Education Commons^™

A Test Of Factor Analysis As A Validation Procedure For Physician Certification Examinations, Jeffrey D. Greene

Dissertations

Two physician certification examinations from different medical specialties were investigated. The purpose of the study was twofold: 1) to determine the similarities between the factor structure of the examinations and their respective tables of specifications; and 2) to demonstrate the relative efficacy of factor analysis in differentiating the structure between two related but dissimilar domains of information. Specialty A is a homogeneous discipline focused on a relatively narrow concentration of organs, body systems and anatomy. This examination contained 309 items. There were 845 cases available for analysis. Specialty B is a heterogeneous area of specialty concerned with numerous areas of …

How Does It Mean? Literary Theory As Metacognitive Reading Strategy In The High School English Classroom, Lisa J. Schade

Dissertations

In the last two decades, serious scholarly attention has been paid both to theories of teaching reading and to theories of literary interpretation. These potentially related fields have been treated as separate, focused either on teaching reading in the elementary grades or on teaching interpretation to advanced college literature students. Until very recently the relevance of either reading theory or literary theory to middle school or high school pedagogy has remained unexamined. My research, as a reflective practitioner, addresses this important gap. I focus on the teaching of literary theory in the high school English classroom as a strategy to …

Classroom Questioning Strategies As Indicators Of Inquiry Based Science Instruction, Linda Hale Goossen

Dissertations

Inquiry teaching often rests upon the assumption that through the use of questioning and response strategies, teachers can stimulate students to actively construct knowledge. Based on this hypothesis, middle-school science lessons were observed and questioning and response strategies were identified that are related to inquiry-based instruction.

Twenty-four science lessons were observed, videotaped, and ranked by inquiry characteristics other than questioning strategy. The video and audio portions of the recordings were analyzed to determine the student and teacher’s questioning and response strategies in each classroom. These strategies were then compared to teaching style, along a continuum from traditional to inquiry, to …

Changing Mathematical Discourse: A Case Study Of A Secondary Mathematics Teacher, Mary Lynn Breyfogle

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Behavioral Systems Analysis Of Textbook Quality Improvement, Elizabeth T. Suarez

Dissertations

Behavioral systems analysis is a deliberate approach to systems-design that is intended to help a system achieve its ultimate goals. The present study used behavioral systems analysis in an attempt to improve the quality o f a college-level textbook. Formative and expert evaluations were used to assess the needs of the textbook. Once the needs were determined, a six-step process of analysis, goal specification, design, implementation, evaluation, and recycling was used to meet the objectives specified by the needs assessment.

The first objective of this study was to produce and publish an improved edition of a textbook and to begin …

An Analysis Of Grade-Level Expenditures Of At-Risk Funding Among Districts Of Different Economic Status In The State Of Michigan, Benard A. Meyer

Dissertations

Many of the recent financial reforms failed to address the needs of at-risk children. Effective solutions to the problems of the educationally disadvantaged must include changes within the schools, how the schools are funded, and how the schools spend their funding. Michigan’s 1994 finance reform included a funded plan for “unequal treatment of unequals” directed for the support of at-risk students. This fund was called Section 31a Program for At-Risk Pupils and involved a 230 million dollar compensatory education funding allowance for students at risk of school failure. This study presented here will determine if there is a relationship between …

Programmed Instruction: Within-Subject Analysis Of Four Types Of Instructional Material, Matthew L. Miller

Dissertations

Skinner (1958) expressed the need for an increase in the effectiveness and efficiency of education. In particular, he suggested that programmed instruction could provide such efficiency. The present study used a within-subject design to compare the effects of four types of instructional materials: those requiring overt construction responses, overt discrimination responses, covert reading of text with highlighted key words, and covert reading of standard text. The material requiring overt responding produced greater learning than did the covert reading materials, with or without highlighting. There was no difference found between the two types of overt responding; nor were there differences between …

A Portrait Of Assessment In Reformed Mathematics Classrooms, James R. Kett

Dissertations

During the past decade, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics published three documents (1989, 1991, 1995) which propose changes in content, instruction, and assessment. These documents call for instructional and assessment goals that support students as they construct their own meaning to mathematics. A next step is to develop assessment models consistent with these goals which would guide and support classroom teachers.

As a result of mathematics reform, many curriculum development projects are underway. One such project is the Core-Plus Mathematics Project (CPMP) . This research documents the assessment practices of four CPMP teachers working in 9th and 10th …

Identifying A 9-12 Curriculum For High Schools In The Upper Peninsula Of Michigan, Patrick Manning

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify high school graduation standards for high schools in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The standards should meet the state of Michigan recommendations or standards for high school graduation. In addition, recommendations of local, state , and national studies and commission reports were included. A comparison was made between a ll Upper Peninsula high schools' graduation requirements for both non-college-bound and college-bound students and the Michigan State Board of Education recommended graduation requirements and those of the Michigan College Presidents Council.

Inquiry was made into course cred it requirements for graduation, recommended curriculum …

Using Technology To Improve Equity Of Curriculum Access For Students In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Herbert L. Harroun

Dissertations

In this study, the curriculum offerings available to students attending 50 of the 54 high schools in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U .P .) that responded to the survey were compared to the offerings identified as requisites of a modern comprehensive Michigan high school, particularly in the areas of English and communications skills , social studies, mathematics, science, and foreign languages. Upper Peninsula student enrollment levels in those core curriculum areas in 1989-90 were analyzed to determine the impact the adoption of the course study recommendations in the Michigan K-12 Program Standards of Quality (Michigan State Board of Education, 1987) throughout …

Standardized Testing Practices: A Comparison Of Michigan Public School Districts From 1976 To 1986, Richard J. Syrek

Dissertations

In 1976 and again in 1986, surveys were completed by participating school districts in the state of Michigan pertaining to the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) (developed by the Michigan Department of Education and published annually) testing. The findings of these two surveys are compared in this study.

