The focus of this research was to investigate and clarify the work lives of middle school literacy coaches in central Florida by studying their backgrounds and experiences before assuming the role of literacy coach. Additionally, the beliefs of literacy coaches on what factors influence reading achievement were examined. The responses of 44 participating middle school literacy coaches were used to investigate (a) the academic and professional experiences of each coach, (b) the percentage of time spent in 13 literacy coaching activities, and (c) the working factors related to student reading achievement as evidenced on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Data from a web-based survey and personal interviews were used to collect pertinent data to create an awareness and understanding of the work lives of middle school literacy coaches. Descriptive statistics were used to present demographic information regarding the coaches. Exploratory regression analyses were performed using time devoted to coaching activities and school performance data to determine existing relationships. Qualitative analyses were used to determine emergent literacy coach themes from survey responses. All data were triangulated to develop case studies for a group of 10 literacy coaches. Narrative descriptions of all coaching and individual school data were presented in the context of schools‘ percentage of student subgroups that attained Adequate Yearly Progress in 2010. The results of the study indicated that, although literacy coaches believed that modeling lessons was the most influential activity in positively affecting reading proficiency, very little of their time was spent in that activity. Recommendations iv included professional development for administrators on the use of a literacy coach and for literacy coaches on their usage of time.

Founded on the importance of the imagination according to Greene (1995) and set by the Executive Summary of the 911 Commission Report, the mixed methods grounded theory study looks at a correlation between a set of instruction practices recognized by Egan (2008) for nourishing and developing the imagination and low-progress adolescent students’ comprehension. Descriptive data are provided on the school, students, teachers, and district where the study was conducted to illustrate the limitation and delimitations of the study. The study is limited to low-progress adolescent students as identified by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and uses pre and post Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR) mandated and administered by Orange County to establish comprehension and determine statistical significance. Participant and non-participant observations are used to triangulate and co-triangulate data to determine the correlation between the frequency of select instructional practices and students’ comprehending as evidence by their FAIR reading and Maze scores. Observation of student performance suggests that attention to the implementation of the instruction practices of using poetry, text sets, and sensory stimulation has potential in nurturing low progress adolescent students’ imagination and strengthening their cognitive feed-forward mechanism. The data adds to the existing body of work on the interactive nature of reading (Rumelhart, 1994) by elaborating on low progress adolescent students’ ability to predict and anticipate; concluding that convergent and divergent thinking, making inter-textual connections, and creating mental models are necessary sub-factors to nourish the imagination and need to be taken into account in instruction to assist low-progress adolescent students in comprehending and developing a defensible interpretation

This study sought to determine how external influences designed to improve student achievement and school performance such as No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, The Florida A+ Program, and the Differentiated Accountability model impacted Florida school superintendents’ prioritization of the Florida Principal Leadership Standards. In the study, major questions addressed concerned (a) the demographic characteristics of the school principals and superintendents involved in the removal of a school principal within the state of Florida; (b) the relationship between the problems a principal encountered and the Florida Principal Leadership Standards; (c) the Florida Principal Leadership Standards that were most often cited and rated most important by school superintendents when determining reasons to remove a school principal within Florida; (d) principal’s years of experience as a predictor of principal competence; (e) sources of information that were most important in providing awareness of principal problems; (f) interventions, if any, that were provided to principals to assist them in improving prior to the decision to remove them; and (g) principal career outcomes that were most to likely occur following a superintendent’s decision to remove a school principal. Utilizing a previously researched survey, the 67 Florida public school superintendents were asked to prioritize the Florida Principal Leadership Standards related to the removal of a single principal from the position and provide pertinent demographic information related to this individual. The following principal leadership standards were most commonly identified as important to the decision to remove a school principal: (a) human resource management, (b) decision making strategies, (c) iv instructional leadership, (d) managing the learning environment, and (e) community and stakeholder partnerships.

Predicting the locations of new biological invasions has become a high priority for biologists as well as trying to predict if newly introduced species will become damaging to native ecosystems. Reefs of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida have been highly disturbed in recent years resulting in dead reefs (piles of dead, disarticulated shells) some of which have been restored. I conducted oyster reef surveys for non-native invertebrates to determine if disturbance on these oyster reefs might assist invasion by two species, Mytella charruana and Perna viridis, recently introduced to the southeastern coast of the United States. Next, I investigated if M. charruana's temperature and aerial exposure tolerance limits may allow for it to establish permanently on intertidal oyster reefs. Temperature and aerial exposure tolerance experiments were conducted and oyster reef temperatures were collected. Oyster reef surveys could not predict if reef disturbance is assisting in the invasion process because only two non-native individuals (P.viridis) were found, one on a restored reef and one on a natural (reference) reef. Tolerance experiments showed that some Mytella charruana survived even after 7 days of 8??C temperatures if the mussels are exposed to air for 4 hours or less per day. Mytella charruana had near 0% survival after 4 hours of 44??C. However, only disturbed reefs reached this temperature in the field. It is likely that M. charruana could survive in the low intertidal zone on restored or reference reefs. This information is important for understanding the introduction of M. charruana in Mosquito Lagoon and also provides a data set of temperature tolerances for better understanding of whether the species might be able to invade other areas.

