Digital Commons Network^™

Learning To Teach In A Virtual Environment: A Case Study Of The Louisiana Virtual Classroom Teachers., Rachel Geralyn Sellers

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

In the 2000 school year the Louisiana Department of Education commissioned a Distance Learning Task Force Committee to establish State Standards for Distance Education. These Standards supported the core beliefs set forth by the state's educational technology goal: "All educators and learners will have access to technologies that are effective in improving student achievement" (State Standards, p. 1). Emerging technologies, such as web-based instruction, were implemented to support these standards. These new technologies prompted the Louisiana Center for Educational Technology to establish the Louisiana Virtual Classroom. This project was a program that included a consortium of high school teachers for …

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 …

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 …

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, …

Instructional Differentiation In General Education And The Gifted Resource Room: Teacher And Student Perceptions, Mary Trombatore Greene

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study compared the perceptions of three groups concerning differentiated educational opportunities provided for students with gifts and talents. The perceptions of general education teachers, gifted resource room teachers, and students with gifts and talents were collected using a questionnaire that encompassed questions focused on cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal skill development; Results indicated that gifted resource room teachers and general education classroom teachers perceived that they provided differentiated instruction more often in the cognitive and interpersonal domains than in the intrapersonal domain. The most frequent differentiated instructional practices used by teachers (general education and gifted resource room) were in the …

Teacher Education Reform And Accountability: A Study Of The Louisiana Blue Ribbon Commission On Teacher Quality., Patricia Ann Davis Exner

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study describes Louisiana's 1999--2000 Blue Ribbon Commission on Teacher Quality, focusing primarily on Commission proceedings and the evolution of its recommendations within a context of standards-based teacher education reform history. Employing case study methodology contextualized in historical and ethnographic narrative, this nine month study examined policy recommendations for Louisiana's teacher education programs that resulted from Commission meetings. Aims of the study included describing the development of these recommendations, their relation to national teacher education reform movements, and their potential impact on university teacher preparation programs. The research provides not only documentation of Commission proceedings of some historical value, but …

An Exploratory Study Of The Influence Of National And State Standards On Middle School Science Teachers' Classroom Assessment Practices., Kathy Jean Mcwaters

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Classroom assessment practices of middle school science teachers were identified and the influence of national and state science standards on these practices was examined. In Phase I of this study a mail questionnaire was sent to 450 middle school (grades 5,6,7 and 8) science teachers in 17 parishes in Louisiana to obtain information about their classroom assessment practices. In Phase II, nine middle school teachers in eight departmentalized classrooms, two classes at each grade, participated in a qualitative study. Data were collected through questionnaires, classroom observations, interviews and document analysis. Data analysis revealed three major categories of classroom assessment targets: …

Understanding The Connections Between High-Stakes Test Consequences And School Literacy Experiences., Deborah Karen Setliff

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to connect the remedial summer school experiences of two fourth-grade students and four fifth-grade students with their school literacy experiences the following year. Understanding the students' experiences and connecting the experiences with school personnel provided a link between the students' and school personnel's perceptions of high-stakes testing consequences. Bridging these perceptions through cross-case analysis revealed the physical, emotional, and philosophical effects high-stakes testing is having on the students, school administrators, classroom teachers, and reading curriculum and instruction at the two elementary schools studied. Integrating the findings at the two schools helped develop a …

An Inquiry Into The Influence Of Taped Books On The Oral Reading Performance Of Struggling Third-Grade Readers., Dolores Doga Harris

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the nine-week study was to explore, using taped book intervention, the oral reading fluency of six struggling third-grade readers. The low-income, inner city, African American students were selected using teacher recommendations, standardized test scores, and the school system's Grade Level Indicators of Essential Knowledge---Grade 3 English Language Arts. Procedures used in the study were observing, collecting field notes, reviewing documents, conducting open-ended interviews, prioritizing book selection interests, and making assessments. Pre- and post-intervention assessments included the following: (1) oral reading rate---the Gray Oral Reading Test-3 (GORT-3), two-minute timed readings, and Corduroy benchmark probes; (2) word recognition---Slosson Oral …

Ways Of Incorporating Photographic Images In Learning And Assessing High School Biology: A Study Of Visual Perception And Visual Cognition., Brenda Chaumont Nixon

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study evaluated the cognitive benefits and costs of incorporating biology-textbook and student-generated photographic images into the learning and assessment processes within a 10th grade biology classroom. The study implemented Wandersee's (2000) 20-Q Model of Image-Based Biology Test-Item Design (20-Q Model) to explore the use of photographic images to assess students' understanding of complex biological processes. A thorough review of the students' textbook using ScaleMaster R with PC Interface was also conducted. The photographs, diagrams, and other representations found in the textbook were measured to determine the percentage of each graphic depicted in the book and comparisons were made to …

A Study Of Arkansas Public School Superintendents' Knowledge Of And Attitudes Toward Charter Schools, William E. Broadnax

