Digital Commons Network^™

Teacher Conceptions And The Curriculum: A Longitudinal, Multicase Study Of College Chemistry Teaching., Charles J. Killebrew

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Strategic innovations and interventions to reform college science teaching will be required to promote the retention and achievement of those students who might otherwise elect to defect at the entry-level courses. The extent to which this can be achieved will depend upon educational research into ways that the science curriculum can be restructured to accomplish the dual function of enhancing science literacy while promoting recruitment to scientific careers. To explore these issues, four introductory college chemistry classes were observed over a period of two years. The classes were designated either as traditional or conceptual. Selection into these categories was based …

The Effects Of The Louisiana Systemic Initiative Project On Two Rural School Districts In Louisiana., Tanya Maria Jones

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study provides a description and analysis of the effects of a mathematics reform initiative on classrooms in two rural communities. It describes the sites, details interactions that take place in the classroom, and enumerates teachers' perceptions of the change. A mixed methodology was used to support the findings. Qualitative data were collected through classroom observations and interviews and quantitative data were gathered through questionnaires. Quantitative results indicated that teachers who participate in the training have the opportunity to learn more about new teaching strategies in mathematics and are likely to change their teaching practices in mathematics. Findings reflected that …

A Model Junior High School Title I And Learning Assistance Program (Lap) Handbook, David Carthum

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a model junior high school Title I and Learning Assistance Program (LAP) handbook. To accomplish this purpose, a review of current literature regarding Title I/LAP programs was conducted; existing school district documents (i.e., state and local LAP reports, building plans, building accreditation report, department plans, parent involvement plans, shared decision-making team plans) were examined. Additionally, Title I/LAP information and materials from selected schools were obtained and analyzed.

A Descriptive Study Of Motivation Factors Leading To The Selection Of A School-To-Career Transition Curriculum By High School Students In Arkansas, Virginia Stevenson Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of the study was to identify elements that encourage high school students to select the school-to-career curriculum. The study included elements from successful school-to-career programs, background of the history of vocational legislation, and an examination of motivation theories including goal-setting, needs satisfaction, and choice. A survey was administered to 175 students in four districts in Arkansas. Students were given open- and closed-response questions to determine their present interest in the school-to-career curricula and elements they considered motivational. A univariate analysis was conducted. Responses were placed in a frequency distribution. The responses from the surveys indicated enrollment would increase …

The All Encompassing Role And Function Of The Computing Coordinator In Western Australian Government Senior High Schools, Diana C. Brown

Theses : Honours

The purpose of this study was to determine the role and support afforded Computing Coordinators at Western Australian government senior high schools by undertaking a census survey. Previous studies performed by Weber and Kershaw (1990) and Kershaw and Weber {1991), portrayed the role of Computing Coordinators at Australian high schools as demanding a diversity of knowledge and skills in computer technology together with excellent management qualities. The literature also suggested that time management skills were a major factor in how effectively coordinators carried out the myriad of tasks expected of them. This study found that most Computing Coordinators considered their …

Hands-On Geology For Navajo Nation Teachers, Russell Frank Dubiel, Stephen Tom Hasiotis, Steven Christian Semken

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Navajo Nation comprises the largest land area and the largest population of any Native American community in the United States, and it hosts some of earth's most spectacular geology.

Teaching Excellence

Syracuse University Magazine

No abstract provided.

Orientation Effects On African-American Engineering Students: The Lsu Case., Forest Dent Smith

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Extended orientation courses continue to be introduced as curriculum offerings that assist students to persist in post-secondary institutions. Research on the outcomes of such courses in terms of student retention and achievement is, with regard to race, however, not proceeding at the same pace as orientation course research in general. The purpose of this study was to apply the attrition models of Tinto (1987) and Pascarella, Terenzini, and Wolfe (1986) and examine extended orientation as a contributing factor to the retention and achievement of African-American engineering students. The sample of the study consisted of 354 African-American students who were members …

A Methodological Examination Of Naturally Occurring School Improvement In Louisiana Schools., John Albert Freeman

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The study was conducted as an exploratory investigation of naturally occurring school improvement, which refers to improvement in a school's effectiveness status that is achieved without external change forces. The research design for the study used mixed methodologies divided into three phases to identify and examine schools that improved longitudinally in a "natural" environment. Phase I utilized regression (ordinary least squares) methods to create a database containing all elementary schools in Louisiana, categorized by their level of change. As a result, some 20% of the schools in Louisiana were identified as having improved over a three-year period. This approximated an …

The Role Of The Unit As A Cognitive Bridge Between Additive And Multiplicative Structures., Nancy Sutton Alexander

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The rational number domain is known for the great difficulties it presents for students and teachers. As students construct knowledge of fractions, they search for connections to existing knowledge. Procedures from the whole number domain are tried, but many do not work on the new numbers! Recent research has focused on the unit as a way to link whole number and rational number understanding (Behr, Harel, Post & Lesh, 1992). Studies have suggested that students intuitively form units (Lamon, 1994), and that this intuitive knowledge can serve as a foundation for rational number understanding (Lamon, 1994; Mack, 1990). Golding (1994) …

