Education Commons^™

Understanding And Treating Selective Mutism In Children : A Guide For Counselors, Chelsea R. Carter

Graduate Research Papers

Selective mutism is a clinical disorder in which a child remains silent in chosen situations despite the ability for speech. Though there are cases of selective mutism in adults, the major population in which this disorder is diagnosed is in children. This paper will focus on these children who meet the criteria for a diagnosis of selective mutism.

There are three major theoretical schools of thought regarding selective mutism. The first deals with hostility and control; the second, anxiety and social phobia; and the third, family communication in regard to the onset and maintenance of this disorder. This paper explores …

Peer Relations Of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Joan Elizabeth Licari

Graduate Research Papers

This paper's main focus is on the peer relations of children with ADHD. Many interventions are used with children who have ADHD. One of the most widely used intervention is medication. The drug that is most associated with ADHD is methylphenidate or Ritalin. Medication, which can reduce some problematic behaviors associated with ADHD, has not been found to be very beneficial in peer relations.

Children who have ADHD are at risk for later psychopathology (mental disorders), among other problems, and thus early interventions are critical to reduce the onset of later pathologies.

This paper is intended to provide an overview …

Proponents And Opponents For Rewarding Children, Shelly Bromwich

Graduate Research Papers

This paper is a review of the literature concerning the types and uses of rewards. The primary focus of this paper was to look at opposing sides of whether rewarding children has benefits or whether there are problems with using rewards. Also, I looked at how children can be given credit for their efforts to accomplish their goals with using encouragement and natural and logical consequences.

As stated by Alfie Kohn, "A reward .. .is a desired object or event made conditional on having fulfilled some criterion" (Kohn, 1993, p. 53). There is a controversy today concerning the use of …

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".

Integrating World Wide Web Searching Skills Into World Geography Information Skills Curriculum, Karla Steege Krueger

Graduate Research Papers

World Geography I students' experiences searching for information using preselected bookmarked sites on the World Wide Web were studied. Fifty-three ninth and tenth grade students in two sections of World Geography I at New Hampton High School in New Hampton, Iowa, were taught how to use bookmarks on the World Wide Web to retrieve information for a European Dream Vacation Itinerary. Students worked in pairs on the assignment. Each pair of students was given 30 minutes of class time to search the bookmarked sites and was required to find one item for its itinerary on the World Wide Web. Following …

Long-Term Effects Of Social Skills Training On The Social Competence Of Children, Stephanie Lynn Schmitz

Graduate Research Papers

When one hears the term "social skills" many different ideas may come to mind. Yet no one can deny that social skills are an extremely important aspect of every person's life. This paper is devoted to defining and examining the long-term effects of social skills training on the social competence of children.

The Effectiveness Of Discis Books When Used To Improve Reading Scores Of Kinesthetic, Below Grade-Level Learners, Michelle Bentler

Graduate Research Papers

A reading comprehension study using Discis Books and below grade level sixth grade readers at Harmony Middle School, Farmington, Iowa, testing positive as kinesthetic learners, was carried out in a nine week time period. The study's participants completed a learning styles inventory and a comprehension reading inventory. Students were then randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The control group participated in classroom instruction and independent silent reading. The experimental group participated in classroom instruction and computer­ assisted instruction. A post comprehension inventory was administered.

Data were collected to determine if kinesthetic learners improved reading comprehension through the use of …

Picture Storybooks For Speech Communications Curriculum And Extracurricular Activities: An Annotated Bibliography, Del Brink

Graduate Research Papers

High school speech instructors frequently use picture storybooks in their curriculum. Picture storybooks differ from illustrated storybooks and picture books because they are the only type of the three that includes a balanced union between text and illustrations. An observation made at a high school speech contest in Iowa was the impetus for the formation of a bibliography of picture storybooks suitable for speech contest work. The researcher located, read, annotated, and categorized books reviewed in The Horn Book Magazine between 1989 and 1992. Of the 497 books read, 363 formed a bibliography of picture storybooks divided among these categories: …

Problems Encountered With The Readability Of Social Studies Books, Peggy Drinovsky

Graduate Research Papers

Readability of social studies texts has been and continues to be a concern of teachers when choosing a new series to use in the school. Teachers using readability formulas have come away feeling dissatisfied, as there are always students who should be able to read the book but cannot, or ones who should not be able to read the book but can, according to the formulas used. Obtaining the readability of a given text is quick and easy but it diagnoses the text rather than the student, as it gives the grade level of the text not the reading level …

Oral History: A Curriculum Guide, Nancy Lee Geiken

Graduate Research Papers

The subject of this paper ls the development and design of a curriculum guide which facilitates teaching students how to complete an oral history of another person. The purpose of the research was to design an Oral History Unit for the Composition II course at Washington High School in Vinton, Iowa. Extensive research was done to determine that no curriculum guide existed which would meet the needs of the course and students.

