Gifted Education Commons^™

Of Love And Other Ills, Enrique Quezada

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

All went as it had for fifteen years in the Rivera González household until the day Matilde saw José Juan coming home from school with vomit on his lips, his skin so pale she thought he was a ghost. Matilde hesitated, but decided to open the door after concluding that, if that pallid personage who resembled her aunt Catalina—God bless her soul—was a messenger of death, she wouldn’t put up resistance. She was ready to bid farewell.

No one had seen her so determined since she yelled at her husband in the consulting room of Dr. Guardado demanding that they …

"So Dead And Bald" Destroys The World: A Psychological Critique Of Object Metamorphosis In Infinite Jest'S Game Of Eschaton, R. Christian Phillips

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

"Do not underestimate objects! . . . It is impossible to overstress this: do not underestimate objects" (Wallace 394). Even the most cursory reading of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest reveals the importance of objects to this work. Objects affect and vigorously direct all the characters throughout, from the tennis balls being continuously squeezed by students at the elite Enfield Tennis Academy (ETA) to the veil Joelle van Dyne wears to the plethora of drugs being consumed and, most importantly, to the cartridge of James O. Incandenza's final film, which is given the ultimate power of life and death over …

Journal Of Undergraduate Research And Creative Activity Volume One

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Contents:

HONORS PROGRAM INDUCTION 3

CAGE'S DUNGEON 18

EACH AND EVERY MINUTE 20

THE "G" WORD 21

DOLLHOUSE 22

"MY PAINTINGS WOULD BE NO DIFFERENT THAN A PICTURE IN A BIOLOGY TEXTBOOK" 23

OF LOVE AND OTHER ILLS 28

SYMPTOMS OF THE VIRUS 36

GODSPEED 43

PALM EPIPHYLL COVER SHIFTS TO HIGHER ELEVATIONS IN TROPICAL CLOUD FOREST, INDICATING LOCAL CLIMATE CHANGE 45

EVOLUTIONARY EXPLANATION FOR INVASIVE ABILITIES OF CENTAUREA STOEBE (SPOTTED KNAPWEED) IN INTRODUCED AREAS 56

CONNEXIN-43 AND TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY 72

MOVEMENTS IN DIALOGUE 93

JARGONS AND PIDGINS AND CREOLES, OH MY! 102

"SO DEAD AND BALD" DESTROYS THE …

Connexin-43 And Traumatic Brain Injury: A Potential Target For Therapeutic Intervention, Lauren R. Moore

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a widespread, degenerative affliction with no current therapeutic interventions. The long-term degradation caused by TBI results from secondary injury cascades that are initiated by primary injury. An early and important step in the damage process is reactive astrogliosis in astrocytes. Astrocytes communicate through gap junctions, which are composed of two connexon hemichannels from the two communicating cells and these connexons themselves are composed of six connexin protein subunits. Connexin 43 (Cx43) is a particularly important connexin to gap junctional communication and could act either to preserve the astrocytes from oxidative stress, or to propagate the …

A Sliding Scale: Nuclear Proliferation Among States, Jessica Liu

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Why do states engage in nuclear proliferation? Nuclear proliferation is a major security issue affecting the international arena. Existing studies debate both the strength and direction of determinants of nuclear proliferation and the effect of domestic and international circumstances on proliferation. A clear understanding of why states choose to pursue nuclear arms is critical to promoting and maintaining international security. By analyzing what factors may make a state less prone to proliferation, the international community may incentivize disarmament. My research question considers membership in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a potential correlate of nuclear proliferation. Are countries that …

"My Paintings Would Be No Different Than A Picture In A Biology Textbook", Andi Kur

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

I find that there are innate balances in life, universal dichotomies that permeate our understanding of the world. My paintings are about a duality such as this that exists between art and science. We are told from youth that these subjects are poles in constant strain, as miscible as oil in water. I spent thirteen years in school believing that I must choose between the two, that it is unnecessary to carry both with me. Drawn between a distinct love of each, I realized how vehemently I disagreed. Everything: every rock to every tree to every person is suspended between …

Evolutionary Explanation For Invasive Abilities Of Centaurea Stoebe (Spotted Knapweed) In Introduced Areas, Erin Koren

