Digital Commons Network^™

Factors Related To The Amount Of Time Children Spend In Leisure Reading, Dorothy Doig

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the amount of time children spend in leisure reading and the variables of reading achievement, reading attitude, amount of television viewed, access to interesting materials in the home, competing leisure interests and gender. The subjects were 115 Year 6 children from 4 classes in Perth's northern suburbs. Reading achievement was measured using PAT Comprehension and PAT Vocabulary, Form A, Part 5. The Elementary Reading Attitude Survey measured attitude to recreational reading and attitude to academic reading, The Leisure Activities Questionnaire provided information on the amount of time devoted to …

Spelling In The Secondary School: A Review Of The Current Situation, Joan Rodrigues

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to discover the strategies being employed by secondary school teachers to assist students with spelling difficulties. Teachers in the English and social studies departments of three Perth high schools were interviewed and asked to indicate the criteria they used to identify students with spelling problems and the teaching methods they employed to help those students overcome their problems. They were also asked to identify the causes of spelling difficulty. Staff at the local district offices and the Ministry of Education were interviewed to establish what support services were available for teachers who wished to …

Using Music To Enhance Beginning Reading, Shirley Yvonne Herrud

All Master's Theses

Research finding of factors which facilitate beginning reading were investigated. Results were used to form the foundation for developing an approach that integrated music with beginning reading instruction for first grade students. A handbook was produced to enhance the development of reading skills through song-reading techniques. Materials such as song charts, overhead transparencies, sentence strips, student and class song books, language experience songs, mini-books, big books, cassette tapes, records, and videos were used to motivate beginning readers through increased interest and excitement for learning .

Commentary: Self-Evident Truths For Departmental Governance, Marisue Pickering

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article distills self evident truths about departmental governance drawn from chair experience and peer narratives in communication programs. Framing the department as a unique cultural and social entity within the university, the discussion outlines recurring challenges in faculty relations, administrative negotiation, budgeting, and crisis management. It highlights how disciplinary world views shape interaction with deans, how external constituencies such as alumni and families influence policy, and how personal skills and values inform chair leadership. Four thematic areas structure the reflections: internal culture, external connections, personal competencies, and philosophical dimensions of change. Recommendations promote transparent communication, inclusive networking, data informed …

A Study Of Virginia Public-School Affiliated Ged Instructors Who Teach Writing Skills For The Essay Component Of The Ged Writing Skills Test, Rodger Leonard Doss

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the demographic characteristics, instructional approach, perceptions toward inservice training, and awareness and use of adult education theory/principles of public-school affiliated GED instructors in Virginia who teach writing skills for the essay component of the GED Writing Skills Test. An additional purpose of the study was to compare student performance on a sample of GED essays to determine the relationship of student performance with teacher demographic characteristics and teacher instructional approach as identified by the product and process scale scores.

The GED teachers who participated in the study were identified through the cooperation …

Learning Mathematics As A Language, Kathryn Shafer

Masters Theses

This paper explores the relationship between language and mathematics. It is a summary of research done over the last thirty years. Also included are personal observations which are not part of any controlled study. Since language is the vehicle for thought, mathematics educators and curriculum planners will benefit from a linguistic approach to mathematics education. Symbolic mathematics is similar to natural language in both its structure and its communicative nature. If the students are to internalize the notation, they must be the ones to give it meaning. A linguistic approach to mathematics education includes language development, verbalization of concepts, vocabulary …

The Student, The Teacher, And The Text : An Ethnography Of The Literary Acculturation Process In Three Undergraduate Literature Classrooms, Matthew Justice Quartey

Dissertations

In this study I describe the context and environment in which students in three undergraduate literature classrooms in a mid-western parochial university "acquired a sense of literature," as well as the role played by their teachers in the process. As qualitative research, the study seeks to provide additional insight and understanding of the process of acquiring literary competence. While participant observation and interview were the principal methods used in gathering data, the data also included the use of documents. I examined course syllabi, students' journals, students' written work, and school documents. I also observed each of the three classes at …

Soviet Immigrant Jewry In The Chicago Area (1960-1980): Enculturation And Education, Sharon Rae Bender

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Investigation Of The Differential Effects Of American Sign Language And Total Communication On Story Comprehension And Memory In Deaf Children, James F. Altenbach

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Integrating Writing Into A Chapter One Reading Program In Grades Seven And Eight, Avis C. Grundman

Graduate Research Papers

The Chapter One reading program has traditionally consisted of teaching and re-teaching of isolated skills and has included much segmented reading. The small amount of writing that has taken place has been in the form of short answer or fill-in-the blanks activities.

Nurturing Student Responses Through Read Aloud Experiences, Linda A. Pitt

Graduate Research Papers

The public is concerned about the decline of reading scores. National reports label the United States a nation at risk educationally. Further complicating matters, many students who can read are choosing not to read, either for information or pleasure.

