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Improving Teachers’ Ability To Create A Student-Centered Approach To Learning In Grade 7 Classes, Fredricka Fairclough

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This dissertation was designed to provide better understanding of the student centered approach to learning and to assist teachers in operationalizing different approaches across the disciplines thereby overcoming the difficulties they previously encountered. The 15 Grade 7 teachers were not previously trained to use the student centered approach to learning. They were challenged in the various classes because the new curriculum is student centered. As a result, they found it difficult to identify creative ways to design dynamic learning environments that involve students in doing and thinking.

The writer developed a plan that provided not only training but also support …

Improving The School Climate: Ventura Elementary School, Mike Smith

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This practicum studied the dissatisfaction of the school staff with the front office and the subsequent loss of a significant number of instructional personnel. This study took place at Ventura Elementary School.

A change in the principalship and corresponding leadership style, a constant turnover of assistant principals, and a new office staff brought in by the new administration were some causes of the dissatisfaction.

This practicum identified sources of dissatisfaction through the use of a school climate survey. Research-based strategies that have been credited with improving school climate were implemented. The principal played a significant role in the implementation. The …

Design And Implementation Of A Foreign Language In The Elementary Schools Program, Stephanie M. Pappagianopoulos

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This report describes a program that was initiated to promote the sequential study of foreign language beginning in the elementary schools. The program involved 78 third grade students from an urban elementary school. Approximately 10% of the students had some knowledge of the language before the program. The planned strategies included (a) distribution of a survey to parents and teachers within the pilot school; (b) tallying the responses; (c) adopting Spanish as the second language based on parent and teacher responses; (d) hiring an elementary school teacher with Spanish certification; (e) obtaining grant money for professional development . of the …

Improving Student Achievement And Attitude In Middle Grade Social Studies Classes Through Learning Style Instruction And Design, Jennifer D. Vincent

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to improve student achievement and attitude in a middle school social studies class. Students were not performing well on tests and exams after experiencing traditional visual and auditory instructional methods. The Jack of diversity and creativity in delivery of instruction resulted in limited academic achievement and poor attitude towards social studies learning. Furthermore, long-term memory was also negatively affected because the traditional teaching approaches did not emphasize higher level thinking that promotes greater retention. The study integrates theoretical research concerning how students learn to the development of a strong historical rationale for implementing learning styles …

The Developnient Of A Religious Education Parish Training Manual For Novice Clergy In The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Of America, Frank Marangos

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA) is responsible for preparing clergy for Orthodox parishes through America. An important responsibility of Orthodox clergy is the training a:nd development of parish religious educators. Greek Orthodox clergy, however, are rarely graduates of academic programs specifically designed with an emphasis on teacher preparation. Consequently, newly ordained clergy have difficulty developing their respective parish teachers. The problem is that novice clergy are not provided support resources for effectively teaching parish religious educators how to teach.

The seven research questions answered in this applied dissertation were as follows: What are the most recurring problems experienced …

The Effects Of Phonological Awareness On Kindergarten Reading Achievement, Barbara A. Grazel

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

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Evaluation Of The Revised Personal Training Certificate Program At Camden County College, Nicholas J. Dicicco

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The success of programs at Camden County College is determined using an outcome-based evaluation process. Revisions were made to the Personal Training Certificate program over 18 months ago and no evaluation had been performed since that time.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the revised certificate program to determine if the revisions have resulted in achieving program objectives. There was one research question: Have the revisions made to the certificate program resulted in the attainment of the program objectives as described in the Camden County College Academic Program Review document?

The evaluation was performed based on a review …

Development Of The Content And Format For The Resort Recreation Management/Tourism Practicum Handbook At At Slippery Rock University, Phyllise Wilkins-Church

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem addressed in this project was that the practicum handbook available for resort recreation management/tourism students and the site supervisor was not specific to their needs. The purpose of this study was to delineate the requirements, expectations, and format appropriate in an option specific practicum handbook. The research question for this study was: "What is the appropriate content information and format for the resort recreation management/tourism practicum handbook?"

