Rural Elementary Teachers And The Impact Of Professional Development On Mathematics Instruction

Rural elementary math teachers often lack a background in mathematics and even those with a strong mathematics background can sometimes struggle to model elementary math concepts (Holm & Kajander, 2019). Professional development (PD) provides teachers with an opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills while in the field. Although there are clear guidelines of what constitutes high-quality PD, not all PD achieves the same outcomes for teachers and students. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to understand PD experiences from the viewpoint of the rural elementary teachers, specifically the ways the PD experiences impact teacher efficacy and beliefs around mathematics instruction and learning. Eight elementary teachers from a rural district participated in the study. Three research questions guided the descriptive case study: (1) How do PD experiences impact rural elementary teachers’ beliefs about their abilities to teach mathematics? (2) How do PD experiences impact rural elementary teachers’ efficacy in regards to mathematics instruction? and (3) How do rural elementary teachers describe how PD impacts their perception of mathematics instruction? To answer these questions, data were collected with two rounds of semi-structured interviews, a classroom observation of each participant, and shared artifacts such as notes or classroom products. Themes that emerged from the data, leading to recommendations. Teachers revealed that collegial interactions in the form of observations and conversations helped them gain confidence in their abilities to teach math. They noted that PD experiences could have a positive or negative impact on their beliefs in their abilities to teach math. Participants disclosed that, when tools and strategies were easily implemented, they gained confidence and enthusiasm about their abilities to impact student achievement. PD sessions were most effective when facilitated by someone who took time to build trust and rapport with teachers. This study found that PD does impact rural teachers’ beliefs and teacher efficacy, teachers want to share their experiences, and a culture of trust is essential for continuous improvement. It is recommended for those who are responsible for providing PD to listen to the needs of their teachers when designing it and incorporate all key components of effective PD experiences

Review of \u3ci\u3eClovis Lithic Technology: Investigation of a Stratified Workshop at the Gault Site, Texas.\u3c/i\u3e By Michael R. Waters, Charlotte D. Pevny, David L. Carlson, et al. Foreword by Michael B. Collins.

This volume is a valuable contribution to the growing knowledge of Early Paleoindian behavior in the Southern Plains. It offers a thorough description of excavations and analyses conducted on collections from the Excavation Area 8 ofthe Gault Site in central Texas. The book is organized into ten chapters detailing the site setting, formation processes, Clovis tool manufacture patterns, microwear analyses, faunal analyses, and interpretations of the site\u27s organization and purpose. ... Clovis Lithic Technology is a valuable contribution to researchers interested in the archaeology of the Great Plains, Paleoindian research, lithic analysis, and New World colonization research

Review of \u3ci\u3eClovis Lithic Technology: Investigation of a Stratified Workshop at the Gault Site, Texas.\u3c/i\u3e By Michael R. Waters, Charlotte D. Pevny, David L. Carlson, et al. Foreword by Michael B. Collins.

This volume is a valuable contribution to the growing knowledge of Early Paleoindian behavior in the Southern Plains. It offers a thorough description of excavations and analyses conducted on collections from the Excavation Area 8 ofthe Gault Site in central Texas. The book is organized into ten chapters detailing the site setting, formation processes, Clovis tool manufacture patterns, microwear analyses, faunal analyses, and interpretations of the site\u27s organization and purpose. ... Clovis Lithic Technology is a valuable contribution to researchers interested in the archaeology of the Great Plains, Paleoindian research, lithic analysis, and New World colonization research

Red Chert Quarrie in the Munsungun Lake Formation: Moving beyond Norway Bluff

Red chert attributed to the Munsungun Lake geologic formation located in northern Maine is common in terminal-Pleistocene, fluted-point-period lithic assemblages throughout New England. A visually identical material also appears in some later-period sites in coastal Maine. Until recently no bedrock source for this red chert showing convincing evidence of precontact use was known. Here we present the NKP site complex, a series of quarry-related stone-toolmanufacturing workshop sites associated with outcrops of high-quality red/green chert. These outcrops represent the only known source of this material with evidence of precontact human use within the Munsungun Lake formation. Although unequivocal fluted-point-period artifacts, such as fluted bifaces, are not yet documented at the NKP complex, the recurrent appearance of red Munsungun chert in fluted-point-period lithic assemblages in New England suggests the manufacture of fluted points took place in the vicinity of these outcrops

Deep Learning Fusion of Satellite and Social Information to Estimate Human Migratory Flows

