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The African American Male Achievement Dilemma Through The Eyes Of The African American Male Superintendent, J.R. Falor Green Dec 2014

The African American Male Achievement Dilemma Through The Eyes Of The African American Male Superintendent, J.R. Falor Green

Theses and Dissertations

This research study explores the perspective of African American male superintendents on the African American male achievement dilemma. How do African American male superintendents theorize and respond to the underachievement of African American male students? Do their experiences give them greater insight, and how has this potential insight contributed to the implementation of initiatives that have improved the performance of this subgroup? Three major theoretical perspectives were explored during my review of the literature. Critical Race, Social Reproduction, and Oppositional Culture Theory encompassed the most consistent themes during my research, and helped to situate the study within the broader education …

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Relationships Between Prior Experiences, Current Teaching Contexts, And Novice Teachers' Use Of Concrete Representation For Mathematics Instruction, Elizabeth Lee Johnson Dec 2014

Relationships Between Prior Experiences, Current Teaching Contexts, And Novice Teachers' Use Of Concrete Representation For Mathematics Instruction, Elizabeth Lee Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

This case study documents the perceived influences on three novice elementary teachers’ use of concrete representations for teaching mathematics. In order to develop mathematical proficiency, students need access to a variety of representations (i.e. pictures, words, symbols, concrete materials, and real world contexts) to make sense of mathematical ideas. Three sources of data were collected: video-recorded lessons, interviews, and a focus group. Analyses indicated that although concrete representations were accessible to all three teachers, they were least used among the available representations. Verbal expression was most prominent, followed closely by abstract written symbols. Technology, which was not one of the …

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A Soul Composed Of Harmonies: George Herbert's Life, Writings, And Choral Settings Of His English Poetry, Benjamin Todd Ebner Dec 2014

A Soul Composed Of Harmonies: George Herbert's Life, Writings, And Choral Settings Of His English Poetry, Benjamin Todd Ebner

Theses and Dissertations

George Herbert’s poetry is among the greatest religious poetry written in the English language. His introspective and nuanced understanding of the human soul and his beautiful style of writing have earned him his place among the great poets. His catalogue is filled with poems ready to be set to music, and dozens of them have been. However, there is no document that seeks to gather an annotated list of these compositions in one place. Further, while a few of these compositions are performed often, there are dozens of other worthy compositions that should be heard on a more wide and …

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Southern Language, Ideology, And Identity In A High School Sorority, Sara Lide Dec 2014

Southern Language, Ideology, And Identity In A High School Sorority, Sara Lide

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the language practices of high school sorority members in a mid-sized city in the U.S. South. Specifically, it describes how economically privileged, white, female youth in the Young Ladies’ Society of Midway (YLSM) used Southern language to position themselves and others in relation to widely and locally circulating ideologies of language, region, gender, and class. Drawing on sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological methods, this study addresses the issues of how Southern language practices and language ideologies relate and how indexical meanings and social identities emerge through linguistic interaction. As a study that examines the language of a group …

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Living On The Moon: Women, Home Making, And The House After World War Ii In Shirley Jackson’S We Have Always Lived In The Castle, Leslie Dennis Dec 2014

Living On The Moon: Women, Home Making, And The House After World War Ii In Shirley Jackson’S We Have Always Lived In The Castle, Leslie Dennis

Theses and Dissertations

In my thesis, I concentrate on Shirley Jackson, her novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and women’s place in post-World War II American society. To start, I introduce Jackson and her role in literary history, the housewife writer in the 1950s and 60s, and magazine culture. Then I move to a historical perspective of the 1950s and propaganda during the atomic war era. I focus my attention on how government literature worked to contain women in the home and control sexuality and gender roles. Following my discussion of domesticity, I concentrate on the history of the Gothic novel …

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Who Let The Elephant In The Room? Analyzing Race And Racism Through A Critical Family Literacy Book Club, Lamar L. Johnson Dec 2014

Who Let The Elephant In The Room? Analyzing Race And Racism Through A Critical Family Literacy Book Club, Lamar L. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to interpret, investigate, and analyze how race, racism, and power are embedded and intertwined not only in society but also in the education system and in homes and communities. Specifically, through parent and student engagement during a series of book club meetings, I investigated how parents’ racial identities impacted how they created critical dialogue pertaining to issues of race, racism, and power with their children. Guided by critical race pedagogy, critical race theory (CRT) and CRT methodology, this study used race as a critical analytic lens to examine the lives and work of people …

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Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Study Abroad To Teaching Internship, Melanie G. Keel Dec 2014

