Love, Laughter, and Lessons: What a Canine Brought to a Classroom for Students with Severe Emotional Disorders

The purpose of this study was to determine whether having a dog as a member of a self-contained classroom for students diagnosed with severe emotional disorders held benefits for these students. This study provided an opportunity to explain or predict the effects that a dog had on students’ emotional well-being and learning in the school setting. The methods and procedures for this study were qualitatively collected and analyzed. This study was considered a case study, because it explored a bounded system over time through detailed, in-depth data collection, which involved observations, student interviews, and parent interviews. The broad research question that guided this qualitative study was as follows: What happens when a dog becomes a member of a self- contained classroom for students diagnosed with severe emotional disorders? As the study progressed, more specific questions emerged from the data that narrowed the scope of the investigation. The first research question related to how the dog’s presence affected students’ emotional stability with regard to the prevention and de-escalation of emotional crisis, while the second question related to how the dog affected students’ learning. The participants in this study included six students who were placed in a self- contained special education classroom because of the severity of their emotional disorders. In addition, all six of the students’ mothers, or foster mothers, were selected for this study. Based on the findings of this study, four assertions were drawn: 1. The dog’s placement into the self-contained special education classroom provided students with a foundation for emotional stability through his ongoing companionship. 2. Students’ attitudes toward school became more positive when the dog became a member of their classroom community. 3. The dog had a calming effect on students, which was influential in preventing and de-escalating episodes of emotional crisis. 4. With the presence of the dog, students’ learning became more broad-based to encompass lessons in responsibility, respect, and empathy. Recommendations were made for educators, in the field of special education, who work with students diagnosed with emotional disorders, as well as for future researchers

Teacher perspectives of challenges within the Norwegian Educational system

This research examines teacher perspectives’ of educational challenges in Norway. Norway is one of the most well-resourced, prosperous, social welfare states in the world, yet the OECD (2011) recognized students’ weak basic skills and insufficient teacher ability in content and pedagogy, along with engagement and imbalanced resources as points for educational improvement. An open-ended questionnaire was administered to 138 teachers practicing in Norway to explore challenges from their perspective. Teachers reported the following challenges: completing government paperwork with competing pedagogical demands, adapting teaching to each student due to large class sizes, motivating students, managing social and emotional problems of students, and meeting society’s increasingly unrealistic expectations. Teachers perceived their challenges to be a result of a poorly built educational system, not from deficits in their teaching skills. We concluded from this study that teacher voice and participation in improvement decisions are needed, given some discrepancy in perceived challenges among these findings, international surveys, and policy-related reports

Paleobiology of ichthyosaurs: using osteohistology to test hypotheses of growth rates and metabolism in a clade of secondarily aquatic marine tetrapods

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019Ichthyosaurians (Ichthyosauria) are one of the most prominent groups of secondarily aquatic Mesozoic marine reptiles. Over their 160 million years of evolution, the clade evolved a streamlined body plan with paddle-like limbs, convergent with modern cetaceans. Despite the fact that ichthyosaurians have been studied by paleontologists for over a century, very little is known about aspects of their biology, including quantification of their age structure and growth rates. Multiple lines of evidence, including oxygen isotope, swimming modality, and body shape analyses suggest that ichthyosaurians experienced elevated growth rates and likely maintained an elevated body temperature relative to ambient sea water. In this dissertation, I test these hypotheses using osteohistological methods. In the first manuscript, we describe new material of the small-bodied Upper Triassic ichthyosaurian Toretocnemus from the Nehenta Formation and the Hound Island Volcanics (both Norian, Upper Triassic) of Southeast Alaska. During the Upper Triassic, ichthyosaurians experienced their greatest size disparity, with large-bodied species rivaling the size of modern blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus; 20+ m body length) living alongside small-bodied species (1 m body length) like Toretocnemus. Prior to this study, Toretocnemus was known from Carnian deposits of California and possibly Sonora, Mexico. The referred material described here expands its geographic and temporal range. There are very few known ichthyosaurians from the Norian; thus, this material sheds light on the clade's diversity before the end Triassic extinction event. In the second and third manuscripts, we use osteohistological methods to describe the microstructure of various skeletal elements of two species of Stenopterygius from the Posidonia Shale (Lower Jurassic) of Germany. The Posidonia Shale is a Konservat-Lagerstätten that preserves over 3000 ichthyosaurian specimens, approximately 80 percent of which are referable to Stenopterygius. First, we sampled over 40 skeletal elements from one individual specimen referred to Stenopterygius quadriscissus to 1) describe the mineralized tissues across the skeleton, 2) infer relative growth rate, and 3) identify elements with growth marks. Almost all elements described demonstrate fibrolamellar primary bone, indicative of a rapid growth rate. We also identify growth marks in several elements, including the dentary and premaxilla, that will be used in future growth studies. In the third manuscript, we sample a scleral ossicle from Stenopterygius triscissus to describe its microstructure and investigate the use of ossicles for skeletochronology. The use of scleral ossicles for determining age structure has been documented in extant sea turtles as well as dinosaurs. We sectioned one ossicle in three planes and document conspicuous growth banding in the short axis section. Although this method requires further testing, we tentatively determine a minimum age of 7 years at the time of death for this individual. This dissertation lays critical groundwork for future studies of the paleobiology of ichthyosaurians. We are already in the preliminary stages of using these results to 1) quantify age structure and growth rates of an ichthyosaurian (Stenopterygius quadriscissus) for the first time, and 2) test the use of scleral ossicles for skeletochronology of ichthyosaurians. Through addressing these basic aspects of ichthyosaurian biology, we can begin to investigate how ichthyosaurian development and physiology changed over time and space and develop a greater understanding of this clade's 160 million years of evolution.University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Geosciences, NSF GK-12 CASE fellowship (NSF DGE-0948029), University of Alaska Museum, University of Alaska Museum Otto Geist Fund, Graduate School Travel Grant, College of Natural Science and Mathematics Travel GrantChapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: New material of Toretocnemus merriam, 1903 (Reptilia, ichthyosauria) from the late triassic (Norian) of Southeast Alaska -- Chapter 3: Skeletal microstructure of Stenopterygius quadriscissus (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Posidonienschiefer (Posidonia Shale, Lower Jurassic) of Germany -- Chapter 4: Preliminary osteohistological analysis of a scleral ossicle of Stenopterygius triscissus (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) for skeletochronology and implications for eye growth -- Chapter 5: Conclusion -- Chapter 6: Appendices

The effect of current and habitat on the shell morphology of the freshwater snail, Elimia livescens, in northern Michigan streams.

General EcologyIn this study, I determined the effect of water current speed and habitat (riffle versus pool) on the shell morphology of the freshwater snail, Elimia livescens, in Northern Michigan streams. I predicted that snails in riffle habitats and areas of high current would have larger, thicker shells compared to shells of pools and low current areas. In addition, I predicted shells in riffles and high current areas would be narrower in shape. I measured snails from areas of pool and riffle habitats with different current speeds in Little Carp River near Bliss, Michigan and Wycamp Creek near Cross Village, Michigan. After measuring length, width and thickness of the shell, I calculated a size index and a shell shape proportion index. The results indicated there was no significant relationship between shell shape and habitat or current speed, disagreeing with my predictions. In addition, there was no significant relationship between shell size and habitat or current speed, also disagreeing with my predictions. There was a significant relationship between shell thickness and both habitat and current speed, agreeing with my predictions. In conclusion, snails in high current or riffle habitats are thicker than snails in low current or pool areas. Abiotic factors, such as water current, have an important effect on morphological traits of snail shells.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78439/1/Anderson_Katherine_2010.pd

