Digital Commons Network^™

Imsa 2061 Program Year 2001-2002 Summary Report, Steven R. Rogg

Steven R Rogg

In 2000 IMSA and the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Project 2061 established a partnership, IMSA 2061, to offer unique and nationally recognized professional development programs for mathematics and science teachers and education leaders. Participants in the IMSA 2061 professional development programs learn to use the tools, research, and experiences of education reform to enable all students to achieve the learning expressed in state and national standards. Activities described in this report fall into two categories, Introductory Workshops and long-term programs with districts. IMSA 2061 Introductory Workshops help educators become aware of how to apply Project 2061 publications …

Parent Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Therapeutic Horseback Riding For Children With Varying Disabilities, Anita L. Scialli

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Disabilities affect 54 million people and 4.4 million children in the U.S. and are of importance to special education faculty (Center for Disease Control 2000). A survey design examines the effectiveness of human-animal interaction, specifically horseback riding, in children with varying disabilities.

Therapeutic horseback riding as an animal assisted therapy, aims to promote mind and body integration through movement (psychomotricity) and the human-animal bond (Delta Society, 2001a; Spink, 1993, All, Loving & Crane, 1999). Effectiveness is measured by parent assessment of improvement in 67 child behaviors resulting from child participation in horseback riding, using a new Horseback Riding Survey. Behaviors …

Promoting Equality And Access In Higher Education: A Comparative Study Of State Sponsored Preferential Policies In Great Britain, India And South Africa, Lanaia C. Dubose

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Recent U.S. court decisions striking down affirmative action policies in college admissions have caused universities to seek diversity programs that can hold up to public and Jesa1 scrutiny while maintaining diversity on campus. The purpose of this thesis is to study the preference programs of other countries and determine if successful elements could be duplicated here in the United States. Specifically, the study looks at whether countries who use equality of opportunity programs (which focus on training initiatives) are more successful in increasing enrollment and hiring numbers of minorities than equality of outcome measures (which focus on quotas). The study …

Maps-Ii Study Final Report For The Initiative “Museums And Public Schools” On Behalf Of Museums In The Park And Chicago Public Schools, Steven R. Rogg

Steven R Rogg

The Museums and Public Schools (MAPS) initiative intends to “create a lasting impact on teaching and learning by integrating museum resources into the educational process and serve as a national model.” It is conceived as a “sustained partnership of museums and schools, students and teachers,” engaging them in “authentic learning experiences.” This is to be accomplished primarily via the explicit incorporation of relevant (as indicated by the Chicago Academic Standards) cultural, historical, and scientific resources of Chicago’s world-class museums into the curriculum of Chicago Public Schools. The result is to be an experience of education that is powerfully rich, engaging, …

Integrating Literature Into The Science And Social Studies Curricula: A Curriculum Guide For Grade Two, Jennifer M. Donald

All Graduate Projects

The adoption of the Open Court reading program in conjunction with the Washington Read's Grant was the initial idea for this project. The integration of science and social studies themes was researched, and found to be beneficial in the teaching of those content areas. A handbook for second grade educators was created to integrate the adopted science and social studies topics with the newly adopted reading curriculum at Vale Elementary in Cashmere, Washington. This handbook contains a scope and sequence, literature libraries for three reading achievement levels, the benchmarks and essential learning's for the designated topics, and suggested activities for …

A Model Peer Coaching Guide For Junior High General Education Teachers In The Tahoma School District, Ausencio Matthias Delgado

All Graduate Projects

Improving teacher efficacy and pedagogy by building collegial and supportive relationships through peer coaching was studied. A model peer coaching guide featuring coaching procedures and activities was developed and utilized at Tahoma Junior High School. The results of the guide indicated that peer coaching can be implemented by general education teachers to enhance their educational practices by increasing dialogue, reflection, and refinement of teaching and learning practices.

Motivating Marginalized Youth Through Health Related Service-Learning, Jane Klara Miller

All Graduate Projects

The project provides secondary health teachers who work with marginalized youth with a handbook of service-learning ideas in six units to incorporate into the curriculum. The handbook allows students to utilize the skills they have learned in the classroom by participating in service-learning activities in their community. Students involved in all stages of the service-learning process gain confidence to take ownership of the program allowing for success. By connecting the community and schools through learning, students are given the opportunity to explore their talents, get to know their communities, strengthen developmental assets and learn from one another.

A Model Reading Skills Guide For Secondary Teachers To Support Classes Across The Curriculum, Keith Edward Swanson

All Graduate Projects

The need for students to learn reading skills in each of their core subject areas was studied. A skills guide, supported by research on effective reading strategies and assessment tools, was then developed to help promote successful reading by secondary students across the curriculum. The guide offers teachers various pre-reading, duringreading, and post-reading activities to enhance the reading done by students in their classes. It also provides assessment tools to enable teachers and students to measure their progress.