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Since every invasion and every exotic species presents a new challenge with novel invasion strategies, the invasion of Centaurea stoebe (synonymously referred to as C. maculosa) into North America will be used as a case study to deeply examine invasion strategies. Centaurea stoebe is a short-lived (approximately 3 years) perennial member of the aster family (Broz et al., 2007). It occurs in two different cytotypes, or with two different chromosomal factors. In its home range, it exists in both diploid and tetraploid cytotypes, but only the tetraploid version is present in introduced ranges in North America (See Figure 1; Treier …

Symptoms Of The Virus, Emily Haase

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

SYMPTOMS OF THE VIRUS BY DR. HENRY ESQUIRE III MD CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER 1. Severe hunger, often voicing their distress. 2. Chronic moodiness, confusion, sullenness. 3. Irritability, otherwise emotionally unstable. Paranoia. 4. Homicidal tendencies – full takeover of the disease. Handle with caution.

“Making a list of symptoms of the zombification virus. Like, Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 … except I don’t know what to say about how it’s spread, which is probably what’s most important. Through the air, d’you think?”

Jargons And Pidgins And Creoles, Oh My!, Emily Gray

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Nowadays, creoles are often employed when a group wants to reach the minority audience with its message. Thanks to the presence of creoles on every continent, this strategy has the potential to be highly successful. Creole writings can be divided into two main subcategories: ecclesiastical and non-ecclesiastical. Writings related to Christianity can be found wherever English-based creoles are widely used and accepted. Creolized translations of missionary prayers have been dated back to the eighteenth century (Todd 71). Negerhollands, a Dutch-based creole of the Virgin Islands, even boasts a translation of the Bible. Translations of creoles have also been used in …

“Where Words Fail, Music Speaks”: The Experience Of Adapting Literature To Music, Laney J. Fowle

UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Adaptation is a relatively new yet growing academic field consisting mainly of research on the modification of book into film. This study endeavors to expand the discourse on adaptation to the modal transformation of literary works to music. By using this specific adaptive type to examine the process and functionality of adapted works, I was able to address several key aspects of modern adaptation, including the hot-button issue of fidelity to an established source text, the role of adaptor as co-author, and the ability of solitary artistic modes to augment each other when combined. The resulting personal attempts at adaptation …

Evaluating The Application Of Program Outcomes To Study Abroad Experiences, Patricia Joanne Smith, Lawrence J. Mrozek

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Study abroad is a critical component of a comprehensive higher education experience in today’s global society. The Institute of International Education (IIE) reported that, in 2013–2014, 304,467 U.S. students participated in study abroad. This number has more than tripled over the last two decades, and while short-term study abroad is still the most popular, the number of American students spending a semester or a year abroad is also increasing (IIE). According to Kuh, O’Donnell, and Reed, study abroad has been deemed a high-impact practice, and, as an experiential approach to global learning, study abroad has the power to transform the …

Why Not Honors? Understanding Students’ Decisions Not To Enroll And Persist In Honors Programs, Timothy J. Nichols, Jacob Ailts, Kuo-Liang Chang

Honors in Practice Online Archive

In recent years, retention and graduation of honors students have received increasing attention in scholarly literature. In the spring of 2013, as a part of the strategic planning process, the South Dakota State University (SDSU) Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College invited current honors students to complete an online survey aimed at collecting information about the key factors that affected students’ initial decision to enroll in the honors college, the main reasons affecting their decision to continue their enrollment, and the challenges and levels of satisfaction they experienced. Study results indicated that most students were highly satisfied with …

Honoring Controversy: Using Real-World Problems To Teach Critical Thinking In Honors Courses, Sarita Cargas

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Discussing controversy is an important practice for living in a democracy. If we want to live in a pluralist society, then we have to accept differences and be able to talk in light of them. In addition to examining opinions they do not hold, honors students, perhaps more than most other undergraduates, face the possibility of disagreeing with faculty and each other in the safe and controlled environment of the seminar classroom. Since respectful disagreement is not usually modeled in TV shows or the news media, it becomes morally imperative for us as honors teachers to practice it with our …

Honors In Practice, Volume 12 (2016), Editorial Material, Ada Long, Dail Mullins, Karen Lyons

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Masthead
Editorial Board
Production Editors
Contents
Editorial Policy, Deadline, and Submission Guidelines
Dedication to Patrice Berger
Editor’s Introduction
About the Authors .
NCHC Publication Order Forms