Results from the literature review and input from the formative and summative committees supported the need for a practicum handbook specific to resort recreation management/tourism. The professional literature assisted in identifying …

Evaluation Of Student Satisfaction With Flight Training Schools At The Indiana State University Department Of Aerospace, Gregory Lee Schwab

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

At Indiana State University, many students indicated their dissatisfaction with the contracted flight schools' ability to provide a quality customer service product. This was not only what students expected but also was required as part of the university's contract. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of service provided by the university's two contracted flight schools, as determined by a voluntary student survey and verbal feedback from students, staff and faculty, and the airport managers of the two contracted flight schools.

There were two research questions for this study. The first question was, "What quality of service …

Evaluation Of A Staff Education Handbook On Advance Directives For The Staff On The Subacute Unit At Metropolitan Jewish Geriatric Center, Adrian Harper

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Metropolitan Jewish Geriatric Center (MJGC) has in its mission statement that it will provide education to all its employees. This is to ensure patients would have their direct and indirect care needs met. The purpose of this study was to provide information on advance directives to the staff nurses working on the subacute unit. Evaluation was necessary in order to determine whether the content and objectives of the handbook on advance directives met the needs of the nurses on the subacute unit.

The evaluation problem solving methodology was used in this study. There were three basic research questions for this …

A Study To Determine The Relationship Between Where African American Students Graduated High School In New Jersey And Their Participation In Co-Curricular Activities In College, Jocelyn D. Briddell

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

African American women at Douglass College do not seem to be involved in mainstream campus organizations and activities. It has been suggested the students who come from urban areas in New Jersey are less involved in co-curricular activities because of a lack of state funding. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a relationship between where African American Douglass women graduated from high school in New Jersey and their participation in co-curricular activities.

There was one research question for this study: Is there a relationship between student participation in co-curricular activities based upon whether the …

Analyzing Participant Confidence Levels To Deliver Brief Tobacco Cessation Interventions Post Training At The University Of Arizona, Louise J. Strayer

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Pregnant, postpartum and lactating women who are clients of the Arizona Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program have a 22% rate of tobacco use. This is 8% above the national average for this population. The purpose of this study was to measure changes in training curriculum participants' reported levels of self-confidence to deliver brief tobacco cessation interventions before and immediately after participation in the WIC tobacco cessation training curriculum. The research question investigated was: Does participation in a one day, six hour training curriculum designed to teach the skills necessary to deliver brief tobacco cessation interventions increase the participant' s …

Development Of A Quick-St Art Manual To Improve The Quality Of First-Time Presentations On The Vision Athena Network, Robert Vardaman

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Providing for the training of first-time users to the Vision Athena video conferencing system became increasingly difficult because of the rapid growth of the system. In tum, the lack of training contributed to the decrease in quality of first-time events adding to the frustration of presenters and participants. The problem was that the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration did not have a training plan to match the volume of growth that occurred. It was, therefore, necessary to provide a quick-start manual that was concise, easy to understand, and easy to use.

The purpose of the study was to develop …

Development Of A Performance Checklist For Paramedic Education At Crafton Hills College With Plans For Implementation And Evaluation, James Holbrook

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Changes in the regulations for paramedic education have recently been adopted (DOT HS 808 862 National Standard Paramedic Curriculum, 1998). The Crafton Hills College Paramedic program is required to meet these regulations, and as a requirement of the regulations, document the attainment of the required competencies to achieve paramedic course completion. No performance checklist existed within the Crafton Hills College paramedic program that tracks and documents the clinical and field exposures of the graduates that includes national, state, and local requirements. The purpose of this study was to develop, with plans to implement and evaluate, a performance checklist specific to …

An Evaluation Of Germ City : Finding A Suitable Design, Suzanne Cherie Lusher

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Evaluations are used to determine a program’s merit. “Germ City” utilizes experiential learning of adequate hand washing skills. An elementary school in southwestern West Virginia served to determine if the evaluation design for “Germ City” would prove to be an effective assessment for the hand-washing program. Four hundred and eighty-four participants completed an eight-question pre/post test; one hundred and forty-nine students underwent a hand quadrant evaluation. In addition, a soap and paper towel usage log was recorded. Fifty-four percent of the participants were male, forty-six percent female (n=483) with a mean grade level of 3.6 (n=484). Post test results indicated …

Representations Of Motherhood: A Feminist Criticism Of Indian Post-Colonial Novels, Baishakhi Banerjee

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

No abstract provided.

