Education Commons^™

The Effectiveness Of Principal Training And Formal Principal Mentoring Programs., Robert B. Dodson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine principals' perceptions of how effective mentoring programs and university-based principal preparation programs are in developing the skills necessary to carry out the 13 critical success factors identified by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). A review of the literature addressed what it means to be an effective principal and what an effective mentoring program should look like.

The quantitative study was conducted using a survey developed from the SREB's 13 critical success factors that have been developed to determine what makes a successful, effective principal. Each factor was developed into a question …

Listening To Student Voices: Fifth Graders' Perceptions Of Their Mathematics Learning Within The Context Of A Mathematics Reform, Elizabeth Hoffman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored fifth graders' perceptions of their mathematics learning within the context of a reform effort. Students' voices are the focus of this study due to the paucity of literature on student learning from the students' perspective (Erickson & Shultz, 1992), particularly the elementary student (Gentilucci, 2004). The participants of this study, who in the past have been given a variety of labels including "disadvantaged" or "at-risk," clearly articulated, even in nonstandard English, their perceptions of their mathematics learning. They passionately explained what helped them learn mathematics as well as what impeded their mathematics learning and were often …

Effect Of A Concentrated In-Service Elementary Teacher Force And Motion Workshop, David Nelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The National Science Education Standards and Maine Learning Results outline a comprehensive program for facilitating children’s learning of basic concepts in force and motion. The program has goals for children as early as Kindergarten, but assumes the teachers in our primary schools are prepared to handle these concepts. Unfortunately our elementary school teacher’s training programs do not require in-depth instruction in the sciences, and many of our elementary school teachers have never received instruction in basic physics. Lacking mastery of the content, many in-service teachers doubt their ability to present science material in their classrooms, and sometimes avoid the material …

Measuring Student Understanding Of Density, With Geological Applications, Emily L. Klingler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Density is an important physical concept in all of science. Substantial education research on the teaching and learning of density has occurred in physics, chemistry, and biochemistry; there has been little education research about density in the earth sciences. This study investigates the extent to which targeted instruction influences student understanding of density, and the frequency and accuracy with which students apply it in explanations of earth science phenomena. All data for the study were collected from students in The Environmental Geology of Maine (ERS 102) at the University of Maine during the spring and fall 2004 and spring 2005 …