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Education Policy Analysis Archives 09/07 , Arizona State University, University Of South Florida

College of Education Publications

Critique of An evaluation of the Florida a-plus accountability and school choice program / Gregory Camilli [and] Katrina Bulkley.

Education Policy Analysis Archives 09/06 , Arizona State University, University Of South Florida

College of Education Publications

Teacher test accountability : from Alabama to Massachusetts / Larry H. Ludlow.

Choosing Equality: School Choice, The Consitution, And Civil Society By Joseph P. Viteritti, Brian P. Marron

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Lessons Learned From Special Education Leadership Development Knowledge Diffusion And Schools As Organization, Jason Earle Ph.D., Susan G. Clark Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

Foundations and Leadership, recognized that to facilitate the successful implementation of IDEA provisions in local schools, educators need a sound conceptual understanding of congressional intent and best practice and opportunities to collaborate in new ways with school organization colleagues. To this end, the State Superintendent's Task Force for the Preparation of Special Education Personnel awarded UA a $25,000 grant to provide school teams, rather than individuals, with the needed skills to implement the IDEA in their organization. Six area school/districts were invited to send a four-person team to attend a series of four weekend workshops centered on the law and …

Inclusion: What Are Teachers Doing To Accommodate For Special Needs Students In The Classroom, Brenda Stevens Ph.D., Caroline Everington Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

Elementary teachers (N=42) from a district implementing inclusive practice were surveyed to determine: a) if the frequency of curricular modifications made differ by type of student disability, b) if there is a difference in the frequency of curricular modifications made for special and typical students, and c) if a relationship exists between modifications made for special needs students and for typical students. Results indicate the frequency of teachers’ curricular modifications does not differ by type of disability; that they make significantly more frequent modifications for special needs students; and that there is a significant relationship between the frequency of modifications …

Stages Of Preservice Development In A Professional Development School For Teachers Of Students With Emotional Disturbance, Suzanne Tochterman

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

This study was designed to identify and describe the stages of preservice development in a Professional Development School (PDS) for teachers of students with emotional disturbance. This study investigated two questions: (a) How does a preservice teacher for students with serious emotional disturbance in a one year full time PDS progress through a series of developmental stages, and (b) what are the opportunities that contribute to the learning of the preservice teacher in a PDS?

This was a qualitative study in which seven data sources from preservice teachers were collected over a nine-month period. These included videotaped teaching episodes, informal …

Addressing Students' Competencies Thru Portfolio Evaluation, Victor Raymond Schiro

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to develop a classroom handbook explaining the process and standards, necessary in developing an employability portfolio.

An Analysis Of Interactive Dialogue Journals Of English Language Learners In First Grade, Norma Castro Zavala

Theses Digitization Project

This project analyzes interactive dialogue journals of first grade students who have been identified at different levels of English language proficiency.

Strategies For Monolingual Instructions To Use When Teaching Reading Comprehension To Bilingual Students, Toni Marie Bastian

Theses Digitization Project

The major finding of this project is that through the use of multiple sign systems, monolingual teachers can support their bilingual students. These strategies employ the use of comprehensible input from the teacher, peer interaction, extended lanuage and activities for the students whose primary focus is to help the students make connections from the text to their own lives.

Effects Of Title I Pre-Kindergarten On Istep+ Scores, Janice Lynne Schroeder

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Researchers, educators, and administrators have intended to improve school achievement for low-income children by providing Title I pre-kindergarten in public schools. It is assumed that third grade low-income children would be more prepared for the Indiana Statewide Testing forEducational Progress (ISTEP+) if they had participated in Title I pre-kindergarten programs. The purpose of this study is to determine whether participation in Title I pre-kindergarten improves the ISTEP+ battery scores of students, and to measure factors that might be related to student achievement. Among the predictors investigated in this study are a program factor (participation in Title I pre-kindergarten) and personal …

Broadly Speaking - January, 2001, Nova Southeastern University

Broadly Speaking

No abstract provided.

Professional English Communication Training For English For Specific Purposes, Galon Anthony Melendy

Theses Digitization Project

This project addresses the need for effective English training for speakers of other languages who are engaged in professional careers.

Learner-Centered Instruction: Inquiry-Based, Technology-Enriched, Integrating Workplace Reality: A Resource Guide For Teachers, Marjorie L. Mclellan

Geography Faculty Publications

Inquiry-based instructional strategies function best with motivated students whose interest and imagination are already enlivened and whose curiosity will help them master new learning skills. The responsibility for supplying the initial impetus falls upon many diverse entities across the student's educational life. College teachers often inherit students with years of spoon-fed, low-expectation instruction, challenging instructors in higher education to overcome this deficit. Fortunately, most students possess a native curiosity that is eventually heightened by academic success, especially when their achievements are perceived to stem from their own work and thought processes. This is the power of inquiry-based learning.

