Education Commons^™

A Comparison Of Hybrid/Online And Lecture College Courses, Katelyn Paquin

Honors Projects

The purpose of this research is to investigate relationships between online college courses and in-person courses with regard to student course completion rate and course grade averages. The personality characteristics of Introversion, Conscientiousness and Academic Self-Regulation, and professor student rapport were also examined in relation to performance of the students enrolled in online and in-person classes. This study was based on an integrative theory of self- and social regulation in learning contexts. A two-tailed t-test for independent samples found no significant difference between the end of previous semester cumulative GPAs (CGPAs) of students in the online/hybrid or in-person courses. The …

Parent-Teacher Partnerships In Special Education, Cassandra Braley

Honors Projects

There is an old African proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child (Buzzell, 1996, p.1).” In today’s society, this saying is applicable to the idea of parent-teacher partnerships in education. The underlying assumption of such partnerships is that everyone who has a stake in a child’s life, including the parents, teachers, and community, should work together to give that child the best education possible. In reality, however, key stakeholders in a child’s life may have many different ideas and beliefs, and, as a result, a disconnect in communication and relationships among them can arise. In such …

"Ok, I'M A Teacher Now:" Reading Young Adult Literature In A Teacher Education Program, Brittany Richer

Honors Projects

After taking a young adult literature course as part of my Secondary Education/ English program, I felt I had gained only a limited understanding of the importance of the genre to my future career. In the class, we read several popular young adult texts, learned about their authors, identified censorship issues, and mentioned a few strategies related to the teaching of the texts. Much of the “understanding” related only to future applications in imagined classrooms, which left no room for critical reflection about what we might learn from reading the texts about ourselves as students and teachers. A sense of …

What About Me? An Examination Of Identity Formation Among Beginning Educators, Nicholas Bernardo

Honors Projects

Over the past decade, I have been an athlete, a stage manager, an actor, a parliament member, a treasurer, a resident assistant, a tour guide, a ballroom dancer, and very involved with music, participating in marching band throughout high school as well as my college wind ensemble. Of all those roles, the only one that has stuck is my most recent—teacher. I decided that I wanted to be a teacher in fourth grade, and I have grown to be very passionate about it. But even in that regard, the question “what is right?” continued to linger. What if I am …

The Relation Between Speech And Reading, Erin St. Jacques

Honors Projects

An analysis is made of the connection between speech and reading, and language and reading, and how both are related to a Speech-Language Pathologist's job in a school setting, working with struggling readers. Research about the process of learning how to read and how and SLP can be brought in at different stages is examined. This research paper looks at how a child learns to read; programs were executed involving young readers with reading disabilities. It also examines the different stages of learning to read and how an SLP can try to hep. The tactics were examined more closely as …

Teaching Statistics To Elementary Children: Using A Problem-Solving Approach To Enhance Learning, Kayla Lee Botelho

Honors Projects

When teaching statistics (or data analysis) to elementary children, it is beneficial to use a problem-solving approach that incorporates meaningful tasks to enhance the students' learning. This was determined through a careful review of literature, observations of elementary teachers, and the creation and instruction of data analysis unit. The unit required the students to collect data on heights, organize the data in charts, and display the data in line plots. In addition, the students analyzed the data to recalculate the average and other measures of central tendency and to answer questions that arose through the implementation of the lessons. In …

The Effect Of Positive Behavioral Intervention And Supports (Pbts) On Elementary School Student Academic Performance And Behaviors, Michelle Leblanc

Honors Projects

Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) is a school-wide management program designed to improve student academic performance by providing a positive behavioral environment. Research was conducted to determine if there were any direct correlation between proper and consistent implementation of the PBIS framework and an overall increased student achievement on assessments such as the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP). Test results were examined and 12 interviews were conducted with principals, teachers, and PBIS coordinators from six different Rhode Island public schools. The results demonstrated that a majority of the schools have improved over the last few years on the …

Characteristics And Predictors Associated With Teacher And Faculty Use Of Online Data Collection In Teacher Preparation Settings, Susan Gracia

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine some of the gaps in the research around the use of online surveys in teacher preparation settings by exploring the attitudes toward technology and online evaluations, as well as predictors of user assessment of online data collection methodology, among 222 College Supervisors and Cooperating Teachers. Research questions centered around the status of and relationships among College Supervisor/Cooperating Teacher demographic variables, level of computer experience, computer proficiency, attitude toward technology, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, facilitating conditions, and overall assessment of online student teacher evaluations. Findings indicated that Cooperating Teachers experienced far …

Judging Competence, Marie A. Lynch, Linda Capalbo

Faculty Publications

This study analyzed written records created by college clinical supervisors, of student teaching observations carried out during the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 semester. Observations, conducted in public schools in a Northeastern state, reflected the dual enrollment status of each student teacher; that is, each candidate was observed, multiple times, in both a general elementary or middle level classroom and in a setting focused on students with special educational needs. The purposes of the analysis were to 1) examine the language used by the observer that both describes and evaluates the student teacher_s performance, particularly as it differentiates levels of …

Rhode Island College: On The Move, A Fiftieth Anniversary Collective Memoir, Marlene L. Lopes, Editor, Oral History Committee, Ric

On the Move

As part of the 2008 celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of Rhode Island College's Mount Pleasant campus, the Oral History Committee collected oral histories on the years 1952 to 1960 in an effort to capture "the color behind the chronology." The Committee interviewed faculty members and administrators, alumni, and others. The final result appears here in a symposium format, as if all those interviewed were sitting around the same table.

