Acts 6:3 (NIV) - “Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.”

The early church chose seven men among them whose qualifications were “full of the Spirit and wisdom” It doesn’t say men who had great organizational skills but men who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. What qualifies us to serve the church is our relationship to Jesus. God is at work in our lives transforming us more and more to love like Jesus, to have concern for His church. This love and concern, the heart for the church is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This comes as we continue to grow in our personal relationship to Jesus. Let’s grow in our intimacy with the Lord. This is important because whatever tasks, responsibilities or work that we are called upon to do is not about just the tasks or work themselves but our service begins with our relationship to Christ! We do all things in response to Christ. We love and serve the body of Christ because it is Christ’s body and He died for the Church and loves the Church.

In whatever ways that we may be called upon to serve and whatever the task, as children of God, because  God is alive in us, we can love greatly through all that we do and share the love of Christ with whom we serve.

Let’s pray that God will fill us with more of His heart and love for the church as we serve!

-DP

Yawning may have the dubious distinction of being the least understood common human behavior,” UMBC’s Bob Provine told NPR’s Morning Edition this spring. Yawns can be triggered by boredom, fatigue, hunger, or stress. Although multiple theories attempt to define yawning’s purpose, researchers have yet to settle on a unified explanation of why we yawn.

Provine, professor emeritus of psychology at UMBC, says, “[Yawning] stirs up our physiology, and it plays an important role in shifting from one state to another.” Another study cited by NPR supports the changing-state theory, finding “that yawning has a similar impact on the brain as a dose of caffeine.” Provine mentions that athletes about to compete, musicians about to perform, and military about to enter combat also yawn at higher rates than expected.

However, other studies have not found yawning to have an arousing effect. Rather, their results suggest yawning is important for social bonding. That theory is strengthened by the fact that yawning is contagious—and not only among humans.

“Until the last few years, the feeling was that contagious yawning was unique to humans,” Provine told NPR, but recent studies have found that dogs and chimpanzees also yawn contagiously. Dogs even yawned more often when humans around them yawned, potentially contributing to the emotional bonds people form with their canine companions.

Provine has also been consulted recently for his expertise on another primal vocalization: laughter. In The Trumpet, he shared that his research has found laughter to be most common in “situations of emotional warmth and in groups,” suggesting laughter, like yawning, may contribute to social bonding.

In The Atlantic, Provine commented on how appropriate it was to include laughter on the “Golden Record,” which was launched into space in 1977 intended for discovery by alien life. “Laughing, like crying, is a human instinct. It’s not under conscious control,” he told The Atlantic. “Whereas crying is a solicitation of caregiving, laughter is the signal of play. It is the sound of play, literally.”

Prior to the most recent Atlantic piece, Provine discussed his two decades of laugher research in depth for a popular video produced by the publication, “Why We Laugh.”

Read more of Provine’s recent media on yawning and laughter:

Yawning may promote social bonding even between dogs and humans (NPR)

Why is yawning contagious? (Mental Floss)

A good laugh (The Trumpet)

Solving the mystery of whose laughter is on the golden record (The Atlantic)

 Image: Dog yawning. Photo by Nate Steiner, via Flickr, public domain.

UMBC researchers from across the humanities and social sciences recently earned press coverage for their work exploring factors that shape K–12 education in the United States. From inclusive language in classrooms to math pedagogy, each offers insights to spur change and further research to improve children’s educational experiences.

Christine Mallinson, professor of language, literacy, and culture, writes in The Conversation about how language differences among students can affect student outcomes. “Studies have found that at all levels of education, instructors often favor students who sound like themselves and can be biased against those who don’t,” writes Mallinson. Compounding the problem, “As the U.S. student population continues to rapidly diversify along cultural and linguistic lines, the demographics of the teacher population remain stable at roughly 82 percent white and predominantly female,” meaning non-white students experience negative bias more often.

Mallinson explains that students who are repeatedly told their way of speaking is wrong internalize that message, which may result in students speaking up less often in class. To help educators take on this challenge, Mallinson and colleagues developed a series of webinars, a podcast, and an app called “Valuable Voices” replete with classroom exercises to help students and educators understand and value linguistic diversity.

