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Water In Our Neighborhood A Study Of The Neighborhood With A Focus On Water An Integrated Curriculum For Six And Seven Year Old Children, Simone Graniela

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This unit was developed and created for children as an interdisciplinary study for a New York City public school setting in the Bronx. Through trips, children learn about the goods and services provided as well as the various ways water is used within the neighborhood The curriculum allows for many opportunities for parents to be partners in their children's education which is emphasized throughout the lesson plans provided.

Value Engineering: Final Report- Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge Headquarters And Education Complex, U.S. Bureau Of Reclamation

Elusive Documents

No abstract provided.

Class Document, Michele Wheatly Ph.D., Timothy Wood, Patricia R. Renick Ph.D., Jeffrey A. Vernooy

Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education

The purpose of this short communication is to inform readers of the journal about an innovative NSF funded project at Wright State University aimed at "Creating Laboratory Access for Students in Science", commonly referred to as the "CLASS Project". The project, now in its second year and under the leadership of Michele Wheatly (Chair of Biological Sciences), represents a collaboration between academic units (Tim Wood, Biological Sciences and Patricia Renick, Teacher Education) and student services (Jeff Vernooy, Director of Office of Disability Services).

Individuals with physical disabilities are significantly underrepresented in mainstream science. Until recently the enterprise of science has …

The Effect Of Middle School Organizational And Instructional Design Upon Student Achievement, Stephen Robert Wise

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of grade organization and its subsequent impact on student performance as measured on a statewide test of academic progress. The grade span configurations compared were 6–8 middle school and 7–12 junior-senior high school arrangements. Norm reference scores measuring the academic performance of students in reading, language arts, mathematics and total battery were collected from the Indiana Statewide TestingEducational Progress Plus. This study sought to determine if a relationship existed between the tenth grade measures of achievement due to differences in the middle grades span organization. The procedures for this study …

Education Policy Analysis Archives 08/01 , Arizona State University, University Of South Florida

College of Education Publications

Teacher quality and student achievement : a review of state policy evidence / Linda Darling-Hammond.

Teachers' Beliefs About Their Efficacy On Parental Involvement, Anette Melvin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Female High School Biology Students' Biofilm -Focused Learning: The Contributions Of Three Instructional Strategies To Patterns In Understanding And Motivation., Jo Dale Hill Ales

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This exploratory study examined three instructional strategies used with female high school biology students. The relative contributions of the strategies to student understanding of microbiology and motivation in science were analyzed. The science education community targeted underachievement in science by implementing changes in content and practices (NRC, 1996). Research suggested that teachers facilitate learnirig environments based on human constructivism (Mintzes, Wandersee, & Novak, 1997) that is rooted in meaningful learning theory (Ausubel, Novak & Hanesian, 1978). Teachers were advised to use both visual and verbal instructional strategies (Paivio, 1983) and encourage students to construct understandings by connecting new experiences to …

The Effects Of The Laboratory On College Students' Understanding Of Evolution: Implications For Conceptual Change., Lorna Benita Holtman

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated eighty junior and senior college students' understanding of evolutionary biology concepts in lecture-only and lecture-laboratory settings. The evolution lab stressed the processes of evolution, and involved simulations, experiments, discussions, report writing, and reading. Test scores do not reveal everything about the actual process of learning in the laboratory. This study examined conceptual change patterns over a period of one semester using in-depth interviews with eight participants. The study revealed that the lecture-laboratory group performed better than the lecture-only group on certain shared items on the objective examination. The interview participants showed various patterns of conceptual change; that …

The Function Of Speech (Verbal Mediation) On Corresponding Academic And Social Behavior., Kimberly Jo Callicott

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The role of language in self-control has been of interest to researchers across continents and time. This study attempted to isolate the functional role of language in relationship to subsequent academic and task engaged behaviors with four students aged 10--14. The students were diagnosed with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders had normal intelligence and were receiving their education at an alternative placement facility. The study used a single subject design and exposed the subjects to conditions of self-declaratory speech (SDS), SDS and reinforcement for correspondence, a return to baseline, SDS and reinforcement for correspondence, and SDS with delayed reinforcement. Results of …