A comparison of testing practices over a 10-year period can reflect educational changes in Michigan. The purposes of this study were to compare changes, if any, which occurred between 1976 and 1986 in the areas of the uses of MEAP data; personnel involved in testing programs; personnel involved in the development, review, …

A Study Of The Relationship Of Class Size And Student Achievement On The Michigan Educational Assessment Program Fourth Grade Test, Ralph Burde

Dissertations

In this study the relationship and differences in student achievement and class size were investigated. The population of the study was the 111,199 students who completed the fall 1988 Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP, Michigan State Board of Education, 1988) fourth grade test. The MEAP is a criterion referenced test and is the state of Michigan's only achievement test.

The independent variable of the study was class size. The dependent variables of the study were student achievement as measured by the students' fall 1988 MEAP reading, mathematics, and combined reading and mathematics test scores. The hypothesis of the study, supported …

To Establish The Degree Of Interest For New Technical Instructional Programs At Taif Junior College, Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Said Sulayman Derbas

Dissertations

At the present time, junior colleges do not have technical programs that would provide trained Saudis to assume responsibility in technical and middle management fields. The purpose of this study was to establish the degree of interest for new technical instructional programs at Taif Junior College to meet those needs.

The population of this study consisted of all students attending the college for the academic school year 1984-85. A sample of 255 was selected by using a simple random method. Data were collected utilizing a two-section questionnaire which has been developed by the researcher. The first section focused on demographic …

The Relationship That Teachers' Concerns And Their Perceptions Of Organizational Climate Have With Innovation Maintenance, Frederic Wayne De Vall

Dissertations

The main purpose of this study was to determine what some of the factors are that have an affect upon the maintenance of an innovation. Many educational change models focus upon the initiation and implementation of educational innovations in schools. This study tested some of the factors identified, from the literature review as affecting innovation maintenance, upon one innovation which is being used by teachers in several school districts. The first factor centered upon the concerns teachers have about an innovation they use in their classrooms. The second factor centered upon teachers' perceptions of the organizational climate that exists which …

The Development And Assessment Of Instructional Materials For The Teaching Of Leadership Skills To Second Grade Students In Selected Public Schools, Sharon Rose Lockett

Dissertations

The major focus of this study was the development, use and assessment of instructional materials for teaching leadership awareness to second grade children. The purposes of the study were (1) to determine if there is a need for instructional materials to teach leadership awareness, (2) to determine how teachers and experts would use instructional materials, and (3) to determine the opinions of teachers about the Leadership is Vital to Education (L.I.V.E.) Series developed in this study. The materials in this study were evaluated as an instructional method which could be used to (1) develop in students an awareness of the …

A Field Test Of A Reading Program Needs Assessment Strategy, Linda Jane Howard Vingelen

Dissertations

This dissertation described a needs assessment model for a reading program and described the field testing of that model. The needs assessment model was a strategy for conducting a comprehensive and systematic assessment of reading program needs in kindergarten through Grade 12. The model could be used as a basis for educational program planning by a director of reading and a school superintendent. A model for conducting a reading program needs assessment was conceived and field tested because there were few available needs assessment models in reading which have been field tested. Field testing was particularly vital because only after …

A Study Of Alcohol Knowledge And Information Sources Among Rural High School Students, Timothy Patrick Keenan

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Attitudes Of The Non-Science Major Toward Science And Its Importance In Curriculum Design, Larry J. Fairbanks

Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to: (1) Identify and explore the non-science majors' attitudes toward science; (2) Use the results of the investigation to design a course to be used by instructors of Earth and Space Science.

Two major instruments were developed to collect data for the study. The first was an Attitude Inventory and the second was a Course Content Inventory. A major goal of the Attitude Inventory was to collect data with which to develop an Attitude Index which could be used to predict those non-science majors who have some "negative" attitudes toward science. The course design …

An Investigation Of The Interaction Of Educational Cognitive Style, Teaching Style, And Instructional Area For Selected Community College Instructors, Francis W. Crookes

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Conceptual Systems Approach Model Designed For The Process Of Curriculum Planning, Development And Supervision In Uganda, Emmanuel K. Waddimba

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Curriculum Emphasis: A Pilot Q Sort Study, Olugbenro A. Ajayi

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Staff Perceptions Of The Role Of The Curriculum Director As A Decision-Maker In Elementary Schools, Leona Mirza

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Black Studies And The Enhancement Of Self-Concept As It Relates To Achievement Level In Negro High School Students, David L. Fisher

Dissertations

This study had as its primary purpose the investigation of the effect of black studies courses upon the self-concept of Negro high school students, Specifically, it was intended to determine if selfconcept enhancement followed completion of black studies courses and if this enhancement effect was further related to prior academic achievement, A secondary purpose was to determine if self-concept enhancement was related to the sex of the student, There were two subsidiary purposes. One was to see if different black studies courses had different effects upon the self-concept of the students and the other was to determine if the four …

A Study Of Factors Related To Student Ratings Of Teachers, Dale Thomas Wilson

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Criteria And Formulation Of An Action Model For The Process Of Curriculum Development, Jack J . Wickert

Dissertations

No abstract provided.