Navigating Black Identity Development: The Power of Interactive Multicultural Read-Alouds with Elementary-Aged Children

Racial identity development in young children is influenced by interactions with teachers and curriculum in schools. This article, using the framework of critical race theory, critical literacy, and critical pedagogy, explores how three elementary-aged Black children view their own identity development. Specifically, observing how children interact with Movement-Oriented Civil Rights-Themed Children’s Literature (MO-CRiTLit) in the context of a non-traditional summer literacy program, Freedom Schools, to influence their Black identity. Professional development and preservice teacher preparation are needed to support teachers as they navigate through learning about pedagogical practices that increase student engagement

Ethics in Virginia: Reforming Ethics and Conflict of Interest Laws in the 2010 Virginia General Assembly

This article will review the process by which an ethics complaint was handled in 2009 as well as the laws that passed the 2010 General Assembly. It will also examine criticisms of ethics laws in Virginia and throughout the country. Finally, this article concludes with a discussion of the current criticisms of ethics laws in Virginia and across the country

Ethics in Virginia: Reforming Ethics and Conflict of Interest Laws in the 2010 Virginia General Assembly

This article will review the process by which an ethics complaint was handled in 2009 as well as the laws that passed the 2010 General Assembly. It will also examine criticisms of ethics laws in Virginia and throughout the country. Finally, this article concludes with a discussion of the current criticisms of ethics laws in Virginia and across the country

Pisces IV submersible observations in the epicentral region of the 1929 Grand Banks earthquake

The PISCES IVsubmersible was used to investigate the upper continental slope around 44 ON, 56 W, near the epicentre of the 1929 Grand Banks earthquake. Four dives in water depths of 800-2000 m were undertaken to observe speci3c features identijied with the SeaMARC I sidescan system in 1983. Two dives were made in the head of Eastern Valley where pebbly mudstones ofprobable Pleistocene age were recognized outcropping on the seafloor. Constructional features of cobbles and boulders, derived by exhumation and reworking of the pebbly mudstone, were also observed. These include gravel/sand bedforms (transverse waves) on the valley floor. Slope failure features in semiconsolidated mudstone were recognized on two dives onto the St. Pierre slope. Exposures in these mudstones are rapidly eroded by intense burrowing by benthic organisms

Role of Endophytes in Tall Fescue

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is the most commonly grown cool season grass used for pastures in Arkansas. Most tall fescue contains a fungal endophyte (Acremonium coenophialum Morgan-Jones & Gams), which causes fescue toxicosis in livestock and costs cattle producers millions of dollars annually in lost production. Endophyte presence is known to reduce wild mammal populations in areas where tall fescue is prevalent. The endophyte spends its entire life cycle within the plant and is transmitted through the seed. The association is mutualistic with the plant providing nutrients for the endophyte and the endophyte conferring drought, insect, and nematode resistance to the plant. Several classes of alkaloids exist in endophyte-infected tall fescue including ergopeptides and lolines. The ergopeptides are animal toxins, where as lolines deter insects. Our present work is on elucidating physiological mechanisms explaining animal disorders and improved host drought tolerance due to endophyte, and on identifying endophyte strains that are not toxic to livestock but improve drought and pest resistance in tall fescue

Spacecraft attitude and velocity control system

A spacecraft attitude and/or velocity control system includes a controller which responds to at least attitude errors to produce command signals representing a force vector F and a torque vector T, each having three orthogonal components, which represent the forces and torques which are to be generated by the thrusters. The thrusters may include magnetic torquer or reaction wheels. Six difference equations are generated, three having the form ##EQU1## where a.sub.j is the maximum torque which the j.sup.th thruster can produce, b.sub.j is the maximum force which the j.sup.th thruster can produce, and .alpha..sub.j is a variable representing the throttling factor of the j.sup.th thruster, which may range from zero to unity. The six equations are summed to produce a single scalar equation relating variables .alpha..sub.j to a performance index Z: ##EQU2## Those values of .alpha. which maximize the value of Z are determined by a method for solving linear equations, such as a linear programming method. The Simplex method may be used. The values of .alpha..sub.j are applied to control the corresponding thrusters

Creating Elementary-Aged Agents of Change: The Impact of Civil Rights-Themed Literature

This chapter focused on the notion of implementing Civil Rights-themed literature with elementary-aged students through interactive read alouds. With traditional pre-packaged scripted curriculum programs, teachers are challenged with implementing additional literature and utilizing resources to promote an expansive variety of learning experiences. Sample texts and interactive activities were addressed and provided for teachers to use as an initial starting point for introducing Civil Rights-themed literature in their classrooms. Lastly, implications for teacher professional development were addressed in an effort to provide teachers and teacher candidates with a space to explore a variety of authentic multicultural children’s literature

Teachers’ Preparedness and Professional Learning about Using Educational Technologies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted education at multiple levels over the last ten months. One common thread that has remained is the online learning and meeting platform for teachers, students, administrators, and families. This study reports on a survey of 560 K-12 educators across one southernmost part of a south-central state who shared their levels of preparedness during the transition to virtual learning in the Spring of 2020/amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Data analysis revealed that educators continued to focus on professional development during the summer of 2020 in preparation for the new academic year. Additional analysis showed that participants’ self-efficacy of using technology to teach online remained high. This demonstrated the resiliency and adapt- ability of K-12 classroom teachers in the face of immediate changes affecting their preconceived notions of how a classroom looks and how learning is obtained