NATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE PROCEEDINGS Volume 54 New Orleans Professional Development Conference, 2013 Table of Contents Assistive Technology and Academics Joseph P. Akpan, Lawrence A. Beard, Jacksonville State University Linda B. Johnston, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Laura B. Carpenter, Auburn University at Montgomery 1 Food and Identity: How Food Practices, Family, Gender, Ethnicity, and Nationality Contribute to Personal Identity Gina M. Almerico, The University of Tampa 6 Single-Sex Education: Solution of Dilemma? Nancy P. Autin, University of Louisiana at Lafayette 13 Encouraging a Commitment to Our UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights Via Argumentative Writing: Challenges and Opportunities within the Middle Grades Beatrice Bailey, Clemson University 20 Diffused Impacts of Electoral Systems: Proportional Representation as the Best of All Options for the American Presidency Jeffrey M. Brauer, Keystone College 35 New Teacher Accountability: Challenges for Higher Education Faculty Christine J. Briggs, Mitzi P. Trahan, Nancy P. Autin, University of Louisiana at Lafayette 41 Common Core State Standards: Opportunities, Challenges, and the Professional Disposition Megan Brown, Judith J. Ruskamp, Peru State College 54 The Impact of Teaching with Technology on Higher Order Thinking Skills Barbara R. Buckner, Triangle Coalition 64 My Administration, My Choice: The Constitutionality of Recess Appointments Sue Burum, Minnesota State University, Mankato 75 Vampires, Werewolves, and Zombies: Building a Classroom Community Based on Louisiana Folklore Bill Curtis, Pat Kirtley, Independent Scholar Bill Kirtley, Central Texas College Terry Lovelace, Northwest Missouri State University 84 Using Technology to Fix Higher Education: Enhancing Engagement and Performance Marilyn Dantico, Tahnja Wilson, Gina Woodall, Arizona State University 97 Tools to Empower: Integrating “Other” Knowledge(s) Through Mother-Tongue Education in Africa Evelyne Delgado-Norris, Chicago State University 108 Increasing Learning and Motivation Through the Use of the Social Studies Fair Penny Finley, Nicole Mitchell, Mikaela Roach, Florida Gulf Coast University 115 A Qualitative Sociological Analysis of MSMW with an Identity Conundrum Deymon X. Fleming, James A. Johnson, Central Michigan University Le’Roy E. Reese, Morehouse School of Medicine Daniel E. Walker, University of Southern California 125 Responsive Approaches to Supporting Professional Learning Communities in Pursuit of Master Teacher Certification Ashley Graboski-Bauer, Benjamin McDermott, Brian Giza, University of Texas at El Paso 137 Polemic of Hate: How Mainstream Political Discourse Fueled the Growth in White Supremacy 2007-2012 Wendy L. Hicks, Loyola University New Orleans Bradley W. Hicks, McLean County Center for Human Services 148 The Deep Fried South: A Literary Analysis of Nutrition Knowledge of Students and Adults in Alabama Shelley L. Holden, Phillip M. Norrell, University of South Alabama 162 Location, Location, Location: Response and Resilience to Disaster in a Remote Region Donna Holland, Indiana University/Purdue University Fort Wayne 170 Changing College Student Development and Learning Styles: Campus Implications LaTrelle D. Jackson, Jeffrey S. Pittman, Regent University 177 APParatus: Assistive Technology or UDL? Dawn Jacobsen, Cynthia Waters, Upper Iowa University 188 Trapped in Amber: The Russian Minority in the Baltic States William M. Kirtley, Central Texas College Patricia M. Kirtley, Independent Scholar 195 Cyberbullying Charles Notar, Joseph Akpan, Lawrence A. Beard, Jacksonville State University Linda B. Johnston, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga 207 Big Easy Easily Lem Londos Railsback, Patricia Kirtley, Bill Curtis, Independent Scholars Bill Kirtley, Central Texas College Terry Lovelace, Northeastern Missouri University 212 Revolutionaries Off The Street - Sequel No. 5: The 1980’s Lem Londos Railsback, Independent Scholar 224 Two Texans’ Recollection of The Great Depression and Several of Its Heroes, Sung and Unsung Lem Londos Railsback, Mary Esther Armistead, Independent Scholars 237 Pedagogy and Practicum in Law Enforcement Raymond Shearer, Lamar University 250 From Fiction to Reality: Cultural Issues in Stella Pope Duarte’s If I Die in Juárez Virginia Shen, Chicago State University 260 Cancer Prevalence Among Immigrants in the United States: Does Age Group Matter? James H. Swan, Ami R. Moore, University of North Texas 269 Beyond Technology: Revisiting Diffusion of Innovation Theory Application to Other Disciplines Mitzi P. Trahan, University of Louisiana at Lafayette 280 PLATO: An Integrated Learning Environment Mitzi P. Trahan, University of Louisiana at Lafayette Martha Bryant, ULL Picard Center Pamela Lemoine, Southeastern