Digital Commons Network^™

Student Interactions And Mathematics Discourse: A Study Of The Development Of Discussions In A Fifth-Grade Classroom, Sharon Marie Soucy Mccrone

Doctoral Dissertations

Mathematics reform efforts are gaining attention and support in the years since the dissemination of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards documents. Encouraging student interactions in small and large group settings, and promoting discussion and argumentation of mathematical ideas among students are two possible implications of the vision presented in the Standards. The goal of having mathematics discussions, however, can present a variety of classroom challenges. Many factors influence classroom discourse and need to be addressed in ways that inform teachers as they work toward creating a more interactive, discussion-based mathematics classroom.

The study examines the development …

Sharing Reality: The Construction Of Professional Knowledge In A Middle School Team Setting, Carol Walker Mulligan

Doctoral Dissertations

In this case study of a middle school team of teachers, I describe and interpret daily meeting conversations among one group of practitioners over the course of one school year. Through the lens of the social construction of reality, I examine processes of sharing and co-constructing aspects of professional knowledge in this setting.

To conduct the study, I collected data from the regularly scheduled daily team meetings of my own interdisciplinary middle school team. The result is an insider view of the conversations of a group of practitioners who share the same population of students. For purposes of elaboration and …

Power Play: Sexual Harassment In The Middle School, Elizabeth M Allard Chamberlain

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation addresses male to female student to student sexual harassment in public middle schools, arguing that this issue is not merely a legal one, but an educational issue with legal components which demands the attention and intervention of educators. I argue that no legal policy, regardless of how explicitly it is written, or how expertly administered, can, by itself, adequately address student to student sexual harassment. This is not a fault within the legal system: it is a recognition that the law cannot do the work of education. We need to acknowledge the complexity of sexual harassment and its …

A Poetics Of Reconciliation: The Aesthetic Mediation Of Conflict, Cynthia Eames Cohen

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation, a philosophical inquiry into the significance of the aesthetic domain for reconciliation, addresses the following question: What is the nature of reconciliation, and what is the nature of the aesthetic domain, that aesthetic forms and processes should be uniquely well-suited to the educational tasks and challenges inherent in the work of reconciliation? The question is answered through the methods of conceptual analysis, with examples from the author's practice of conflict resolution, oral history and cultural work.

The first section of the dissertation identifies 'reconciliation' as an ethical and educational concept. The educational tasks of reconciliation--through which former enemies …

Bodily Discourses: When Students Write About Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, And Eating Disorders In The Composition Classroom, Michelle Marie Payne

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes student texts about bodily violence written for Freshman English and advanced writing courses at the University of New Hampshire between 1994 and 1996. All the volunteers were white women, most aged 18-21. The project addresses four central questions: Why are students writing about these experiences? How are they writing about them? What assumptions inform teachers' responses to such essays? What larger cultural contexts shape how such experiences are represented and understood by students and teachers?

The primary materials are twenty-five student essays; interviews with students, teachers, and campus personnel; and observations of classrooms and staff meetings. Information …

This Is Gonna Hurt Like Hell: A Pentecostal Student Enters The Academy, Stephen R. Barrett

Doctoral Dissertations

The little that has been written about expressions of religious experience in the field of Composition Studies focuses on the many ways religious belief places its adherents at a disadvantage in writing classrooms. We discuss in our journals and staffrooms only those religious conservatives who are most expressive of their beliefs. Many others sit in silence during discussions that may reveal anything of their beliefs, fearing to offend teachers and peers or to expose themselves to offenses from others. Unfortunately, these silent students contribute little or nothing to our understanding of the abilities of faith-centered students. Many are writing with …

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 …

Instructional Environments For Technology Inservice Education, Karen Jane Grove

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study examines different instructional formats for providing inservice education on classroom technology applications to elementary teachers. An intensive weekend workshop format was compared with a traditionally paced format for inservice education. Results are discussed in terms of measurable changes in teacher growth in the use of the applications and growth in the use of the applications with students. A secondary purpose was to determine if there was a relationship between learning styles and success in these two environments. Teachers' learning styles were identified using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The results of the study indicate that intensive models of inservice …

The Relationship Between Media Exposure, Personal Experience And Education On The Public's Perceptions Of People With Disabilities: A Correlational Study, Melissa Lynn Reichley

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Relationship Between Media Exposure, Personal Experience and Education on the Public's Perceptions of Disabilities seeks to determine whether there is any correlation between people's opinions about people with disabilities (PWDs), and their media consumption, education, and experience or contact with PWDs. The author compares such perceptions between respondents with and without disabilities. While research suggests nondisabled people view people with disabilities to varying degrees of negativity depending on the level and type of disability and accompanying social stigma attached, this researcher questions whether frequency of media exposure is having a positive influence on media consumers' perceptions of PWDs (which …

