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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Teaching Literature In America: Demonstrating Relevance In The Early Cold War 1945-1963, Jennifer Chalmers

Honors College

This historical research focuses on how literature was taught in American high schools in the early Cold War period (1945-1963) and why it was taught that way. It aims to discover how the Cold War culture of conformity impacted secondary literature education. What were literature teachers’ concerns? What was the historical context of these concerns, and how did they affect methods in the classroom and rhetoric in academic journals? Finally, how did methodology and rhetoric change over time? Research involved gaining familiarity with Early Cold War culture, politics, and events through secondary sources; narrowing to U.S. education in the early …

Increasing Phonemic Awareness In The Pre-School Aged Child: A Parent-Centered, Play Based Approach, Emma Hanzl

Honors College

Written as a reference for parents and both present and future early childhood educators, this compilation of studies and accompanying resources is intended to clarify misconceptions and build individual understandings of phonological and phonemic awareness. The relationship between phonemic awareness instruction and stronger reading and spelling abilities has been well established; however, most previous studies of phonemic awareness have utilized educators or trained researchers as the primary instructors and have focused mainly on school aged children ranging from preschool to grade three. The purpose of this review was to extrapolate the potential effects of placing parents in the role of …

Situational Interest In Professional Development, Jean Stevens

Honors College

In this case study we look at three cases of situational interest during a teacher professional development workshop. The cases were selected because they illustrate events where multiple teachers exhibited spontaneous interest in a geologic feature or phenomena. This research was conducted at a three-day professional development workshop on the seashore in the northeastern part of the United States. The professional development involved 17 middle school teachers who spent the three days at three different locations learning about the geologic history at those locations. In this study, we express the signs of interest shown by the teachers in each case …

Humanizing The Humanities: A Historical, Cultural, And Philosophical Examination Of The Disintegration Of Humanities Higher Education, Nicholas Moore

Honors College

This essay is an examination of the multifaceted reasons humanities education in American colleges is losing standing and funding. Historical, cultural, and philosophical perspectives are used to analyze the grounds that have justified the decreasing levels of support for humanities education. Historically, there is no longer any external justification provided, as there was when Sputnik was launched and the Cold War was endured. Culturally, the high culture model of ascension through the accrual of cultural signifiers is no longer the dominant form of raising one’s status, as it was when the humanities could be justified as cultural initiation. Philosophically, market-based …

The Case For Instrumental Music Education: The Academic, Physical, And Social Benefits For Students, Kayla M. Peard

Honors College

Music is an integral part of our lives. There are countless examples of how learning music affects intelligence in students, but that is not music’s only benefit. Music is an academic discipline available in schools in which students’ simultaneously develop cognitive abilities, physical abilities, and social skills. This is particularly evident in the instrumental music classroom.

Through the studying of instrumental music and playing in ensembles, students learn countless lifelong skills that help them develop into intelligent, creative leaders. The cognitive abilities of the students grow and expand the longer they study music. Furthermore, it has been proven that their …

Classroom Realities: Teaching Students With Disabilities As A Traditionally Or Alternatively Certified Secondary Science Teacher In Maine, Haley A. Richardson

Honors College

This study aimed to determine the characteristics of effective pre-service instruction and in-service professional development based on certification route that affect Maine secondary science teachers’ preparedness to accommodate students with disabilities. Traditional and alternative certification routes differ in fundamental elements such as length, course requirements, and format, leading to teachers who have different strengths and weaknesses, and consequently, different professional development needs. Effective preparation for instructing students with disabilities is an important issue because the trend toward full educational inclusion increasingly will require that classroom teachers have the skills to make appropriate accommodations. A survey sent to Maine secondary science …

Understanding The Relationship Between The Arts And Student Aspirations, Samantha Lott

Honors College

No abstract provided.