ABSTRACT This summarizes a study conducted on the Archie Carr (ACNWR) and Pelican Island (PINWR) National Wildlife Refuges located on the barrier island complex of southern Brevard and northern Indian River counties, Florida. Major objectives of this study were designed to 1) survey the mammals of the ACNWR and PINWR, 2) perform a small mammal population demographic study in coastal scrub and maritime hammock habitats, and 3) document a population monitoring project of Peromyscus po/ionotus niveiventris in northern Indian River County at Treasure Shores Park, within ACNWR Segment 4. A total of7,279 trap nights was compiled during the survey portion of this research: 5,136 on ACNWR and 2,514 on PINWR yielding a combined total of 1,152 captures of 10 species of nonvo lant mammals. Seventeen species of mammals were documented through live trapping, observations, and recorded as road kills. Three species represent additions to the list of mammals once found in the study area, having not been documented in the historical literature. Two are exotic or introduced mammals (Dasypus novemcinctus and Rattus rattus) and one is the native carnivore Lontra canadensis. Seven species of rodents were recorded historically, only five were documented during this study. Two native rodents, Neofiber al/eni and Oryzomys palustris, were not captured while another native species, P. polionotus niveiventris, has dra1natically declined. Capture success ,vas highest on ACN\VR in xeric ha1runock habitat (28.3%) and lovvest in dune habitat (5.9%). On PINWR~ capture success \Vas highest in marititne hanunock habitat ( 14. 7%) and lo\vest in salt marsh/i1npoundment habitat (2.2%). Peromyscus gossypinus was the most abundant mammal, accounting for 55% (481/875) of all captures on ACNWR and 78.7% (218/277) of all captures on PINWR. The second most abundant matnmal was Sigmodon hispidus, accounting for 39.8% (348/875) of all captures on ACNWR and 7.6% (21/277) of all captures on PINWR. Species richness was highest on ACNWR and PINWR in maritime hammock habitat and lowest in salt marsh/impound1nent habitat on both refuges. Five species of native rodents were captured while one species of exotic or non-native rodent was documented through live trapping. Native rodents were distributed in all habitats (eight)~ vvhereas the non-native R. rattus was captured in three of these habitats. Six small 1na1nmals were captured 322 titnes after compiling 5,631 trap nights on three trap grids in two habitats of ACNWR and PINWR. Two s1nall ma1nmals, P. gossypinus and S. hispidus, were the 1nost frequently encountered species. The number of individual P. gossypinus and S. hispidus captured per 100 trap nights and densities varied on the three grids. Density estimates of P. gossypinus ranged from 4.4 to 20.9 individuals/ha in coastal scrub and from 22 to 50 individuals/ha in maritime hammock. Densities of S. hispidus ranged from 0.9 to 15.1/ha on two grids in coastal scrub. Survival rates of P. gossypinus and S. hispidus did not differ significantly among seasons. Weight of adult male P. gossypinus fluctuated seasonally in both coastal scrub and 1naritime hammock habitat. Lowest weights were observed in coastal scrub during spring 1998 while heaviest weights were observed during summer 1998. Adult male P. gossypinus in maritime hammock were heaviest during winter 1999 and lowest during summer 1998. Adult body weights of male S. hispidus varied significantly among seasons. Sex ratios of P. gossypinus were dominated by males on all three grids while sex ratios of S. hispidus in coastal scrub habitat were close to unity. Seasonal reproductive activity of P. gossypinus in coastal scrub habitat was highest during fall 1998 and winter 1999 while reproduction was confined to the fall and winter months in maritime hammock. Greatest seasonal reproductive activity of S. hispidus was exhibited during summer and fall 1998. The age structure of both P. gossypinus and S. hispidus on all three grids was largely dominated by adults. In a total trapping effort of 5,505 trap nights conducted from November 1996 to January 1999 at Treasure Shores Park, 54 captures of28 individual P. polionotus niveiventris were recorded. The number of new individuals captured ranged from a low of two to a high of 13. Recaptures outnumbered new individuals during summer 1997 and winter 1998 however, by spring 1998, recaptures composed 100% ofthe overall captures. Estimates of population size using the Lincoln-Petersen estimator ranged from a low of two to a high of 18 individuals. After three trapping sessions resulted in no captures, further trapping efforts were suspended and it became evident that the Treasure Shores Park population of P. polionotus niveiventris has experienced a tremendous decline. Three individuals were then discovered in oldfield habitat west of SRAlA, opposite the Treasure Shores Park study site. The primary threat to this subspecies' existence in the northern Indian River County portion of ACNWR is habitat loss resulting fro1n the destruction of the pri1nar) dunes b) coastal erosion caused by the jett~ at Sebastian Inlet.

The vegetation of eight east-central Florida maritime hammocks studied in 1997 were compared to similar data collected over 20 years ago. Study sites are located in the northern half of the Indian River Lagoon system mostly within Canaveral National Seashore and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The upland hammock vegetation throughout the state generally has an oak-palm association, but here these species dominate. Results show that sabal palm, live oak, laurel oak, and pignut hickory, the four dominant tree species in 1976-77, are still dominant in 1997; however, there has been a loss in tree species richness. Most shrub species found during both studies increased in dominance over the 20 years and there was almost a complete turnover in the composition of herbs. Variability in winter freeze events has caused a unique mixture of plant species to occur here. Many of the maritime hammock’s tropical plants are in the northern limit of their range, giving these hammocks a unique ecotonal character. Tropical invasive exotics have increased in frequency, density, and basal area and pose a threat to this diverse floral complex.

N/A / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.