Student Teacher Perceptions of the Impact of Mentoring on Student Teaching

Mentoring is an essential component of the student teaching experience. The support provided by highly prepared and effective mentors contributes to the success of student teachers during this high stakes period of professional development. Findings from this mixed-methods study support five mentoring factors as valid and a useful framework for measuring the impact of the mentoring received by student teachers in the student teaching experience. The five factors are: personal attributes, system requirements, pedagogical knowledge, modeling, and feedback (Hudson, 2007). The Mentee Perceptions of Student Teaching survey was given to student teachers upon the conclusion of their student teaching experience at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Convergence of quantitative and qualitative data showed that mentoring practices implemented by the mentors supported the development of student teachers. Although no statistically significant differences were found between mentoring in the co-teaching and non-co-teaching sub-groups, results revealed important details of the student teachers\u27 views. Themes emerged that add credence to the five mentoring factors that are well supported in current literature. In addition to verifying what has been done during student teaching, the five factors also serve to identify the specific responsibilities of mentor teachers and should be used to articulate the goals and outcomes for their role as a mentor

Green Power Marketing in the United States: A Status Report (2009 Data)

This report documents green power marketing activities and trends in the United States. Aggregate green power sales data for all voluntary purchase markets across the United States are presented for 2009. The data presented in this report are based primarily on figures provided to NREL by utilities and independent renewable energy marketers. Because data cannot be obtained from all market participants, the estimates presented here likely represent an underestimate of the market size. Key trends identified in this year’s report include:• In 2009, total retail sales of renewable energy in voluntary markets exceeded 30 million MWh, an increase of 17% from 2008. The increase was dominated by renewable energy certificate (REC) sales, primarily to nonresidential consumers, which increased by about 20% from 2008 (see Figure ES-1). REC markets now represent 62% of total voluntary green power market sales.• Utility green pricing programs in regulated electricity markets continued to grow on a sales basis but at a slower rate than in previous years, with sales volume increasing by about 7% in 2009. A relatively small number of utility programs continued to dominate sales and customer numbers. Utility premiums for green pricing continued to fall due in part to the increased cost competitiveness of renewable with conventional generation.• Wind energy provided 73.7% of total green power sales volume, followed by biomass energy sources including landfill gas (10.0%), hydropower (9.9%), geothermal (0.2%), and solar (0.1%), with the remainder unknown (5.9%).• Overall, the total number of customers purchasing green power increased by 44% in 2009, which is a higher rate than in previous years and with gains coming primarily from a competitive offering in Texas introduced in 2009. Utility green pricing program participants remained essentially flat in aggregate from 2007 to 2009, with some programs continuing to report customer losses in 2009.• In 2009, nearly 340,000 metric tons of avoided CO2e from renewable energy facilities were marketed as offsets, an increase of approximately 39% from 2008. This is the equivalent of about 485,000 MWh of renewable energy generation

Using Renewable Energy Purchases to Achieve Institutional Carbon Goals: A Review of Current Practices and Considerations

With organizations and individuals increasingly interested in accounting for their carbon emissions, greater attention is being placed on how to account for the benefits of various carbon mitigation actions available to consumers and businesses. Generally, organizations can address their own carbon emissions through energy efficiency, fuel switching, on-site renewable energy systems, renewable energy purchased from utilities or in the form of renewable energy certificates (RECs), and carbon offsets. This paper explores the role of green power and carbon offsets in carbon footprinting and the distinctions between the two products. It reviews how leading greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting programs treat green power purchases and discusses key issues regarding how to account for the carbon benefits of renewable energy. It also discusses potential double counting if renewable energy generation is used in multiple markets

Voluntary Green Power Market Forecast Through 2015

Voluntary markets for renewable energy in which consumers purchase renewable energy from their electricity providers or from renewable energy certificate (REC) marketers have existed for more than a decade. Going forward, various factors will influence the development of these markets, including potential climate policies, state and federal renewable portfolio standards (RPS), renewable energy prices, the level of consumer interest in purchasing green power, and the interest on the part of utilities in offering new green options and in continuing to promote existing programs. This report presents estimates of voluntary market demand for renewable energy or green power through 2015. The forecast relies on historical data, including market sector sizes and growth rates, to inform our assumptions. Though we adjusted growth rates as discussed in the report, they remain the starting point for our analysis. Because of the different factors that affect utility programs, REC markets, and competitive electric markets, separate assumptions and methods are used to project demand for each submarket

Examination of the Regional Supply and Demand Balance for Renewable Electricity in the United States Through 2015

This report examines the balance between the demand and supply of new renewable electricity in the United States on a regional basis through 2015. It expands on a 2007 NREL study (Swezey et al. 2007) that assessed the supplynational basis. As with the earlier study, this analysis relies on estimates of renewable energy supplies compared to demand for renewable energy generation needed to meet existing state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policies in 28 states, as well as demand by consumers who voluntarily purchase renewable energy. However, it does not address demand by utilities that may procure cost-effective renewables through an integrated resource planning process or otherwise. The analysis examines two supply scenarios: 1) a business as usual (BAU) scenario based on current growth rates in renewable energy supply in each region and 2) a market-based scenario that differs only in an assumed higher overall level of wind energy development nationally (based on estimates from BTM Consult and referred to as “high wind case”). Because the BTM Consult (2008) projections are only available nationally, and are not broken out regionally, this analysis uses results from a recent study by DOE (DOE 2008) that presents a scenario of 20% wind energy penetration by 2030 to apportion the wind energy capacity by region