A Quality Instrument For Effective Honors Program Review, Patricia Joanne Smith

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Although the number of honors programs and colleges has grown dramatically over the last twenty years to over a thousand programs nationally (Member List 2010, National Collegiate Honors Council), little has been done to develop consistency of standards in honors. In the interest of seeking consistency, I designed a research study to provide initial insights into assessable measures that a panel of honors administrators agree are meaningful for use in honors program reviews. The study analyzed the content validity of a set of empirically and conceptually derived survey items to facilitate the development of an instrument to assess and review …

Elementary School Teachers' Interpretation And Promotion Of Creativity In The Learning Of Mathematics: A Grounded Theory Study, Yinjing Shen

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Creativity is important for young children learning mathematics. Comparing the investment theory of creativity and national standards and principles for early mathematics shows that doing mathematics is more than applying rules and procedures; rather, learning mathematics takes a lot of creativity. However, much literature claimed that creativity for young children in the learning of mathematics was not adequately supported by teachers in the classroom due to teachers’ poor college preparation in mathematics content knowledge, teachers’ negativity towards creative students, teachers’ occupational pressure, low quality curriculum, and the like. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to generate a model …

Exploring The Multiple Dimensions Of Intelligence Identity In High-Achieving Students, Amy A. Holland

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the important elements reported by second-year undergraduates at Midwestern University (MU) as they renegotiated their intelligence identity of being the smart one. The five participants were members of the 2012-2013 first-year cohort of Jumpstart Business Community (JBC). Per inclusion in JBC, the students identified as high-achieving students and/or were classified as accelerated learners in high school. The reconceptualized model of multiple dimensions of identity from Abes, Jones, and McEwen (2007) informed this study in the examination of renegotiation of the intelligence identity.

The main research question of this study was what …

Student Engagement And Action In Classroom And Community: Place-Based Education And Social Action For The High-Achieving Student, Rachel M. Jank

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This paper briefly discusses the work done in a college-preparatory, Senior English class to combat the disengagement present in many educational institutions. This disconnect does not allow for learning retention and, therefore, does not allow for students to apply the moment of learning to life outside of the secondary classroom. The work I do is based off of Jessica Singer Early, Bruce Bigelow, Linda Christensen, and many other master teachers who work with the educational designs of Place Consciousness and Social Action within their respective classrooms. The theories of John Dewey and Paulo Freire suggest that a non-traditional style of …

Writing On Your Feet: Reflective Practices In City As Text™, A Tribute To The Career Of Bernice Braid, Ada Long

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs

Introduction. . . . . . ix
Ada Long

CHAPTER 1: History and Theory of Recursive Writing in Experiential Education. . . . . .3
Bernice Braid

CHAPTER 2: Claiming a Voice through Writing. . . . .13
John Major

CHAPTER 3: The Role of Background Readings and Experts. .23
Ada Long

CHAPTER 4: The Beginner’s Mind: Recursive Writing in NCHC Faculty Institutes. . . . . . . .33
Sara E. Quay

CHAPTER 5: Assigning, Analyzing, and Assessing Recursive Writing in Honors Semesters. . . . . .41
Ann Raia

CHAPTER 6: Finding Appropriate Assignments: Mapping an Honors Semester. …

Nchc Monographs & Journals

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Assessing and Evaluating Honors Programs and Honors Colleges: A Practical Handbook by Rosalie Otero and Robert Spurrier (2005, 98pp). This monograph includes an overview of assessment and evaluation practices and strategies. It explores the process for conducting self-studies and discusses the differences between using consultants and external reviewers. It provides a guide to conducting external reviews along with information about how to become an NCHC-Recommended Site Visitor. A dozen appendices provide examples of “best practices.”

Nchc Publication Order Form

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Purchases may be made by calling (402) 472-9150, emailing [email protected], visiting our website , or mailing a check or money order payable to: NCHC • University of Nebraska–Lincoln • 1100 Neihardt Residence Center • 540 N. 16th Street • Lincoln, NE 68588-0627.

Admissions And Retention In Honors

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

The National Collegiate Honors Council is an association of faculty, students, and others interested in honors education. Executive Committee: Rick Scott, President, University of Central Arkansas; Jim Ruebel, President-Elect, Ball State University; Gregory Lanier, Immediate Past-President, University of West Florida; Barry Falk, Vice-President, James Madison University; Kyoko Amano, Secretary, University of Indianapolis; Gary Bell, Treasurer, Texas Tech University. Executive Director: Cynthia M. Hill, headquartered at University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Board of Directors: Suketu Bhavsar, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Lisa Coleman, Southeastern Oklahoma State University; Riley Cook, University of Iowa; Emily Jones, Oklahoma State University; Joe King, Radford University; Jon Kotinek, …

Assessing Rigor In Experiential Education: A Working Model From Partners In The Parks, John S. Maclean, Brian J. White

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Assessment has become a popular buzzword on academic campuses over the last few decades. Most assessment models are designed to evaluate traditional learning structures. If we were to state simply the process of assessment, it might read like this: a) what you want the students to learn; b) how you want to teach the material; c) how you know if the students learned the material. In a traditional pedagogical environment, for example, an instructor might want the students to learn how early geologists deduced the influence of glaciation in the Sierra Mountains from striations on polished granite surfaces. She would …

They Come But Do They Finish? Program Completion For Honors Students At A Major Public University, 1998–2010, Lynne Goodstein, Patricia Szarek

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

In recent years the option of enrolling in honors programs and colleges at major public universities has increasingly become an alternative to elite private and public institutions for some of the brightest and most academically talented high school graduates. To attract these high-achieving students, universities may offer applicants incentives such as merit scholarships, smaller classes, honors residential options, research experiences, and enrichment programs. The message to prospective students is that, by enrolling in an honors college or program, they will receive an education that rivals what would be obtained at an elite private school and at a much lower price. …

Dedication

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Recently selected as an NCHC Fellow, Hallie Savage has been a major player in honors for the past sixteen years. Having earned her PhD from Kent State University, she joined the faculty of Clarion University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and is Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders as well as, since 1997, Director of the Honors Program. During her years at Clarion, she has produced many pages’ worth of publications and presentations in honors as well as in her academic discipline while also receiving numerous awards for her teaching and service. Her service to the National Collegiate Honors Council began …

Notes Toward An Excellent Marxist-Elitist Honors Admissions Policy, Jerry Herron

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

I beg indulgence for an opening anecdote that will perhaps point the issue at hand in a useful direction. I am descended from an honorable line of traveling preachers and car salesmen. As to the preachers, one forebear in particular would occasionally suffer a certain reluctance among the flock when he made his call inviting potential congregants to come forward and receive the benefits of faith, which—to invoke the other side of my family tree—was not unlike the annual call to view new car models back when model change was real and something people could believe in. In order to …

Propensity Score Analysis Of An Honors Program’S Contribution To Students’ Retention And Graduation Outcomes, Robert R. Keller, Michael G. Lacy

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Honors directors and deans know or presume that retention and graduation rates of honors students substantially exceed those of non-honors students. In our research, we have attempted to better determine what portion of this success is attributable to the academic and other benefits of honors programs as opposed to the background characteristics of the students. Among the former, we would point to innovative and small classes, more individual attention for honors students from faculty and staff, residential learning communities, thesis experiences, and extra-curricular opportunities, all of which might be expected to make the college experience more engaging for honors students …

Meeting The Aims Of Honors In The Online Environment, Melissa L. Johson

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

In 1998, the Boyer Commission called for using more innovative methods of course delivery, moving away from the traditional lecture toward inquiry-based learning. The National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) has long held that undergraduate honors education is one arena where pedagogical innovation takes place. Members of the honors community note that what makes honors unique is that honors courses serve as laboratories of curricular innovation and experiential learning (Braid, “Cultivating”; Braid, “Majoring; Bruce; Hutgett; Lacey; Schuman, “Cultivating”; Strikwerda; Werth; Wolfensberger, van Eijl, & Pilot). Exemplary honors courses should include participatory learning, an emphasis on primary sources, interdisciplinary and experiential themes, …

Editor’S Introduction, Ada Long

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

This issue of the Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council begins with a Forum on “Nontraditional Honors Students.” We distributed the lead essay titled “Nontraditional Honors,” by Janice Rye Kinghorn of Miami University Middletown and Whitney Womack Smith of Miami University Hamilton, on the NCHC website, on the listserv, and in NCHC e-Newletters several months in advance, and we invited contributors to consider the following questions:

Admissions, Retention, And Reframing The Question “Isn’T It Just More Work?”, Michael K. Cundall Jr.

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

In the lead essay of this Forum, one of the questions Jerry Herron asks in discussing honors admissions is “What are we offering?” This question relates directly to the question often posed by well-meaning parents, wellintentioned students, and inquisitive administrators who want to know if honors is just more and/or harder work and hence not worth the risk. Having gotten a B in honors calculus will do damage to a GPA when the student could have earned an A in a non-honors calculus course. Students and parents might thus perceive the cost of honors work to outweigh the possible benefits, …