Mexican Dance Group: Breaking Barriers One Tap at a Time (Chapter in Emerging Issues and Trends in Education)

Excerpt: With a growing number of Hispanic students in schools (Díaz-Rico & Weed, 2014; Oregon Department of Education, 2012), many educators wonder how to make the school community more accessible to Hispanic parents (González, Moll, & Amanti, 2005; Gorski & Pothini, 2014; Valdés, 1996; Wink, 2005). The dance group described in this chapter demonstrates a natural way in which one teacher has accomplished Hispanic parental accessibility and, in doing so, positively impacted her school community. Rosa Floyd, the director of Nellie Muir’s Dance Group, has been teaching in Spanish-English bilingual classrooms for more than nineteen years. She came from Mexico as an adult and learned English, becoming an instructional assistant and subsequently a teacher. She has chosen to work with Hispanic students and regards her work as a bridge between Mexican parents and schools. Bilingual and bicultural, Rosa understands the Mexican community as well as the Anglo-dominated school culture. For several years, she has efffectively facilitated cross-cultural relationships between parents and teachers through the use of traditional dance groups. The months of practice preparing for the Cinco de Mayo presentations provide a catalyst for change as the teachers and parents address the invisible barriers that have kept Hispanic parents separated from the school community. Rosa’s effforts have led to a more welcoming and respectful school environment that embraces Mexican parents and reinforces students’ sense of cultural identity and heritage pride

Book Review: Writing Instruction and Assessment for English Language Learners K-8, S. Lenski, F. Verbruggen

Excerpt: The National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition reported that today 11% of K-12 students in the USA are English language learners (ELLs). In 20 years, 25% of students in public schools will be ELLs (in Goldenberg, 2008). The growing number of ELLs creates a need for teachers who can implement culturally responsive teaching (Lucas & Villegas, 2007) and develop strong language and literacy skills among their students (Goldenberg, 2008). While veteran teachers adjust to the changing demographic and its demands, new teachers must be equipped with the right mindset and strategies to promote both language and literacy development simultaneously. ELLs need additional support to be successful in mainstream classes due to their language proficiency (Goldenberg, 2008)

Integrating Faith and Learning: Preparing Teacher Candidates to Serve Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

This essay examines how liberation theology and critical pedagogy inform the integration of faith and learning of a teacher educator who felt called to serve culturally and linguistically diverse students in the United States. The essay provides a brief cultural background of the educator’s journey from instructional assistant in an English learner program to teacher educator at a Christian University. The essay explains how liberation theology and critical pedagogy provide a coherent framework for preparing teacher candidates to work with English learners in public schools

College Readiness through an Innovative Concurrent Enrollment Program for Underrepresented College Bound Students

This paper explores several key findings of the first three cohorts of the South Los Angeles Mathematics (SLAM) Project. The SLAM Project is a longitudinal study designed to learn the best practices to employ in order to increase college access and success for underrepresented students. In particular, this project tackles the mathematics remediation crisis directly in order to ensure that the students in the program begin their postsecondary careers in credit bearing courses and shorten their time to degree. The program is unique in its student selection and instructional model. Quantitative and qualitative results indicate significant effects of college level coursework on student perceptions, attitudes, and persistence rates

The Commonality of Earthquake and Wind Analysis

Earthquakes and wind loadings constitute dynamic effects that often must be considered in the design of buildings and structures. The primary purpose of this research study was to investigate the common features of general dynamic analysis procedures employed for evaluating the effects of wind and earthquake excitation. Another major goal was to investigate and develop a basis for generating response spectra for wind loading, which in turn would permit the use of modal analysis techniques for wind analysis in a manner similar to that employed for earthquake engineering. In order to generate wind response spectra, the wind loading is divided into two parts, a mean load treated as a static component and a fluctuating load treated as a dynamic component. The spectral representation of the wind loading constitutes a simple procedure for estimating the forces associated with the dynamic component of the gusting wind. Several illustrative examples are presented demonstrating the commonality.National Science Foundation Grants ENV 75-08456 and ENV 77-0719

Evaluación financiera de la implementación de una nueva unidad de negocio basada en la extracción y comercialización de aceites esenciales de eucalipto para la Empresa Tambo de Urinchillo Cia. Ltda.

