Education Commons^™

Impact Of A Six-Trait Character Education Program On Sixth-Grade Students' Perceived Attitudes And Behaviors, Cindy S. Baumgartner

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a pilot character education program, called BOOMERANG, on students' reported attitudes and behaviors of six character constructs. The subjects consisted of 80 sixth-grade students enrolled in a small Midwestern town during the 1995-96 school year who were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group.

The intervention consisted of a 16-week character education program led by trained high-school students for a weekly, 30-minute session, using a pilot character education curriculum designed by the researcher. The intervention program consisted of six character traits: (a) caring, (b) citizenship, (c) …

Is Library Automation Feasible For All Elementary Schools?, Tiffany Bayless

Graduate Research Papers

Library automation has been adopted by many library media centers, but is it appropriate for all libraries? The justification for automation of four library media centers will be based on the literature reviewed, current operations of these centers, and personal experiences and observations in working with these library media centers. There have been many concerns about whether library automation is feasible for these library media centers, and that is the reason for the focus of this study. Library automation should not be something that is implemented just because "everyone else is doing it".

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Janie M. Adams

Graduate Research Papers

Some of the articles and books that are referred to in the body of this paper are written by African- Americans about the plight of our African-American children in yesterday's, today's and tomorrow's schools. In writing this paper I address some basic needs for all children. Yet of most pressing concern to me are the African-American student and other students of color. Brown versus Topeka, Kansas was in 1954, but in the eyes of many African-Americans separate but equal is alive and well. With the prospect of a voucher system looming on the horizon it is being driven home even …

Celebrating The Constitution: An Instructional Unit For Elementary Grades, Janet Mcclain

Faculty Publications

Because attaining citizenship skills remains the principal goal of social studies; this unit was designed to highlight the founding of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights in a manner appropriate to both primary and intermediate elementary children. Each lesson includes objectives; materials; and procedures; as well as supplementary materials which may be duplicated for student use. Student awareness of the need for rules and laws is developed through the activities in lesson one. Lesson two helps students recognize reasons for settling the original 13 colonies and identify their locations. Students become informed about the events leading to independence …

The Final Report Of The Cooperative Grinnell-Newburg Community School District And University Of Northern Iowa Mathematics Project, Edward C. Rathmell

Faculty Publications

This project was designed to study the effects of an inservice model on the quantity and quality of developmental mathematics instruction provided by participating teachers. Participants were seven teachers of students in grades from 2 to 6 who had volunteered for the project after being selected as potential lead teachers in mathematics. The inservice consisted of teacher observations; group inservice on effective teaching; individual planning and recommendations for becoming more effective; demonstration teaching; and more observations together with feedback and discussion. The results indicate that these seven elementary teachers increased the quantity of their developmental instruction to about half of …

China: A Teaching Unit For Primary Grades, Janet Mcclain

Faculty Publications

Understanding the culture of other nations contributes to the development of responsible citizens in a democratic society. A classroom teaching team proved these activities to be successful. Five initial lessons introduce students to the study of China by teaching Chinese geography. To enhance cultural understanding; 10 additional lessons focus on the following aspects of Chinese culture: (1) flags; (2) agriculture; (3) calligraphy; (4) calendar; (5) inventions; (6) karate; (7) tangrams; (8) crafts; (9) folk tales; and (10) Confucius. The unit culminates with plans for preparing Chinese dinner; having an open house; or organizing a homeroom meeting. Each lesson includes learner …

Keyboarding For Elementary Students, John Kidney, Jack C. Reed, Nancy Moen, Linda Burke, Marilee Smith

College of Business Documents

This package contains four components designed to help elementary or business education teachers teach keyboarding to elementary students. The keyboarding program described in these materials consists of three phases: Phase I--learn the keyboard; basic function keys; technique and confidence; Phase II--review the keyboard and technique; language arts application; introduction to composition and proofreading; and Phase III--quick review of keyboard and technique; creating; editing; and printing; and computer terminology. This package contains (1) an inservice guide for business teachers and elementary teachers that provides suggestions for introducing and implementing a keyboarding program; (2) a teacher's guide; with a day-by-day lesson plan …

