Education Commons^™

Encouraging Student Creativity In Art Education, Naomi I. Ellsworth

Honors College

In this thesis, I explore the concepts and means through which art education can better understand and encourage creativity as a central aspect of their approach to teaching. More specifically, I seek to respond to the question: How might art educators support and facilitate the development of creativity within their students. To answer this question, two forms of research were utilized. The first portion includes a literature review, conducted to find major concepts associated with creativity and art education. From this research, themes such as processes, interdisciplinary connections, assessment, student declines in creativity, giftedness, if creativity can be taught, threats …

Analyzing Student Opt-Out Of Standardized Testing In Maine, Maude Meeker

Honors College

Under current educational policy in the United States, standardized assessment is (and has been) a required element of K-12 education in order for schools to receive federal funding, most often through Title I programs. However, in 2015, many families began opting their students out of these standardized tests in several states, including Maine. This study aims to identify any possible trends associated with opting out, such as socioeconomic status or student achievement levels, and also determine the potential impact of certain subgroups of students opting out of standardized tests, such as misrepresentation of a school’s results because of skewed test …

The Effects Of Emotional And Instrumental Support On Students’ Mathematical Attitudes, Victoria M. Calabrese

Honors College

This study tests to see if a correlation exists between students’ attitudes towards mathematics and teacher pedagogy through emotional and instrumental support. Emotional support is defined as an individual’s perception of a mathematics teacher as being warm, friendly, caring, and empathic (Katz & Gueta, 2010). Instrumental support is defined by an individual’s perception of a mathematics teacher’s instruction, whether the teacher is considered to be helpful, and if the teacher provides guidance when needed (Spielberger, 1979). Two surveys were administered and three interviews were conducted to investigate this hypothesis. The first survey consisted of 12 Likert scale items, 5 open-ended …

Preservice Teacher Self-Efficacy For Teaching Mathematics, Jade Mcguire

Honors College

Self-efficacy for teaching mathematics has an effect on students’ math achievement (Bandura, 1997; Stipek, Givvin, Salmon, & MacGyvers, 2001). It is therefore important that teachers have high self-efficacy for teaching mathematics. The purpose of this study was to discover if the University of Maine’s College of Education and Human Development’s teacher education program is doing enough to help elementary education majors feel confident in their ability to teach mathematics at the kindergarten through eighth grade levels. A modified version of the “Self-Efficacy for Teaching Mathematics Instrument”, or SETMI (McGee &Wang) was administered to one hundred and eleven elementary education majors …

A Study Of Arabic-Speaking English Language Learner’S Spoken Comprehensibility, Sophia G. A. Lataille

Honors College

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that affect the comprehensibility of oral language produced by English language learners whose first language is Arabic. This study will analyze four separate interviews with English language learners phonetically. Apart from the phonetic analysis, an analysis of supra-segmental errors, syntax, morphology, and semantics will be provided for each speaker. This study will also take into account the perceptions of a range of native speakers of the English language. Through each analysis the goal is to identify the factors that most affect comprehensibility in order to create an education plan for …

Relationship Between Health And Gpa When Comparing Traditional Undergraduate Students At The University Of Maine In Orono, Rachel A. Claussen

Honors College

Purpose: The primary relationship this research assesses is between health and academic performance. In addition, it looks at the differences in this relationship for resident students as compared to commuter students.

Methods: The participants were all UMaine undergraduate students. The inclusion criteria for the participants are as follows: 18-24 years old, never have been married, not a Division I athlete and full-time student during the spring semester of 2015. A paper- based self-reported survey was distributed using a convenience sample due to the fact that the primary investigator only asked professors she knew if she could distribute the survey during …