Education Commons^™

The Relationship Between Teachers’ Beliefs And Observed Practices: The Voices Of Two Head Start Teachers, Stephani Michelle Phelps

Masters Theses

This study examined Head Start teachers’ interactions with children in relation to teachers’ beliefs about decision making and roles in various classroom activities. The purposes of this study were to (a) document preschool teachers’ verbal interactions with children and (b) explore the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their classroom practices. Participants were from two Head Start classrooms in East Tennessee, which included two teachers and 40 children ranging in age from 3-5 years. Approximately two hours of focal child observations were completed for each child over the course of 7 months. Observations captured teachers’ interactions with focal children. Two semistructured …

Student-Teacher Relationships And Impacts Of Goal Orientation, Personality, Socio-Economic Status, And Performance: An Examination Of Those Served By Project Grad Knoxville, Kensey Ruth Parker

Masters Theses

This study seeks to understand the importance of teacher student relationships and the impacts of goal orientation, personality, socio-economic status, and student achievement. The study used a sample of students served by Project GRAD Knoxville, a non-profit organization that serves students in the heart of the city. The sample consisted of 110 college students who have received a scholarship from the organization. The results show that learning goal orientation is a significant predictor of student-teacher relationships. Knowing a student’s LGO and time spent discussing social topics can predict whether or not students will end up on academic probation 64% of …

Acculturation And Identity Development Of Deaf Ethnic Minorities, Glennise Candice Schlinger

Masters Theses

This study examined whether experiences in the family and the education systems could influence Deaf ethnic identity development. Data were collected via administration of the Deaf Acculturation Scale (DAS). Participants’ responses were assessed as outlined by the developers of the DAS (Maxwell-McCaw & Zea, 2011). Results suggested that parents’ attitude towards their child’s deafness may affect the deaf individual’s identity development. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with four deaf ethnic minority participants: One Venezuelan American and three African American. Two hearing parents (both mothers) also participated in the interview: one Venezuelan American and one African American. Thematic analysis was used …

Pretending Teaching Is A Profession: Why Public School Teaching Will Never Be Considered A True Profession, Melissa Ann Harness

Masters Theses

My endeavor in this thesis is to discuss why teaching is not, and has never been considered, part of the true professions. Although much rhetoric is aimed at classifying teachers as true professionals and the teaching field as a true profession, the historical, sociological, and societal means that govern the ideological foundation of a true profession are lacking in the field of education. By using a historical, sociological, philosophical, and linguistic analysis of the words “true profession”, along with “unions”, private teaching organizations, etc., I am able to demonstrate not only why teaching is not a profession, but that …

How Textbooks Influence Students’ Algebra Learning: A Comparative Study On The Initial Treatment Of The Concept Of Function, Qintong Hu

Masters Theses

To give insights into cross national differences in schooling this study analyzed the initial treatment of the concept of function in three curricula: a US standards-based text--Connected Mathematic 2: Variables and Patterns, a US conventional text--Glencoe: Mathematics Applications and Concepts: Course 2, and a Chinese reform text--Shu Xue: Grade 8, first volume.

This study examined content organization and problem features in the three textbooks. For content analysis, this study explored how the concept of function was introduced, defined, and developed. The results indicated both of the US textbooks introduce this concept at grade 7 …

Modification Of Nancie Atwell's Reading Workshop For Implementation In A Homogeneous Group Of Struggling Adolescent Readers, Marilyn Ludwig Pickett

Masters Theses

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the effectiveness of Nancie Atwell's reading workshop in motivating homogeneously grouped, struggling adolescent readers in a public school setting. This naturalistic, personal narrative describes the Atwell workshop and the modifications made to it for implementation with this group of students. Atwell, a noted reading educator, uses specific strategies to teach the heterogeneously grouped students in her private school in Maine. Her students' independent thinking skills and personal connections to text are remarkable. Since I do not teach in the same environment as Atwell, I modified Atwell's strategies to meet the needs …

