Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Self-Evaluation And Teaching Setting On Teacher Intensity Behaviors Among Preservice Elementary Education Majors Enrolled In A Music Methods Course., Cynthia Melissa Colwell

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of teaching setting and self-evaluation on the development of teacher intensity behaviors among preservice elementary education majors enrolled in a music methods course. Subjects (N = 44) completed a pre- and posttest and four treatment lessons which were videotaped and analyzed by the investigator using a behavioral checklist which was divided into three sections: Personal Delivery Skills, Accuracy of Instruction and Classroom Management. There were four treatment groups: peer/general, practicum/specific, practicum/general, or peer/specific. Peer teaching subjects taught in the university classroom while practicum subjects taught at a kindergarten. General self-evaluation …

A Cross-Age Study Of Students' Knowledge Of Insect Metamorphosis: Insights Into Their Understanding Of Evolution., Mary Susan Nichols

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Insect metamorphosis is relatively easy to explain at a superficial level, but a deep understanding of the concept reveals a complex array of interrelationships, most importantly those that address evolution. This is significant because, in biology, evolution is considered to be a central theme. Participants for this study were selected from grades 5, 7, 9, and 11 according to low, middle, or high achievement levels in their science classes, and to scores on a national achievement test. The research incorporated a three-level response strategy in order to ascertain more completely students' knowledge of insect metamorphosis, and to better suggest how …

Women's Stories Of Reading And Writing: Three Literacy Life Histories., Mary Annette Duchein

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The stories of three retired women who have shown a lifelong and continuing commitment to learning and literacy were addressed through life history methodology. Three literacy life histories were produced which were then analyzed in light of current research in the field of reading and literacy. All life phases were addressed, but emphasis was placed on the retirement years. Results confirmed prior research in the field of reading across four lifespan phases--preformal schooling, formal schooling, homemaker/workplace, and retirement--and suggested that reading and writing grew in importance during the retirement years and led to an extension or increase in mental awareness. …

The Writing Behaviors Of Five Kindergarteners Writing In Social Context: A Home-School Perspective., Wanda Henderson Handy

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between written language and spoken language and the function of that relationship during the beginning writing development of five kindergarteners from diverse literacy environments. In addition, observable writing behaviors of these five kindergarteners from more literate and less literate home environments were studied at home and in school. Ethnographic methodology was employed. Data collection included interviews, participant observation, field notes, checklists, photographs, audio recordings, video recordings, and writing samples. For 4 months, the case study participants were observed once a week while writing at home and in the school writing …

Concept Circle Diagrams: A Metacognitive Learning Strategy To Enhance Meaningful Learning In The Elementary Science Classroom., Connie Sue Nobles

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of concept circle diagrams, a newly developed metacognitive strategy (Wandersee, 1987), for meaningful science learning. Two research questions were: (a) Do concept circle diagrams enhance the identification and learning of science concepts more than traditional learning methods? and (b) Do concept circle diagrams evolve in quality within and across three sequences of direct explanation, guided practice, and independent practice? This study builds upon earlier research on two important metacognitive strategies, Vee diagrams (Gowin, 1981) and concept mapping (Novak & Gowin, 1984), used in science education. Participants were members of two …

Personality Types Of Program Managers And Job Coaches Of Supported Employment Services In Louisiana., Carol Ruth Techman

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to describe the personality types of job coaches and program managers of supported employment programs (SEP) in Louisiana. The population frame consisted of supported employment personnel working for programs approved by Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS). Fifty-two facilities were identified as having active SEPs. Representatives from 45 facilities responded to the questionnaires. Data were collected using two instruments. The researcher-designed information sheet was used to collect data on the variables: title, gender, number of clients served, type of supported employment services, number of job coaches, length of employment, and distribution of job responsibilities. The …

The Influence Of Selected 4-H Agent And Program Characteristics On Program Enrollment., Catherine L. Denison

