Education Commons^™

Personality As A Predictor Of Reading Comprehension Skills, Victoria Jacobs-Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

In an attempt to reduce the number of students who begin their college careers with a year of remedial and developmental reading courses. This study was designed to search for a method of early detection of possible reading comprehension skill problems. Early identification of students who may be predisposed to problems with particular reading comprehension skills could lead to earlier intervention.

To accomplish this the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) score of 400 college bound high school students were paired and analyzed. The thirteen reading comprehension skills showed a statistical difference in the mastery …

A Comparison Of Student Achievement, Self-Esteem, And Classroom Interactions In Technology -Enriched And Traditional Elementary Classrooms With Low Socioeconomic Students, Michael Shawn Page

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the attainments of elementary students in technology-enriched classrooms and students in traditional classrooms, while considering performance levels in student achievement, self-esteem, and classroom interactions. Student achievement was measured by the reading and mathematics sections of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the California Achievement Test (CAT). Composite self-esteem, as well as subscale self-esteem levels, was measured by the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventories (CSEI), and classroom interaction analysis measurements were conducted using an adaptation of Flanders Interaction Analysis System.

Intact classes from 5 Louisiana elementary schools were randomly assigned to either …

The Relationship Among Knowledge Of, Attitudes Toward, And Use Of Portfolios For Assessment By Teacher Education Professors, Naomi C. Coyle

Doctoral Dissertations

The major purpose of this study was to examine the evaluation of portfolios as an alternative assessment tool along with those factors which influence the implementation practices of portfolios by faculty in colleges of education. The specific goals of this study were to determine the relationship between college and university professors' knowledge of portfolio assessment and their attitudes toward using portfolios as an alternative to traditional assessment practices, as well as college and university professors' knowledge of portfolio assessment and use of portfolios in the courses that they teach, and professors' attitudes and use of portfolios. Other areas of investigation …

Collaborative Learning: A Study Of Two Classes, Joseph L. Armstrong

Doctoral Dissertations

This study described and documented collaborative learning by students in two sections of a graduate education course. Ethnographic observations were made of the two groups and participants were interviewed about their experiences in their respective groups. Analysis of fieldnotes from the ethnographic observations and interview transcripts revealed three categories of themes that described the process of collaborative learning in the two groups: 1) group process, 2) learning process, and 3) group facilitation. Each category had multiple themes. The group process category contained the themes of cohesion, trust and respect, confusion and frustration and conflict; the learning process category contained the …

The Experience Of Rural, Southern Appalachian, First-Generation College Students At A University: A Narrative Study, Ruth A. Darling

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this narrative study was to obtain and analyze stories of rural, first-generation students from Southern Appalachia in order to understand their collegiate experiences in light of the home culture they brought with them. Based on my university experience working with similar students and a review of relevant literature, I determined there was a need for research studies that: a) seek to understand the meaning, for these students, of the accounts they give of their lives and experiences as college students, b) seek to understand how these students make sense of their lives in the context of their …

Intergenerational Programming: Yesterday's Memories, Today's Moments, And Tomorrow's Hopes, Kathleen Ann O'Rourke

Doctoral Dissertations

Even though the numbers and scope of intergenerational programs continue to grow, research about their impact is limited. The purpose of this study was to compare 12 behaviors of older adults in the presence of absence of children. Six adults with dementia, aged 57 to 86, were videotaped during 10 art activities, 5 with preschool children and 5 with peer adults. The design was a quasi-experimental applied behavioral analysis. Chi-square tests showed that the older adults' behaviors were significantly dependent on children's presence or absence. Repeated measures ANOVAs indicated that children's presence or absence had a significant effect on the …

A Study Of Teachers' Perceptions About Staff Development Factors And Their Classroom Implementation Of Reform-Based Science Instruction, Deborah Thompson Silver

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to determine whether or not there were significant differences in implementation levels of reform-based science instructional strategies by teachers who participated in an established staff development program, Project LIFE and those who did not, and (2) to distinguish specific program factors that may have impacted the level of implementation of reform-based instructional classroom practices. The instrument used, the Survey of Reform-Based Science Teaching Strategies (SRBSTS ), was developed by the researcher and had reliability of .912 as measured by Cronbach Alpha.

An independent samples t-test analysis was used to compare the …

Effects Of Cis And Trans Unsaturated Fatty Acids On Blood Ethanol Clearance In Rats, Mei-Shin Mong

Doctoral Dissertations

The effects of saturated fatty acids (SFA), cis fatty acids (CFA), and trans fatty acid (TFA) on blood ethanol clearance were determined in 5-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats. In the first phase, it was established that the blood ethanol concentrations (BEC) of the SFA and CFA groups were higher than those of the TFA group after 2 weeks of dietary treatment. While the concentrations of liver triglyceride were significantly lower in the TFA group, the levels of plasma triglyceride were not affected by the types of dietary fatty acids.

Possible mechanisms of dietary fat related changes on BEC were investigated in …

The Relationship Between Attitudes Toward First-Language Maintenance And First-Language Literacy Skills Among Japanese Children Sojourning In The San Francisco Bay Area, Yumi Moriguchi-Mccormick

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between attitudes toward first-language maintenance and first-language literacy skills among Japanese children sojourners in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Increasing Access To The University Of California: A Case Study Of Senate Constitutional Amendment 7, Jamillah Moore

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to examine alternatives to the admissions process for students seeking enrollment in the University of California. As the University of California was the first public university in the nation to eliminate the consideration of race within their admissions process under SP-1, this study focused on undergraduate admissions solely within this institution. In addition, SP-1 did not ban affirmative action therefore this study did not focus on it. It should be noted that the University of California Board of Regents established SP-1 based upon Governor Wilson's executive order which called for the end of …