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Item Case studies and evidence-based approaches to addressing urban soil lead contamination(Elsevier, 2017-08) Laidlaw, Mark A. S.; Filippelli, Gabriel M.; Brown, Sally; Paz-Ferreiro, Jorge; Reichman, Suzie M.; Netherway, Pacian; Truskewycz, Adam; Ball, Andrew S.; Mielke, Howard W.; Earth Science, School of ScienceUrban soils in many communities in the United States and internationally have been contaminated by lead (Pb) from past use of lead additives in gasoline, deterioration of exterior paint, emissions from Pb smelters and battery recycling and other industries. Exposure to Pb in soil and related dust is widespread in many inner city areas. Up to 20–40% of urban children in some neighborhoods have blood lead levels (BLLs) equal to or above 5 μg per decilitre, the reference level of health concern by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Given the widespread nature of Pb contamination in urban soils it has proven a challenge to reduce exposure. In order to prevent this exposure, an evidence-based approach is required to isolate or remediate the soils and prevent children and adult's ongoing exposure. To date, the majority of community soil Pb remediation efforts have been focused in mining towns or in discrete neighborhoods where Pb smelters have impacted communities. These efforts have usually entailed very expensive dig and dump soil Pb remediation techniques, funded by the point source polluters. Remediating widespread non-point source urban soil contamination using this approach is neither economical nor feasible from a practical standpoint. Despite the need to remediate/isolate urban soils in inner city areas, no deliberate, large scale, cost effective Pb remediation schemes have been implemented to isolate inner city soils impacted from sources other than mines and smelters. However, a city-wide natural experiment of flooding in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that declines in soil Pb resulted in major BLL reductions. Also a growing body of literature of smaller scale pilot studies and programs does exist regarding low cost efforts to isolate Pb contaminated urban soils. This paper reviews the literature regarding the effectiveness of soil Pb remediation for reducing Pb exposure and BLL in children, and suggests best practices for addressing the epidemics of low-level Pb poisoning occurring in many inner city areas.Item "Discovering" Writing With Struggling Students: Using Discovery Learning Pedagogy to Improve Writing Skills in Reluctant and Remedial Learners(2016-03) Bohney, Brandie Lee; Lovejoy, Kim B.; Fox, Steve; Brooks-Gillies, Marilee ElizabethFew writing teachers will disagree that teaching writing conventions in isolation is a fruitless, even harmful, pedagogy which does little, if anything, to improve student writing. Teaching conventions, style, and usage (often collectively referred to as grammar) in context, however, proves difficult when struggling secondary students develop good ideas and evidence but fail to clearly articulate them because of their lack of understanding of various writing conventions. The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of a carefully designed discovery learning activity which intends to push students into metacognition about what they read, how it is structured, and how that structure affects the reader. Three sources of data were used to determine whether students who had learned by discovery were better able to avoid and revise run-on sentences than students who did not learn through discovery pedagogy. The data sources include two sets of essays, surveys taken by the students, and teacher analyses of essays for readability. The results of the data analysis indicate that use of run-on sentences, especially early in an essay, detrimentally affects the readability of student written work; discovery learning activities improve student understanding, application, and transfer of skill; and while students believe they understand more than their written work indicates, the results provide teachers direction for further instruction. The findings of this study indicate that use of discovery learning for writing instruction with struggling learners holds great promise: a group of students generally regarded as academically weak showed greater understanding and application of run-on sentence avoidance than slightly stronger students who learned without discovery methods. This indicates that discovery learning is a method that improves learning among reluctant secondary students, a population many teachers struggle to reach effectively. Discovery learning is not limited to conventions, though: the promise of its application potential extends into a variety of writing skills and concepts. In addition to the run-on sentence discovery activity studied here, discovery activities for various other skills—from semicolon use through creating characterization with dialogue—are included.Item Engineering Curriculum Readiness: Implementing an Analytical and Communication Skills Building Course for the Technical Disciplines(IEEE, 2015-10) Christie, Barbara; Stevenson, Alison; Department of Engineering Technology, School of Engineering and TechnologyMany domestic and international students arrive at college lacking the skills needed for academic careers in engineering or engineering technology. To support academic progress and develop essential skills, TECH 101, Engineering Technology Fundamentals, was proposed, approved, and funded by the School of Engineering and Technology at a large urban public university. The course offered students the preparatory skill development needed to begin an engineering or engineering technology major. TECH 101 facilitated a completely different approach, utilizing a very rare collaboration. Course design and implementation were championed by an experienced engineering technology instructor and a uniquely qualified faculty member whose background includes both transition to college expertise as well as second language acquisition. Drawing the two diverse skill-sets together resulted in context-based activities closely integrated with hands-on technical work, as well as development of a technical vocabulary and English language skills. A small group of learners participated in the initial course offering in the fall of 2014. This Work In Progress paper will explore the unique technical and preparatory course components that promote the support of underprepared domestic and international students.