Rubric Assessment of Mathematical Processes in Homework

In this action research study of my classroom of 11th grade geometry, I investigated the use of rubrics to help me assess my students during homework presentations. I wanted to know more about the processes students went through as they did their homework problems, so homework presentations were implemented with the rubrics being the main form of assessment. I discovered that students are willing to speak about mathematics and can gain more understanding of mathematical processes as a result of homework presentations. The scores of the class improved after they talked about the homework assignments with each other. As a result of this research, I plan to keep on using homework presentations in my classroom to talk about homework, but discontinue the use of rubrics in assessment of students in mathematics. I also found students going to the board to solve problems in small groups are another helpful way to use presentations prior to assessment to help me understand where the students are with a new concept prior to assigning homework or giving an assessment.

An Affordable, Pratical Eco-House

An eco-house or zero-energy house is not a new concept- houses with extremely low impact on their surroundings and good use of local resources have been around for centuries. This particular eco-house is designed to offer full modern services and comforts while consuming very low energy and few expensive building materials. Ideally, someone would be able to use this thesis as a blueprint for actual construction.

Bach-Busoni Chaconne: A Piano Transcription Analysis

In 1893 Ferruccio Busoni transcribed, for the piano, the famous Bach Chaconne for violin solo from the Partita No.2 in D minor. Numerous transcriptions of this piece for different various instruments exist; however Busoni's transcription stands above all others. The purpose of this study was to analyze what the famous, twentieth-century pianist did when he transcribed Bach's Chaconne. What information exists on the topic comes primarily from pianists who dared to learn this exceptionally difficult, beautiful composition. Busoni's accomplishments lie in the new concept, a conceptual transcription, which has two roots: understanding how, historically, we are connected to the music, and how once genres have a special meaning in the twentieth-century. Every generation of musicians brings their own specific point of view and interpretation. Busoni lived on the border of the two centuries and, in his transcription, reveled in several issues overlooked by the previous generation. With his keen understanding of the piece, Busoni highlighted many different genres present in the music, thus allowing recognition of the last movement of the Partita No. 2 in D minor as a Requiem for Bach's wife. By underscoring the genres, Busoni used them as strata. The idea of strata comes from the aesthetics of “play,” and from a different approach to the quality of sound on piano originally intended for a high string instrument. Busoni's arrangement of the texture added both orchestral quality and stereophonic perception. The strata add to a certain reading of Bach's original. Busoni promoted a dramatic approach opening the possibility of reading the chaconne as a multi-layered form. Through Busoni', we see the possibility not only of a tripartite, variation form, but also a composition, with the elements of a concerto, and a sonata. Who could imagine, that a composition written by a young composer at the fin de siecle, intended for practical use by pianists, would subtly influence so many contemporaries and generations, that they will find his findings and music inspiring. Adviser: Dr. Mark K. Clinton