Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Study Of Education Reform In Texas: State Mandated Testing Results, Effects, And The University Of Texas-Pan American, Monica M. Trevino

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The study will use scores on TASP, and ACT as predictors of first year college success. First year college success will be measured by first-year year college grade point average and number of class hours dropped. We expect to find a high correlation between standardized test scores and college success. In order to continue yearly state test administration efforts, data needs to be found supporting that these efforts are sufficient. If this evidence is not present, then state mandated achievement testing needs to be reconsidered for use as a requirement for receipt of a high school diploma, school accountability, and …

Teaching Content On Social Work Practice With Religious Congregations: A Curriculum Module, Michael E. Sherr, Terry Wolfer

Social Work Faculty Publications

This pilot study represents an effort to implement and evaluate use of a curriculum module on Charitable Choice and social work practice in a faith-based organization. Using a nonequivalent control group design, repeated measures MANOVA showed significant differences between the treatment (n=54) and comparison groups (n=53) on knowledge and degree of comfort at posttest. Despite the use of a small sample (n=107) of MSW students at a public university in the Southeast, the findings provide initial support for further use and future evaluations of curriculum modules covering specific content on practice in faith-based settings.

The Liberal Arts Academy - A Minority Report, W. John Coats

Convocation Addresses

No abstract provided.

The Making Of An Innovator, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

Innovators experiment with things to come up with new ideas to improve the quality of existing products, develop differentiated or new products and re-organise business processes to lower costs. In a big corporation, there might be a whole R&D department where innovators are employed to design new blueprints so the company can constantly make new offerings. But innovators can also be found in small enterprises tinkering with recipes, for example, to win new customers. Innovators no doubt derive pleasure from their creative work. Yet, in modern economies, they must be employed in a firm that successfully translates their innovative activity …

What Mothers Want: Welfare Reform And Maternal Desire, Patricia K. Jennings

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this study I use participant observations,face-to-face interviews, and focus group interviews to examine how women on welfare read and negotiate culture-of-poverty discourse and the imagery that this discourse spawns. I spoke with two groups of young single mothers receiving welfare. The first group included young mothers between the ages of 18 and 23 who were attending high school in a community-based program that served women on welfare. The second group included mothers in their early to mid 20's who were attending either a local two-year college or research university. Education was a path of resistance for the women in …

Language Interactions Between Reading Recovery Teachers And Their English-Language Learners, Leslie Yerington Edd

Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated characteristics of student-teacher interactions during the new book introduction portion of Reading Recovery lessons. The new book introduction provides the student with background knowledge and story plot sufficient to render a successful first attempt reading the book that takes place directly after the introduction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of student-teacher interactions during the new book introduction portion of Reading Recovery lessons in order to describe the nature of these interactions and discover the relationships, if any exist, between the interactions and student performance. The study also searched for common themes …

Taking Care Of Business: Advertising, Commercialism, And Implications For Discourse About Schools, Deron R. Boyles

Educational Policy Studies Faculty Publications

This essay challenges the long-standing notion that the overriding purpose of U.S.A. public schools should be to produce future workers for corporate America. It questions the current discourse-the language we use when we talk about schooling, teaching, and learning. In effect, this essay takes exception to the undergirding assumption that public schools are primarily in existence as avenues for private gain. The claim is that a new language of inquiry and critique is needed in order for teachers and students to realize a significant, if untapped potential for U.S.A. schooling: namely, critical analysis of the taken-for-granted.

Grading Exams: 100, 99, ..., 1 Or A, B, C? Incentives In Games Of Status, Pradeep Dubey, John Geanakoplos

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We show that if students care primarily about their status (relative rank) in class, they are best motivated to work not by revealing their exact numerical exam scores (100,99,…,1), but instead by clumping them in broad categories (A,B,C). If their abilities are disparate, the optimal grading scheme awards fewer A’s than there are alpha-quality students, creating small elites. If their abilities are common knowledge, then it is better to grade them on an absolute scale (100 to 90 is an A, etc.) rather than on a curve (top 15% is an A, etc.). We develop criteria for optimal grading schemes …

An Interactive Learning Environment For A Dynamic Educational Digital Library, Ee Peng Lim, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh, Yin-Leng Theng, Eng-Kai Suen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

GeogDL is a digital library of geography examination resources designed to assist students in preparing for a national geography examination in Singapore. We describe an interactive learning environment built into GeogDL that consists of four major components. The practice and review module allows students to attempt individual examination questions, the mock exam provides a simulation of the actual geography examination, the trends analysis tool provides an overview of the types of questions asked in previous examinations, while the contributions module allows students and teachers to create and share knowledge within the digital library.