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Study Abroad To Teaching Internship, Melanie G. Keel

Theses and Dissertations

Culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995a; Gay, 2010) and culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris, 2012; Paris & Alim, 2014; Ladson-Billings, 2014) are urgent needs in classrooms because of the diverse student population teachers serve. This research is grounded in critical race theory (CRT) (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001; Bell 1995) and culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) (Gay, 2010; Gay & Howard, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1995a & 1995b) as lenses to interrogate a White pre-service teacher’s internship in the United States and a study abroad (Cushner, 2007; Keengwe, 2010; Malewski, Sharma, & Phillion, 2012) experience in Ecuador. During a 25 day study abroad that included daily …

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Which Student Characteristics Correlate With Discipline Referrals? A Case Study Of A Diverse, High-Poverty Rural School District In The South, Jeannie Baltimore Monson Dec 2014

Which Student Characteristics Correlate With Discipline Referrals? A Case Study Of A Diverse, High-Poverty Rural School District In The South, Jeannie Baltimore Monson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the correlates of discipline referrals in a diverse, high-poverty rural school district. The framework is based upon the Diamond (2004) study which, like this research, was built on the notion that socioeconomic inequality is a major factor for disproportionality in student discipline. This study identified the assets and deficits of the sample population and analyzed them in relationship to the referrals accrued. This study was conducted in a small, rural, southern school district. Of the population, approximately 78% are on free and reduced lunch and is made up of Caucasian students, 53%, …

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How School Leadership Develops Parental Involvement Strategies With Social Capital In Four South Carolina Middle Schools, Anthony Neil Boatwright Dec 2014

How School Leadership Develops Parental Involvement Strategies With Social Capital In Four South Carolina Middle Schools, Anthony Neil Boatwright

Theses and Dissertations

Passed in 2001, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandate requires schools to have a comprehensive plan for addressing parental involvement. Identifying successful practices to increase social capital and academic achievement in lower socio-economic schools appears to be the area that is having the most impact. Principals can contribute to higher success rates by generating productive partnerships between the school and parents/guardians. The purpose of this study is to describe the parental involvement strategies that four successful South Carolina (SC) middle school principals used and to identify successful practices being implemented to increase social capital and academic achievement. The researcher …

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General Education Teachers Implementing Common Core With Students In Special Education: A Mixed Methods Study Of Teachers' Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Jon Leland Cash Dec 2014

General Education Teachers Implementing Common Core With Students In Special Education: A Mixed Methods Study Of Teachers' Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Jon Leland Cash

Theses and Dissertations

This embedded mixed method study addresses the problems teachers have reported in believing themselves capable to implement the Common Core State Standards with students in special education. This study examines the effect professional development on implementing the Common Core State Standards had on the participating teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. The participants (N=21) in this study were drawn from a 20-day professional development for teachers based on implementing the Common Core State Standards. The instrument used in the study was the Teacher Efficacy Beliefs System-Self. Data were subject to both statistical and qualitative analysis. The results of this study provide insight into …

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Impact Of Middle School Student Participation In The Whole Schools Initiative Arts Program, Glenda D. Nickson Dec 2014

Impact Of Middle School Student Participation In The Whole Schools Initiative Arts Program, Glenda D. Nickson

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the impact of the Whole Schools Initiative arts program on the academic achievement of a group of middle school students as measured by the Mississippi Curriculum Test 2 (MCT2) language arts and mathematics assessment. School year 2012-2013 yearly assessment scores for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in 1 middle school in the State of Mississippi were analyzed to determine if a statistically significant difference in academic achievement existed between those who participated in the arts program in elementary school and those who did not. This study was guided by 4 research questions and employed 2 research …

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Soundscape Evaluation On Mississippi State University Campus, Yalcin Yildirim Dec 2014

Soundscape Evaluation On Mississippi State University Campus, Yalcin Yildirim

Theses and Dissertations

The term soundscape, used for the first time at the end of 1970s, refers to the sum of the sounds that can be heard and perceived by people in a specific environment. The concept of soundscape has recently received attention in planning and design disciplines. Recent studies on soundscape have shown that the acoustic environment plays an important role for the comfort of site users. Hence, this research investigates how objective measurement of soundscape might be different from subjective perceptions of users in the Mississippi State University Campus as a public open space due to demographic and climatic variations. The …

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The Multidimensional Quality Metric (Mqm) Framework: A New Framework For Translation Quality Assessment, Valerie Ruth Mariana Dec 2014

The Multidimensional Quality Metric (Mqm) Framework: A New Framework For Translation Quality Assessment, Valerie Ruth Mariana