Data were collected on a •typical• class at Washington High School. The school philosophy and objectives were studied, along with the course objectives. Based on research of the …

The Effects Of Storytelling Experiences On Vocabulary Skills Of Second Grade Students, Gail E. Froyen

Graduate Research Papers

Subjects were 40 second grade students from Lowell School, Waterloo, IA. The students met for 14 weekly forty minute sessions where they heard folktales, learned folktales to tell, and told or listened to each other tell folktales. All second grade students were tested with the ITBS Primary Battery in October 1986 (pre-test) and the subjects took the post-test in April, 1987.

The null hypothesis stated there would be no significant difference in standard scores at p<.05 using as pre-and post-tests ITBS Primary Test V-Vocabulary when compared using NCE's to the national norms of that test. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference at the p<.005 level. Therefore, the hypothesis was rejected

The Fiction Reading Interests Of Academically Gifted Seventh-, Eighth-, And Ninth-Grad Students At Holmes Junior High School, Donna Bush

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper was to discover the following concerning gifted seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grade students: preferred categories of fiction, factors which influence fiction reading choices, and the amount of time devoted to reading. The professional literature reviewed helped in making predictions for the outcome of this study and in developing fiction categories used in the survey instrument. A questionnaire was distributed to all gifted students and a representative number of students at each grade level not in the program for the gifted at Holmes Junior High School in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The questionnaire was divided into the following …

Instructional Role Of The Media Specialist, Patricia S. Adams

Graduate Research Papers

A study was made to investigate the number of elementary school media specialists part1e1pat1n.g 1n the instructional program. Additional problems of the study were to further investigate what instructional tasks were performed and what values were assigned to the instructional tasks in a total media program.

A survey instrument was distributed to one hundred fifteen Iowa elementary school media specialists in April, 1975. The instrument was used to assess the following, (1) if the recipient was an elementary media specialist employed full time in one attendance center; (2) if the recipient participated with the teaching staff in planning, designing, implementing, …

Comic Book Reading Interests Of Primary Iv And Intermediate Iii Grade Students In Ames, Iowa Schools, Beverly Ann Baum

Graduate Research Papers

This research examines the reading interest in comic books of a Primary IV (term used in Ames, Iowa for Third Grade) and Intermediate III ( term used in Ames, Iowa for Sixth Grade) students. The study considered whether the sex, grade level, as well as reading ability of the students influenced the quantity and types of comics being read.

In the study three main hypotheses were tested. These hypotheses are listed as follows: 1) During a one week period, male students in the Primary IV and Intermediate III grades will read 25% more comic books than female students, 2) Students …

Lecture Versus Discussion In The Study Of Sophomore Library Skills, Sandri F. Gehrke

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to determine which method of instruction--the lecture or the small group discussion--would achieve the best learning results as far as knowledge of certain unfamiliar materials was concerned.

Specifically, the author of this research study tried to answer this questions When an instructor is teaching "selected" reference books to average-ability sophomores in an English 10 library skills unit at Fort Dodge Senior High School, Fort Dodge, Iowa, which method of instruction--the lecture or the small group discussion--will achieve the best learning results as measured by an author- constructed post-test?

In this research study the author …

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. …

A Survey Of The Utilization Of The Video Tape Recorder In Iowa Secondary Schools, Thomas W. Bingaman

Graduate Research Papers

As education in the United States continues to grow in importance, a number of factors that influence the learning process become increasingly significant. The use of educational media in the schools is one of the problems facing teachers and administrators. Technology in the media field has a marked tendency to move ahead much faster that the ability of educators to put these new tools to use. One such example of this dilemma is the video tape recorder.

As more and more Iowa school districts purchase video tape equipment, the question of utilization of this apparatus becomes important. It is necessary …

Federally Funded Educational Programs: Their Purpose And Implications For Media Specialists, Dorothy Jean Button

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this discussion is to indicate the importance to media specialists of federally funded educational programs in the United States. The intended purposes of the Congressional acts will be summarized, noting areas of particular interest to media personnel. Some consideration will be given to what has been or is being done under these directives.