Piagetian Developmental Reasoning Levels Of High School Students In Differentiated First Year Chemistry Courses, Pamela Kay Brewer-Michael

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This research studied the developmental reasoning levels of students in three different first year high school chemistry courses as related to achievement defined by cumulative grade point average and course selection. The Lawson Test of Formal Operations modified by Roy Unruh and Bruce Perry at the University of Northern Iowa was used to determine cognitive developmental level of subjects. A consumer type chemistry course, a traditional high school chemistry course, and an honors course under consideration with Marshalltown Community College for credit status were the three courses utilized in this study. Data was collected in a classroom group setting over …

Identifying And Comparing Misconceptions Held By American And Russian University Students In Mechanics, Alexandra Sokolova

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This paper reports on a study of misconceptions held by undergraduate students completing an introductory physics course at the University of Northern Iowa and first-year undergraduate students taking a mechanics course at the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia. Existence of misconceptions in mechanics among Russian and American students was investigated prior to instruction and at the completion of the one-semester course. Different teaching approaches were used to introduce the students to mechanics. An activity-based approach was emphasized at UNI and a traditional lecture-lab approach was used at Herzen University. The emphasis of the study was placed on identifying misconceptions …

Co-Cultural Communication On The Internet: A Sociolinguistic Analysis Of Rec.Arts.Bodyart, Matthew C. Coe

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

No abstract provided.

Academic Attribution Style Of Tenth Grade Students With Attachment Problems, Kimberly Conrad

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between attachment and attribution in adolescents. The question that will be answered in this study is is there a relationship between attachment (as measured by the Adolescent Attachment Questionnaire) and attribution ( as measured by the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire). There is not enough data in the literature at the present time to clearly support that there is a relationship. Data were collected by using two instruments, Adolescent Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ), (West, Rose, Spreng, Sheldon-Keller, & Adam, 1998), and Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire (Crandall, Katkovosky, & Crandall, …

Forgiveness Intervention For An Incest Survivor : A Case Study, Joyce Skinner

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study examined the effectiveness of a 20 week, individual forgiveness intervention for a late adolescent female incest survivor. The forgiveness intervention was taken from Enright's (1991) Process Model of Forgiveness. This intervention has been shown to be effective in at least four scientific studies to date (Al-Mabuk, Enright, & Cardis, 1995; Coyle & Enright, 1997; Freedman & Enright, 1996; Hehl & Enright, 1993). The participant of this study was recruited form a Midwestern community human service organization as a self-referral for counseling service. Treatment variables were measured utilizing a single-subject design that compared the subject's feelings of hope, anxiety, …

General Educator Training For The Instruction Of English Language Learners : Is It Sufficient?, Jane E. Zirkelbach

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The present study examined perceptions from a small sample of teachers from two small Midwestern districts. Teachers were interviewed to collect information regarding the teachers' training for the general education instruction and the identification process for special education for English Language Learners (ELLs ). In addition, teachers were asked to suggest future methods of training and identify alternatives to special education referrals for ELLs. The results indicated that teachers are not adequately trained to instruct nor identify ELLs for special education and that future teachers should be trained to educate and communicate with ELLs. Recommendations include more comprehensive

A Descriptive Analysis Of Sexuality Education In The State Of Iowa : What Content Is Being Delivered To Secondary Students?, Brian Poncy