Theses and Dissertations

This document is a supplement to the article entitled “The Multidimensional Quality Metric (MQM) Framework: A New Framework for Translation Quality Assessment”, which has been acepted for publication in the upcoming January volume of JoSTrans, the Journal of Specialized Translation. The article is a coauthored project between Dr. Alan K. Melby, Dr. Troy Cox and myself. In this document you will find a preface describing the process of writing the article, an annotated bibliography of sources consulted in my research, a summary of what I learned, and a conclusion that considers the future avenues opened up by this research. Our …

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Components Of Effective Writing Content Conferences In A Sixth-Grade Classroom, Paul Ricks Dec 2014

Components Of Effective Writing Content Conferences In A Sixth-Grade Classroom, Paul Ricks

Theses and Dissertations

Students are now required to show proficiency in writing through performance on standardized tests. Educators and researchers are looking for ways to improve persuasive and argumentative writing created by students. The writing content conference setting gives educators and students opportunities to discuss student writing in a one-on-one format in which students receive feedback. Ideally, this helps them to create multiple drafts of writing that improve with each revision. Many practitioner guides have been created that offer suggestions as to how conferences can be conducted and what types of interactions can theoretically occur. Few, however, have examined what actually happens during …

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Transcription And Translation Of A Yearly Letter From 1619 Found In The Japonica Sinica 71 From The Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu, Jason Michael Wilber Dec 2014

Transcription And Translation Of A Yearly Letter From 1619 Found In The Japonica Sinica 71 From The Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu, Jason Michael Wilber

Theses and Dissertations

This project is a transcription and translation of a 21-page annual letter written about the Cochinchina mission for the year 1619 by the Jesuit missionary João Rodrigues Girão. In 1619 the Cochinchina mission consisted of central and southern Vietnam. The two Jesuit residents at this time were located in the city of Faifo, in the province of Cacham, and Nuocman, in the province of Pulocamby. A semi-diplomatic and diplomatic transcription style is used for the transcription, with a dynamic-equivalent (sense-for-sense) style used for the translation.

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The Effect Of Computer-Based Pronunciation Readings On Esl Learners' Perception And Production Of Prosodic Features In A Short-Term Esp Course, Caitlin Jolley Dec 2014

The Effect Of Computer-Based Pronunciation Readings On Esl Learners' Perception And Production Of Prosodic Features In A Short-Term Esp Course, Caitlin Jolley

Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies on pronunciation teaching in ESL classrooms have found that the teaching of suprasegmentals, namely stress, pausing, and intonation, has a great effect on improving intelligibility (Derwing, Munro, & Wiebe, 1998; Kang, Rubin, & Pickering, 2010; Morley, 1991). The current project describes the development and implementation of computer-based pronunciation materials used for an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program. The pronunciation program made use of cued pronunciation readings (CPRs) which used suprasegmentals and were developed for English as a second language (ESL) missionaries at the Provo, Utah, Missionary Training Center (MTC). Because there was no pronunciation program in place …

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Inclusive Recreation: The Malleability Of Attitudes Toward Disability Through Peer Interaction, Megan Fort Dec 2014

Inclusive Recreation: The Malleability Of Attitudes Toward Disability Through Peer Interaction, Megan Fort

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the malleability of attitudes with the goal of improving social inclusion for a stigmatized group, specifically individuals with developmental disabilities. Contact Theory was used as an intentional structure for meaningful intergroup contact to assess, understand, and improve meanings applied to individuals with disabilities at an inclusive summer day camp. Adolescent volunteers were administered quantitative questionnaires utilizing the Contact with Disabled Persons Scale (CDP) and the Multi-Dimensional Attitude Scale (MAS). Collected data were used to determine the efficacy of involvement in an inclusive recreation program on adolescent participants' attitudes toward disability. After a covariate-adjusted regression analysis, contact with …

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The Effects Of Nebulized Saline Treatments On Diphthongal Vowel Production On Female Subjects With Sjögren's Syndrome, Keri Lynn Perry Dec 2014

The Effects Of Nebulized Saline Treatments On Diphthongal Vowel Production On Female Subjects With Sjögren's Syndrome, Keri Lynn Perry

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze and quantify the effects of a nebulized saline treatment on speech production in eight females with Primary Sjögren's Syndrome (SS). The duration, formant frequency onset and offset, and slope were measured to determine the quality of participants' production of diphthongal American English vowels. Acoustic data were examined before treatment began, immediately following treatment, and during a one-week follow-up to determine the effects of a laryngeal hydration program that used nebulized saline to increase hydration of structures in the vocal tract. The vowels produced during the initial baseline condition were acoustically relatively similar …