Synthesizing Synthesis: A Unique Step Beyond Summary, Melissa A. Leblanc

Honors Projects

Analyzes the concept of synthesis, often referred to as a higher order thinking skill or an advanced form of reading comprehension strategy, and how the ability to synthesize can be incorporated into classroom and everyday life. Compares a survey of professionals to a model of how synthesis works to help generate methods for teaching students/thinkers to synthesize.

Observations Of Childrens' Responses To Different Types Of Adult Authority Figures, Sofia Edlund

Honors Projects

Examines responses of second grade children to directives from teachers and student teachers in the classroom. Uses a coding system developed for this study to categorize the directives of authority figures and the children's responses. Results show an interaction between gender and response to authority figure directives and a general tendency for the children, most especially boys, to be less compliant with the student teachers.

Analyzing Csr Implementation With The Rasch Model, Susan Gracia

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research was to examine the measurement properties of a CSR Implementation Scale developed using classical test theory. Rasch analyses were employed to determine (1) the degree to which the scale meets the assumptions of the Rasch model; 2) the validity and reliability of the scale; 3) how respondents utilize the rating scale; 4) the nature of the continuum of CSR implementation; and 5) ways to optimize scale length, both in terms of eliminating redundancy and adding items where gaps in the continuum of the CSR implementation variable might occur.

Rhode Island Teachers Ahead Of The Crowd, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"For teachers this is the time to enjoy the summer break to travel, stay home with their own children or just take a vacation. But for the majority there is something called professional development. Summer is the usual time when teachers go back to school to hone their skills, learn more about their subject area, work for advanced degrees or pick up some new practices for that high tech equipment sitting in the classroom. Like may other professionals who want to advance their careers and keep up with new ideas and practices, teachers also take courses during the school year …

Retaining And Revitalizing Teachers, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Bankers do it; corporate members do it; even non-refundable profits do it, so why in the world can't teachers do it? What I'm talking about is the opportunity to get away from the job for a short period to have some free time, to contemplate, to talk with your colleagues, be pampered and to learn. This so-called retreat provides the opportunity to relax and reflect on your life and your work, to refresh yourself and to be recognized for the important work that you do. This is what they do for teachers in North Carolina, the only state to have …

Staff Development Strategies And Contexts Associated With Positive Impacts On Teachers_ Attitudes And Practices, Susan Gracia

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to identify staff development strategies, organizational contexts, and teacher characteristics that were associated with positive impacts on teachers_ attitudes and practices. The study focused on 89 elementary teachers in 11 schools across 5 districts, all of whom participated in a state-sponsored staff development project during the 1999/2000 academic year. This staff development initiative was designed to assist teachers in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to develop and implement standards-based math instruction and assessment in their classrooms.

Using surveys, interviews, and written teacher logs, data were gathered regarding the amounts and types of staff …

Excellence In Geography In The Schools, Chester Smolski, Anne K. Petry

Smolski Texts

"Most people know of the National Geographic Society through its well-know magazine, nine million of which are mailed out each month and most of which now reside in attics throughout the world.

"But what many do not realize is the $80 million effort over the past 12 years that the Geographic has made in the schools of the country to make our teachers an children better understand the world around them. This it has done throuh its support of the Geography Alliances established in every state, Canada, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia."

Helping Teachers Help Students Enjoy Geography, Chester Smolski, Anne K. Petry

Smolski Texts

"The concern to improve the education of your young people, whether at the national, state or local levels, is manifesting itself in a variety of ways. One of these is the national program sponsored by the National Geographic Society.

Turned On Teachers Help Students Tune In To Geography, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"If you hear your youngster just home from school talking about some local issues related to transportation, land use, natural resources, air quality, water pollution, zoning, population growth or economic development, you can bet that she has been turned on by her geography teacher."

Teachers Make Marks In, Out Of Classroom, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Doing field work on the Northern Fur Seals of Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska; laboring in the lab at the University of Texas; examining gender and geography at Trinity College in Hartford; finding out about China at Yale; doing surveys on tourism and sustainability at the University of Maine; studying with the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. and teaching and working with other teachers at Roger Williams University and Rhode Island College, 20 Teacher Consultants (TCs) of the Rhode Island Geography Education Alliance had themselves a busy and productive summer."

Forget Those Seminars--Go On A Trip!, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"To those Rhode Island teachers out there who feel frustrated because they do not get the opportunity to study appropriate material for their work in the classroom, we have an offer that they will find difficult to refuse."

Geographically, R.I. Teachers Are Among The Best, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Isn't it time that we recognize the good teachers and good work being done in the schools of this state rather than constantly harping on problems with education and how our students don't measure up to those in other countries?"

Bringing Geography To Life!, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"When Gil Grosvenor, president of the National Geographic Society, called a meeting of Kit Salter and other geographers from California nearly a decade ago, he had no idea that the discussion would have a profound impact on the teaching of geography in the nation's schools."

Attacking Geographic Illiteracy, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It has been clearly demonstrated through numerous surveys that US residents are among the most geographically illiterate people in the world. Whether trying to locate our own country or the Soviet Union on a world map, we score among the lowest of the major industrial nations of the world in such a simple exercise. But the future looks brighter, both in the nation and in Rhode Island, thanks to the efforts of the National Geographic Society.

Effects Of A Content Area Reading Course On Teacher Attitudes And Practices, Ezra L. Stieglitz

Faculty Publications

Efforts have been made during the past 10 years to develop the teaching skills of secondary teachers In the area of reading. Not just those designated as reading specialists but other secondary teachers have been called upon to devote more attention to reading skill development in their classes.