Examination of the Regional Supply and Demand Balance for Renewable Electricity in the United States Through 2015: Projecting From 2009 Through 2015 (Revised)

This report examines the balance between the demand and supply of new renewable electricity in the United States on a regional basis through 2015. It expands on a 2007 NREL study (Swezey et al. 2007) that assessed the supply and demand balance on a national basis. As with the earlier study, this analysis relies on estimates of renewable energy supplies compared to demand for renewable energy generation needed to meet existing state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policies in 28 states, as well as demand by consumers who voluntarily purchase renewable energy. However, it does not address demand by utilities that may procure cost-effective renewables through an integrated resource planning process or otherwise. The analysis examines two supply scenarios: 1) a business as usual (BAU) scenario based on current growth rates in renewable energy supply in each region and 2) a market-based scenario that differs only in an assumed higher overall level of wind energy development nationally (based on estimates from BTM Consult and referred to as “high wind case”). Because the BTM Consult (2008) projections are only available nationally, and are not broken out regionally, this analysis uses results from a recent study by DOE (DOE 2008) that presents a scenario of 20% wind energy penetration by 2030 to apportion the wind energy capacity by region

Residential Green Power Demand in the United States

This paper investigates the demand determinants of green power in the U.S. residential sector. The data employed were collected by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and consist of a cross-section of seven utilities observed over 13 years. A series of tests are performed that resulted in estimating a demand equation using the one-way cross-section random effects model. As expected, we find that demand is highly price inelastic. More interestingly though, is that elasticity with respect to number of customers is 0.52 leading to the conclusion that new subscribers tend to purchase less green power on average than the existing customers. Another compelling finding is that obtaining accreditation will have a 28.5% positive impact on consumption. Knowing that gaining green accreditation is important to the success of programs, utilities may want to seek certification and highlight it in their advertising campaigns

Evaluating a Proposed 20% National Renewable Portfolio Standard

This paper provides a preliminary analysis of the impacts of a proposed 20% national renewable portfolio standard (RPS) by 2021, which has been advanced in the U.S. Congress by Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico. The paper was prepared before the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009, and thus does not consider important changes in renewable energy (RE) policy that need to be addressed in follow-on analysis. We use NREL's Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) model to evaluate the impacts of the RPS requirements on the energy sector and consider design issues associated with renewable energy certificate (REC) trading markets

Winter 2015

Volume 2, Issue 1 Winter 2015Volumn 2, Issue 1 of the Journal of Teaching Effectiveness and student AcievementAngelo State University College of EducationInvestigating a Model of Mentoring for Effective Teaching Dr. Lori Bird and Dr. Peter Hudson…….p11 Early Career Teacher Attrition: Searching for Answers in Preservice Preparation Dr. Gloria Graham Flynn………p22 A Perceptual Assessment of Non-Traditional STEM Teacher Candidates: A University Partnership for Transition to Teaching Dr. Gail Hughes, Dr. Alicia Cotabish, Dr. Carolyn Williams, and Dr. Donna Wake…..p32 Baby It’s Cold Outside: Perspectives on Teacher Retention and Student Achievement in Artic Schools Dr. Ute Kaden………p45 Transformations to Serve English Learners: A Call for Innovative Partnerships in Educator Preparation Dr. Joan Lachance………p56 Successes and Struggles of Teaching: Perspectives of Beginning, Mid-Career, and Veteran Teachers Dr. Alyson Lavigne and Dr. Amanda Bozack………p68 Teacher Inquiry: A Foundation for Mentoring Teachers During Induction and Throughout Their Career Dr. Michele Marable, Dr. Kristin Kurtsworth--‐Keen, Dr. Kelly Harper, and Dr. Karen Dutt-Doner…….p81 Perceptions of Transformational Leadership Behavior by Secondary Principals and Teachers in Diverse and Non-Diverse Schools Dr. Fernando Valle and Dr. Gionet Cooper…..p9

A Prokaryotic Membrane Sculpting BAR Domain Protein

Bin/Amphiphysin/RVS (BAR) domain proteins belong to a superfamily of coiled-coil proteins influencing membrane curvature in eukaryotes and are associated with vesicle biogenesis, vesicle-mediated protein trafficking, and intracellular signaling. Here we report the first prokaryotic BAR domain protein, BdpA, from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, known to produce redox-active membrane vesicles and micrometer-scale outer membrane extensions (OMEs). BdpA is required for uniform size distribution of membrane vesicles and scaffolding OMEs into a consistent diameter and curvature. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy reveals a strain lacking BdpA produces lobed, disordered OMEs rather than membrane tubes produced by the wild type strain. Overexpression of BdpA promotes OME formation during conditions where they are less common. Heterologous expression results in OME production in Marinobacter atlanticus and Escherichia coli. Based on the ability of BdpA to alter membrane curvature in vivo, we propose that BdpA and its homologs comprise a newly identified class of prokaryotic BAR (P-BAR) domains