Technology Use By A College Of Education Faculty And Factors Influencing Integration Of Technology In An Undergraduate Teacher Preparation Program, Christy J Falba

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study describes current levels of technology use by a College of Education (COE) faculty and use of technology in teaching classes. In addition, the formation of a systematic plan for integrating technology throughout the teacher preparation programs was explored. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in this two-phase study; Phase I survey results suggested that although 93% of faculty believed technology in teacher education was very important or somewhat important, use of technology in teaching was limited. Consistent with previous findings on university faculty use of technology, COE faculty rated themselves as having high levels of knowledge and …

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 …

Identity Development And Student Involvement Of African-American Undergraduate Students At Historically White Colleges And Universities In Southern Appalachia, Rosemary G. Bundy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study of African American undergraduates at Emory & Henry College, Tusculum College, Western Carolina University, East Tennessee State University, Appalachian State University, and University of North Carolina at Asheville was conducted to determine students' stages of identity development, level of involvement in campus activities, and demographic characteristics within historically White Southern Appalachian colleges and universities, both public and independent. Three research questions were answered by analyzing 21 null hypotheses using the t-test and the chi square test. Hypotheses were tested at the.05 level of significance. Data collected in this study revealed that the students' perceptions of identity development and …

Teaching Excellence

Syracuse University Magazine

No abstract provided.

Women's Early Recollections And Body Image, Melinda Karen Stoops

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined whether there were significant differences in the manifest content of spontaneous and primed early recollections of women who have a positive body image and women who have a negative body image. The Manaster-Perryman Manifest Content Early Recollection Scoring Manual was used to score the early memories of participants. Participants in this study consisted of 94 women. Scores on the Body Shape Questionnaire were utilized to classify women into body image groups. Thirty-nine women were identified as having a positive body image; 55 women were identified as having a negative body image. Results indicated no significant differences between …

Factors Affecting Motivation To Use Computer-Based Training., Dian Lampkin Seyler

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Billions of dollars are spent each year on training in an effort to increase productivity so businesses can stay competitive. However, little is known about factors that impact the trainee's decisions to use what they learned in these training programs, back on the job. Guided by a conceptual model of training evaluation and research, this research examined the influence of five sets of variables on training participant's motivation to use what they learned during a computer-based training (CBT) program in a large petro-chemical plant in southern Louisiana. The variables included in this study were: individual and general attitudes (love of …

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) …

Educational Costs And Cost Recovery In Developing Countries: The Case Of Mali., Mohamed Cherif Diarra

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study explores the basic types, major determinants, and behavioral characteristics of educational costs in developing countries in general, and higher education in particular in Mali for 1985-1996. A conceptual proposal of cost recovery in higher education consisting of three basic components--a tuition price, a student loan program, and a higher education payment package--is presented. Relationships among economic and human factors, and attitudes toward cost recovery are examined. An instrument was developed to test the feasibility of the cost recovery proposal through the perspectives of several stakeholder groups--students, parents, administrators, faculty, and legislators. The quantitative part of the study was …

A Case Study Analysis Of The Impact Peer Coaching Has On Assisting First And Third Grade Teachers In The Implementation Of Portfolio Assessment., Lila D. Finney

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

In this period of controversy and uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of our public schools, educators face many problems in teaching today's children. One specific area of concern relates to assessment. An increasing number of teachers have turned to the use of portfolios to document the literacy growth of their students. If teachers are to use portfolio assessment to measure student achievement accurately, effective staff training is necessary. The purpose of this study was to observe six teachers, in grades one and three, as they implemented portfolio assessment with the assistance of two peer coaches. This study describes the peer coaching …

Self-Schemata For Sport And Physical Activity: The Influence Of Race And Gender., Louis Harrison Jr

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The most recent Surgeon General's report underscores the need for increased levels of regular physical activity in the general population, and in women and minorities in particular. Variations in participation patterns in particular sports and physical activities may provide insight into the reasons for differing activity levels in women and minorities. The present investigation studied the influence of race and gender on activity choices by regarding specific sport and physical activities as self-defining for race and gender groups. Study 1 was designed to confirm the existence of self-schemata for sport and physical activities. A computer generated instrument was employed to …

The Influence Of Violence Upon Academic Achievement Among African American First Time College Students., Diana F. Kelly

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the relationship between early exposure to violence--both personal and community--and the later academic achievement of African American first time college students. The study incorporated several variables that were thought to impinge upon the academic achievement process. Specifically, those variables were divided into several groups: background factors (socioeconomic status, high school academic record, personal and community violence exposure), student characteristics (locus of control, educational aspirations and expectations), and university characteristics (campus safety, academic and social integration). Student achievement was measured by students' expected grade point average, as indicated on a student questionnaire. University administrators, professors, and researchers who …

