Education Commons^™

The Effect Of Expository Writing As A Pre-Reading Activity On Comprehension Of Expository Text, W. B. Day

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a pre-reading expository writing task on comprehension of expository text. It was undertaken in order to ascertain the usefulness of writing as a pre-reading activity in the development of schema theoretic reading teaching strategies. The theoretical position of the study was that writing before reading would activate prior knowledge in the form of content and structure in the working memory of the reader and thereby enhance reading comprehension. The sample, comprised selected from a small, of 51 year 6/7 students, school in the outskirts of was the metropolitan area. …

An Investigation Of Changes To The Tertiary Entrance Examination Art History Syllabus And Art Teachers' Perceptions Of Those Changes, A. Ivankovic

Theses : Honours

In 1986, a new Tertiary Entrance Examination Art Syllabus was introduced to the secondary school curriculum. Four years have passed since the implementation of this syllabus without 11 formal evaluation having taken place. Because the changes to the Art Syllabus were implemented swiftly, it is considered appropriate to investigate any discrepancies between the intended changes to the Tertiary Entrance Examination Art History Syllabus and art teachers' perceptions of those changes, This study was prompted by concern expressed by art teachers over the changes in the Tertiary Entrance Examination (TEE) Art Syllabus. A foreshadowed minor change in the 1992 Art History …

A Case Study To Investigate The Use Of Computers Across A School Population, Janine Bersan

Theses : Honours

The National Advisory Committee on Computers in Schools (Commonwealth Schools Commission, 1983) recommended to support computing in both government and non-government schools in Australia over 1984 - 1986. This led to the injection of computer resources to schools. The Western Australian Government then provided significant funds for the provision of computer equipment to primary and secondary schools (1987 -1989). Primacy schools in Western Australia now have on average three computers per primary school. The Ministry of Education has produced a policy document on computer use in primary education which clearly outlines goals to be achieved by all primary school teachers …

The Effect Of Outlines, Headings And Summaries On The Recall Of Informational Text, John S. Latham

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to investigate various text-based ways of assisting Year Seven readers to enhance their recall of informational texts. The theory that was tested in this investigation is that text-based reading aids which secure the activation and rehearsal of relevant form and/or content schemata for written texts will enhance the recall of the content and structure of those texts. To investigate the comparative impact of the text conditions, 105 Year Seven students from a large primary school in a northern suburb of the Perth Metropolitan Area were ranked on the basis of their reading comprehension scores. …

Current Practices And Continuity Of Programmes In Recorder Tuition In Selected North East Metropolitan Schools, B. J. Pascoe

Theses : Honours

The learning of music literacy through playing an instrument has generally, as development of been emphasised by music educators being vital in the overall musical the child. Despite easy access to wind recorders and recorder repertoire, many classroom teachers in years four to seven in. Western Australian schools are either not teaching this subject, or where it is being pursued, there is often a lack of continuity. The reasons for this could be numerous, including: - Lack of an interest or musical background, or both, by teachers and administrators. - Failure by teachers and administrators to realise the importance of …

The Influence Of Prior Knowledge Of Expository Text Structure On Comprehension In Young Children, Zenda Johnson

Theses : Honours

The effects of the instruction of report text structure on students’ comprehension of expository material with familiar m1d unfamiliar topics was investigated in both the short and long term. Two comprehension measures were used (ability to restructure an unstructured report text through written composition, and written recall of facts). Forty two Year Three students were matched in comprehension ability based on initial general comprehension performance in a standardized test, and were assigned to either an Experimental group which received text structure instruction, or a Control group which received no special instruction. Results indicated that the instruction and practise in report …

Selecting Content For An Introductory Training Course In Industrial Relations, Helen Handmer

Theses : Honours

A nine-member panel with acknowledged expertise across a broad range of industrial relations interests made up the respondent population. Panelists opinions were collected, summarised, then re-submitted to the panel with an invitation to review their opinions in the light of the group summary. This process was repeated three times -the first consisting of individual progressively structured interviews, the other two being written surveys. A high level of consensus was achieved, both in ;1 content selections and in the reasons for choosing such topics. This resulted in the development of a course outline consisting of the following major topics - historical …

The Role Of Computer Algebra Systems In Mathematics Teaching At Upper Secondary School, Wendy Johnstone

Theses : Honours

Computer algebra systems are programs that manipulate both symbols and numbers and so can reduce the tedium of algebra in the same way calculators can reduce the time and work involved in arithmetic. Some systems combine a wide ranqe of mathematical functions with graphing capabilities. As such they have the potential to reduce the time students spend calculating algorithms, allowing more time for concept development, which is enhanced by the ability of the program to concurrently represent mathematical functions graphically. Originally computer algebra systems were only developed for mainframe computers, but in recent years several systems have become available for …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of The Retelling With The Aid Of A Story-Map Procedure With Weaker Readers, Madeleine Boekeman

Theses : Honours

This study examines the effectiveness of the 'Retelling with the aid of a story-map procedure' as an instructional approach which could help weaker readers in their second year of schooling. Based on the literature and research findings which support a view of language as a developmental, holistic and natural process, the 'Retelling with the aid of a story-map procedure' was chosen. It was hypothesised that it would help the weaker readers make connections between oral language and written language, develop meaning seeking behaviours and increase their 'data pool' of linguistic knowledge. The goal of this study was to seek answers …

Creativity In Aboriginal Students And The Implications For Language Teaching, Raeme Goves-Jacka

Theses : Honours

The current level of scholastic success of Aboriginal students in Western Australian schools is overviewed together with some concerns regarding Aboriginal cognition. The issues which appear to inhibit in Aboriginal children the sort of cognitive development which is beneficial for schooling are reviewed. These are seen as cultural discontinuity, Vygotsky's belief in the cultural transmission of language, political constraints and the concept that different cultures with different needs produce different modes of thinking. Aboriginal child rearing practices are also reviewed together with the definition, process and product of creativity. The review also deals with the creative person, the creative environment, …

A Pilot Study To Improve Academic Learning Time In Physical Education, Robert Walker

Theses : Honours

Academic Learning Time in Physical Education (ALT-PE) is defined as the portion of engaged time when a student is involved in practice appropriate to his or her ability. The amount of time students are appropriately engaged in physical education activities has been found to have a high correlation with student achievement (Godbout, Brunelle & Tousignant, 1983; Graham, Soares & Hanington, 1983; Harrison, 1987; Phillips & Carlisle, 1983; Placek & Randall, 1986; Silverman, 1985). The teacher has control over the amount of time children can practise the criterion skill in a particular lesson. Investigating the way in which the students spend …

The Nonparticipation Of Year 10 Female Students In Coeducational Physical Education In A Metropolitan Senior High School, Lisa Fardell

Theses : Honours

The nonparticipation of girls in coeducational physical education and physical recreation is of continuing concern to physical educators. It is apparent through observation that numerous girls opt out of physical activity by providing a variety of excuses or simply by remaining unchanged for physical education classes. The purpose of this study was to explore the stated reasons for the nonparticipation by Year 10 girls in coeducational physical education at Lynwood Senior High School. The primary technique utilized in ascertaining information was the structured interview format. Each Year 10 girl who presented to physical educ3tion classes as a nonparticipant was interviewed …

The Relationship Between Cooperative Small Group Composition And The Learning Of A Mathematical Concept In The Primary School Years: A Pilot Study, Susan Eaton

Theses : Honours

In recent years small group cooperative learning has been given increasing attention by researchers. This interest has been a result of n growing awareness of the benefits that small group cooperative learning can bring to the learning process. These benefits include gains in areas of academic achievement, self-confidence as a learner, cross-cultural/cross-racial relationships, social acceptance of mainstreamed students, and improved attitudes towards school and learning. A particular focus of North American researchers has been small group cooperative learning in mathematics. Little work had been done in this area in Western Australian schools and with the changed emphasis in the Western …

The Effect Of A Vee-Mapping Strategy On Students' Perceptions Of Laboratory Activities, Sonia J. Hueppauff

Theses : Honours

Practical work is considered important for learning science, by teachers and science educators. This acceptance though, has been reported as based on intuition rather than evidence (Atkinson & White, 1961). A significant proportion of class time is occupied with doing practical work. It is evident that in a majority of situations, students commence laboratory activities unsure of their aim, the procedure they are going to carry out, or that experimentation is a way of forming knowledge (Moreira, I 960; Novak & Gowin, I 964). Vee-maps (Novak & Gowin, 1 964) are one way of making laboratory work more meaningful. That …

An Investigation Into The Interaction Of Children Using A Computer-Based Adventure Game, Jeffrey Mountjoy

Theses : Honours

This study investigated the types of Interactions which occurred as children played a computer based adventure game. Year six children (N = 15) from five different schools participated in the study and were observed playing the game over a period of three to four thirty minute sessions. Video tape recordings and direct observations were made of the groups as they played the game. Individual Interviews were conducted with each player at the conclusion of the treatment period. Data collected from each of the groups was used to study and the forms of Interaction displayed by players noted. It was found …

Secondary Students' Difficulties With Designing A Controlled Experiment, Bradley E. Watson

Theses : Honours

This research investigation was conducted to identify the difficulties encountered by secondary science students in the design of a controlled experiment. These difficulties were illuminated by studying the combination of knowledge, skills and strategies employed by experts. Three categories of individuals were used in the study, Year 10 science students, Year 12 science students and science lecturers who had completed doctoral studies in their fields. There were six subjects interviewed in each category. Each of the subjects were given a task which involved thinking aloud while planning a controlled experiment. When the subjects had completed the task, they were asked …

An Evaluation Of The Kangaroo Creek Gang Drug Education Package, Andrew Thompson

Theses : Honours

The purposes of this study were (a) to analyse the implementation of the Kangaroo Creek Gang Drug Education Package (KCGDEP) (Kangaroo Creek Gang, 1988b), and (b) to evaluate teachers' perceptions of the KCGDEP in terms of its goals, format, processes and outcomes. The KCGDEP was found to have been implemented in 24% of the primary schools surveyed (N= 100), with a mean of 5.1% of teachers in these schools using the package. Teachers' perceptions of the KCGDEP were analysed through the administration of a curriculum evaluation questionnaire, adapted from Piper (1976, p. 83-89), and teacher interviews. This process was carried …

An Investigation Into Some Of The Processes And Strategies Underlying The Receptive Behaviour Of The Interlanguage Speaker, Kaye Malcolm

Theses : Honours

This study is based on Selinker's (1972, revised 1988) paper which describes the construct of interlanguage. Selinker claimed that the learner's interlanguage could be accounted for on the basis of three psycholinguistic processes and two strategies. He demonstrated how the operation of these processes and strategies could be inferred from the data of the learner's interlanguage performance in relation to the relevant first and second language systems, The processes and strategies identified by Selinker were: the processes of language transfer, overgeneralization and transfer of training, and the strategies of second language learning and second language communication. Selinker's claims relate to …

The Effect Of The Teaching Of An Explicit Top-Level Expository Text Structure On The Structure Of Year Seven Children's Semantic Memory, Les Phul

Theses : Honours

In order to examine the effect of the teaching of a top-level expository structure through writing on children's schemata for text structure, children in year seven were asked to display graphically the relationships between 42 randomly presented text items related to a central topic. The text items were designed to approximate the kinds of information that may be found in an encyclopaedia or a science text about a given topic. One class of children was then allocated to the control group and the other to the experimental group. The experimental group was taught the top-level structure for a scientific report …

An Investigation Of The Use Of Verbalization To Improve Representational Drawing Performance, Patricia Waters

Theses : Honours

Drawing is a fundamental skill for the creation of art. This investigation set out to discover whether or not the application of verbalization to an efficient drawing strategy increased students' perceptual observation skills to enhance representational drawing ability. The study group consisted of 20 Year 8 art students from a northern suburbs coastal secondary school in Perth. Their ages ranged from 12 to 14 years. They were randomly divided into two groups, experimental and control. The pretest and posttest drawings of the students from both groups were analyzed by four expert judges using an evaluation guide to determine the accuracy …

Computer-Aided Drafting/Design In Technical Drawing In W.A. Secondary Schools, Edmund V. Beagley

Theses : Honours

This study was conducted with the intention of identifying what effects may have occurred within upper school Technical Drawing in W.A. high schools following the recent introduction of Computer-Aided Drafting/Design (CAD). With CAD being in its infancy in W.A. high schools it was decided that this study should attempt to answer four specific questions:- i) Were there any problems experienced by Technical Drawing teachers following the introduction of CAD? ii) Are there any educational benefits to either students or teachers to be derived from the introduction of CAD? iii) What methods of teaching and evaluating CAD generated drawings were being …

The Effects Of Internalising A Narrative Text Structure On The Comprehension And Recall Of Narrative Texts, Julie M. Bayly

Theses : Honours

This study was an analysis of an aspect of oral language comprehension. The major purpose was to evaluate the impact of the facilitating effect of a knowledge of a narrative text framework, upon listeners' comprehension of narratives.

One research question was addressed: In the immediate recall of a simple, unfamiliar narrative text, presented orally, once only, will year six listeners who have been taught the schematic structure of narratives perform significantly better than similar year six students who have not?