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Blogs, Books, & Breadcrumbs: A Case Study Of Transmedial Fairy Tales, Kristy Gilbert Stewart Dec 2014

Blogs, Books, & Breadcrumbs: A Case Study Of Transmedial Fairy Tales, Kristy Gilbert Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding transmedial storytelling is particularly important to fairy-tale studies. Monomedial views have long been unable to account for all of fairy tale tradition. Although the form originated in oral culture, it has long been a liminal, hybrid form that retains aspects of orality even while its principal mode of transference for some time has been something other than face-to-face communication. Transformations and adaptations across different media and contexts has resulted in a system of fairy-tale tradition that is massively intertextual and transmedial. No one medium can claim primary control over the fairy-tale tradition. Throughout time, oral tellings have inspired literary …

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A Lesson In Rhetoric: Finding God Through Language In “Batter My Heart”, Marc Daniel Giullian Dec 2014

A Lesson In Rhetoric: Finding God Through Language In “Batter My Heart”, Marc Daniel Giullian

Theses and Dissertations

A reexamination of John Donne's Holy Sonnet “Batter my heart,” especially one looking at the sonnet's relationship to Early Modern rhetoric, is long overdue. In this paper, I hope to show that a focus on Donne's relationship to Early Modern rhetoric yields several useful new insights. I argue specifically that Donne was probably exposed to Non-Ramist rhetorical methods and theory at many points in his education, from his childhood to his college years to his years at the Inns of Court. Furthermore, Non-Ramist rhetoric has moral implications, suggesting that aspects of an author's feelings, character, and desires can be analyzed …

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The Effectiveness Of Computer-Enhanced Shadowing And Tracking Pronunciation Exercises For Intermediate Level Foreign Language Learners, Veronique Willardson Dec 2014

The Effectiveness Of Computer-Enhanced Shadowing And Tracking Pronunciation Exercises For Intermediate Level Foreign Language Learners, Veronique Willardson

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the effectiveness of on-line video-assisted pronunciation exercises in beginning level classes of foreign-language learning. A review of the current literature on pronunciation is presented, followed by a description of a study used to test the effectiveness of computer-based exercises in improving pronunciation. The participants were a group of high school students that were members of a fourth year French class. As part of their regular class time, the students participated in two types of exercises, in-class group work and computer-lab self-directed exercises, in which the students watched videos with subtitles while repeating what they heard. Satisfaction with …

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The Production Of Voice Onset Time In Voiceless Stops By Spanish-English Natural Bilinguals, Ivan K. Banov Dec 2014

The Production Of Voice Onset Time In Voiceless Stops By Spanish-English Natural Bilinguals, Ivan K. Banov

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes the production of Voice Onset Time (VOT) of natural Spanish-English bilinguals. VOT is a linguistic characteristic that measures the amount of aspiration occurring after the release of a stop consonant. In terms of VOT, English stop consonants differ substantially from their Spanish equivalents. This study analyzes whether or not natural bilinguals produce VOTs that approximate VOTs of monolingual speakers of each language. Participants completed two surveys to quantify their linguistic dominance in English and Spanish. They were then recorded performing similar speaking tasks in both languages. The conclusions show that natural bilinguals do not produce their English …

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S-Cape Testing For Higher Proficiency Levels And Other Factors That Influence Placement At Brigham Young University, Elizabeth Robinson Dec 2014

S-Cape Testing For Higher Proficiency Levels And Other Factors That Influence Placement At Brigham Young University, Elizabeth Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Brigham Young University (BYU) first implemented the Spanish Computer Adaptive Placement Examination (S-CAPE) during the Fall Semester of 1986 and it has been used ever since. The S-CAPE was designed to determine course placement into beginning and intermediate classes for students who have previously studied Spanish. A 10% increase occurred this year (2014) in students who have served missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many of these returned missionaries gained language proficiency on their missions, and some go to BYU to begin or continue their studies. Because of the increase in enrollment of students with intermediate …

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Virtual Escapes And Intercultural Explorations: How Members Of Interpals Are Using Their Online Community As A Window To The World, Ryan Scott Bartlett Dec 2014

Virtual Escapes And Intercultural Explorations: How Members Of Interpals Are Using Their Online Community As A Window To The World, Ryan Scott Bartlett

Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized in-depth, one-on-one interviews to examine the experiences, attitudes, and opinions, with regard to their use of the Internet for online intercultural communication (OIC), of a culturally diverse sample of 17 members of the global online social community, Interpals. The purpose of this study was threefold: first, the study sought to determine how OIC is shaping the intercultural perceptions of English-speaking Interpals members; second, the study sought to determine how OIC shapes and/or reinforces the cultural identities of English-speaking Interpals members; and finally, the study set out to examine the various ways that English-speaking Interpals members are using …

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Language Use In Mathematics Textbooks Written In English And Spanish, Kailie Ann Bertoch Dec 2014

Language Use In Mathematics Textbooks Written In English And Spanish, Kailie Ann Bertoch

Theses and Dissertations

Research has suggested that although mathematics is a universal language, the notation, algorithms, and language in which it is taught varies from country to country. The literature has addressed the challenges associated with understanding the language of mathematics in English. Variable is a topic of mathematics where the literature has documented students' difficulty understanding the language of mathematics. Part of that difficulty is attributed to the fact that mathematics and English each have their own register and at times the differences in these registers conflict. This study examined the introduction and use of variable in the middle school textbooks of …

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Language Pathways Defined In A Patient With Left Temporal Lobe Damagesecondary To Traumatic Brain Injury: A Qeeg & Mri Study, Janelle Lee Bailey Dec 2014

Language Pathways Defined In A Patient With Left Temporal Lobe Damagesecondary To Traumatic Brain Injury: A Qeeg & Mri Study, Janelle Lee Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

Though the current understanding of language processing is incomplete, it has been established that the left hemisphere is dominant for language in the majority of the population. Damage to language centers of the brain and to white matter tracts connecting these language centers results in a language deficit known as aphasia. Neuroplasticity in the brain can often compensate for these language deficits by strengthening neuronal connections between the right and left hemisphere, or by enhancing the neuronal connectivity of undamaged areas in the left hemisphere. Thus the brain can compensate for damaged language centers by using alternative cortical areas. These …

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Reflective Assessment: Using Reflection And Portfolios To Assess Student Learning In A Writing Center, Kelsie Hope Walker Nov 2014

Reflective Assessment: Using Reflection And Portfolios To Assess Student Learning In A Writing Center, Kelsie Hope Walker

Theses and Dissertations

As writing centers continue to petition for status, funding, and authority on university and college campuses, writing center research and assessment practices continue to evolve. Within the last 10 years, writing center administrators have turned to assessing the writing center based on student learning outcomes (SLOs). This research summarizes the assessment history of writing centers and then proposes a pilot study that uses portfolios and reflection as a way to assess student learning in a writing center on a metropolitan, four-year university campus. This research also discusses the pilot study in terms of future research and implications.

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Ten Pop Culture Modules For The Middle School Exploratory Spanish Classroom, Amy K. Gramlich Nov 2014

Ten Pop Culture Modules For The Middle School Exploratory Spanish Classroom, Amy K. Gramlich

Theses and Dissertations

Twenty-first century adolescents desire to learn through methods and topics which are relevant to their contemporary experiences. Middle school students are motivated by technology and popular culture, and they desire high interest activities in the classroom. Foreign language educators have a plethora of authentic resources that represent target language popular culture available for the modern-day classroom such as YouTube videos, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Voice, online magazines, and student cell phones to help meet these needs. However, many educators feel limited and rushed in finding the time to prepare for culture lessons. The intent behind this thesis is to create pop …

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Ten Integrated Performance Assessments For A Novel-Level College French Class, Nanette Ada Zobkov Nov 2014

Ten Integrated Performance Assessments For A Novel-Level College French Class, Nanette Ada Zobkov

Theses and Dissertations

In response to the need for standards-based assessment, researchers created the Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA), which connects assessment and instruction, testing learners within an authentic context across three communicative modes. It is a better measure of proficiency, provides feedback to learners, positively impacts instruction, and improves learners' attitudes toward assessment. There are many benefits of the IPA, but many instructors do not know how to create and implement them in the classroom. There is a lack of quality IPA examples available to French teachers, and existing IPAs are for high proficiency levels. The author believes that if teachers had access …

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Bilingual Language Assessment: Contemporary Practice Versus Recommended Practice, Graciela Arias Nov 2014

Bilingual Language Assessment: Contemporary Practice Versus Recommended Practice, Graciela Arias

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the increasing number of culturally and linguistically diverse students within American school systems, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in school settings must be prepared to distinguish between typically developing bilingual students and those with language impairments. The purpose of this study was to identify current practices of school-based SLPs for bilingual language assessment and compare them to both American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) best practice guidelines, and mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The study was modeled to replicate Caesar and Kohler's (2007) study to include a nationally representative sample. While the survey was opened over 400 times, …

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