Developing And Field Testing Design Parameters For Customizing Agricultural Extension Education Systems In Developing Countries., Michael Brian Peter Sager

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Increasingly, developing countries view the partnership of research, education, and extension in traditional agricultural extension education systems as an adaptable model for improving their agrarian economies. The process of adaptation, however, has too often followed the traditional developmental project approach and been little more than the transplantation of a predefined extension education model into a developing country with little regard to existing country specific factors which impact the effectiveness of a domestic extension system. As a result, less than satisfactory technology transfer has occurred and slow rates of agricultural economic development have been posted, painting a disappointing record for agricultural …

An Investigation Of Consistency Between Theoretical Orientations To Reading And Planning For Reading Instruction: A Three-Year Study., Norma Jean Paris

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this three-year study was to investigate the participants' theoretical orientations to reading over time. By presenting an in-depth description of the thoughts and actions, as related to the research questions, of nine student teachers during their student teaching experience, and again three years later as elementary teachers, this study provided valuable insights into the degree to which a well-defined theoretical orientation to reading is internalized and how it manifests in classroom practices. The research questions that were investigated included the durability of theoretical orientations to reading, consistency between theoretical orientations and planning for reading instruction, and the …

The Preparation And Production Of Rapid Sequential Aiming Movements In Motor Control., Dongwon Yook

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Three experiments are reported that attempt to further our knowledge of the preparation and production of rapid sequential aiming movements. Specifically, these experiments examined possible reasons why in sequential aiming responses, the second movement segment (MT2) is consistently performed more slowly than first and third movement segments (MT1 and MT3). In the first experiment, participants struck 1, 2, or 3 targets in sequence without the benefit of visual feedback and without time stress to determine if MT2 is slowed due to a visually based on-line trajectory-correction process. The results showed that MT2 was not slower than MT1 under these condition. …

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 …

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 Feminist Study Of African American Art In New Orleans: Considerations Of Aesthetics, Art History And Art Criticism., Harriet Joanne Walker

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

How students are taught to think about what is considered "art" and who are "artists" contributes to their sense of self within the world. It can confine them to accept a system that devalues and excludes or it can inspire them to explore the political dimensions of art, to recognize social contradictions, and to contribute to cultural dialogue. The purpose of this study is to provide content for an art curriculum that develops the intellectual capabilities and broadens the critical consciousness of students. The study of aesthetics, art history, and art criticism offer possibilities for understanding the multiple social, historical, …

Visualizing Autobiography: Intersections Of Gender, Representation, Curriculum Theory., Anne Elizabeth Pautz

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Defined by customs of femininity, women who transcend those definitions find it difficult to represent themselves in a comprehensible manner. The contradictions between the actual activities of life and the demands of femininity require woman to adopt unique approaches to self-representation in order to be accepted. Tied to the biological functions of their bodies through images in the media and social institutions, as well as their internalized images, women often find trying to represent themselves beyond or against their body problematic. The female body is presented as controller of destiny, both through beauty and motherhood requirements. Women often create representations …

The Moral Atmosphere Of The Elementary School And The Question Of Gender., Suzanne Beauclair Roy

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the moral atmosphere of the elementary school and ask: How does the elementary school principal contribute to the moral atmosphere of the elementary school? In addition to this question, this study also explored the likenesses and differences between male principals and female principals in regard to the degree to which the principal practiced either an "ethic of care" or an "ethic of justice." Four case studies were constructed using data collected from observations and interviews that were conducted in four elementary schools. Also, two female principals and two male principals were …

Personal And Organizational Structure Correlates Of Receptivity And Resistance To Change And Effectiveness In Institutions Of Higher Education., James Sutherland Clarke

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this exploratory study was three-fold. First, a conceptual framework was developed to link innovation and organizational effectiveness in higher education settings through the mediating variables of faculty decision-making deprivation, self-efficacy, organizational efficacy, receptivity to change and resistance to change. Second, original instrumentation was developed to measure faculty receptivity and resistance to change and academic unit head perspectives of their unit's effectiveness. Third, linkages between the variables were examined through the collection and analysis of data using structure equation modeling and appropriate variable comparisons. The sample consisted of all faculty from five traditional academic units at all 59 …

The Effects Of Augmented Feedback On Students' Perceptions And Performance., Karen Anne Buckner Fredenburg

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The focus of this study was to investigate the effects of various augmented feedback conditions on students' self-perceptions of ability (SPA), practice behaviors, and performance during motor skill instruction of a novel task. Fourth grade physical education students (n = 103) participating in a one week instructional unit on the skill of cupstacking were randomly assigned to one of four feedback conditions: (a) no feedback, (b) motivational feedback, (c) task or informational feedback, and (d) motivational and task feedback combined. While students practiced simple (3 x 6 x 3) and complex (1 x 10 x 1) cupstacking skills, instruction and …