Reading "Academic Writing", Mary Scott

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Helping studetns learn how to learn is now a concern for most U.K. institutions of higher education. The study skill given most emphasis is "academic writing", no doubt because it is on the quality of their written assignments that students' success or failure larely turns.

Contextualizing The Competency-Based Schooling, Victor V. Soucek

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

To a classroom teacher the current debate about work-related competencies might appear far removed from his/her classroom and have no significance for teacher education. Yet the proposed policy changes are likely to affect the work and the professional status of teachers in a very direct way. As Whitty and Willmott (1991: 312) point out, one of the fundamental problems of competency-based teaching/training (CBT) approach consists in the difficulty to define just how narrow or broad the competencies might be. A too narrow definition based on observable work-related skills might indicate a radical departure from the traditional role teachers played in …

Increasing Literacy Development Of At-Risk Kindergarten Students Through Cross-Age Tutoring, Marlene Henriques

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This practicum was designed, through a cross-age tutoring program, to increase emergent literacy skills of at-risk kindergarten children. The objectives were to increase letter recognition, book awareness skills, pre-reading strategies, and pre-writing strategies in the targeted students. In a structured program, the fifth and sixth grade tutors met with the tutees for 30 minutes twice a week for a three month period.

The writer administered qualitative and quantitative pretests which documented the lack of literacy development of at-risk kindergartners. The writer held workshops to train the tutors in reading and writing strategies, developed a schedule of structured activities to complete …

Parallel Form Test-Retest Reliability And Predictive Validity Of A Curriculum-Based Measurement Academic Readiness Test, Stanley F. Hanus

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to help a local school district in rural Iowa determine the reliability and predictive validity of a Curriculum-Based Measurement Academic Readiness Test (CBM-ART). The subjects were 85 kindergarten students and 77 first grade students enrolled in regular education. The total sample of 162 students was approximately 88% Caucasian, 8% Native American, 2% Hispanic, and 2% Asian. Parallel forms of the test were administered at a 14-day interval, with resulting reliability coefficients ranging from .76 to .94 with a median coefficient of .88. Validity coefficients computed between CBM measures administered in kindergarten and Iowa Tests …

The Development Of A Test Of Concept Identification, Semantic And Syntactic Performance For Use With Hearing Impaired Children, Heather Joan Hussey

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to develop the Concept Identification Instrument (CII); an instrument for measuring prelinguistically deaf children's concept identification, semantic and syntactic abilities in a reading situation. Analysis of the related literature suggested that isolation of some of the factors which contribute to the problems faced by deaf children in reading development, such as concept identification, may lead to improved chances of understanding, reducing or eliminating reading problems and improving reading outcomes for these children. The subjects were 21 prelinguistically deaf children who attended or had previously attended the Speech and Hearing Centre for Deaf Children (WA) …

The Effect Of Word Processing On The Revising/Editing Strategies Of Primary Esl Writers, L. John Oliver

Theses : Honours

The focus of this study was on the effect of word processing on the revising and editing strategies of primary ESL writers. Six year 5/6 'intensive' ESL students completed a number of written tasks, using both computer and conventional 'pen and paper' methods. Their handwritten and word processed work was analysed and compared in terms of the frequency, nature and extent of changes made. Statistical analysis of these data, as well as audio-taped verbal protocols, interviews, and observational notes, was used to determine the effect(s) of word processing on the revising/editing strategies of these students. Of the four major revision …

Teachers' Concerns About Implementing Environmental Education Through Their Classroom Programmes, Karen Malone

Theses : Honours

This study examined the concerns of teachers when implementing environmental education into classroom programmes. A metropolitan district of Perth was used for data collection. Four schools and thirteen teachers participated in the study. The measure of concern was calculated using the Stages of Concern Questionnaire. The concerns were then subjected to a SAS computing analysis· programme to determine the relationship between level of concern and predetermined factors. These factors were personal factors: teaching experience; knowledge of the principles of environmental education; colleague support and year level taught; and school-level factors: the presence of school policies; participation in inservices or workshops; …

The Impact Of Dramatic Improvisational Strategies On The Oral Comprehension Skills Of Children With A Low Socio-Economic Background, Heather A. Timms

Theses : Honours

Children with a low socio-economic background frequently fail to reach a high level of scholastic performance during their school years. The school milieu is a potential contributor to this scenario, as schools are generally designed for the attributes, needs, and skill levels that are characteristic of children from middle socio-economic backgrounds. As a result, these children require specific intervention to enable them to function within this 'alien' system. Drama offers unique and exciting possibilities in this field. Previous research endorses the use of improvisational strategies for this specific purpose; and the theories propounded by learning and language theorists and drama …

Prose Fiction Preferences Of Lower Secondary Urban Aboriginal Boys, Stephen James White

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prose fiction preferences of lower secondary urban Aboriginal boys. The Likert scale scores from the 2 x 4 factorial design were analysed using an ANOVA test of significance. It was found that the research group significantly preferred action genres to non-action genres, Aboriginal characterisations to white Australian characterisations, and contemporary story extracts to traditional story extracts.