Basic Skills Teacher Licensure Test Scores As College Of Education Admission Criteria, Audrey Lawrence

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this paper is to analyze the criterion-related validity of the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) cut-scores as teacher education program admission criteria. PPST and American College Test (ACT) scores of 372 graduates, and PPST scores and other academic characteristics of 1,062 graduates of a Nevada teacher education program were examined. Findings of this study support that PPST and ACT subtests measure similar constructs, PPST scores do not predict success in student teaching, nor do they predict teacher candidates' college GPAs over and above ACT scores. In addition, over 99 percent of students who received scores of 22 or …

The Impact Of Human Resource Expenditures And The Minimum Foundation Program's Level 3 Subsidy On Academic Productivity In Louisiana., John Paul Beaudoin

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the impact of instructional salaries with and without a state-sponsored, supply-side subsidy on the academic productivity of schools in Louisiana. The subsidy under investigation was the Level 3 allocation for instructional salaries outlined in Louisiana's Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) that provides fiscal support for educational costs to local school boards. An educational production function model within the general systems framework outlined by Rossmiller and Geske (1977) was used in this study. All selected variables were aggregated to the school-level, which served as the unit of analysis for the study. The study's final sample (n = 296) approximated …

A Narrative Study Of Selected Introductory College Biology Students' Struggles To Gain An Understanding Of Scale And Measurement., Juliana Guillory Hinton

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Case studies, developed with criteria from Yin's Case Study Research: Design and Methods (1994), probed single mental constructs of four introductory college biology students who were recent high school graduates. Data sources included autobiographical essays, interviews, coconstructed concept maps (Wandersee & Abrams, 1993), a videotape questionnaire, and graphics. A multisensory microscopy experiment provided the setting for the construction of shared meanings by the participants. Concept maps were used then to explore the existing cognitive framework of the participants. This research affirmed the value of supporting graphic organizers for understanding science (Good & Berger, 1998; Hyerle, 1996; Trowbridge & Wandersee, 1998). …

Understanding The Biological Concept "Bird": A Kindergarten Case Study., Dilek Buchholz

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study of 14 students in a metropolitan public school in the Deep South was to find out, during a period of three months, what these kindergarten-aged children knew about birds, whether this knowledge represented current scientific thought, if such science instruction meaningfully affected their prior knowledge, and if so, what the factors during instruction that seemed to influence their understanding of the concept of bird were. The research was conducted in three phases; preinstruction interviews, instruction, and postinstruction interviews. The theoretical framework for this research was based on the Human Constructivism theory of …

Evaluating Alternative Instructional Strategies To Improve Sixth Graders' Reading Comprehension., Emma Mccall Schorzman

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Although little empirical evidence supporting various instructional strategies for teaching reading comprehension exists, many educators utilize particular strategies assuming their effectiveness. Because difficulties with comprehension are intensified as students reach the intermediate grades, it is necessary that middle school educators instruct using strategies empirically supported through research. This mixed-method study examined the effectiveness of the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (Stauffer, 1969), the PreP technique (Langer, 1981), and graphic organizers (Barron, 1969), three popular strategies among middle school teachers. Six teachers participated in the two-group design, pretest/posttest study; over a seven-week period, three of the teachers instructed their sixth-grade students using lessons …

Interaction Between Cognitive Styles And Assessment Approaches., Mehtap Cakan

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The present study investigated the interaction of cognitive style and assessment format (multiple-choice (MC) and performance-based assessments (PBA)) in second language proficiency. The participants consisted of 258 eighth-grade students. The second language achievement of the students was assessed by the Eighth Grade Proficiency/Credit Exam: French I. The cognitive style of the students was assessed by the Group Embedded Figures Test. The study also examined study habits and attitudes of field-dependent (FD) and field-independent (FI) students toward the two assessment formats. The study utilized a sequential mixed-model design, consisting of both quantitative and qualitative methods. Phase I consisted of a quantitative …

"Awakenings" On Relational Ways Of Knowing: An Ecological Perspective On Curriculum., Elaine Kent Riley