Impacts Of An Environmental Education Program On Participants’ Environmental Behaviors, Carolyn D. Reilly Sheehan

Masters Theses

Environmental issues are at the forefront of public scientific inquiry. There is a pressing need to change the way we do things in order to reduce the human impact on the environment (Brower, 1999; Bierbaum, 2007). Environmental education is one key for implementing change (Disinger, 1982). Ijams Nature Center’s “Living Clean & Green!” program was developed with this goal in mind (P. Beute, personal communication, September 11, 2007). Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior and Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera’s (1987) model of Responsible Environmental Behavior were used in this study to determine if behavior change occurred among adult participants of …

The Benefits Of Integrating Math Content Into The Elementary Art Curriculum, Valerie C. Sigmon

Masters Theses

School accountability has become critical under the No Child Left Behind Act. As struggling schools strive to reach mandated proficiency levels, is it possible for an art teacher to contribute toward students‟ success by integrating math content into art lessons? This study attempts to show that without schedule changes, additional funding, or added training, an art teacher can support the efforts of classroom teachers as evidenced by increased scores on standardized math tests. The research used a Non-Equivalent Groups Design and examined pre-test and post-test scores for two groups of students. The population for this study is 3,800 elementary school …

Representations Of Fractions: Promoting Students’ Mathematical Understanding, Thomas Edward Hodges

Masters Theses

Representations of mathematical ideas serve as a foundation for understanding mathematical concepts. Using and translating among a variety of representations promotes deep conceptual understanding and connections between mathematics topics, in addition to providing contexts for more advanced mathematics concepts. The importance placed on mathematical representations led to an examination of sixth grade middle school mathematics textbooks’ representation of fraction concepts. The chapters included in this thesis represent a portion of the work completed during the examination and an example of how representations of fractions can impact topics in secondary mathematics.

Hispanic Students' Mathematics Achievement In Tennessee: Comparing With Asian Students, Yan Wang

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate mathematics achievement differences of Hispanic students and Asian students in terms of English proficiency, gender, grade level, and Socioeconomic Status (SES). Interactions between English proficiency and gender, English proficiency and SES, and English proficiency, gender, and SES were hypothesized. The mathematics scores of 6675 fourth and eighth-grade and Hispanic and Asian students were selected from the 2005 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) to explore achievement differences. Analysis of data revealed Asians significantly outscore Hispanics on the mathematics achievement test of the TCAP, regardless of English proficiency, gender, or SES. The difference between …

Sett Framework Exploration By Tennessee Public School System Assistive Technology Service Providers, Nancy Lynne Mohrlyn

Masters Theses

This descriptive study focused on assistive technology (AT) service provider exploration of the Student, Environment, Tasks, Tools (SETT) Framework during assessment and decision-making. Review of the literature is suggestive that employment of an effective model to structure team assessment, such as the SETT Framework, can prevent the phenomenon of device abandonment. Participants used for this study were identified as AT service providers through their participation in Tennessee sponsored training opportunities. All participants were involved in the provision of AT services in public school settings. Completion of an on-line survey designed to assess SETT Framework exploration was required of all participants. …

Relationships Among Orthographic Measures And Reading Achievement, Margaret Scruggs Wood

Masters Theses

As participants in an after school tutoring program, 29 second through fifth graders were administered subtests designed to measure visual processing and memory skills: Orthography, Visual Discrimination, Sound Symbol Learning, Letter Memory: Visual, and Rapid Symbol Naming from the Test of Dyslexia (McCallum & Bell, 2001); and Picture Recognition and Visual-Auditory Learning from the Woodcock-Johnson III-Cognitive Battery (WJIII; Woodcock, McGrew & Mather, 2001). Subtest scores were obtained from administration of achievement measures: Letter-Word Calling, Fluency, Passage Comprehension, and Spelling (Test of Dyslexia); Letter-Word Identification, Reading Fluency, Comprehension, and Spelling (WJIII-Achievement Battery); and the Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency …