Education Commons^™

A Reflection On The Roles Of The Secondary School Principal: A Reflective Essay, Steven J. Shanks

Graduate Research Papers

I believe that educating children is the most important task that a nation undertakes. This puts the leader of individual school buildings, the principal, at the heart of not only the educational system, but of the nation itself. In no other position of employment can one person do more to help or hurt the mental and emotional growth of young people. The attitudes and successes of our youth, who will determine the attitudes and successes of our nation, are held in the hands of our educational system. The success of the system inevitably lies in the grip of its leaders; …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Secondary Schools: A Reflective Essay, Craig Josh Youel

Graduate Research Papers

My perception of what an administrator is and does has gone through a great evolution since my first encounter with a principal as a student in junior high school. When in junior high, the principal was someone you didn't want to go see. This changed in high school when I thought the principal just took care of discipline problems, organized things, and sat in his or her office waiting for problems to arise. The evolution continued when as a teacher, I saw the principal as the boss, the disciplinarian, the controller of the budget, the problem-solver, the evaluator and the …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools: A Reflective Essay, Jill M. Grimm

Graduate Research Papers

The American Schools will be taking on a new look in the next few years. Restructuring is the buzz word of the '90's in education. Restructuring means educating students with different patterns, varying structures, and multiple options, all in recognition that there are many paths to excellence, including conventional ones.

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools: A Reflective Essay, Juli Mary Kwikkel

Graduate Research Papers

Throughout our lives, we wear many different hats in the roles we perform. My first hat was one a student would wear to school. It was a colorful stocking hat which gave a hint to my personality and enthusiasm for learning and life. My outlook and values for education first began in the fall of 1965, when I as a youngster, walked down our farm driveway, waved good-bye to my mother and father, and boarded a big yellow school bus. It was indeed exciting. Little did I know how much education would affect my life. I will always be a …

A Study Of The Students' Attitudes Toward The Use Of Peer Teaching In The Educational Media Course At The University Of Northern Iowa, Irene Leong Yoke Chu

Graduate Research Papers

Traditionally, learning and teaching situations from elementary school through higher education do not provide opportunities for students to use each other as resources. In fact, more often than not the teacher is their main source of information and help. Such traditional modes of teaching has placed emphasis on individualizing instruction, i.e., self-paced instruction and competition. According to Johnson (cited in Waggoner,1971), in such teaching situations which are outcome-based, very little attention has been given to how students should relate to each other while working on instructional tasks. Collaborative learning modes, on the other hand, focus on learning as a cooperative …

Administrative Evaluation : What Will It Take To Succeed?, Steven J. Cose

Graduate Research Papers

What is a leader? According to Guthrie and Reed (1991), " A leader is an individual who accepts the authoritative expectations of others to responsibly guide the activities and enhance the performance of an organization." As education changes, the leadership role is taking on new dimensions. What will it take for me to become an effective educational administrator? As I look back on my coursework, the one issue that continuously appeared was the idea of establishing a vision. The key point made in each class was that to be an effective leader, an administrator needed to develop both short and …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools: A Reflective Essay, Gary L. Whitmore

Graduate Research Papers

At some point in the near future, I hope to become the administrator of an elementary school. As I have continued the course work that will eventually qualify me for this position, a number of questions have surfaced in regards to this end goal. What type of role model will the principal need to be to the students, staff, and the community as a whole? What would the principal, as educational leader, want to accomplish? How will the teachers and principal work together to arrive at these decisions? And, will I be able to manage the day to day complexities …

A Vision Of Secondary Leadership : A Reflective Essay, Rodney J. Chamberlin

Graduate Research Papers

The educational challenge of the 21st century is to achieve higher levels of learning for all children.

Therapeutic Use Of Adolescent Play Activities, Sharon R. Freese

Graduate Research Papers

Play therapy is to the child what verbalization is to the adult (Landreth 1982). Play therapy is utilized by the major approaches in therapy: psychoanalytic, client-centered, Adlerian, group, behavioral, and family (Hughes, 1991; Schaefer, 1976; Schaefer & O'Connor, 1 1983). Play therapy provides the child a natural approach to the therapist, enabling the child to reveal ideas, wishes, fantasies and attitudes without embarrassment or fear of being censored or punished (Lebo, 1982). Whereas generally adults are able to put their feelings, frustrations, anxieties, and personal problems into some form of verbal expression, children are not.

Therapeutic Implications Of Parental Bereavement, Tracey R. Bishop

Graduate Research Papers

The loss of a loved one is a tragedy disproportionate from any other for many people. Most individuals experience the pain from losing someone very important to them during their lifetimes. Because of the large number of people it affects, the intensity of the loss experience, and the systematic variations with which its consequences are distributed across populations, bereavement has far-reaching implications (Stroebe, Stroebe, & Hansson, 1993). Due to this inevitable fact, many mental health care professionals have shown an increased interest in death and dying issues over the past 20 years (McClowry, Davies, May, Kulenkamp, & Martinson, 1987; Rando, …

Instructional Materials To Support An Integrated Social Studies Theme On Families For Primary Students In A Multi-Age Classroom, Deborah E. Allemang

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this project was to assemble a collection of instructional materials to be used in my primary multi-age classroom in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The organizing objectives were taken from the district's social studies theme for Families and the district's objectives for integrated language arts. The goal of the project was to coordinate a group of quality materials and suggest response activities to support using an integrated curriculum approach, specifically a literature-based social studies theme.

School Entrance Readiness And Its Effect On Student Performance, M. Susie Ford Brau

Graduate Research Papers

"All children in America will start school ready to learn" (Willis, 1992). While this goal sounds !audible, it has evoked mixed feelings from the leaders in the field of early childhood education. Since the 16th century, parents, educators and school districts have been plagued with the question of how to determine a child's readiness for entrance into formal schooling (Friesen, 1984). If a child is delayed from formal schooling, the result is loss of valuable learning time to which the child is entitled according to the state's school entrance age law. On the other hand, if a child is enrolled …

The Effects Of Multiage Grouping On Primary Students, Susan Mooney

Graduate Research Papers

This study analyzes the literature regarding the appropriateness of grouping children in multiage groups. The term multiage groups is defined here as the deliberate assembling of pupils together who are of, at least two or three chronological age groups.

Three issues are discussed in this regard: (1) What are the characteristics of the multiage approach? (2) Why is the multiage grouping approach becoming more popular? (3) What are the standards which would be applied when assigning children to multiage groups?

The history of multiage groups is addressed as well as the characteristics and reasons for the return in popularity of …

Cluster Grouping Gifted And Talented Students In The Regular Classroom, Faith Y. Jurs

Graduate Research Papers

Educators are continually searching for ways to meet the unique needs of gifted and talented students. Many questions must be addressed when deciding what would be most effective m accomplishing this goal. Will gifted and talented students be served in the regular classroom or through a pullout program which requires them to leave their regular classroom for their gifted program? If they are removed from the regular classroom, what subjects will they miss? What curriculum will they complete in the program? Are students accelerated through the course work or is enrichment provided? Who will teach the gifted and talented students? …

Commons Components Of Literature-Based Reading Programs, Lola M. Willrich

Graduate Research Papers

Literature-based reading instruction is replacing traditional basal programs in many classrooms. This instructional concept focuses on providing quality literature from the different genres to develop a print-rich environment in which children can find meaningful reading experiences. These literature experiences provide structures, or whole units, in which readers can create their own meaning. In such a print-rich environment, readers can be energized to extend the reading experience by engaging in related expressive action, a connection between the comprehension and composition processes, and by interacting with others concerning the ideas and feelings generated in the reading process. These experiences can lead to …

Traumatic Brain Injury, Kris Marie Franzen

Graduate Research Papers

During my freshman year in college, I met many interesting students, professors, and professionals. One of my most memorable acquaintances was with a young gentleman, approximately 19 years old, whose physical appearance and personality was relatively different from most other students on campus. As I spent the first few weeks of precalculus class sitting directly behind him, I became increasingly puzzled by his peculiar speech and his persistent need to have mathematical concepts and instructions continuously repeated. During mealtime, I regularly observed him sitting alone or with "superficial" friends in the same general section of the resident's dining area. His …

Portfolio Assessment - Use Of Literacy Portfolio In The Primary Classroom, Diane E. Rasmussen

Graduate Research Papers

This study reviews the literature on portfolios by looking closely at the literature dealing with literacy portfolios in the primary classroom. The following questions were addressed: ( 1) why do we need portfolios; (2) what are the characteristics of portfolios; (3) what are some of the difficulties of portfolio assessment: and ( 4) what are the standards that a good portfolio should meet for use in a primary classroom? There is a move away from standardized testing and portfolios offer a promise of being a successful alternative form of assessment. Portfolios offer instructional guidance for student, teachers and parents. The …

The Implementation Of A Portfolio Approach To Reading Assessment: A Descriptive Study Of First And Second Graders In A Chapter 1 Reading Program, Sandra Buser Schatzberg

Graduate Research Papers

The assessment of reading achievement is a topic of concern in the field of reading education today. The debate over appropriate assessment of reading achievement stems from changes in reading theory and instruction that have taken place as a result of reading research conducted during the past 20 years. Through this research, educators have come to view reading as an interactive process whereby meaning is constructed by the interaction of the reader and the text (Rosenblatt, 1987; Pearson, 1985). The reading process requires readers to bring meaning to print, not just to decode the written symbols (Smith, 1976).

A Child's Emerging Writing Abilities In First Grade, Katherine L. Heck

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is to study a young boy's exploration of the writing process in first grade. A review of literature will examine the nature of young children's responses in the writing process and will offer suggestions for implementation of a writing program for grade one that will nurture emerging literacy. Then, the study of the child's responses while engaged in the writing process will be presented.

In-Class And Pull-Out Models Of Remedial Reading Instruction For Fourth-Grade Students: A Descriptive Study, Elaine Hoke-Hoffman

Graduate Research Papers

This descriptive study was conducted to document and describe two approaches to remedial reading instruction, in-class or pull-in and out of class or pull-out models. The success of each of these models of remedial reading instruction was determined through evaluation of growth in reading as well as assessment of changes in student attitudes toward reading when placed in either in-class or pull-out settings. Significant growth in the area of reading development was demonstrated by students participating in both the in-class and pull-out models of instruction. Students in both settings also maintained or developed a positive attitude toward reading, but they …

Writing Portfolios: Descriptive Assessment Of Children's Writing, Barbara M. Bohach

Graduate Research Papers

A trend in the language arts program is to focus on nurturing children's emerging thinking-language abilities while they are involved in the language processes. This view of language learning places children at the center of the instructional program. A school learning environment that supports such activity promotes risk-taking and a sense of ownership. Assessing children's responses in this type of learning environment requires descriptive techniques (Johnston, 1987). In respect to the writing component of the language arts program, descriptive techniques facilitate the appraisal of children's responses as they write to create meaning. Assessment, then, becomes an integral part of the …

Social Interaction In The College Union Environment: An Examination Of The Physical Setting, Richard David Fekel

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the effect of the college union physical environment upon informal social interaction. The application of such knowledge may enable college union practitioners to design college union physical settings that enhance, rather than impede, student-faculty and peer informal interaction. This paper briefly presents pertinent research concerning the outcomes associated with student-faculty and peer interaction. Relevant person-environment interaction and physical-environmental models are examined. The social relationship between architecture and human interaction behavior is addressed, as well as the consequential affect of interior seating and furniture arrangements on informal interaction. The ambient environment which …

The Value Of Therapeutic Massage/Touch In Promoting Physical And Mental Health, Carmen Schreiber Huber

Graduate Research Papers

Humans have relied on their five senses--sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell--for purposes of communication within their environment. The most crucial of all the senses is that of touch. Touch is a basic human need and is the first form of communication humans experience (Jones, 1994). According to Colton (1983), touching is necessary throughout the lifespan. As humans mature, their reaching and touching needs change. Infants and 1 children progress from relying on their parents to being more independent and self-sufficient. The process of maturation is an important component to personal growth and development and manifests different touch needs. Buscaglia …

The Diagnosis Of Multiple Personality Disorder In Adults, Sandra L. Larkin

Graduate Research Papers

Professional interest in multiple personality disorder (MPD) was heightened by the 1973 report of the treatment of "Sybil" (Lindsley, 1992), who had sixteen alternate personalities (Kluft, 1984; Rathus & Nevid, 1991). It was not until 1980, however, that the American Psychiatric Association recognized MPD as a legitimate mental illness (Smolowe, 1990). MPD, long considered a rarity, is being diagnosed, treated, and researched with increasing frequency (Kluft, 1984). Knowledge and recognition of the disorder are essential to its proper treatment (Lindsley, 1992). This paper will present a literature review of the development and diagnosis of this disorder.

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools: A Reflective Essay, Denise M. Pape

Graduate Research Papers

When a colleague asked me what prompted my decision to pursue a degree in education, it was simple to answer. I have always had an educational career path in mind. Working with children has always been something that I enjoyed and I felt that I could put my talents to use in the teaching profession. It has turned out to be the right choice for me. Helping children to reach their full potential and watching them as they achieve success is such a rewarding experience. Knowing that I am making a difference in some child's life keeps me going when …

Questions, Question Asking, And The Questioning Environment For A Novice Teacher's Classroom Use, Timothy Burrell

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is to provide a novice teacher with important, valuable and easily usable information regarding effective questioning, and the provision of an environment in which students feel comfortable asking questions. Two primary models of questioning are presented and the questioning environment has been discussed. Question interactions initiated by the teacher and those initiated by the students have then been considered. In the final chapter of this paper I discuss the information I believe will be most useful specifically to me in my first few years of teaching. The application of this information in my teaching will …

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools: A Reflective Essay, John S. Beeck

Graduate Research Papers

The principalship: What does this mean? As I have proceeded through my career as an elementary teacher seeking to become a building principal, I have asked myself this question over and over. What does it really mean to be a principal? Why would I leave the fulfillment of classroom teaching to become a principal?

A Preferred Vision For Administering Elementary Schools : A Reflective Essay, Cathy A. Bobier

Graduate Research Papers

We are faced with decisions all our lives, and many of the decisions we make will affect what directions our lives will take. The results of our decisions also affect the lives of people with whom we are associated. Understanding the impact that our decisions have on ourselves and others, impels us to use all of our creative and intellectual abilities to arrive at the best determinations for all involved.

Hazing In U.S. Fraternities And Sororities, Lisa Melancon

Graduate Research Papers

Due to the high occurrences of accidents and incidents from hazing, the public is addressing the moral and legal issues of hazing in fraternities and sororities. Accidents as a result of fraternity and sorority pledging has been a hot topic of discussion for over the past ten years in higher education. 1 There have been numerous incidents where one or more persons were injured or killed participating in sorority or fraternity initiations.

What Is An Effective Leader?: A Reflective Essay, Diane M. Fisken

Graduate Research Papers

What is leadership? Wiles & Bondi (1986) describe leadership in the following way: Leadership is an approach, a way of working with people within an organization to accomplish a task. Persons in supervisory roles must understand the conditions of an organization, possess a vision of what can be done to improve that organization, and interlock the behaviors of others with that organization's structure. (p.26) In their studies, Hersey & Blanchard (1976) have found that: Over the last few decades, people in the field of management have been involved in a search for a "best" style of leadership. Yet, the evidence …