Pairing and Comparing in the Middle School Mathematics Classroom

This study was designed to examine the effects of cooperative learning in the middle school mathematics classroom. This action research project seeks to answer the question of does cooperative learning improve academic performance of middle school mathematics students. The study took place in two parallel middle school mathematics classrooms in a district of New York’s Southern Tier. There was an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group participated in a pair and compare teaching strategy following daily independent practice of the day’s lesson, as well as an open ended group task. The control group did not participate in this cooperative learning strategy and continued with teacher directed instruction. This was a quantitative action research study in which a t-test was used to analyze results of a formal assessment following two weeks of this intervention. In addition, some qualitative observations were made and have been included into the data results where they provide meaning. It was hypothesized that students in the experimental class would perform better after the use of cooperative learning. The t score indicated that although there was a difference, it was not a significant difference

Becoming a Fruitful Tree: Christ and the Limits of Legal Thinking

This essay is adapted from a Spirit of the Law address given at BYU Law School on March 5, 2002

Headscarf Bans, Equal Treatment, and Minority Integration in the Workplace

Andrea Pin’s Essay on the Achbita and Bougnaoui cases effectively highlights the significance of the cases and the singularity of the rulings, as well as the tension they create with other European Union norms and policies. The European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) rulings in these cases are also in tension with the court’s own discrimination law and exacerbate the pressing European question, particularly significant in light of the recent migration crisis, of how best to incorporate ethnic and religious minorities into a society

Becoming a Fruitful Tree: Christ and the Limits of Legal Thinking

This essay is adapted from a Spirit of the Law address given at BYU Law School on March 5, 2002

The Impact of Religion and Religious Organizations

Legal scholars often see religion as a mere private preference, choice, value, or identity with no more meaning or positive social impact than any other preference, choice, value, or identity. If anything, religion’s negative impacts are often highlighted. For example, a focus on the harms of religion often underlies contemporary legal debates about religious exemptions and tensions between religious rights and LGBTQ rights or reproductive rights. Conversely, scholars in other fields have documented religion’s distinctive pro-social features, proposing mechanisms by which religion has unique positive impacts on individuals, families, and society. While recognizing that, for its practitioners, religion has its own internal logic and rationales, this Article seeks to brings together broad empirical research and sociological and political theory on the social goods and pro-social values that religious belief, practice, and communities foster as well as to examine approaches to address the harms religion causes. The Article proposes religious freedom as a key mechanism to ensure maximal social benefit of religion. Religious freedom also underscores the value of the choice and experience of belief and unbelief

Effective Remediation in Master’s-Level Counseling Students

Despite evidence that remediation is effective, little is known about counselor educators’ experience with remediation. In this consensual qualitative study, authors interviewed counselor educators (N=11) to better understand remedial practices and identify effective strategies. Findings have implications for the remediation of master’s-level students in counselor education

Limitations in the Use of Archived Vent Mussel Samples to Assess Genetic Connectivity Among Seafloor Massive Sulfide Deposits: A Case Study with Implications for Environmental Management

Genetic connectivity studies can inform the design of mitigation strategies used in environmental management. However, the expense of developing species-specific molecular markers and collecting samples at appropriate spatial and temporal scales can be prohibitive. Using archived material and existing molecular markers may provide a cost-effective way to assess population connectivity. Genetic connectivity studies are increasingly in demand in the deep sea in response to mounting anthropogenic pressures, including seafloor massive sulfide (SMS) mining. The feasibility of using archived material was assessed using the New Zealand-endemic vent mussel Gigantidas gladius, which inhabits areas licensed for the prospecting phase of SMS mining. Four molecular markers were tested, but only one (mitochondrial COI) provided suitable sequences. Of 942 specimens, only 150 individuals were informative, largely due to poor tissue quality of archived samples. Seven populations spanning the distributional range of G. gladius were assessed. The results indicate that G. gladius has high levels of gene flow among sites 10s to 100s km apart and limited genetic structure. Haplotypic diversity was not equally distributed among populations, with lower diversity for the Macauley Volcano population at the northern extent of the species distribution and greater diversity within central populations. Migrant exchange was also greatest between central populations, with one population at Rumble V Seamount appearing important in terms of maintaining genetic diversity within the Kermadec Volcanic Arc region. However, interpretation of the results should be viewed with caution as small sample sizes may have limited the ability to detect genetic structure. Despite these limitations, mitigation strategies that protect areas of seabed from mining activities should consider the genetic vulnerability of the population at the northern edge of the species’ distribution and the significance of certain central populations