Los emprendimientos que realizan las pequeñas y medianas empresas (MIPYMES) deben ser analizados por cuanto su actividad fortalece a la economía y genera desarrollo en el Ecuador. Esta investigación se enfoca en realizar una evaluación financiera de la implementación de una nueva unidad de negocio en la pequeña industria Tambo de Urinchillo Cía. Ltda., basada en la extracción y comercialización de aceite esencial de eucalipto, cuyo objetivo es utilizar los recursos no productivos que tiene la empresa de un bosque de eucalipto, determinar la factibilidad de producción en el país, su posible potencialidad de fabricación y comercialización en el mercado nacional e internacional. En este sentido, es necesario identificar la situación actual de Tambo de Urinchillo Cía. Ltda., implementar una planificación estratégica, conocer el comportamiento del mercado en la industria de la extracción de aceite esencial de eucalipto en la provincia de pichincha, determinar sus costos y la viabilidad que genere el proyecto. Es así como nace esta propuesta para afianzar la unidad de negocio de la empresa; cada vez es mayor el número de personas que conoce los beneficios del eucalipto en la salud del cuerpo humano y esto hace que se pueda comercializar a gran escala. Las fuentes de información de este estudio son directas y primarias tomadas en orden de importancia. Las fuentes secundarias han sido utilizadas de investigadores de la materia, leyes, centro de investigación, entre otras. Con la política pública del gobierno de apoyar a los productos hechos en Ecuador, se ha incrementado los aranceles para la importación de los aceites esenciales de otros países, esto ha generado la oportunidad que este tipo de emprendimientos como es la extracción, producción y comercialización de aceite esencial de eucalipto, pueda implementarse en el país y sustituir importaciones

ZeroAbuse, a serious game to prevent child maltreatment

La maltraitance des enfants est un problème critique qui touche environ un milliard d'enfants dans le monde chaque année. Les blessures qui persistent toute leur vie, les handicaps ou même la mort sont des conséquences risquées découlant de la maltraitance des enfants. Plusieurs approches, y compris les Jeux Sérieux (SGs), ont été conçues pour éduquer les individus sur la maltraitance des enfants et comment la prévenir. Cependant, les SGs qui sont présentement en existence se concentrent uniquement sur l’intimidation ou les abus sexuels chez les enfants et non sur toutes les formes possibles de maltraitance des enfants. De plus, la plupart des ressources concernant la prévention de la maltraitance des enfants s'adressent aux adultes et non aux enfants. Ce travail se concentre sur la conception d'un SG appelé ZeroAbuse qui englobe les quatre types de maltraitance des enfants: Physique, Émotionnel, Abus Sexuel et Négligence. Il combine les principes d'apprentissage, les éléments pour immerger le joueur dans le jeu et les critères de qualité des programmes de prévention. ZeroAbuse s'adresse aux enfants âgés de 9 à 11 ans, qui sont exposés de manière homogène à tous les types de maltraitance. Il tient également compte des compétences cognitives et physiques propres aux enfants de cet âge. La conception du SG a pris en compte les perspectives d'experts en prévention de la maltraitance des enfants et a été testée sur la population cible afin d’améliorer l'expérience de jeu et valider l'approche d'apprentissage.Child abuse is a critical problem affecting approximately one billion children worldwide annually. Lifelong injuries, disabilities, or even fatalities are risky consequences derived from child abuse. Several approaches, including Serious Games (SGs), have been designed to educate individuals about child abuse and how to prevent it. However, existing SGs focus only on bullying or sexual abuse and not all possible forms of child abuse. In addition, most of the existing resources for child abuse prevention are aimed at adults and not at children. This work focuses on designing an SG called ZeroAbuse that encompasses the four types of child abuse: Physical, Emotional, Sexual abuse and Neglect. It combines the principles of learning, the elements to immerse the player into the game, and the quality criteria of prevention programs. ZeroAbuse is aimed at children aged 9 to 11 years, given that they show homogeneous participation in all types of abuse. It also considers the cognitive and physical competencies of children at this age. The SG design considers the perspectives of experts in child abuse prevention and was tested on the target population to enhance the game experience and validate the learning approach