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The human species and all nonhuman forms on the planet, have co-evolved over a 14 billion-year process, yet many people operate as if planetary life existed to support and sustain human well-being alone. Separation, dualism, and power-over ways of knowing fuel a human-centered attitude which exalts our own species above the rest of the natural world. How humans will live with the earth in the next millennium (Hogan, 1996) is one of the most fundamental questions arising at the onset of the year 2000. The planet cannot sustain continued degradation of ecological systems stemming from depletion of natural resources and …

The Voice Of The People: Reasons Laypersons Support K--12 Art Education., Lucienne Bond Simon

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

In the midst of generating theory for classrooms, philosophizing on the meaning and relevance of art education, determining policy and practices for classrooms, even providing advocacy literature in favor of art education, few references have been made to laypersons' ideas about art education. Lest the layperson (non-art education professional)---the "human element" [Pinar, Reynolds, Slattery, & Taubman, 1995, p. 102)---be overlooked, disregarded, and/or marginalized from considerations about art education, their ideas must be solicited, honored, and respected. Since the mission of art education is to educate future laypersons and not (necessarily) future artists, members of the profession as well as policymakers …

Regional Differences In Understanding Between Two Groups Of High School Science Students On A Complex Environmental Science Concept Known As The Dead Zone Of The Gulf Of Mexico: A Web -Based Approach., Sharon Ann Flanagan

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The main research focus of this study was on the regional differences in understanding of two groups of high school science students for a complex environmental scientific phenomenon known as the Dead Zone of the Gulf of Mexico. Participating high school students were drawn from Dead Zone source and effect areas---Iowa chemistry students and Louisiana environmental science students. Students were given a pre- and postinstructional survey concerning environmental issues---including the issue of the Dead Zone or hypoxia of the Gulf of Mexico. The treatment group visited a web site on the Dead Zone constructed for this study, and interacted with …

Student Rights And Responsibilities, Nova Southeastern University

College of Engineering and Computing Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Master Of Science Degree Programs, 2000-2001, Nova Southeastern University

College of Engineering and Computing Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

A Qualitative Evaluation Of Teaming, Problem -Solving, And Technology -Utilization Skills Of Students In The Integrated First-Year Curriculum In Science, Engineering, And Mathematics, Jean Kathryn Sando

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 1993, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology became a member of the Foundation Coalition, one of six EngineeringEducation Coalitions sponsored by grants from the National Science Foundation. Experimental curricula were created, including the Integrated First Year Curriculum in Science, Engineering, and Mathematics (IFYCSEM) and the Sophomore Engineering Program (SEC). In this study, students who completed one or more of the Foundation Coalition curricula were placed in four-member teams and comparatively evaluated using qualitative research techniques for their abilities to work in teams, to solve complex, open-ended problems and to utilize technology. This study evaluated the outcomes for the students at Rose-Hulman …

Developing Students' Understanding Of Similar Figures: A Perceptual Approach., Danny Ray Mcnabb

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Children encounter and recognize similar figures in their everyday experiences with such things as basketballs, soccer balls, tennis balls, ping-pong balls; or a candy bar that comes in various sizes of the same shape. Yet their school experience with the mathematics of similarity generally does not build on these perceptual intuitions. Traditional mathematics curricula bypass students' visual intuitions and their quantitative understandings, proceeding directly to set piece problems solved by formal algebraic methods. The result for many students is that the topic of similarity contributes to their evolving view of mathematics as a domain of complex procedural methods divorced from …

Models Of Professional Development For Teachers: Factors Influencing Technology Implementation In Elementary Schools., Marilyn Hill Catchings

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative multiple case study explored factors which contribute to the implementation of technology in elementary schools. This research had a phenomenological focus because there was a concentration on the structure and essence of the experiences of the teachers and leaders in the phenomenon, the implementation of technology in the school. The four schools chosen for the study were judged to have outstanding technology implementation by state technology leaders and a researcher screening process. They were selected because the researcher determined that these cases were the ones from which the most could be learned. These particular schools had ample technology …

Sociomathematical Norms Of Elementary School Classrooms: Crossnational Perspectives On The *Reform Of Mathematics Teaching., Jeongsuk Pang