Louisiana University 284 Student Descriptions of Effective Teachers Rebecca S. Watts, Capella University 295 Developing Children’s Positive Attitudes On Diversity Bizunesh Wubie, Marshall University College of Education and Professional Development 308 Assistive Technology and Academics Joseph P. Akpan Lawrence A. Beard Jacksonville State University Linda B. Johnston University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Laura B. Carpenter Auburn University at Montgomery 1 Writing really matters. Writing is an important skill for academic success across the curriculum in the United States. For students with special needs with physical and educational disabilities, strong writing and reading skills offer a variety of benefits. One of the challenges in higher education is helping students with special needs write, read and spell correctly to achieve academic success while ensuring that these skills will transfer to the public school classroom so that our teacher education graduates can help students with special needs when they take over classrooms. In most recent past, special needs education has received greater emphasis in the schools. However, instruction in the corollary skills of writing has received considerably less attention over the years. Many students with special needs experience difficulties in the areas of writing and spelling, which lead to difficulty in achieving academic success, especially in the social science classrooms that are heavily focused on reading and writing. These deficits should be addressed by the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) team to determine whether the student needs assistive technology (AT), intervention, or a combination of both to become successful. This article notes that through the use of assistive technology, special needs with a variety of physical and educational disabilities can learn and write effectively, and AT can provide a better quality of life and education for person with special needs. AT can be used as supplemental aids as well as related services for students with special needs. Successful writers have proficient skills in gaining all types of information. Students with special needs with physical and educational disabilities may lack many of the skills needed to gain information to be a successful leaner. These skills require the student to be an active listener and a reader, to follow written directions, and to interpret textbooks and other media. Students who experience difficulty with reading have difficulty gaining information, and without accommodations and modifications, they are unable to access the general education curriculum. Writing is the process of encoding through into graphemes, or phonograms, so that communication can occur across time and space (Raymond, 2004; Beard, Carpenter & Johnston, 2011; Akpan & Beard, 2013). Students with mild disabilities exhibit problems with writing expression. To be an effective writer, students must have skills in three areas: handwriting, spelling, and composition (Beard, et al., 2011). Students with mild disabilities usually have difficulty in all three of these areas. Students who experience difficulty with handwriting may need additional assistance with motor development. Sometimes simply adapting the writing surface, for example, by stabilizing the paper with a clipboard or providing an angle to the writing surface with a slanted board, will lead to improve handwriting. Providing tactual boundaries with raised lines, puffy painted lines, or wax lines on paper provides additional support for handwriting. Adding pencil grips to the writing tool or using other adaptations may become necessary for those students who need additional support. For students who have dysgraphia-severe disabilities in writing expression and in performing the motor functions associated with handwriting-alternate types of keyboards and portable word processing might substitute for handwriting. In addition, AT software such as Bank Street Writer™, ClarisWorksTM, or WordPerfect® provide students with the ability to generate ideas and put them on paper without the barriers imposed by working with paper and pencil (Behramnn, 1994; Peterson-Karlan, 2011). AT has significant potential 2 to support all students in their writing and teaching of writing (National Commission on Writing, 2003; National Writing Project & Nagin, 2006). Spelling There is also evidence of poor progress in spelling with students with special needs who have physical and academic disabilities. For students with special needs a major residual effect of having learning disabilities is poor spelling. After reviewing 18 follow- up studies, Schonhaut and Satz (2010) concluded that even successful adults who were diagnosed as having a reading disability during childhood have life-long problem with