Differentiation Of The Causal Characteristics And Influences Of Virtual Reality And The Effects On Learning At A Science Exhibit, Arlene De Strulle Edd

Dissertations

Within the context of the informal science center, exhibits are the main interface for public learning. Essential to the success of a science center is how well exhibits model effective strategies for learning. Virtual Reality (VR) technology with its flexible, adaptive, multimedia, and immersive-learning capabilities is emerging for use by science centers in exhibits; however, research on learning in virtual environments at exhibits is scarce. To support the future development of VR science exhibits it is critical to investigate VR's pedagogical value and effects on science learning. Research investigated the Smoke & Mirrors VR exhibit at the Reuben H. Fleet …

A Whole Woman Strategy And Action Plan To Raise National Awareness About Osteoporosis, Lenard W. Kaye, Majorie A. Harris, Clifford Rosen

Maine Center on Aging Research and Evaluation

The University of Maine Center on Aging, in partnership with the Maine Center for Osteoporosis Research and Education, was one of three grantees taking part in a U.S. Administration on Aging-funded project to develop a national osteoporosis awareness and action plan targeting postmenopausal women


The University of Maine Center on Aging’s portion of the research entailed several phases of activity. Initially, focus groups were conducted with 147 ethnically and racially diverse older women around the country (Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, California, and Kansas) to determine where older women obtain their health information, what they consider reliable and unreliable informational sources, …

Cooking Online: Investigating The Effectiveness Of Providing Online Support Material To Students On A Professional Cookery Apprenticeship Course, Nuala Harding

Articles

Having worked as a lecturer for five years, I was given the opportunity to undertake the postgraduate diploma in third-level learning and teaching at the Technological University Dublin. The elective I chose as part of this course was online learning. The requirement to compile a reflective journal during the module has provided the catalyst for me to write this paper. This Paper describes work in progress for proposed research within the Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Studies in Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT). The purpose of this research is to investigate the feasibility of providing and the effectiveness of …

The Effect Of Force Feedback On Student Reasoning About Gravity, Mass, Force And Motion, Linda Bussell Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine whether force feedback within a computer simulation had an effect on reasoning by fifth grade students about gravity, mass, force, and motion, concepts which can be difficult for learners to grasp. Few studies have been done on cognitive learning and haptic feedback, particularly with young learners, but there is an extensive base of literature on children's conceptions of science and a number of studies focus specifically on children's conceptions of force and motion. This case study used a computer-based paddleball simulation with guided inquiry as the primary stimulus. Within the simulation, the …

Nobody's Ever Asked Me That Before: Middle School Students Talk About Motivation To Achieve In School Contexts, Erika Daniels Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not a connection exists between students' school contexts and their academic and social choices by listening to the voices of first year middle school students. The intent of this study was to provide teachers with a way to reconceptualize adolescents as learners. Research suggests that there are two distinct approaches to the study of motivation. Some researchers believe that motivation can be externally enacted through exams, assessments, and other accountability measures. Other researchers believe that motivation is internally generated through the relationships students build, through their beliefs about learning, and …

Webquest Design Strategies: A Case Study Measuring The Effect Of The Jigsaw Method On Students’ Personal Agency Beliefs, Engagement, And Learning, James P. Frazee Edd

Dissertations

The WebQuest model continues to grow in popularity, with teachers from around the world and many teacher-educators and experts in the field of educational technology espousing its potential to extend content knowledge and promote higher level thinking. While the model is well received by teachers and students alike, most evidence of its effectiveness is anecdotal, and there is very little in the way of empirical research on the elements that make an effective WebQuest. Furthermore, rich descriptions of how students interact during a well-developed WebQuest are largely absent from the literature. In short, the WebQuest model suffers from a lack …

An Examination Of Teachers’ Beliefs About Critical Reading And Academic Writing, Cindi Davis Harris Edd

Dissertations

The ability to compose a well-written research paper is evidence o f a student's ability to read critically and write academically. However, evidence suggests that many college-bound high school graduates have not learned these skills. While the research literature overwhelmingly supports the notion that teachers are an important factor in students’ academic success, and that in order to be academically successful, students need to have critical reading and writing skills, there has been little research about how teachers' beliefs and knowledge about critical reading and academic writing influence instruction with regard to these skills. This naturalistic case study employed in-depth …

Explicit Writing Instruction: Effects On Sixth Grade Students’ Writing And Reading Achievement, Jennifer Hamby Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the effect of explicit writing instruction on sixth grade students' writing growth and achievement as measured by holistic and analytic assessment. This research responds directly to the need for additional research on effective reading and writing instruction (Langer & Allington, 1992; The College Board, 2003). The preponderance of research in writing has been devoted to early writing. Less evidence is available to examine the effect of writing instruction at the sixth grade level. Writing samples from 124 sixth grade students at two elementary schools were used in this study. The two …

The Libraries Role In The Reinvention Of Undergraduate Education, Patricia A. Iannuzzi

Library Faculty Presentations

Shifting Library Culture:

- Traditional Model
- New Model

Some In-house Strategies:

- focus on instruction as related to collections
- redefine role of liaison
- clarify expectations — link to performance review
- provide professional development
- build prestige (rewards) around instruction
- emphasize faculty voices

The Role Of Universities In Preparing The Next Generation Of Infrastructure Professionals, George H. Baker

George H Baker

Universities need to play a central role in infrastructure assurance but have not realized their full potential. While the first role of Universities is education, their role in infrastructure assurance does not stop there. University infrastructure assurance programs should embrace research, policy studies, public awareness, development and promulgation of best practices, and real-time/real-problem assistance to public and private infrastructure stakeholders.