“Ensuring that students, peers and teachers from diverse backgrounds understand and communicate respectfully with each other is often just as important as helping students understand the material in their textbooks,” writes Mallinson. “Language matters—not just for fostering mutual respect, but for making sure that every student has an equal opportunity to succeed.”

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Public School System bucked the trend in teacher demographics that Mallinson notes, with a teacher workforce that identified as 71 percent African American serving a predominantly African American student body. However, immediately following Katrina, substantial school system restructuring deeply impacted the teacher workforce, and by 2014, fewer than 50 percent of city teachers were black.

Jane Arnold Lincove, associate professor of public policy, detailed how teacher demographics changed in New Orleans after Katrina in a new study featured in The Hechinger Report. The study, published by the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans at Tulane University, noted that 4,300 fired teachers “were replaced with teachers who were paid less, had less experience, and were more likely to be white and from out of state.” The restructured school district also no longer offers pensions.

These changes have the potential to negatively affect the city’s student body, including having a disproportionately negative impact on black students, given “a bevy of research showing that black kids benefit from having black teachers,” achieving higher referral rates to advanced classes and higher graduation rates, the Report notes. Lincove’s study data only extended to 2013, so it’s unclear what effect a push after that to hire more local teachers may have had.

Christopher Rakes, assistant professor of education, argues in The Conversation that a “culture of over-testing” in the last two decades is another factor that’s shaped teaching. Specifically, Rakes believes testing has contributed to the persistence of math lessons based on rote memorization of procedures to solve specific problem types. These methods are “so common that [they’re] seldom even questioned,” although there is evidence to suggest that concentrating on teaching conceptual understanding is more effective, Rakes says.

With rote learning, Rakes writes, “Children can become dependent on tricks and rules that don’t hold true in all situations, making it harder to adapt their knowledge to new situations,” but with a more conceptual framework, “less information has to be memorized, and students can translate their knowledge to new situations more easily.”

Rakes acknowledges that teaching conceptually “may require additional time commitments both in and outside the classroom,” but, “research has provided evidence that teaching conceptually has benefits not offered by traditional teaching. And students who learn conceptually typically do as well or better on achievement tests.” That means even if testing continues to be the norm to gauge learning, switching to a more concept-focused math curriculum would benefit student success.

More important than any test, “Teaching [conceptually] is a critical first step if students are to begin recognizing mathematics as meaningful,” writes Rakes. “Conceptual understanding is a key ingredient to helping people think mathematically and use mathematics outside of a classroom.”

The article has generated substantial public interest and discussion, and has so far been read over 17,000 times worldwide.

Image: Christine Mallinson, third from right, meets with graduate students. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Baltimore Choral Arts Society

Position Opening – Development Manager

This full-time position works with the Executive Director in all aspects of fundraising including the Annual Fund campaign, corporate support, foundation grants, government grants, planned giving, endowment, and temporarily restricted funds.

The Development Manager works with Board committees including the Development Committee, and responsibilities include scheduling meetings and coordinating follow-up activities with Board members.

Name: Alex Hart

Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Maryland, College Park

Hometown: Baltimore, MD (Go O’s and Ravens!)

Current role: As an Accountant I, Alex provides business services support to the CSEE department in the areas of contracts and grants/projects, which includes account monitoring, financial reporting, projections, reconciliations, etc. She also provides backup support for payroll, and she is the property custodian of inventory for CSEE.

Favorite thing about UMBC: “Without a doubt, my favorite thing about UMBC is the people here. I have met a lot of different people who have provided me with a wealth of knowledge since I started working here just a year ago. Everyone has been very inclusive and helpful!”

Students should ask me about: “Students can ask me anything, but maybe about the college experience, since I’m still a recent graduate.”

Alex is originally from Baltimore, MD. She joined CSEE’s Department in February of 2016. She attended UMBC for her first two years of college, then transferred to the University of Maryland College Park’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. She has a BS in Accounting from UMCP.

When not working, Alex loves cheering on the Terps in football and basketball. She also enjoys traveling to new places, cooking, practicing yoga, and reading.

The post Meet the Staff: Alex Hart appeared first on Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.