Human migratory decisions are driven by a wide range of factors, including economic and environmental condi-tions, conflict, and evolving social dynamics. These factors are reflected in disparate data sources, including house-hold surveys, satellite imagery, and even news and social media. Here, we present a deep learning- based data fusion technique integrating satellite and census data to estimate migratory flows from Mexico to the United States. We leverage a three-stage approach, in which we (1) construct a matrix- based representation of socioeconomic information for each municipality in Mexico, (2) implement a convolutional neural network with both satellite imagery and the constructed socioeconomic matrix, and (3) use the output vectors of information to estimate migratory flows. We find that this approach outperforms alternatives by approximately 10% (r2), suggesting multi- modal data fusion provides a valuable pathway forward for modeling migratory processes

Charges of Forgery: Roger Williams and the Narragansett Deed to Providence

In the Fall 2024 Rare Book Salon, Salve’s archivist and faculty with expertise in the fields of archaeology, cultural and historic preservation, and history engage in a multidisciplinary discussion spanning Indigenous histories and land evidence. In this 1896 paper from Salve Special Collections on the authenticity of the 1638 deed to Moshassuck, which would become the site of Providence, George Paine uses legal evidence and primary sources to examine the document signed by Sachems Canonicus and Miantonomi that conveyed the land rights to the English colonizer

Lessons Learned during the Transition to Online Learning in a University Nutrition and Exercise Department

In the spring semester of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented shift from face-to-face learning to an instantaneous online learning environment. At the time, the department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise (HNFE) at Virginia Tech had few online class offerings. Twenty-nine Spring 2020 HNFE classes were transitioned from traditional face-to-face offerings to online delivery models. Many members of the HNFE faculty have strong pedagogical training, but the immediate pedagogical shift in the middle of the semester gave little time for adequate course design geared toward online learning. As such, the purpose of this study was to evaluate student perceptions of the transition to online learning. A departmental survey employing quantitative and qualitative questions was used to assess students’ learning experiences in the spring of 2020 and then re-employed at the conclusion of the Fall 2020 semester to re-assess students’ online course experience and identify if the department was improving in online course delivery. An additional component of the survey specifically evaluated students’ self-perceived motivation for learning. Examples of educational and logistical strategies in online learning environments implemented by instructors and findings of students’ experiences from both surveys will be shared

Building Resilience in Rural Communities through Strong Schools – RiSE Center Programs to Counter Teacher Isolation and Teacher Turnover, and Improve Student Engagement and Learning in the STEM Disciplines

In Maine’s rural communities, schools play a particularly important, central role. They bring students together to learn, grow, and acquire the knowledge and skills needed to support their hometowns in the future. Schools are also often the gathering place for families and other community members. Rural teachers are more likely to face professional isolation, high turnover and unfilled positions in school staff and administration, and difficulties arising from the economic challenges of their communities. Through funding from the National Science Foundation, the Maine Department of Education, rural school districts, and private donations, the RiSE Center works to support and retain teachers in subjects of particular need, the STEM fields. It has successfully developed communities of practice, co-designed with new and experienced teachers, across multiple rural districts. The RiSE Teaching Fellowship Program, based upon a model developed with funding from the NSF Noyce Program (NSF Award #1557320), has helped keep graduates of Maine teacher preparation programs teaching in Maine and in high-need districts. Over 85% of program participants have stayed in these districts for at least four years and many have become leaders in their schools and in statewide professional learning offerings for their colleagues. This statewide community of practice meets regularly to reflect on the effectiveness of strategies that they have implemented and design improvements for future use. The RiSE Teaching Fellowship Program is just one example of RiSE initiatives to support Maine teachers and thus improve access to high quality STEM learning experiences for rural Maine students.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_issues/1087/thumbnail.jp

Beyond market share: Accounting for doctoral program size in recent rates of anthropology faculty job placement.

Job placement trends in higher education at US institutions are bleak. Within anthropology and other social science disciplines this problem appears to be particularly pronounced. Recent studies focusing on placement in Anthropology using market share analysis have suggested that specific doctoral programs offer a greater chance of placing their graduates in faculty positions. Here we expand on that work, looking beyond market share to the number of graduates placed in positions relative to the total number of program graduates. Our results suggest that while large programs do indeed command the majority of tenure track placements by market share, much of this may be a product of the high numbers of graduates from these programs. Smaller programs can be proportionally as successful at placing their students in tenure track positions. The majority of PhDs in anthropology should anticipate gaining employment outside of a tenure track position. Training students for positions in private industry, government, and other non-faculty opportunities is essential