Technical Training Program Evaluation: Present Practices In United States' Business And Industry., Skip Twitchell

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

There is a lack of information on training evaluation. For those studies addressing the amount of evaluation that occurs and in which samples can be identified, the samples are non-random. There have been very few reports on the methods used for evaluation or the reasons why there is so little evaluation. This study used a random sample selected from members of the ASTD professional practice area titled, Technical and Skills Trainers. It can be argued that this is an informed sample involved in a training area that produces objective outcomes and should produce a favorable picture of training evaluation. Questions …

A Descriptive Case Study Of An Alternative Education Program For Credit-Deficient Youth: The Graduate Academy, Virginia M. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to analyze and evaluate the development and implementation of an experimental, school-within-a-school alternative environment, the Graduate Academy, after the first year of implementation. The study addressed those factors which set the Graduate Academy apart from the traditional school setting including the intake process, recruitment of teachers, selection of curriculum, staff development, incentives, ecological factors, parent involvement, and school-business partnerships. The subjects of the study were high school students who shared credit deficiency as their common risk factor. The methodology used was the descriptive narrative case study chosen because of the complexity of the alternative …

Investigating Assessment Strategies In Mathematics Classrooms : A Cd-Rom Resource Enabling Teachers To Explore Assessment Strategies In Mathematics Education, Tony Herrington, Len Sparrow, Jan Herrington, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

Getting Started In Technology And Enterprise : Case Studies In Primary And Secondary Schools, Jack Bana, Lorraine Kershaw

Research outputs pre 2011

This monograph describes the experiences of five Western Australian Schools, which were involved in a year-long school-based professional development program during 1996 in the Technology and Enterprise Learning Area. The program was part of a larger Technology and Enterprise project, which had been funded by the Federal Department o f Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA), as part of a National Professional Development Program (NPDP).

Number Sense In School Mathematics: Student Performance In Four Countries, Alistair Mcintosh, Barbara Reys, Robert Reys, Jack Bana, Brian Farrell

Research outputs pre 2011

Since 1988 teams of researchers in the United States, Japan and Australia have been involved in a collaborative research project to assess the mental computation ability of their students. The results of this research have been reported elsewhere (Mcintosh, Bana & Farrell 1995; Mcintosh, Nohda, Reys & Reys 1995). The researchers involved were Professors Robert and Barbara Reys of the University of Missouri - Columbia, Professor Nobuhiko Nohda of the University of Tsukuba and Alistair Mcintosh, Jack Bana and Brian Farrell of Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia.

The United States and Australian researchers went on to assess the number …

Investigating Teaching Strategies In Mathematics Classrooms : A Cd-Rom Resource Enabling Teachers To Explore Teaching Strategies In Mathematics Education, Tony John Herrington, Len Sparrow, Jan Herrington, Ron Oliver

Research outputs pre 2011

Teaching mathematics has traditionally followed a standard pattern across the world. Students are placed in classrooms where they are seated individually, are required to listen passively and observe the teacher demonstrating mathematical procedure and then s1 end extensive time practicing the newly acquired ski ll s. Generally the content being taught comprises mathematical facts and skills taught sequentially in the order presented by a textbook. Students are then assessed by unseen pencil and paper tests for the purpose of grading and ranking. This cycle is then repeated with another mathematical topic which is viewed by students as discrete from the …

Schooling And The Experience Of Adolescents In Kenya, Ayorinde Ajayi, Wesley H. Clark, Annabel Erulkar, Karin Hyde, Cynthia B. Lloyd, Barbara Mensch, Cecilia Ndeti, Barry Ravitch, Elisabeth Masiga, Shiprah Gichaga

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Government of Kenya is committed to providing equal education opportunities to all of its citizens. As a result, there has been rapid development in education since independence to ensure that as many children as possible enroll in schools and complete their studies. This study was carried out primarily to get a holistic picture of the school environment for adolescents and other relevant factors that might interfere with the whole learning/teaching process. Special attention was paid to the education of girls and the factors that might lead to their dropping out of school. The study was conducted jointly by the …

Gender Differences In The Schooling Experiences Of Adolescents In Low-Income Countries: The Case Of Kenya, Barbara Mensch, Cynthia B. Lloyd

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Little research on education in developing countries has focused on adolescent issues at the same time, despite the fact that a growing proportion of young people are spending some time in school during the phase of their lives between puberty and marriage, there is little research on schooling as a key dimension of the adolescent experience. This paper examines the school environment in Kenya and the potential ways it can help or hinder adolescents. We focus on gender differences with a view toward illuminating some of the factors that may present particular obstacles or opportunities for girls. The paper begins …

President's Report, 1997, University Of Montana (Missoula, Mont.). Office Of The President

University of Montana President’s Report, 1993-2016

The President’s Report of the University of Montana, produced by University Relations on behalf of the President’s Office.