What Do We Think About Them? Stereotypes In Russia About U.S. High Schools., Svetlana Pivovar

Master's Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Making Connections: A Review Of International Policies, Practices And Research Relating To Quality In Early Childhood Care And Education, Noirin Hayes, D. Mcgrath

Reports

Report commissioned by the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE), 2004.

Part 2: How Do We Compare? Hampton Roads Versus Other Regions, Regional Studies Institute, Old Dominion University

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Per capita income in Hampton Roads has been rising and, after we factor in the cost of living, now is about 6 percent above the national average. This is a startling reversal from the late 1990s when the region was well below the national average. Housing prices here continue to be lower than the national average, as is our overall cost of living. Our air is cleaner than the national average and we rate high in terms of cultural amenities, but founder with regard to several measures of educational attainment.

Thinking Outside The Box: Placing Park And Recreation Professionals In K-12 Schools, Dan K. Hibbler Ph.D.

School of Continuing and Professional Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ecological Restoration-Based Education Transforms Schoolgrounds And Education, Libby Mccann, Todd Miller

Proceedings of the North American Prairie Conferences

The University of Wisconsin- Madison Arboretum, home to the world's first prairie restoration, has a threefold mission to conserve and restore Arboretum lands, advance the science of restoration ecology, and foster the Land Ethic. Since 1991 , teams of teachers from more than 150 schools in Wisconsin have learned to incorporate ecological restoration into the curriculum through the Earth Partnership for Schools Program. This multi-disciplinary teacher professional development program emphasizes inquiry-based learning and multiple intelligences in a hands-on, collaborative setting. The majority of schools have focused their efforts on prairies. Recreating or restoring an ecological community on school grounds provides …

The Effective Provision Of Pre-School Education (Eppe) Project: Findings From Pre-School To End Of Key Stage 1, Kathy Sylva, Edward Melhuish, Pam Sammons, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Brenda Taggart

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This research brief describes the effects of education in the pre-school period (ages 3 and 4) as measured at primary school entry (rising 5) and in Years 1 and 2 (ages 6 and 7).

Developing A Learning Object Metadata Application Profile Based On Lom Suitable For Australian Higher Education Context, Shirley Agostinho, Sue Bennett, Lori Lockyer, Barry Harper

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This paper reports recent work in developing of structures and processes that support university teachers and instructional designers incorporating learning objects into higher education focused learning designs. The aim of the project is to develop a framework to guide the design and implementation of high quality learning experiences. This framework is premised on the proposition that learning objects are resources that can be incorporated within a learning design. The learning design serves as the pedagogical model that drives the development. The first phase of the project required an analysis of metadata schemas by which learning objects could be described, to …

The Relationship Between Education And Food Consumption In The 1995 Australian National Nutrition Survey, Anthony Worsley, Roswitha Blasche, Kylie Ball, David Crawford

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective: To assess the relationship between education and the intake of a variety of individual foods, as well as groups of foods, for Australian men and women in different age groups.

Design: Cross-sectional national survey of free-living men and women.

Subjects: A sample of 2501 men and 2739 women aged 18 years and over who completed the National Nutrition Survey (NNS) 1995.

Methods: Information about the frequency of consumption of 88 food items was obtained using a food-frequency questionnaire in a nation-wide nutrition survey. Irregular and regular consumers of foods were identified according to whether they consumed individual foods less …

The Effective Provision Of Pre-School Education (Eppe) Project: Findings From The Early Primary Years, Kathy Sylva, Edward Melhuish, Pam Sammons, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Brenda Taggart

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

This brief focuses on the main findings related to pre-school effects on children's development up to age 7.

Learning To Belong: A Study Of The Lived Experience Of Homeless Students In Western Australia, Simone Glasson-Walls

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This is a phenomenological study of the lived experiences of homeless young people in Western Australia. Its focus is the reasons why homeless young people leave education, although many of them make a serious effort to complete post-compulsory schooling. The study was qualitative, and was designed as an in-depth analysis of the experiences of five young people aged between 15 and 17, all attending the same school. Data collection consisted of two in-depth interviews with each participant, and a focus group discussion with all five. Although the study’s focus as the issue of homelessness and schooling, it quickly expanded when …

Congregationalist Richard Cordley And The Impact Of New England Cultural Imperialism In Kansas, 1857-1904, Nathan Wilson

Great Plains Quarterly

What constitutes an authentic western hero? The archetypal image of the Jeffersonian ideal, the yeoman pioneer farmer who brought all the benefits of the American republic to the West, was the quintessential western hero until the Civil War era. Following this destructive period in American history, the armed gunfighter or cowboy replaced the yeoman farmer as the popular image of what it meant to be a western hero. But what about the clergy? As a major social force throughout the nineteenth century, religion proved an important factor in the settlement of the American West. Yet the idea of a religious …