Understanding the Hyphen: Addressing the Debate-IE Divide

At the 2008 National Forensics Association National Championship Tournament, a special meeting was held for the coaches of Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debaters. At this meeting, those in attendance attempted to voice concerns about both the perceived slights and the actual structures in place (like sweepstakes formulas, awards, and qualifications) from the larger NFA community, made up of individual events (IE) coaches. Issues like limited judge strikes or mutually preferred judging, changing the schedule so that debaters did not go first and last on competition days, and allowing for oral comments by judges were all discussed. But at the heart of this rift is the notion that maybe the LD community and the IE community have different, possibly incommensurate, objectives. It is with that thought in mind that I propose some community, both LD and IE, objectives that could lead us to address this growing divide in one of three ways: Leaving things alone, separating the two groups, or merging the groups into one. This paper will explore the implications of these options for addressing the debate-IE divide

Polyrhythmic Pathways: Using Bimanual Coordination Research to Develop a New Framework for Practice, Performance, and Pedagogy

This study reviews and compares percussion literature pertaining to polyrhythms and scientific literature pertaining to bimanual coordination. There exists a gap in the pedagogical approach to polyrhythms, and there is much disagreement between common instructional methods, especially when considered against the findings of several bimanual coordination studies. The purpose of this study is to reveal insight to the percussion community that the learning of polyrhythms is facilitated by the brain in novel ways, and the uniqueness of this learning process requires a rethinking of the current pedagogical approach. Percussion articles, method books, popular literature, and music scores are surveyed alongside primarily neuroscience research on bimanual coordination regarding the nervous system, perception, feedback, and error. The results show that limb independence as a concept must be divorced from polyrhythmic coordination, and tools used in the learning process must promote an internalization of the polyrhythm as a composite coordination pattern. The implications of this study are that a unique curricular approach is necessary for polyrhythmic learning, and, though antithetical to common practice methods, a brute-force approach may be optimal for idiosyncratic coordination patterns in the percussion musical literature

The Relationship Between Motivation and Online Self-Regulated Learning

manage their own learning. The self-regulated learning practices of goal setting, environment structuring, task strategies, self-evaluation, time management, and help seeking are developed through experience and motivation. This study sought to determine the levels of self-regulated learning and identify the motivation constructs that correlated to the levels of self-regulated learning of students in an online agriculture dual enrollment course. Students had the highest self-regulation in the areas of goal setting and environment structuring. The lowest online learning self-regulation was in help seeking. Task value was the motivation construct receiving the highest mean score, while test anxiety received the lowest score. Relationships between online self-regulated learning and the motivation constructs of task value, self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, control beliefs, and test anxiety were statistically significant. Faculty in online courses are encouraged to aid in the development of help seeking, time management, and meta-analysis strategies. Faculty are also encouraged to incorporate valuable tasks within the online curriculum to increase students’ motivation to learn. Course developers are encouraged to incorporate problem-based learning, authentic assessments, and team-based learning approaches to better engage students. Research should continue to investigate these practices as they relate to increasing student motivation

Factors affecting teaching efficacy of beginning secondary agricultural education teachers

Teacher efficacy studies in agricultural education have primarily focused on documenting the perceived teaching efficacy of agriculture teachers. A limited number of studies have focused upon the factors that may help shape those efficacy beliefs. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that may contribute to the teaching efficacy beliefs of beginning agriculture education teachers. These factors included perceived collective efficacy, perceived principal support, and perceived teacher preparation program quality. The population for this study included all agriculture teachers in Missouri and Kansas (N=213) who had not completed more than five years teaching agricultural education at the conclusion of the 2012 – 2013 academic year. The instruments used in this study included a modified version the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale – Short Form, the Principal Behavior Scale, the Collective Efficacy Scale – Short Form, and the Teacher Preparation Scale. Multiple regression analysis revealed that two factors, perceived collective efficacy and perceived teacher preparation program quality, accounted for 34% of the variance, indicating other factors beyond the scope of this study affect the teaching efficacy beliefs of beginning agriculture teachers. It is recommended that future research be conducted regarding the status of the perceived collective efficacy of the agricultural education profession. Recommendations and plans to develop new and existing programs to increase the collective efficacy of individual schools and the agricultural education profession are discussed. It is further recommended that refinement of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale be conducted to develop an instrument better suited to address the various roles and responsibilities of agricultural education teachers

From the Soviet Bloc to the Ballot Box: Democratization in Eastern Europe

This undergraduate honors thesis examines the common causes of democratic transitions in Poland, Latvia, and Ukraine. One purpose of this honors project is to discern why certain countries like Poland and Latvia have successfully transitioned to and consolidated stable democratic institutions, while others like Ukraine have not. One central question examines the degree of influence that foreign actors exerted in promoting democracy movements in Eastern Europe. A theoretical framework will be established by combining parts of the models of Samuel Huntington, Juan Linz, and Alfred Stepan. The research project will place special scrutiny on Huntington’s theory of foreign actors affecting democratic change. This thesis will examine how changes in the approach to foreign affairs by the Soviet Union, the Vatican, and the U.S. influenced Eastern Europe during the “third wave” of democratization. More specifically, these changes will be linked to the rise of civil society in the region, like Solidarity in Poland. Other causes and aspects of democratic transformation will also be examined, like demographics in Latvia and the deep-rooted problems of corruption, economic stagnation, and dependence on Russia that continue to plague the Ukrainian democracy. At the end, implications of the study will be explored in light of resurgent Russian aggression in Eastern Europe and around the world. Questions surrounding the Trump administration and the future of transatlantic security and stability will be addressed

A translation theoretical approach to three interrelated phenomena: the dozens, reading, and vogue

http://www.ester.ee/record=b4749507*es