iScience - Preservice teacher journeys through enquiry

Students begin their science teacher education with a range of experiences and understandings about the nature and practice of science and how they can support students to develop an understanding of science concepts through enquiry. Many begin their teacher education programs with limited skills in planning, conducting analysing and reporting on experiments to address scientific questions. The iScience project aims to both assist pre-service teachers to develop their skills in conducting enquiry while concurrently supporting them to develop their understanding of the issues and skills using experiments to support high school students’ understandings of science. In the two-month iScience project, the pre-service teachers mentor a small group of high school students supporting them to develop, conduct and report on a research project. These mentoring activities provide opportunities for the preservice teachers to reflect on the choices they made as teachers as well as their understanding of how to teach science through enquiry. This paper will discuss the organisation, implementation and evaluation of the iScience project within the first semester of a preservice teacher education course. A set of case studies will be used to illustrate the impact of the iScience experience on the pre-service teachers understanding of how to teach science by inquiry. Implications for pre-service teacher education and the value of using scaffolded enquiry models to support the development of enquiry skills will be discussed

Using Decision Analysis to Improve Malaria Control Policy Making

Malaria and other vector-borne diseases represent a significant and growing burden in many tropical countries. Successfully addressing these threats will require policies that expand access to and use of existing control methods, such as insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) and artemesinin combination therapies (ACTs) for malaria, while weighing the costs and benefits of alternative approaches over time. This paper argues that decision analysis provides a valuable framework for formulating such policies and combating the emergence and re-emergence of malaria and other diseases. We outline five challenges that policy makers and practitioners face in the struggle against malaria, and demonstrate how decision analysis can help to address and overcome these challenges. A prototype decision analysis framework for malaria control in Tanzania is presented, highlighting the key components that a decision support tool should include. Developing and applying such a framework can promote stronger and more effective linkages between research and policy, ultimately helping to reduce the burden of malaria and other vector-borne diseases

iScience: A Computer-Supported Collaborative Inquiry Learning Project for Science Students in Secondary and Tertiary Science Education

Pre-service teachers come to teacher education programs with a range of experiences and understandings about inquiry in Science. The iScience project aims to assist pre-service teachers develop their understanding of the issues and skills required to guide students through an open inquiry process. In addition, the project provides opportunities for pre-service teachers at the beginning of their teacher training to develop their skills in mentoring high school science students in an open-ended inquiry process. Wikis were used to support the interactions among the pre-service teachers and school students from several different geographical locations to enable collaboration on an open inquiry project. The impact of the project on the pre-service teachers’ understanding of how to teach science by inquiry will be discussed

The relationship between current speed and shell morphology in the freshwater snail, Elimia livescens, in two northern Michigan streams.

Natural History & EvolutionIn this study, we examined Elimia livescens, a freshwater snail, in two Northern Michigan streams to determine the relationship between current speed and shell morphology. Because of environmental selective pressures, differences in morphology can be attributed to either phenotypic plasticity (morphologic changes in individuals not attributed to genes) or ecotype formation (existence of genetic variation and trait heritability among populations within a species). We predicted that there would be no relationship between shell thickness and length or width, that there would be a positive direct relationship between current speed and shell thickness and size, and that snails in high current areas would have narrower shells than those in low current areas. Sites of variable current speed were sampled in Wycamp Creek near Cross Village, Michigan and in Little Carp River near Bliss, Michigan. For each snail collected, we measured length, width at the widest point and thickness at the aperture. From these measurements, we calculated indices for shell size and shape. Our results indicated that shell thickness is independent of both shell length and width, supporting our prediction and suggesting that an outside selective force is acting on shell thickness. Additionally, there was a significant positive relationship between current speed and shell thickness, but not between current speed and size or shape. Overall, we determined that current speed is an important selective force on snail shell thickness, indicating either phenotypic plasticity in individual snails or the existence of ecotypes within the species.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78466/1/Anderson_DeBofsky_2010.pd