RESEARCH INSTITUTE
FUNDED PROPOSALS
2003-04
Table of Contents
Dr. Robert Stack, Associate Professor of Mathematics
“Issues Addressing the Teaching of Pre-service Secondary Education Majors”
Dr. Georgia Young, Assistant Professor of Agriculture
D. M. Sanchez, and Molly McNeill, Assistant Researchers
“The Effect of Fructooligosaccharide on Fecal pH and Microbial Activity in the Broodmare”
Dr. Margaret Crouse, Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences
Dr. Charles Cressy, Professor of Business
Mr. Kevin Miller, Assistant Professor of Industrial Technology Education
Dr. Norma Nealeigh, Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences
“Instructional Styles used by Secondary Career and Technical Education Teachers”
Dr. Joe Corsini, Assistant Professor of Biology Science
Dr. Mike Leite, Associate Professor of Earth Science
“Taphonomy and Statistical Analysis of White Rive Fossil Turtles”
Dr. Ron Weedon, Professor of Biology
Steven B. Rolfsmeier and Susan J. Rolfsmeier, Assistant Researchers
“Continued Studies of the Lappula squarrosa (REZ.) Dumort (Boraginaceae) Complex in the Northern Great Plains and Adjacent Regions”
Dr. Robert Stack
Associate Professor of Mathematics
“Issues Addressing the Teaching of Pre-service Secondary Education Majors”
$1,312.60 Funded
Project No. 222636
The “No Child Left Behind” legislation addresses the need for improving teacher education. Currently, pre-service secondary education majors are being taught by college and university professors about various methodologies, technologies, and issues relevant to teaching in secondary schools. However, it may have been many years, if at all, since the last time these professors have taught at the secondary level. Thus, having little or no first-hand experience with these issues, teaching pre-service secondary education majors about these issues may not give a true depiction of teaching at the secondary level. This project collected survey data from the professors of secondary education majors at randomly selected accredited institutions. Data analysis was used to determine significant differences between variables such as the size of the institution, the demographics of the institution, the number of years since a professor has last taught at a secondary school, and issues relevant to teaching at the secondary level. Results of these analyses was presented at the Nebraska Association of Teachers of Mathematics Summer Conference in July, 2004.
Status: No Final Report Received
Dr. Georgia Young, Assistant Professor of Agriculture
D. M. Sanchez, and Molly McNeill, Assistant Researchers
“The Efect of Frutctooligosaccharide on Fecal pH and Microbial Activity in the Broomare”
$6,046.04 Funded
Grant No. 222635
Colonic health and colic have been a problem that has plagued the horse industry for a number of years. Broodmare bands have not been immune to the problem and each year both mares and foals are lost as a result. Extensive research conducted in humans and dogs has illustrated that supplementation with fructooigosaccharides (FOC) can reduce the harmful bacteria populations that have been blamed for colon health issues in these species. Due to the similarities between the digestive tracts of these three species dogs and humans have both served as sources for potential solutions to health problems in horses. Recently, researchers have begun to look at FOS as an aid for colon health in horses. A study presented in Iowa at the Midwest Animal Science Meetings in the spring of 2004 suggests that the incidence of colic may be reduced with the supplementation of FOS. However, the study only evaluated yearling horses. Thus, additional research needs to be conducted on this possibility in different classes and at different doses before recommendation can be made to horse owners.
Status: Progress Report Received 14 Mar 2004Dr. Margaret Crouse, Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences, Dr. Charles Cressy, Professor of Business, Mr. Kevin Miller, Assistant Professor of Industrial Technology Education, Dr. Norma Nealeigh, Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences
“Instructional Styles used by Secondary Career and Technical Education Teachers”
$1,895.10 Funded
Grant No. 222634
This descriptive study will identify the instructional styles of career and technical education teachers based on the research and instrument designed by Canfield and Canfield titled “Instructional Styles Inventory (ISI).” The results of the study will provide teacher educators of career and technical education information regarding the instructional methods and strategies used in the field. This information will be used in the preparation of future career and technical education teachers.The sample for this study will include the population of career and technical education teachers within the Chadron State College service region who have tenure within their current school district, and the career and technical education teachers who have received the outstanding teacher awards for their discipline in the past five years. The analysis will include central tendency information, t-tests, and correlation tests in order to respond to the research questions. The results will be shared with fellow teacher educators at Chadron State College through the teacher education committee as well as Nebraska’s career and technical teachers at the annual INVEST conference of the Nebraska Association for Career and Technical Education.
Status: Progress Report Received 25 June 2004Dr. Joe Corsini, Assistant Professor of Biology Science
Dr. Mike Leite, Associate Professor of Earth Science
“Taphonomy and Statistical Analysis of White Rive Fossil Turtles”
$7,941.90 Funded
Grant No. 222633
This project is a continuation of work in progress thanks to previous grants from the CSC Research Institute and Nebraska EPSCoR. Field work during the summer of 2003 resulted in the addition of over 300 fossil turtles to the database, which includes information about their geographic and stratigraphic position, state of preservation and taxonomic information. Continuation of this project will consist of compilation of past field seasons’ data and collection and analysis of new data.
Status: Final Report Received 26 May 2004
Dr. Ron Weedon, Professor of Biology
Steven B. Rolfsmeier, Susan J. Rolfsmeier, and Starla A. Tronstad, Assistant Researchers
“Continued Studies of the Lappula squarrosa (REZ.) Dumort (Boraginaceae) Complex in the Northern Great Plains and Adjacent Regions”
$5,587.56 Funded
Grant No. 222632
Although the genus Lappula (Boraginaceae) contains far fewer species in North America than in the Old World, there has been little agreement as to how many species should be recognized. In 2003, with support of the Chadron State College Research Institute, work was begun to establish the identity of one of these species, Lappula cenchrusoides A. Nelson, which is often considered equivalent to the introduced species Lappula squarrosa (Retz.) Dumort. Our preliminary findings indicate the L. cenchrusoides has larger flowers than L. squarrosa, flowers earlier, and could possibly be restricted to volcanic clay soils in badlands. We propose to expand this project to seek populations throughout the range of L. cenchrusoides, including areas where the ranges of the two overlap. We plan to record detailed locality and habitat data from regional herbaria to pinpoint areas for study, and propose resurveying portions of the northern Great Plains earlier than we done in 2003 to obtain more complete floral measurements, and including the South Dakota badlands, northeastern Colorado, and southwestern Wyoming to provide a more complete picture of the variation within this poorly understood species. In addition to fieldwork, we plan to include other sources of data, such as developmental characters from common garden plantings of both species in the greenhouse, and phenolic chemistry from paper chromatography. These additional studies will provide impetus for a definitive taxonomic treatment of this genus which ahs for so long been neglected in North America.
Status: Progress Report Received 6 May 2004