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Mathematics education reform in the United States has marshaled large-scale support for instructional innovation, and enlisted the participation and allegiance of large numbers of mathematics teachers. However, there is concern that many teachers have not grasped the full implications of the reform ideals. This study explored the breakdown that may occur between teachers' adoption of reform objectives and their successful incorporation of reform ideals by comparing and contrasting two reform-oriented classrooms. This study was an exploratory, qualitative, comparative case study using constant comparative analysis. Seven mathematics lessons were video-taped from each class, and intensive interviews conducted with the two teachers. …

A Longitudinal Study Of Students Academic Achievement Change: A Multilevel Structural Equation Model From A Multiple Group Perspective., John Kipngeno Rugutt

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The focus of this study was three-fold: First, to determine if the growth parameters (intercepts and slopes) in mathematics and language were related within domains and ethnicity. Second, to determine if the pattern of interrelationships among the individual achievement growth parameters were the same for African American and White students. Third, to establish whether there existed discernible patterns variability in academic growth parameters within each ethnicity over time. The study employed a three-wave longitudinal panel design, with data drawn from Louisiana State Department of Education. The data were then analyzed utilizing both a multilevel structural equation methodology and hierarchical linear …

Performance Assessment And English Skill., Zhenghe Zhang

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Recent developments in the philosophy of validity, highlighting the importance of investigating the consequences of assessment use, provide theoretical support for the move toward performance assessment. Numerous issues related to the choice of assessment approach (e.g., multiple-choice or performance-based) are not well understood today. This study investigated the potential interaction between assessment approach and the English skill of the examinee and the similarity of the information provided by multiple-choice and essay writing tests. Four hypotheses were examined in this study. Hypothesis 1 results indicated that students who were native speakers of English (regular students) achieved higher scores on the writing …

A Behavior Analytic Approach To Developing Mathematics Skills In Second Graders: A Precision Teaching Intervention., Bruce Pierce Mortenson

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the relative effects of two rates of responding on student endurance, accuracy and retention of basic math skills. Three cohorts, each consisting of four students, participated in the study and received training on two separate math skills. One skill was trained to a rate of responding consistent with a fluency standard and the other skill was trained to a rate of responding consistent with accurate but not fluent performance. The main finding underscored by the present study is that successful learning is enhanced if precipitated by fluent rates of responding. The data presented in each cohort demonstrated …

A Study Of The Effects Of Two Instructional Programs In Reading On Student Reading Self -Efficacy, Personal Perceptions Of The Learning Environment And Reading Levels., Cathy Elaine Smith Daniel

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in students' reading self-efficacy, students' personal perceptions of the learning environment, and change in reading level across instructional programs. In addition, the study explores the relationship between students' personal perceptions of the learning environment as measured by the My Class Inventory-Short Personal Form (MCI-SPF) and student reading self-efficacy as measured by the Reader Self-Perception Scale (RSPS). Analyses showed that: (1) Students in the Success for All (SFA) reading program exhibited higher levels of general reading self-efficacy than did students in the language-based comparison group, (2) Students in the SFA instructional program …

An Examination Of The Baby Boom Generation's Financial Preparations For Retirement., Jeanette Adcock Tucker

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

There has been much concern that the financial status of the 76 million American baby boomers will be inadequate when they reach retirement. The overall purpose of the current study was to examine the baby boom generation's financial preparations for retirement. The family resource management conceptual framework of Deacon and Firebaugh (1988) provided the theoretical base for the study. Data were obtained from 398 baby boomers who responded to the 1999 Retirement Confidence Survey. Depending on the nature of the dependent variable, multiple linear regression or logistic analysis tests were used to determine relationships between the input, throughput, and output …

Input And Environmental Characteristics In Student Success: First -Term Gpa And Predicting Retention At An Historically Black University., Marcus S. Babaoye

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study is aimed at determining the input and environmental factors which contribute to the academic success or failure of students at an historically black institution. Three files were merged with first-time and transfer freshmen characteristics to serve as a basis for the quantitative analyses. On the qualitative front, a case study of college life at Southern University, Baton Rouge was performed. Data were collected from interviews with students, recent graduates, and University personnel. Additionally, the case study involve analyses of institutional records between 1993--1997. The quantitative data analyses revealed that ACT scores, gender, enrollment status, age, and housing arrangement …