels; however, its performance …

Camera Calibration System Using A Triangular Grid And Local Feature Encoding, Taemin Kim

Defensive Publications Series

Camera calibration procedures that utilize patterns with rectangular grids can exhibit geometric anisotropies, which can introduce directional biases during parameter estimation and affect accuracy, for example, in systems with wide-angle lenses. A calibration system can use a target with fiducial markers, such as circles of different sizes, arranged on a triangular or hexagonal grid. A local encoding mechanism can identify an interior feature by generating a code based on the properties of its six nearest neighbors, which can facilitate matching two-dimensional image (2D) features to known three-dimensional (3D) world coordinates. The use of an isotropic grid, combined with a local …

Client Feedback Effects On Enjoyment, Motivation And Self-Efficacy In A Project-Based Learning Course, Krista Stacey, David M. Bourrie

University Faculty and Staff Publications

This paper reports a mixed-methods evaluation of how feedback/project source (faculty-led versus client-led) shapes student outcomes in a two-course undergraduate game and simulation development sequence (N = 29 across two academic years). Quantitative measures (enjoyment, intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy) were collected with a six-point Likert survey and analyzed, but due to small sample sizes were not used to empirically evaluate the constructs. Instead, qualitative data comprised of de-identified focus-group transcripts and open-ended survey responses were analyzed with a keyword-assisted codebook and manual validation. Year 1 (faculty feedback) exhibited more consistent post-course gains, especially in self-efficacy, while Year 2 (client feedback) produced …

Watching Movies To Stimulate Mathematical Inquiry, Dr.Evan Glazer, Andy Trimm

Presentations and Speeches

Have you ever wondered the odds of Luke Skywalker making that perfect shot to destroy the Death Star? How about the size and speed of the T-Rex in Jurassic Park? In this session, we will investigate several examples of how mathematics can be used to make sense of remarkable phenomena in the movies. We will brainstorm connections to a variety of concepts in algebra and geometry.

Cultural Science Night, Jiyoon Yoon

Mavs Open Press Open Educational Resources - Archive

This book is to learn water and weather by integrating with other cultures. This textbook is organized around two interconnected components. The first component provides cultural knowledge of China, India, Korea, and Mexico. The second component focuses on culturally responsive science instruction created for the Cultural Science Night event, an occasion in which teachers present hands-on, culturally responsive science activities in collaboration with students.

If you need an accessibility accommodation or have questions about the use of this text, please contact Mavs Open Press.

2025-2026 New Music Festival: Gala Concert With The Lynn Philharmonia, Lisa Leonard, Glen Cortese, Lynn Philharmonia, Rebeca Sierra, Nabil Hetman, Zion Pe Montebon, Ana-Maria Uzunova, Ian Lewis, Hanting Peng, Aneliya Novikova, Yu-Hsuan Feng

New Music Festival

The 20th Annual New Music Festival

• Glen Cortese, Composer-in-residence
• Lisa Leonard, director

Friday, February 27, 2026 at 7:30 PM

• Master Class with Anthony de Mare

Saturday, February 28, 2026 at 7:30 PM

• Gala Concert with the Lynn Philharmonia

Monday, March 2, 2026 at 6:00 PM

• Anthony de Mare: American Mavericks & Re-imagining Sondheim

Thursday, April 16, 2026 at 7:30 PM

• Faculty Masters Concert II

Friday, April 17, 2026 at 7:30 PM

• Emerging Composers Concert

Exosome Engineering For Blocking Gut Dysbiosis And Inducing Cell Death Mechanisms In Glioblastoma Multiforme, Ahalya Muraleedharan, Karthik Rangavajhula, Swapan K. Ray

Faculty Publications

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most lethal primary brain tumor in adults. Emerging evidence endorses that gut dysbiosis contributes to GBM progression through the gut–brain axis (GBA), promoting inflammation and therapeutic resistance via abnormal short-chain fatty acid production and cytokine dysregulation. Exosomes, naturally occurring nanovesicles (30–150 nm), offer promising therapeutic potential due to their blood–brain barrier permeability, biocompatibility, and versatile cargo capacity. This review examines exosome engineering strategies for dual targeting: inhibiting alterations in gut microbiome and inducing regulated cell death mechanisms such as apoptosis and ferroptosis in GBM. We describe exosome engineering with detailed focus on cargo loading approaches …

Egain Tube Memristors Offering Reliable Switching On A Biological Time Scale, Yuriy V. Pershin, Liya Patel, Bapi Bera, Doug Aaron, Stephen A. Sarles

Faculty Publications

Memristive devices have been considered promising candidates for nature-inspired computing and in-memory information processing. However, experimental devices developed to date typically show significant variability and function at different time scales than biological neurons and synapses. This study presents a memristive device comprised of liquid-metal eutectic gallium indium (EGaIn) contained within a mm-scale tube that operates via a bulk, voltage-dependent switching mechanism and exhibits distinct unipolar resistive switching characteristics that occur on a biological time scale (tens of milliseconds). The switching mechanism involves voltage-controlled growth and dissolution of an oxide layer on the surface of the liquid metal in contact with …

Catching Up With The Constitution? Georgia Fixes Its Fatal Burden Of Proof For Findings Of Intellectual Disability In Capital Cases, Meagan R. Hurley