Elementary Keyboarding, Nancy B. Moen, Iowa State Department Of Public Instruction, University Of Northern Iowa

Faculty Publications

This textbook is designed for a course in keyboarding for elementary students. It contains day-by-day lessons for the Phase I (the keyboard; basic function keys; technique and confidence) section of the course; which lasts for six weeks. Technique; drills; reviews; and practice activities are included. The keyboard is illustrated with line drawings. (The lessons correspond to the teacher's guide to this course.) (KC)

Maps And Globes: An Instructional Unit For Elementary Grades, Joan Duea, Janet Mcclain, Lynn Nielsen, Betty Strub

Faculty Publications

This unit of 20 classroom learning episodes is structured to improve students' ability to read and interpret maps and globes. Performance objectives; outlined in part 1; include developing map and globe skills to locate; acquire; organize; interpret; evaluate; and express knowledge and information. Each of the learning episodes in part 2 contains instructional objectives; learning activities; and materials needed to carry out the activity. The learning episodes require 1 to 3 days of instructional time. Activities are developed and materials are provided to teach: (1) the four cardinal directions; (2) the four intermediate directions; (3) use of map symbols and …

Elections: An Instructional Unit For Elementary Grades, Janet Mcclain

Faculty Publications

In order to increase students' awareness of their place in the nation's political life; this unit introduces young children to the electoral process. Each lesson includes objectives; materials; procedures; and supplementary materials that can be duplicated for student use. The first five lessons are designed to improve student awareness of elections and to identify information sources. In lessons six through eight; students study congressional and presidential elections and learn about the rich cultural heritage centered around the District of Columbia. Lesson nine is concerned with the branches of government. Students evaluate campaign strategies in lesson 10. The children identify characteristics …

Kindergarten Scheduling Study: Results For Administrators; Results For Teachers; Midwestern State Survey; Midwest University Professors Study. Volume I; Numbers 1-4, Judith M. Finkelstein

Faculty Publications

A comparison of full-day; alternate-day (FDAD) and half-day; every-day (HDED) kindergartens in Iowa assessed instructional time; congruence between goals and outcomes; and principal; teacher; and pupil attitudes. Findings were gathered from surveys of school administrators and teachers; as well as from questionnaires sent to directors of early childhood education programs at the Department of Public Instruction in 13 states and to professors of early childhood education at 92 state-supported institutions in those same 13 states. The survey of administrators and teachers was made to determine whether (1) goals were set for both FDAD and HDED programs; (2) the same curricular …

A Contextual Approach To Investigating Verbal And Nonverbal Behaviors, Douglas M. Brooks, Barry Wilson

Faculty Publications

This investigation utilized a recent concept developed by researchers and theoreticians studying nonverbal behavior--the contextual framework. Instruments of demonstrated reliability were employed to record simultaneous verbal and nonverbal data within the selected contextual framework of student-initiated questions. Data was collected at the University of Northern Iowa; Malcolm Price Laboratory School. The study sample included 15 teachers from grades one through twelve and 60 pupils. Pupils were placed in categories by their teachers: (1) accepting; (2) concerned; (3) indifferent; and (4) rejecting. Objectives of the investigation included: (1) to investigate physical proximity as a quantifiable dimension of nonverbal behavior; (2) to …

Utilization Of Educational Television In Iowa's Elementary Schools, Jane Barker

Graduate Research Papers

In today;'s fast-paced world where messages conveyed through many forms of media, television as a form of entertainment has enjoyed much popularity. It has grown in recent years as a method of instruction in the school. The success of "Sesame Street" has powerfully demonstrated the potential of instruction through entertainment.

Television can be used effectively for learning, especially if used regularly. Kelly (1964) has shown that when television is used regularly as a source of instruction in the form of lectures and demonstrations, students do as well and sometimes significantly better on tests than when it is not used regularly. …