The Educational Aspirations Of Upper Primary Non English Speaking Background Students In A Mainstream Government School, Shirley Lienert

Theses : Honours

Researchers have described Non English Speaking Background (NESB) students as educationally disadvantaged but recent statistics show that some NESB students are actually outstripping their English Speaking Background (ESB) peers in educational achievement. In this study 121 students in upper primary classes in a Western Australian government school were surveyed so that NESB and ESB students could be identified and the proportion of NESB students within the sample group established. Information was gathered from both NESB and ESB students by administering a sociogram, the Lawseq test and a Likert scale questionnaire with variables of attitudes towards school, attitudes towards teachers1 influence …

How Do Aboriginal Students Account For Their Lack Of Academic Success In W.A. Secondary Schools, Jeffrey Jon Mcquade

Theses : Honours

The provision of education to Aboriginal students has been the subject of many reports and inquiries over the years, each expressing various degrees of concern about aspects of Aboriginal participation and retention in the school system and the generally low levels of academic performance achieved by Aboriginal children. Numerous theoretical explanations have been proposed to account for the serious inequities which continue to exist between the academic performance of Aboriginal children and their non-Aboriginal peers. Some of these are reviewed in this thesis so as to provide a conceptual framework in order that readers may judge the results of this …

Annual Report Of The Iowa Academy Of Science, 1991-92, Paul E. Rider

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Starting in 1976, annual reports have served as a continuing record of the activities of the Iowa Academy of Science. These augment a 100 year history of the Academy which was written in the centennial year of 1975.

This report covers the period from July 1, 1991 to June 30, 1992. It is based on the official records of the Academy (committee reports, Board minutes, correspondence) as well as the recollections, impressions and thoughts of the author.

Promoting Children's Oral Language Development Through Story Retelling, Kathy M. Meyer

Graduate Research Papers

Meaningful language experiences offered to children at a young age nurture their emerging literacy. These experiences encourage children to be active participants in the language processes (Bredekamp, 1987). Their involvement in the language processes can be greatly enhanced through a quality literature base (Strickland & Morrow, 1989b). One type of literature-based experience that facilitates children 1 s emerging language abilities is the oral retelling of stories that they have heard or read (Magee & Sutton-Smith, 1983). Retellings resemble a long-established form of behavior called 11 telling about 11 (Brown & Cambourne, 1987). Telling about something that has happened is a …

An Approach To The Evaluation Of Elt Preparation Programs, Stephen J. Gaies

Faculty Publications

Discussion of the evaluation of training programs for teachers of English as a Second Language consists of: (1) characterization of general approaches; (2) review of reasons for interest in program evaluation; and (3) description of a University of Northern Iowa (UNI) evaluation project that uses a portfolio approach extending 3 years beyond program completion. At UNI; assessment of teacher trainees occurs at four points in the trainee's career: at declaration of undergraduate ESL major; at approximately the second semester of the junior year; during the last undergraduate semester; and 1-3 years after graduation. The principal method used is evaluation of …

Fostering Spelling Ability, Beth Dykstra-Van Meeteren

Graduate Research Papers

Many teachers of primary-age children are seeking to implement the whole language concept into instructional programs by focusing on children's involvement in the language processes (comprehension and composition). Smith and Goodman (1971) explain that the whole language concept is based on the nature of language and how children learn language. As children engage in the language processes, language abilities emerge. Children generate their own hypotheses about the regularity underlying language, test them, and revise these hypotheses based on the feedback they receive.

Early Socialization As A Foundation For Bilingual Literacy Development, Erica Rae Sufritz

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Descriptive Study Of The Beliefs And Practices Of Head Start Teachers Regarding Early Literacy Development, Nancy Lessel Lind

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Peer Response Groups In The Esol Classroom : A Study, Karin Dorothy Krueger

Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative study is introduced through a discussion of peer response groups and the researcher's interest in them. The guiding question of whether peer response groups are as useful for teaching writing ESOL classrooms as in first language classrooms is stated along with supplementary research questions. These are fol lowed by a review of relevant theories and summaries of peer response group hi story, social and cultural factors, and research done on peer response groups in first and additional language classrooms.

Role Of Imitation In Language Assessment Tests, Abha Gupta

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

A study investigated whether imitation plays a significant role in the acquisition of grammar. Three 6- to 8-year-old hearing-impaired children were administered the Grammatical Analysis of Elicited Language--Simple Sentence Level Test (GAEL), which is designed to evaluate hearing-impaired children's use of grammatical aspects of spoken and/or signed English. Subjects' verbal responses to the "imitated" component (in which subjects were asked to say just what the tester said) of the GAEL were transcribed and analyzed. Results indicated that imitated speech is neither longer nor grammatically more advanced than non-imitated, spontaneous speech. Findings suggest that the children produced "unique" language structures to …