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore reasons why most public school superintendents have not applied for the creation of a charter school, and to ascertain whether or not public school superintendents in Arkansas plan to open a charter school in their school district. In essence, this study investigated current knowledge and attitudes of Arkansas public school superintendents toward charter schools and Act 890 legislation. A non-experimental research design was conducted using a modified survey instrument (Ogden, 1995), which included all 310 public school superintendents in the State of Arkansas. A nonprobability sample of 160 superintendents completed and returned …

The Children's School: Lessons For Inclusion, Leadership, And School Success, Beth Lief

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In recent years education has evolved into the country's number one public concern. Presidential, gubernatorial, mayoral, and legislative candidates all claim to care about educating our children. Successful schools should be used by educators and policy-makers as models. In order to reproduce the success of these schools, the reasons for their success must be identified. A school's achievement data gives important indications of why it succeeds. There are also innumerable studies and reports listing factors enabling school success. The Children's School in Brooklyn, New York is a school worthy of study. The leadership is superb; teachers know their students and …

Graduate School Of Computer And Information Sciences--Master Of Science Degree Programs 2001-2003, Nova Southeastern University

College of Engineering and Computing Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Mathematics Course Sequence And Student Performance In Mathematics In A Block Scheduled High School, John Harvell Moody

Doctoral Dissertations

The 1983 study of the condition of American Education, A Nation at Risk, brought a significant amount of attention to the way in which schools provided students with the skills necessary to be productive citizens. Many of the recommendations contained in A Nation at Risk focused on the perceived poor performance of American students when compared to their counterparts worldwide. The year after publication of A Nation at Risk, the National Commission on Time and Learning published Prisoners of Time, a report that called for the establishment of high academic standards for students and a major restructuring of the school …

Learning And Understanding In Abstract Algebra, Bradford Reed Findell

Doctoral Dissertations

Students' learning and understanding in an undergraduate abstract algebra class were described using Tall and Vinner's notion of a concept image, which is the entire cognitive structure associated with a concept, including examples, nonexamples, definitions, representations, and results. Prominent features and components of students' concept images were identified for concepts of elementary group theory, including group, subgroup, isomorphism, coset, and quotient group.

Analysis of interviews and written work from five students provided insight into their concept images, revealing ways they understood the concepts. Because many issues were related to students' uses of language and notation, the analysis was essentially semiotic, …

Unequal Educational Opportunities For Gifted Students: Robbing Peter To Pay Paul?, Charles J. Russo

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Brown ushered in an era that has led to admirable, yet arguably incomplete, gains in equal educational opportunities for all children, most notably minorities, females, and students with disabilities. However, despite the progress that has been made in the struggle for educational equality, many exceptional students are not being fully served. Aside from commission reports and rhetoric, little has been done at either the federal or state level to offer appropriate programming for gifted and talented children's educational needs. It is questionable whether educational leaders and policy makers have taken sufficient steps to meet the educational needs of gifted children. …

Diversity Efforts In Independent Schools , Michael Brosnan

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In recent years, independent schools have begun committing themselves to diversity. Schools are recruiting more students and teachers of color and have transformed their curriculum to better address race, gender, class religion, and sexual orientation. Schools must start marketing themselves to a broad spectrum of families, teachers, and administrators, and have done so in order to prepare students for the adult world to come. Schools need to hire and retain teachers of color. To achieve this, some overlapping efforts by schools include: creating the need to hire teachers of color with the school's mission, clarifying the school's climate and culture, …

Strong, Smart, And Bold Girls: The Girls Incorporated Approach To Education , Heather Johnston Nicholson, Mary F. Maschino

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Girls Incorporated is a national non profit youth organization that "inspires all girls to be strong, smart and bold". in 200, Girls Inc. programs reached more than 740,000 girls and young women ages six through eighteen. A vast majority of these programs are conducted at schools during and after the school day. Program areas include science, media criticism, leadership, and substance use prevention. This article explores the different tactics, philosophies, and programs utilized used by Girls Inc.

Implementation Of Middle -Level Programmatic Characteristics And Their Impact On Eighth-Grade Istep+ Scores, Mark Alan Baker

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study's purposes were to (1) analyze the difference among the level of implementation of middle level programmatic characteristics (Advisor/Advisee guidance program, cocurricular activities, exploratory classes, flexible scheduling, interdisciplinary teams, and integrated curriculum) and middle level grade configuration (K–8, 6–8, 7–8, 7–12); (2) analyze the relationship between the level of implementation of middle level programmatic characteristics and 8 th Grade ISTEP+ scores; (3) analyze the difference in 8 th Grade ISTEP+ scores among middle level grade configurations; (4) analyze the linear composite of middle level programmatic characteristics which explains the amount of the variance in 8 th Grade ISTEP+ scores; …

Standardized Group Achievement Tests And The Accommodation Of Additional Time, Kevin Lance Buehler

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Statewide assessment test data are increasingly being used to make important decisions for students and teachers. Since the re-authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (PL 105-17) in 1997, states are mandated to include students with disabilities in state and district assessment programs, using appropriate accommodations. Research on the value of specific accommodations, and on the effects of accommodations on test data, though, is scarce. Studies conducted on the accommodation of additional time have not consistently found that students with disabilities obtain greater benefit from this accommodation than students without disabilities. In addition, school personnel have few objective methods to …

The National Board For Professional Teaching Standards: Professional Assessment For Teachers Of Students With Exceptional Needs, Ronald G. Helms Ph.D.