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The present study investigated what content in the area of human sexuality was being delivered to secondary students in the state of Iowa. The study was a descriptive study, which investigated the lesson plans used by the teacher(s) who delivered the participating school's sexuality education component. Specifically, the study compared what information schools cited that they were delivering to secondary students with a preset coding system developed by Ogletree, Rienzo, Drolet & Fetro (1995) to evaluate sexuality education curricula. Three areas were looked at which included sexually related content, skill building strategies, and teaching strategies. Results indicated that the participating …

A Pneumatically Actuated Manipulandum For Neuromotor Control Research, Aaron J Suminski, Kristina M. Ropella, Robert A. Scheidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques have great potential for identifying which neural structures are involved in the control of goal-directed reaching movements. However, fMRI techniques alone are not capable of probing the neural mechanisms involved in acquisition of novel motor behaviors because such studies require that the moving limb be perturbed in a controlled fashion. We outline a plan to design and develop a non-metallic, pneumatically actuated tool that, along with systems identification techniques and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), will characterize and quantify how the human central nervous system uses sensory information during practice-based motor learning.

Reengineering Biomedical Engineering Curricula: A New Product Development Approach, Robert A. Scheidt, L. Waples, Kristina M. Ropella

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Product development engineers in medical industries have created design control procedures to ensure high quality designs that are as error-free as possible. The reason is simple; companies must adhere to certain engineering and manufacturing "best practices" in order to obtain certification of their devices for sale in the US and abroad. We describe here an ongoing effort to apply these industrial "best practices" to the design and implementation of a novel sequence of undergraduate biomedical computing courses within the Department of Bio-medical Engineering at Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin). We have tightly integrated our industrial advisory board into this design and …

Quasi-Exact Helical Cone Beam Reconstruction For Micro Ct, Jicun Hu, Robert C. Molthen, Roger Johnson, Steven Haworth, Christopher Dawson

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A cone beam micro-CT system is set up to collect truncated helical cone beam data. This system includes a micro-focal X-ray source, a precision computer-controlled X-Y-Z-theta stage, and an image-intensifier coupled to a large format CCD detector. The helical scanning mode is implemented by rotating and translating the stage while keeping X-ray source and detector stationary. A chunk of bone and a mouse leg are scanned and quasi-exact reconstruction is performed using the approach proposed in J. Hu et al. (2001). This approach introduced the original idea of accessory paths with upper and lower virtual detectors having infinite axial extent. …

Cfd Simulations Of Critical Components In Fuel Filling Systems, R. Banerjee, X. Bai, D. Pugh, Kakkattukuzhy M. Isaac, D. Klein, J. Edson, W. Breig, L. Oliver

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A comprehensive study is reported on the dynamics of critical components in the refueling process for passenger cars and light trucks. Nozzle, filler pipe, recirculation tube, tank, and canister are investigated. CFD simulations are conducted for flow rates of 4 liters/min (lpm) to 80 lpm for gasoline and up to 120 lpm for diesel fuel. Tank pressure, identified as a critical parameter controlling flow performance, is measured and utilized as a boundary condition. Flow simulation in a carbon canister, accomplished by treating the adsorbing carbon as a porous medium, indicates pressure drops which are in good agreement with published experimental …

Twenty-Five Years Later With Promises To Keep: Legal Education In Dispute Resolution And Training Of Mediators, Lela P. Love

Articles

No abstract provided.

Review Of Leadership In The Library And Information Science Professions: Theory And Practice By Mark D. Winston, W. Bede Mitchell

University Libraries: Faculty Publications

This review was published in College and Research Libraries.

Toward The Formation Of "Innocence Commissions" In America, Barry C. Scheck, Peter J. Neufeld

Articles

The article advocates for the establishment of "innocence commissions" to investigate and address wrongful convictions in the U.S. criminal justice system. Drawing parallels to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates transportation accidents, the authors propose that these commissions would identify systemic defects leading to wrongful convictions and recommend reforms to prevent future miscarriages of justice. They emphasize the need for independence, subpoena power, and public accountability to ensure the commissions' effectiveness.