Mercer Law Review

In 1988, Georgia became the first state to prohibit the execution of individuals with intellectual disability—a landmark reform spurred by the execution of Jerome Bowden, a Black man with an IQ of 59. Yet, due to a drafting error, the statute imposed an insurmountable burden: requiring defendants to prove their intellectual disability beyond a reasonable doubt. For nearly four decades, that fatal flaw rendered Georgia’s protection illusory. Not a single capital defendant facing intentional murder charges prevailed. While nearly every other jurisdiction adopted the far more workable “preponderance of the evidence” standard, Georgia stood alone, out of step with both …

The Minutes Of The Marshall University Graduate Council Meeting, February 27, 2026, Marshall University Graduate Council

Graduate Council Minutes

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of The Alabama Literacy Act On Rural Third-Grade Students, Autumn F. Blalock

College of Education

Low third-grade reading proficiency rates in Alabama prompted the passage of the Alabama Literacy Act (ALA) in 2019, which mandates systematic, explicit literacy instruction grounded in the Science of Reading. While the Act represents a substantial shift in instructional practice and state education policy, limited empirical research has examined its impact across school contexts, particularly in rural settings. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to examine whether third-grade reading proficiency rates changed following implementation of the ALA and to compare outcomes between rural and non-rural schools and among rural students by socioeconomic status. Guided by the Simple View …

Urban–Rural Disparities In Metabolic Risk Factors For Hypertension Among The Elderly In Indonesia, Susiana Nugraha, Puri Wulandari

Kesmas

Hypertension remains a major public health challenge among the elderly in low- and middle-income countries. This cross-sectional study examined demographic and metabolic factors associated with hypertension among the elderly living in urban and rural areas of West and Central Java Provinces, Indonesia. This study included 1,920 adults aged ≥60 years who had resided in the study areas for at least six months, were able to communicate effectively, and provided informed consent. Data were collected between March and August 2023 using stratified multistage random sampling, structured questionnaires, and biochemical measurements. Multivariable logistic regression revealed distinct patterns of association across settings. In …

Factors Associated With Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence In Patients With Hiv At A Public Hospital In Central Jakarta, Indonesia, Kareena Sari Fatimah, Laily Hanifah, Chandrayani Simanjorang, Nayla Kamilia Fithri

Kesmas

Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are required to take antiretroviral therapy (ART) to suppress the virus. However, suboptimal adherence remains a critical barrier that can lead to treatment failure and persistent transmission risks. This study aimed to identify factors associated with ART adherence in patients with HIV. This quantitative study with a cross-sectional design consisted of patients with HIV aged >18 years who received care at the voluntary counseling and testing clinic of a public hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia. Purposive sampling was used. This study used HIV care and ART overview forms as instruments. Data were analyzed using multiple …

Low-Dose Prophylaxis Versus On-Demand Treatment For Children With Severe Hemophilia A In Indonesia: A Conceptual Model, Levina Chandra Khoe, Nur Atika, Dhia Ticha Pertiwi, Septiara Putri

Kesmas

Hemophilia A is a rare bleeding disorder caused by a deficiency of clotting factor VIII, leading to recurrent bleeds, joint damage, and disability. Low-dose prophylaxis has been shown to achieve better clinical outcomes than on-demand treatment in reducing bleeding frequency. However, in Indonesia, access and affordability remain key challenges. This study aimed to develop a conceptual model for conducting a health economic evaluation of low-dose prophylaxis treatment for children with severe hemophilia A in Indonesia. This study followed the ISPOR-SMDM Modeling guidelines, outlining two-stage processes: conceptualization of the clinical problem and model development. A systematic literature review was conducted to …

Volume Cxlv, Number 15, February 27, 2026, Lawrence University

The Lawrentian

No abstract provided.

Toward A Model Of Agentic Professional Learning: A Phenomenological Study Of Collective Efficacy Development, Stephanie Thomas

Education Dissertations

Collective teacher efficacy (CTE) refers to a faculty’s shared belief in its collective ability to take action and positively impact student outcomes in ways more influential than other predictive factors, including socioeconomic status or prior achievement. Research has shown that high levels of CTE are associated with improved student achievement as well as positive outcomes and productive behaviors among educators. However, limited attention has been given to how intentional design and facilitation of professional learning experiences could foster the development of CTE. Given the strong empirical evidence linking CTE with student achievement and the virtuous cycle, or bidirectional causality, between …

How A 2 To 5-Year Experimental Lake Powell And Lake Mead Release Program Tied To Reservoir Inflows Can Be A Win For Adaptive Risk Management, Brittany Fager, Anabelle Myers, Erik Porse, David Rosenberg

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Lake Powell and Lake Mead are at risk of drawdown to their minimum power and dead pools in the next few years because current and proposed shortage and release operations tied to reservoir storage and sometimes prior natural flow cannot keep pace with U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s numerous scenarios of more volatile, declining, and longer-lasting periods of low flows. One experimental program to reduce risk can instead adapt reservoir releases to monitored changes in physical reservoir inflow and reservoir evaporation. First, stabilize reservoir storage by temporarily setting reservoir release to the physical reservoir inflow minus evaporation (the available water). Second, …