Education Commons^™

Media Blitz: Children And The Effects Of Television Advertising, Erica (Erica Naomi) Friedman

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Watching television is nearly a universal phenomenon for the youth of modem America and other first-world countries. With the viewing of television comes the blitz of commercial advertising. Each year, children are exposed to approximately 20,000 commercial messages, or three hours a week of television advertising (Adler, Lesser, Meringoff, Robertson, Rossiter, and Ward, 1980).

Society has two broad types of responsibility toward its youth. First are the precautions set in place to shield children from predatory exploitation by adults. For instance, child labor laws were enacted to prevent abuses of children in the work place. Second, society has recognized its …

An Analysis Of 4th And 5th Grade Meap Results At Elementary Schools In Southwest Michigan, Kevin M. Hollenbeck, Kristine Kracker

Reports

No abstract provided.

Students' Perceptions And Supervisors' Rating As Assessments Of Interactive-Constructivist Science Teaching In Elementary School., James Shymansky, Larry Yore, Laura Henriques, John Dunkhase, Jean Bancroft

Educator Preparation & Leadership Faculty Works

This study took place within the context of a four-year local systemic reform effort collaboratively undertaken by the Science Education Center at the University of Iowa and the Iowa City Community School District. The goal of the project was to move teachers towards an interactive-constructivist model of teaching and learning that assumes a middle-of-the-road interpretation of constructivism, where hands-on activities are used selectively and purposefully to challenge students' ideas, promote deep processing, and achieve conceptual change. The research focus of this study was to verify the use of students' perceptions and attitudes and the supervisor's ratings as measures of teachers' …

Do Students Really Notice? A Study Of The Impact Of A Local Systemic Reform., James Shymansky, Larry Yore, John Dunkhase, Brian Hand

Educator Preparation & Leadership Faculty Works

This paper describes a major reform effort of an elementary science curriculum called the Science: Parents, Activities, and Literature (Science PALs) Project. The goal of the project was to move teachers towards an interactive-constructivist model of teaching and learning that assumes a middle-of-the-road interpretation of constructivism where hands-on activities are used selectively and purposefully to challenge students' ideas, promote deep processing, and achieve conceptual change. The program also enriches the cross-curricular connections of the science units and promotes meaningful parental involvement. A broad question was raised as to whether or not students really notice. This study explored elementary school students' …

Peer Theater: Social Issues In Action, Shannon Simer

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Peer education is an effective way to make lasting impressions on both the performers and the audience. When dealing with social issues this is especially true. The performers must have explored their feelings and experiences to a degree of depth that allows them to have enough perspective to portray it to others who may not have thought about the subject in such detail and depth. The audience often relates more easily to their peers than to a grown up telling them how to behave. Many teachers will attest to how much influence children have on each other. This program combats …

Ability Grouping In The Elementary School, Ellen M. Azinger

Graduate Research Papers

Ability grouping has been used in schools for many years in an attempt to meet children's instructional needs. Is this type of grouping nurturing for children? The purpose of this paper is to examine ability grouping and then to offer the alternative of flexible grouping to extend the instructional program at the elementary level. Flexible grouping allows students to more readily pursue meaningful learning, thus extending their abilities.

Students' Perceptions Of Science Teaching And Attitudes Toward Science Learning And Teachers' Self-Report Of Using Children's Ideas, Applications Of Science, And Use Of Print Resources As Indicators Of Interactive-Constructivist Teaching In Elementary Schools., Larry Yore, James Shymansky, Laura Henriques, Brian Hand, John Dunkhase, Joanne Lewis

Educator Preparation & Leadership Faculty Works

This paper describes a study that took place within the context of the Science: Parents, Activities, and Literature (Science PALs) project. Particularly, the study sought to determine answers to the following questions: (1) What are the internal consistencies and substantive, external, and structural validities of students' perceptions, teachers' self-reports, evaluations of videotaped classroom science teaching, and expert ratings? and (2) Can students' perceptions and attitudes and teachers' self-reports be used as acceptable surrogate measures for videotaped interactive constructivist science teaching? Findings suggest that instruments based on social constructivism do not completely and accurately document science teaching based on interactive-constructivist assumptions.

The Benefits Of Using "Community" In The Elementary Classroom, Rodney Edgerton Lyons

Graduate Research Papers

The traditional teaching approach used in most American elementary schools, where the classroom teacher makes all the decisions and the conventional student is instructed to focus individual energies on assigned seatwork and ignore those who are around him or her, has become an ineffective model.

Researchers and certain educators believe that the use of "community" in the classroom will create environments where children care about one another and about learning, where students work harder, achieve more, where warm, supportive relationships are given birth -- enabling students to risk the new ideas and mistakes so critical to intellectual growth. As a …

Looking At Children Looking At Art : Teacher Response To Aesthetic Journals In Art, Julie A. Alden

Graduate Research Papers

Although recent trends in art education emphasize a discipline based approach to instruction, the elementary art experience often focuses on the process components of art production, overlooking other significant areas of study (Adams, 1992; Garoian, 1988; Hickman, 1994 ). One way in which educators can help make art experiences more meaningful to students is to use response journals for viewing artwork. Educators have established the use of response journals as a worthy practice by providing students with opportunities to develop greater understanding of content material and by providing teachers with valuable insight into students thinking through shared dialogue (Hall, Crawford …

Inclusion Of An Autistic Child Into A Self-Contained Third Grade Classroom, Arlene M. Belt

Graduate Research Papers

This article describes the disorder of autism in the spectrum of pervasive developmental disorders, the challenges that the autistic child faces, and the inclusion of an autistic child, a nine-year old boy, into a self-contained third grade classroom. Through details of his life, the reader is given an intimate look at the personal and educational issues he faces as he struggles to cope with his disability. In addition to focusing on how the disorder affects an individual, the paper stresses the importance of parents and professionals working together to develop and implement teaching strategies that will assist such a child …