Our Theses

We figured it was time for you all to meet our two other children. 

My Thesis: English Learners' Participation in Mathematical Discourse

161 pages

45,154 words

276,047 characters (with spaces)

1,524 paragraphs

4,618 lines

10 figures

13 tables

25 references

Abstract:
Due to the increasing diversity of mathematics classrooms today, teachers need guidance on how to support English Learners (ELs) in mathematics classes in a way that situates language learning within mathematical activity. Unfortunately, neither mathematics education research nor EL education research is sure how to navigate the complexity of teaching ELs mathematics while supporting both their language development and their mathematical development through their participation in mathematical activity. This study examined ELs’ participation in mathematical Discourse, investigating both the mathematical purposes ELs accomplished by using multiple symbol systems, and the way ELs used non-English language (NEL) symbol systems to support their spoken English. The participants were college-aged ELs beginning their studies at the English Learning Center at an American university. The students all had fluency with basic conversational English, and had many different levels of mathematical experience. I identified five categories of purposes in which ELs engaged during mathematical Discourse. I also developed the Replace Augment Learn (RAL) framework that describes how ELs used NEL symbol systems to make up for their decreased English literacy and facilitate their participation in mathematical Discourse. Analysis of the data suggests ELs’ use of NEL symbol systems (1) played a significant role in achieving many of the purposes associated with mathematical Discourse, and (2) opened up a space for effective language acquisition. These findings indicate that authentic mathematical activity can be a productive site for language development, and that ELs with basic conversational English and literacy with a variety of symbol systems can participate meaningfully in mathematical Discourse. 

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Bryan's Thesis: Advancing Phage Genomics and Honeybee Health Through Discovery and Characterization of Paenibacillaceae Bacteriophages

162 pages

48,139 words

335,233 characters (with spaces)

4,285 paragraphs

8,211 lines

17 tables

35 figures

133 references

Abstract:

The Paenibacillaceae family of bacteria includes two species known to infect the hives of

honeybees, Paenibacillus larvae and Brevibacillus laterosporus. P. larvae, the causative agent of

American Foulbrood (AFB) causes a lethal infection of honeybee larvae, while B. laterosporus is

a secondary invader following European Foulbrood (EFB) infection. Increasing antibiotic

resistance of P. larvae bacteria has prompted a search for alternative treatment methods for this

disease. Bacteriophages are the most diverse life forms on earth and can provide important

insights about the bacterial hosts they infect. However, few Paenibacillaceae phages have been

isolated or characterized. In this study, the first B. laterosporus phages are characterized with

respect to host range, structural morphology, and sequence similarity. The isolation and

characterization of many P. larvae field isolates together with 38 novel P. larvae phages made

possible the first broad phage typing study of P. larvae. Phage typing data indicated that P.

larvae strains tested could be categorized into one of two groups. Comparative genomics of

bacteriophages was made easier by modifying Phamerator to make it broadly accessible and

usable to phage researchers throughout the world. Additionally, raw sequencing data can now be

used to identify phage DNA packaging strategies that are indicative of a phage’s physical ends.

Using these data, phage genomes can be published in an orientation and complementarity that

reflects the physical structure of the phage chromosome, providing order and consistency that

will benefit all future phage researchers.

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These have been sitting on our shelf for close to a month now. It's a little surreal. Somehow 161 pages (or 162 in Bryan's case) is a really strange temporal representation of what we've dedicated the past years of our lives to. 

Well, that, and this: