UMD Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.
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Item ARCHAEOBOTANICAL LEGACIES: CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE THROUGH AN INVESTIGATION OF MACROBOTANICALS, MICRORESIDUES, AND ETHNOBOTANICAL DATA AT 12OR0001, HOOSIER NATIONAL FOREST, INDIANA(2024) Woodruff, Emma; Palus, Matthew; Anthropology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Unequal archaeobotanical preservation has wide-reaching impacts on archaeologists’ views on what is culturally significant. By looking at the intersections and differences between ethnobotanical, macrobotanical, and microresidue data I examine the information streams that are available to archaeologists tasked with determining regulatory “ cultural significance” with regards to plants. This thesis documents the only microresidue research conducted as of this writing for 12Or0001, a site located on Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana. Preliminary research is vital to beginning any consultation or collaboration process so that informed consent regarding laboratory methods and materials identification can be obtained. The viability of future microresidue studies, and their place in Cultural and Heritage Resource Management, are examined within the framework of existing United States legislation. Future research in ancient starches should include consultation and may aid the recovery of knowledge about traditionally utilized plants that has been lost to Indigenous Peoples over time.Item Core Competencies for Effective School Consultants(2012) Burkhouse, Katie Lynn Sutton; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this research was to develop and validate a set of core competencies of effective school-based consultants for preservice school psychology consultation training. With recent changes in service delivery models, psychologists are challenged to engage in more indirect, preventative practices (Reschly, 2008). Consultation emerges as one such recommended practice for school psychologists (Ysseldyke et al., 2006). However, despite recommendations and mandates from accrediting bodies, there is a lack of consensus to guide training in school consultation. This research involved a systematic literature review and Delphi study to determine core competencies for contemporary school consultants, specifically for school psychologists. An expert panel for the Delphi portion of the research was drawn from a consultation training interest group, a consultation research group, and editors of a consultation training journal in order to sample the leaders in the field of consultation research and training. Multiple iterations of the Delphi study, as recommended in the literature, were conducted to obtain consensus on the fundamental skills and knowledge. Four multicultural consultation competencies from previous research (Rogers & Lopez, 2002) were included to obtain current ratings, and personal characteristics from the literature were rated in terms of essentialness and "trainability." Results from two iterations of survey material indicated a list of 35 core competencies to guide training which received Essential ratings by 75% or more of participants. The four multicultural competencies were rated more highly by the current participants than by Rogers and Lopez's participants 10 years ago. In addition, several personal characteristics were identified as essential to school-based consultants; however, some of the highest rated characteristics were considered least "trainable" by the participants. Finally, implications for consultation training, limitations, and future directions were explored.Item A Case Study of Online Peer Coaching of Consultant Communication Skill Development(2010) Wizda, Lorraine; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: A CASE STUDY OF ONLINE PEER COACHING OF CONSULTANT COMMUNICATION SKILL DEVELOPMENT Lorraine L. Wizda, Doctor of Philosophy, 2010 Dissertation directed by: Professor Sylvia Rosenfield School Psychology Program The purpose of the this study was to explore how peer coaches support the development of collaborative communication skills in an online format for consultants in training (CITs). The program examined was Instructional Consultation which pairs a consultant with a teacher to work collaboratively to resolve the teacher's concern regarding a student. The focus is on improving instruction and modifying environmental variables. The study was approached using case study methodology. Research questions were: (a) how do online peer coaches support the development of collaborative communication skills in CITs and (b) what skills were selected most frequently by the CITs as focus skills? Transcripts of the email exchanges between the coaches and CITs which include self-reflection by the CIT and structured feedback from the coach are the data used. results show that the coaches use targeted feedback, examples, practical suggestions, and modeling collaborative language to support the development of CIT skills. Not all of the CITs consistently identified a focus skill (a skill they request specific feedback on from the coach). Collaborative communication skills were selected more frequently in the early stages of the process while more content related concerns were selected toward the end of the process. The findings provide a better understanding of how collaborative communication skills are supported in an online format and provide direction for future research.Item The Effect of Instructional Consultation Teams on Teachers' Reported Instructional Practices(2007-11-26) Kaiser, Lauren Tracy; Rosenfield, Sylvia A; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A primary goal of Instructional Consultation Teams (IC Teams; Rosenfield & Gravois, 1996) is that students' problems will be prevented or resolved through the provision of services to the adults who serve them. The assumption is that teachers will improve instructional planning, delivery, management, and assessment (e.g., matching instruction to student levels) as a result of working with a colleague through a collaborative problem-solving relationship, or working in a school building in which norms of collaboration and problem-solving with a focus on instruction have been developed. The efficacy of IC Teams for improving instruction has not yet been rigorously evaluated. The current study assesses teachers' self-reported frequency of use of good instructional practices in assessment and delivery of instruction to evaluate the effect of instructional consultation services on instruction in a sample of 977 teachers. Because teachers are nested within schools, multilevel analysis was conducted to control for nonequivalence and to correctly model the error structure of the data. Elementary school teachers in 11 schools that have implemented IC Teams for two or three years were compared with teachers in 17 non-equivalent schools that have never implemented IC Teams and teachers from 17 schools with one year of implementation. Results of multilevel analyses indicate that there are no significant differences in instructional practices between schools with or without IC Teams, but that teacher characteristics, such as years of experience and grade level of instruction, do explain some of the variance in teacher practices. Implications and limitations of the study are addressed.Item Culturally Relevant Consultation Among School Psychology Practitioners: A Nation-Wide Study of Training and Practice(2004-04-30) Sirmans, Meryl; Rosenfield, Sylvia; Counseling and Personnel ServicesConcerns about the overrepresentation of non-European American students in special education as well as the mismatch between a relatively homogeneous population of school psychologists and a more heterogeneous population of students has led to questions about what impacts student outcomes and how best to meet student needs. Research in the literature regarding beneficial practices for working with culturally diverse populations is limited and little is known about what school psychologists do to address culture, particularly in consultation with teachers. This study examined the training, practice, and individual perspectives of school psychologists for addressing culture in consultation and sought to determine what practitioners do in consultation cases for non-European American or bilingual students. Results, obtained from 219 school psychologists who completed a 36-item questionnaire, indicated that they had relatively little training in both consultation and culturally relevant consultation at the pre-service level. Those with the most training at the pre-service and practice levels reportedly gained information primarily through reading, in-services and workshops. Non-European American school psychologists and recent graduates reported having the most training overall, particularly through post-graduate/professional development opportunities. Most school psychologists said they addressed culture in consultation cases and there was a greater likelihood that this occurred among practitioners in urban and suburban school settings or among school psychologists who worked with teacher-consultees of a different ethnicity than the student-client. Overwhelmingly, participants agreed that having knowledge and awareness of culture's influence on values, behaviors, communication, and learning were important to daily practice. However, results indicated that school psychologists' approaches in consultation for bilingual or non-European American students varied. Their understanding of culturally relevant consultation and consultation generally appeared limited. Responses left questions about whether practitioners consistently implemented stages of consultation to address student-clients' needs and about whether cultural issues were addressed more than superficially. Future research is needed to determine how practitioners can consistently be trained at the pre-service and in-service levels to implement effective practices for consultation, especially culturally relevant consultation. Additional research should also explore, in depth, how practitioners actually incorporate culture-related societal, educational, economic, political, and other influences on student learning and behavior into consultation.