Profiling Esl Children: How Teachers Interpret And Use National And State Assessment Frameworks: Volume 2: The Western Australia Case Studies, Michael P. Breen, Caroline Barratt-Pugh, Beverly Derewianka, Helen House, Catherine Hudson, Tom Lumley, Mary Rohl

Research outputs pre 2011

No abstract provided.

(1997) Some Reflections On Inquiry, Community And Philosophy, Laurance J. Splitter

Collected Papers of Laurance J. Splitter

Not all communities of inquiry are communities of philosophical inquiry. Still, there is something special and intrinsic about philosophy when it comes to the community of inquiry. Think of Matthew Lipman's oft-repeated claim that philosophy is the discipline that teaches children to think in the disciplines. And remember that one of his (and Dewey's) greatest insights was that children could be members of a community of inquiry. I should like to put these ideas together in the following way: irrespective of whether the inquiry engaged in by a community is philosophical, the community itself is philosophical. In short, every community …

Personality And Cognitive Characteristics Of Students In Science And Engineering, Scott Duncan

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was a longitudinal investigation into the relationship of personality and cognitive variables to persistence and success behaviors at a technological institute. Personality was assessed with the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Cognitive measures were the Learning Environment Preferences (LEP) and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA). The sample included the entire class (N = 354) matriculated in the Fall of 1990 at a private technical institute. Multiple regressions, discriminant analyses, and cluster analyses were utilized to test five hypotheses. Dependent variables were: grade point average, persistence to degree in a regular curriculum, and persistence …

A Comparison Of Personality Characteristics Of Male And Female Engineering Students, Erin Beth Williams

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between personality characteristics of female and male freshmen, engineering students. A secondary purpose was to ascertain whether personality characteristics of freshmen, engineering students were different from those of general collegiate students of the same sex. The Millon Index of Personality Styles (MIPS) was administered to a sample of 72 female and 86 male freshmen, engineering students at a private midwestern engineering institution. The MIPS college normative sample of 1,600 college students was used as a comparison group. A total of 24 personality characteristics were assessed in the domains of motivation aims, …

Instructional Technology Use In Montana High Schools : A Comparison By Class, Sandra R. Williams

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Teaching To Think, Felicity Haynes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Given that a devolved curriculum empowers a teacher to educate for change, and indeed encourages cross curricular critical and creative thinking, this article offers a broad review of three current strategies for helping anyone to think critically and creatively instruction in formal logic, training in focusing attention, and creating a community of inquiry. It concludes that the latter is the preferred mode of teaching thinking for understanding and responsibility, both in schools and in pre service teacher education, because it captures the best balance between student engagement, the presentation of external social standards and the need for ongoing reflection on …

Student And Teacher Perceptions Of Teaching/Learning Processes In Classrooms: How Close Is The Partnership?, Robert G. Barker, Wally Moroz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

As Hornstein observed in the beginning of the 1990s, the "enduring pattern" of instruction in social studies lessons is that which revolves around traditional "teacher centred and text-centred" teaching strategies (Hornstein, 1990). However, other research programs which have investigated the status of social studies (Cuban, 1991; Good and Harmon, 1987; Haladyna, Shaughnessy and Redsun, 1982a) have indicated that the core subject rates well with students when teaching strategies are interactive, inductive, and student centred. As Hutchens (1993) found, students became "hooked" on social studies when it involved cooperative learning, and student research strategies. In 1995, Moroz, Baker and McDonald, reported …

Practice Teaching In Remote Aboriginal Communities: The Need For Adaptation To The Social And Cultural Context, Gary Partington

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

As part of the teacher education program at Edith Cowan University, a small group of student teachers experience teaching practice in remote Aboriginal communities. In this paper, student teacher perceptions of their experiences on such a practice are presented to illustrate the influence of the practice on their views about teaching Aboriginal children. Through an investigation of journals written during the practice, it is apparent that students had considerable difficulty adapting their teaching to the context in which they were working, particularly in relation to the different cultural and social demands of the situation.

Calculator Use In Western Australian Primary Schools, Len Sparrow, Paul Swan

Research outputs pre 2011

There are very few issues in mathematics teaching over the past twenty five years which have caused so much debate among teachers, parents and the community than the use of calculators in primary schools. Letters to newspapers, magazine articles and public comment often express the opinion that the apparent decline in the ability of young people to calculate, even simple computations, is a direct result of the use of calculators in schools. Anecdotal evidence in the form of reports from teaching practice students, personal observation in schools and comments from teachers suggests there is, in fact, very little calculator use …

Full-Time Courses, Entry 1997, City Of Dublin Vocational Education Committee

Prospectus: Bolton Street

Courses for the College of Technology, Bolton Street, Dublin 1.

Education Policy Analysis Archives 04/20 , Arizona State University, University Of South Florida

College of Education Publications

The bell curve : corrected for skew / Haggai Kupermintz.