A teacher-devised listening text was modified from an S.R.A. (1975) listening kit. The results of that test were used as …

Adventure Outdoor Education And Physical Self-Concept: The Effects Of Adventure Percieved Activities, David Lawson

Theses : Honours

(a) There were no significant differences in the Physical Self Concept of adolescents who participated in Outdoor Education adventure activities, when compared to the Control group. (t = 0.9869, p > .05). (b) There were no significant differences in the Physical Self-Concept of those adolescents who perceived the activities to be of a high adventure nature compared with those who perceived them to be of a medium adventure nature (t = -0.3405, p > .05). (c) Males did not exhibit a more significant change in Physical Self-Concept than females, as a result of the adventure activities (t = 0.3405, p > .05) (d) …

Attitudes Of Year 10 Boys And Girls Towards Coeducational Physical Education In A Metropolitan Senior High School, Teryl Heys

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare student attitudes towards coeducational physical education at a selected metropolitan government secondary school. The study examined differences in attitudes between 66 Year 10 girls and 51 Year 10 boys and ascertained whether this difference was significant. A sub-purpose of the study was to determine physical education teachers' perceptions of student attitudes toward coeducational physical education. This enabled a comparison to be made between the attitudes students expressed and the attitudes teachers perceived students to have. The investigation utilised a 16 item attitudinal questionnaire to establish whether students' attitudes were positive …

The Evaluation Of Writing In Unit Curriculum English, David Sharp

Theses : Honours

The assessment and grading of writing in Unit Curriculum English plays a major role in the determination of a student's summative, and hence, public, letter grade. Through teachers' adherence to the assessment and grading procedures for writing in Unit curriculum English, the Ministry of Education lay claims on comparability and statewide standards. The claim warranted the investigation of the guidelines and procedures used. A review of literature on the evaluation of writing was conducted. In order that local application and relevance be possible, the holistic mode of evaluating writing was focused on. Problems were identified in the research concerning score …

An Analysis Of Teacher-Student Interaction In The Area Of Gender Equity Within Primary School Physical Education, Brian D. Owen

Theses : Honours

The major purpose of this study is to examine sex role dependent and sex role independent teacher behaviour in sex integrated primary school physical education lessons, utilising a systematic behaviour observation instrument. Sex role dependent behaviour accepts or expects sex role stereotypic behaviour in males and females or discourages male and female behaviour that is non-stereotypic. Sex role independent behaviour encourages, accepts or expects female and male behaviour that is independent of sex role stereotypes. The study will allow the analysis of sex role stereotypic patterns of teacher behaviour to determine the extent to which equality of participation and interaction …

A Survey Of Computer Usage In Year 11 And 12 Accounting In Western Australian Secondary Government Schools, Grazyna Critch

Theses : Honours

Computer technology has changed the process of accounting and as a result computer usage has become an essential skill for the accountant. Consequently, computer applications are advocated in the accounting curriculum, the vocational rationale verified by virtue of the fact that the accounting profession itself is calling for computer training as part of accounting education. Although there is widespread agreement about the need for computer usage within accounting education, there is often a dichotomy between the educational goal and its application in practice. This is because computer usage in accounting is not without problems; while there are many factors which …

An Investigation Of Art Teachers' And Art Students' Perceptions Of An Art Gallery Visit, Eliza Leano

Theses : Honours

The literature on museum and art gallery visits by schools draws attention to the fact that schools and other educational institutions may perceive the art gallery as a place for learning and education whilst other groups in society do not. The literature also draws attention to internal and external factors related to the school and art gallery context which may contribute to the intended and unintended outcomes of art gallery visits by schools. To date, no research has been conducted into the effects of a single visit to the Art Gallery of Western Australia (ACWA) en secondary art students. Art …

Attitudes Towards Assessment In Art, Sheila Posner

Theses : Honours

Assessment in the field of Art Education has always been difficult. The subjective element has caused art to be considered a controversial subject in school as far as assessment is concerned. Different educators have argued for and against the necessity of assessment. The literature has shown that if art is to be taken seriously in school, it must be subjected to formal assessment. It was found that while there were studies about evaluation and assessment in art and studies about attitudes to art, little has been written on attitudes to art assessment. This research set out to examine the attitudes …

The Effects Of Algebra Blocks On Student Achievement In Algebra, Bernard S. Roberts

Theses : Honours

This study examined the effects of Algebra Blocks on student understanding for the concepts of binomial expansion and trinomial factorisation. The purpose of the study was to illuminate the use and effectiveness of Algebra' Blocks in the teaching-learning process. Two year nine classes with similar mathematics levels were taught binomial expansions and trinomial factorisations. The experimental class was taught using Algebra Blocks whilst the untreated class acted as the control group. After eight lessons of instruction, both classes were tested on their understanding of both concepts. To provide qualitative data, three randomly chosen students from each class were interviewed on …