Observing Women: Using Annie Leibovitz To Teach Thinking And Writing, Joanne M. Marshall

Joanne M. Marshall

Good writing makes a key point and supports it with detailed evidence. In its rubric for students' five-paragraph timed essays, the Illinois state board of education refers to this feature as "Support/Elaboration," or "the degree to which the main point is explained by specific details and reasons" (Illinois State Board of Education, 2002). At its essence, support and elaboration is about students' ability to think critically as they reason and summon evidence to make an argument. There is a solid history of research summarizing the link between thinking critically and writing well, mostly coming from the work of George Hillocks …

Brain-Based Learning: Implications For The Elementary Classroom, Brenda Van Roekel

Master of Education Program Theses

Recent developments in neuroscience have enabled scientists to understand and image brain activity. Brain researchers are now more able than ever before to understand how the brain works, what affects the brain, and what implications these discoveries have for education. Based upon these discoveries new methods of teaching have been devised using the term, brain-based strategies or brain-based learning. This thesis examines some of the brain-based strategies embraced by leaders in this field. It will pay particular attention to the enriched environment, the effect of emotion on learning, and the concept of sensitive or critical periods. It will examine research …

Referendums Education In The United States: Reform Or Assimilation?, Francisco Ramos

Education Faculty Works

The antibilingüe movement that is spreading across the United States has become one of the most controversial in the debate on the education of linguistic minorities issues. Ron Unz, the California millionaire who has managed to eliminate bilingual programs in California and Arizona and trying to do the same today in Colorado and Massachusetts, is a clear example of assimilationist movement, which argues that immigrants should give up their languages and vernacular cultures to integrate into American society. This article summarizes the history of bilingualism in the United States, focusing on decisions that have affected the education of minority students, …

Miss Snell's Way: A Life-Affirming Organic Model Created In Sport, Robin G. Cash

Eleanor Frost Snell Programs, Correspondence and Other Documents

This 156 page dissertation by Robin G. Cash, Ursinus College Class of 1972, was submitted to the faculty of Fielding Graduate Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Human and Organizational Systems.

The dissertation explores a women’s way of coaching and being in sport that existed prior to Title IX. It considers a shift from an organic to a mechanistic coaching approach. An alternative model based on the concept of organicism and underlying principles of relational power, life-affirming actions, and inclusiveness of all beings is presented. This new model emerged from three …

The Effects Of A Direct Instruction Versus A Non-Direct Instruction Classroom Environment On Behavior Patterns At The Middle School Level, Pamela D. Davis

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this research was to complete an historical comparison of behavior patterns exhibited by students at a small rural middle school in Southside, Virginia during the 2000-2001, and the current 2001-2002 academic years. In addition, the research includes components of the effects of a non-direct instruction classroom versus a direct instruction classroom environment on such behavior patterns. All students' discipline records in grades 6 through 8 were evaluated for the study. The numbers of referrals written on individual students were considered in addition to the types of referrals written.

Launchpad: Using Students-Owned Computers In The Classroom, Justin James Whiteford

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to address the need for integrated technology in schools by presenting LaunchPad as a means of implementing student-owned laptops in the classroom.

Turkish Student Teachers' Early Experiences In Schools: Critical Incidents, Reflection, And A New Teacher Education Program, Dannelle D. Stevens, Serap Sarigul, Hulya Deger

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

In Turkey there is an old saying about how parents feel about the role of schools: "The bones are mine, but the flesh is yours." Turkish parents want schools to not only educate but to mold and shape the values of their children in ways that the educators think appropriate. Ever since Turkey became a republic in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, education has been highly valued. In 1924, Ataturk invited John Dewey to assess and report on the situation in Turkish schools. In Turkish villages, anyone with an education was highly respected. Old people stood up …

Using Authentic Learning To Teach Basic Technology Skills, Steven Burken

Graduate Research Papers

During the past decade, most school districts have been required to write technology plans that have included the goal that students will become technologically literate. Teachers and administrators have been challenged to teach technology skills that will help student solve problems in the work place. What has been commonplace is for schools to offer courses or units in which students acquire skills without applying them to real world problems. This paper takes a look at the literature and research surrounding the use of technology, and the learning of technology skills, in the framework of authentic learning.

The Impact Of A Block Schedule As Perceived By Teachers Of Various Academic Fields Within A Secondary School Setting, Brian A. Zychowski

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Learning And Study Strategies As They Relate To Success In An Open-Entry/Open-Exit College Developmental Reading Course, Ginna A. Wenger

Dissertations

This study examines whether student interviews, students' responses on the Learning and Study Styles Inventory (LASSI), or both, could be useful for sorting students who are likely to succeed from those students who are less likely to succeed in an open-entry/open-exit college reading skills course at a small, rural Michigan community college.

The study combined qualitative data in the form of student interviews and quantitative data that consisted of LASSI scores from 41 students. The qualitative part of the study employed a constant comparative method to analyze data from five semi-structured interviews.The quantitative part of the study computed Pearson r …

A Study Of The Reported Long-Term Attitudinal And Behavioral Effects Of An Eighth-Grade Environmental Education Project And The Development Of An Innovation Configuration To Promote Environmental Education, Jean Lomino

Dissertations

Problem. Increasing scientific evidence reveals that this planet is in serious environmental jeopardy. Since 1977, when an international group of K-12 educators met in the USSR and established goals for teaching environmental education worldwide, many schools have endeavored to fulfill these goals through the use of various curricula and teaching strategies. Although some progress has been made, most K-12 public schools have not done enough to meet the demands of environmental problems. In 1996, my co-teacher and I designed and implemented an environmental project, called Mission Environment, that we hoped would help our students develop long-term positive environmental attitudes …

Developing Generic Skills For Tertiary Students In An Online Learning Environment, Joseph Luca

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Increasingly, higher education institutions are being asked by industry, government and funding bodies to produce graduates with versatile generic skills as well as subject knowledge and expertise. This is causing a major reappraisal of higher education institutions purpose, learning outcomes and research activities. Many institutions are experiencing problems in implementing effective teaching and learning strategies to promote the development of these skills. The study sought to investigate ways of developing students' generic skills through the design and implementation of a learning environment that incorporated three key learning principles - authenticity, self-regulation and reflection. These were integrated into a course design …

The Impact Of A Dual Language Program On School Climate In A Large Urban District, Nancy Navarez-Lutzke

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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