The rapidity …

Group Evaluation System Measuring Self-Reported Cooperative Extension Nutrition Education Program Impact In Adult Limited Resource Audiences With Diverse Literacy Skills., Annrose Mary Guarino

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

A Group Evaluation System was developed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center Family Nutrition Program for use with adult limited resource audiences with diverse literacy skills. Using existing nutrition education resources, an exit survey instrument was developed and tested for validity and reliability. The group administered test format incorporated food associated graphic illustrations and response symbols with written questions read by the instructor. An instrument mock-up was reviewed by an expert panel and two intended-audience focus groups, one with functional reading skills and one without. During data collection, a pretest was conducted with a convenience …

Effective Lobbying Strategies For Higher Education In State Legislatures As Perceived By Government Relations Officers., Ellen Prothro Murphy

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of various lobbying strategies for higher education in state legislatures as perceived by state government relations officers. The target population for the study was defined as individuals currently employed as state government relations officers for public institutions of higher education. Data were collected for this study by surveying government relations officers contacted through the 7th Annual State Relations Conference. The total number of usable responses was 109 (74%) of 147 surveyed from 36 states. The instrument utilized in this study was a researcher designed questionnaire that included a demographic …

Differential Modes Of External Change Agent Support In Diffusion Of Innovation., Janet Gibson Stevens

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The main goal of this multiple-case exploratory study was to examine and describe the processes, perceptions and changes that occurred at the school level in ten south Louisiana middle schools, as the result of external change agent assistance given through the Louisiana School and District Accountability Program. Within this primary goal, the perception of external change agent influence on: (1) school effectiveness processes (i.e., discipline, teacher collaboration, expectations and quality of instruction); and (2) Fullan's school improvement processes were examined. This multiple case study involved five middle schools in Louisiana with two types of external change agents [i.e., the Distinguished …

Faculty Perceptions Of Communication Effectiveness In The Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service., Sally Maureen Soileau

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the study was to determine communication patterns and effectiveness as perceived by specialists and agents of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, and relate communication effectiveness with selected demographic characteristics. A qualitative component of the study focused on personal communication experiences of the faculty. A total of 210 agents and 106 specialists participated in the study. The survey instrument was validated by an expert panel and administered via a web site with an initial electronic mail contact and personal and electronic mail follow-ups. From a choice of 11 different methods of communication, specialists and agents used email and …

A Descriptive Study Determining The Attitudes And Behaviors Of Teachers And Parents Toward Homework, Melissa Marie Kalt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Making Connections: Compartmentalization In Pre -Calculus Students' Understanding Of Functions, Hope H. Gerson

Doctoral Dissertations

Students develop knowledge constructs that they build into concepts through their experiences. Students demonstrate compartmentalization when they understand a construct or concept within one representation, but not another, or when they do not connect mathematically related ideas. For instance, a student may understand f(x) to mean plug x into the function within a symbolic representation, but the same student may understand f(x) to mean f times x within a tabular representation. A student with these understandings has a compartmentalized understanding of function notation.

A two-month study was conducted with a class of pre-calculus students enrolled in a parochial high school. …

The Level Of Teacher Involvement In The Vermont Mathematics Portfolio Assessment Process And Instructional Practices In Grade 4 Classrooms, Carol Anne Fritz

Doctoral Dissertations

The comprehensive assessment system in Vermont includes student mathematics portfolios that are submitted to the state Department of Education for scoring. A student portfolio should include 5--7 pieces of best work selected by the student that can be scored. This alternative assessment process has been in place for ten years, but limited information has been available from classroom teachers about the instructional practices they use when teaching mathematics, or whether or not those practices have been influenced by the portfolio process.

The study was developed to answer questions about the instructional practices used by teachers. Teachers' responses were compared to …

Relational Learning For A Sustainable Future: An Eco -Spiritual Model, Mary Elizabeth Westfall

Doctoral Dissertations

We are facing unprecedented environmental challenges as we enter the new millennium as human choices and practices have repeatedly led to environmental degradation. Increasingly there are individuals and groups seeking to address this environmental crisis and move toward more sustainable patterns of living. But in order to make alternative choices it will be essential to draw upon the wealth and variety of human capabilities.