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has established five areas of Exceptional Needs as new certification areas: Early Childhood through Young Adult/Exceptional Needs (birth to 8 years), Mild and Moderately Impaired (5 to 21+ years), Severe and Multiply Impaired (5 to 21+ years), Visually Impaired (birth to 21+ years), and Deaf/Hard of Hearing (birth to 21 + years). Pre K - 12+ Exceptional Needs teachers may now be recognized by their schools, communities, state, and nation as master teachers. Teachers are clearly central to planning, implementing, developing, and modifying NBPTS policies and procedures. Only Special Needs educators will …

Does The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Exclude Gifted And Talented Children With Emotional Disabilities - An Analysis Of J.D. V. Pawlet., Laura Ketterman

St. Mary's Law Journal

Disabled children benefit from federal legislation which guarantees a free, appropriate education. While no federal mandate requires providing special education for gifted and talented children, the government encourages schools to offer gifted and talented programs. Gifted and talented children with emotional disabilities, however, often fall between these two groups and do not qualify for special education under any legislation. Unfortunately, in many gifted and talented children with disabilities the gift hides the disability—or the disability hides the gift. To compound the problem, legislation and recent court decisions fail to recognize that gifted and talented children have unique needs which should …

A Non-Authoritative Educational Metadata Ontology For Filtering And Recommending Learning Objects, Mimi Recker, David A. Wiley

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Digital libraries populated with learning objects are becoming popular tools in the creation of instructional technologies. Many current efforts to create standard metadata structures that facilitate the discovery and instructional use of learning objects recommend a single, authoritative metadata record per version of the learning object. However, as we argue in this paper, a single metadata record — particularly one with fields that emphasize knowledge management and technology, while evading instructional issues — provides information insufficient to support instructional utilization decisions. To put learning objects to instructional use, users must examine the individual objects, forfeiting the supposed benefits of the …

Children's Production Of Locative Expressions In English : The Influence Of Geometric And Extra-Geometric Factors, Lynn Valerie Richards

School of Psychology Theses

The research in this thesis examines the influence that both geometric and extrageometric factors have on children's spatial language production. Over the years it has widely been assumed that spatial prepositions identif' where objects are in the world (geometric factors) and that this is reflected in the semantic representations of these words. More recently, researchers investigating the lexical semantics of spatial prepositions have begun to question this assumption by demonstrating that what objects are and how they are interacting can also affect the way we describe where they are in the world (extra-geometric factors). Following on from research conducted with …

Taas And Gi Forum V. Texas Education Agency: A Critical Analysis And Proposal For Redressing Problems With The Standardized Testing In Texas., Blakely Latham Fernandez

St. Mary's Law Journal

Texas’s use of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test as an accountability program has had numerous negative and far-reaching effects on minorities. Today, students in Texas public schools first take the TAAS test in the third grade. Students continue to take a form of the TAAS test each year, with the exit-level assessment initially given in the eleventh grade. Students must pass all four sections–Mathematics, English, Science, and Social Studies–in order to graduate and receive their high school diploma. Although devised to effectively motivate students, schools, and teachers with the goal of enhancing educational standards, the TAAS test …

Supporting Students With Learning Difficulties In A School Of The Air, Judith Rivalland, Mary Rohl, Pru Smith, Centre For Inclusive Schooling Learning Difficulties Team, Department Of Education

Research outputs pre 2011

This project was funded by Edith Cowan University and the Centre for Inclusive Schooling (Department of Education, formerly Education Department of Western Australia) as an Institute for the Service Professions Collaborative Grant. It was carried out in order to examine the following questions:

• What are the ways in which identification, assessment and teaching processes make provision for students with learning difficulties who are enrolled in a School of the Air?

• In what ways do Support Officers Learning Difficulties support these children, their home tutors and their teachers?

The Impact Of Creative Problem Solving For Generaleducation Intervention Teams On Team Members' Ratings Of Treatment Acceptability, Jennifer L. Grimes

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many states require or recommend school-based, problem-solving teams in an effort to develop interventions to address student and teacher needs. Often these teams have not been trained in a structured problem-solving process, which is thought to improve the quality of interventions developed by a team. Creative Problem Solving (CPS) is a problem-solving process developed from creativity and cognitivePsychology literature and has been found to increase team effectiveness. CPS has been modified for use with school-based, problem-solving teams, which are called GeneralEducation Intervention (GEI) teams in the state of Indiana, to assist in developing quality interventions. This modified process is called …

Transforming Education: The Lesson From Argentina, Anne Dupre

Scholarly Works

This Article traces education reforms in Argentina from the colonial period to the present. Specifically, the Article focuses on La Ley Federal de Educacion, passed in 1993, which sought to reform primary and secondary education throughout Argentina by promoting educational equity through a just distribution of educational services and opportunity.

The Article begins with a description of the current Argentine federal republic and the relationship of the federal government and the provinces. Next, Article describes the development of the Argentine education system.

It continues by explaining the backdrop of the adoption of Ley Federal. The Author describes the act's twenty-three …