For nearly 350 years Western culture has looked to reason and rationality to provide truth and direction. The affective side of being human, feelings, intuition, love, care, wonder, mystery and hope have largely been devalued. In …

Taking A Pedagogical Turn: What Happens When The Student /Teacher Conference Moves To The Center Of The Basic Writing Course, Gregory John Bowe

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the redesign of a basic writing course at a large, urban, majority-minority public university in Miami, Florida. In the redesigned course, there are no regular class meetings at all. Instead, small groups of five students meet with a teacher in "writing circles," where they workshop papers. The content of the course is provided by a third-party software program in a dedicated computer lab. The redesign project is examined in light of the particular institutional history of Florida International University, with special emphasis on the roles of space, time, and face-to-face interaction in the teaching of writing to …

Layering Literacies: Computers And Peer Response In The 21st Century, Christopher Warren Dean

Doctoral Dissertations

Research into peer response work has a long history in the field of composition, and the work of my dissertation is to extend that research into the newer subfield of composition, computers and writing. Specifically I focus on the way students use multiple linguistic competencies (oral, print and electronic competencies) to perform a variety of selves in peer response. Drawing on the work of Erving Goffinan, the extant literature of peer response, work done in ethnomethodology, and research done in three first year composition classrooms, I outline the contours and strategies that students use to engage in peer response while …

It's Not As Thick As It Looks: Unpacking The Rehearsal Practices Of Theatre Professionals And The Significance For The Teaching Of Reading And Writing, Dale Lorraine Wright

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of my study was to identify and describe the components of theatre rehearsal and their implications for the teaching of reading and writing. Using qualitative methods of inquiry such as direct and participant observation and group and individual interviews, I documented the rehearsal process and literacy practices of members of a professional theatre company that performs only in academic environments. In analyzing the data I used Anderson and Jack's strategies for listening and determined that there are four major components of theatre rehearsal: chunking (the breaking down of the script into smaller, more manageable pieces), repetition (the constant, …

Physics Experiences And Calculus: How Students Use Physics To Construct Meaningful Conceptualizations Of Calculus Concepts In An Interdisciplinary Calculus /Physics Course, Karen Ann Marrongelle

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the manner by which students enrolled in an integrated Calculus/Physics course use their understanding of physics to inform their conceptualizations of calculus concepts. This study utilized a multiple case study design with analysis by and across cases. The cases represent eight first year students in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of New Hampshire who enrolled in an integrated calculus/physics program. Data was gathered in a three-part process: (1) Semi-structured task-based interviews, (2) Participant-observation in the calculus/physics course, and (3) Obtaining copies of students' in-class notes, in-class activities, …

Ec01-2507 Safe Transport, Storage And Disposal Of Pesticides, Larry D. Schulze, Shripat T. Kamble, Clyde Ogg, Edward F. Vitzthum

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Most accidental pesticide poisonings occur when pesticides are mishandled. Young children area often the victims.

Pesticide accidents can be prevented by careful planning, using a secure storage location, adopting safe handling methods during transport and following proper disposal guidelines for both product and containers.

The Spirit Of Teaching, Michael Brady, Desi Larson

Faculty, Staff, and Alumni Books

1999-2001 Walter E. Russell Endowed Chair in Philosophy and Education at the University of Southern Maine

Edited by E. Michael Brady and Desi Larson

Peer Education And Its Effects On The Beliefs Of Rape Myths, Allison Marmer

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Research has found that there is a relationship between men's acceptance of rape myths and violence against women (Malamuth, 1989). These stereotypical ideas about rape, rape victims, and rapists, perpetuate rape. Peer education may play a beneficial part in teaching students about rape, and is the primary focus of this study. The hypothesis of this study was that the rape myth prevention intervention would reduce the beliefs in myths about rape. The intervention, or informative lecture that was given to the experimental group was a derivative of material geared towards high school students. In summary, this research study succeeded to …

Self -Directed Learning And Learner -Control Sequencing: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Two Instructional Delivery Systems And The Acquisition And Application Of Subject Matter For Teacher Candidates., Martha Ellen Ratcliff

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between different instructional delivery systems (learner-control versus instructor-control) and the acquisition and application of subject matter by teacher candidates. Further, self-directed teaming and student ability are utilized to predict student outcomes. Prior technology ability and student ability and learner-controlled sequencing events during a Web-based lesson are also analyzed for predicting student outcomes. Finally, teaming and assessment time of subjects in the learner-control group are measured. Undergraduate and graduate students (N = 99) enrolled in an undergraduate language arts course participated in the study. Subjects in the learner-control group teamed about …

Middle School Students' Understanding Of The Natural History Of The Earth And Life On Earth As A Function Of Deep Time., Azalie Cecile Pulling

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to use deep time, that is geologic time as a mechanism to explore middle school students' understanding of the natural history of the earth and the evolution of life on earth. Geologic time is a logical precursor to middle school students' understanding of biological evolution. This exploratory, mixed model study used qualitative and quantitative methods in each stage of the research to explore sixth grade students, understanding of geologic time, their worldviews (e.g., conceptual ecology), and conceptual change. The study included fifty-nine students in the large group study and four case studies. The primary …