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to identify program and agent characteristics which are related to changes in 4-H enrollment. The target population of the study was defined as agents of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service (LCES) assigned to work with the 4-H program who had been in a 4-H position for at least one year. The research instrument (questionnaire) was mailed to a random sample of 64 agents. One agent was randomly selected from each of the 64 parishes in Louisiana. Sixty-three agents (98.43%) responded to the questionnaire. Major findings of the study included: (1) A significant difference …

Romanticism Reconsidered: The Implications Of Organicism In Educational Reform., Anne Burford Griffin

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to reconsider what has historically been called "Romantic" in American education. What I discovered was the ubiquity of organicism--an organicism which, when applied to education, promises to heal divisions with connection and integration. A reading of Romanticism as organicism is a traditional interpretation which fails to acknowledge the revisionist work of critics like de Man, Hartman, Bloom, and McFarland, who regard the Romantic recognition of language and self-consciousness as providing alienation, not unity. However, education continues to regard the Romantics as organicists and to provide organic remedies, such as the organic reforms proposed in …

The Impact Of A Parent-Child Pre-Kindergarten Program On The Parent Involvement Perceptions, Attitudes And Practices Of Primary Teachers In The Omaha Public Schools., Virginia L. Gerhardt

Student Work

THE IMPACT OF A PARENT-CHILD PRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM ON THE PARENT INVOLVEMENT PERCEPTIONS, AITITUDES AND PRACTICES OF PRIMARY TEACHERS IN THE OMAHA PUBLIC SCHOOLS This study is a causal-comparative examination of the impact of a pre-kindergarten program with a mandatory parent involvement component on primary teachers' perceptions, practices and attitudes toward parent involvement in a public school district located in a metropolitan area. A 56 question survey, based upon one from the publication Hopkins Survey of Schools and Family Connections, Questionnaires for Teachers, Parents and Students, was sent to 285 primary teachers of kindergarten, first, second and third grades. The survey …

Peer Observation Is A Key Ingredient To Effectiveness In Staff Development, Linda Gentleman Boyer

Student Work

The relationship between peer observation and instructional improvement was investigated. Fifteen middle level teachers from a variety of disciplines participated in the study. Teachers were taped and assessed prior to the study as well as afterward. Teachers also responded to a questionnaire to determine their perceptions of the practicality and usefulness of peer observation. Participants were divided into two groups: an experimental group of eight teachers (four teams of two) and a control group of seven teachers. All fifteen teachers participated in a training review of instructional techniques. In addition those teachers in the experimental group attended three training sessions …

Performance-Based Assessment: Questions And Answers, John T. Seyfarth

MERC Publications

A number of states, schools and school districts are engaged in efforts to develop and implement new forms of assessment. These efforts are known by several names. Performance assessment, the term used in this paper, refers to tasks that require students to construct responses or take actions to demonstrate specified knowledge or skills. Performance assessment tasks appear in a variety of formats ranging from open-ended questions to demonstrations of skills or comprehensive collections of bodies of work over time. The tasks focus on higher order skills are non-routine and are sometimes loosely structured. Students may be called upon to make, …

Audit Of Internal Communication Practices Among Special Education Personnel In The Virginia Department Of Education, John Pisapia

MERC Publications

The overall goal of this study was to provide recommendations and a mechanism to assist the DOE in providing proper communication of issues and coordination of activities involving the provision of services for children with disabilities. The research team employed a case study approach centered around a modified communications audit.

The study addressed the following three questions: 1) what is the current communication and coordination system for internal personnel involved with special education issues? 2) what are the strengths, weaknesses and barriers to use of the system? 3) what recommendations can be offered to improve internal communications and coordination among …

The Nctm Standards: Implementation, Kathleen M. Cauley, John Van De Walle, William T. Hoyt

MERC Publications

In 1989 the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics published the "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics." The NCTM standards provides benchmark statements about specific aspects of the curriculum and about evaluation against which school divisions can judge their own specific curricula. The Standards has been a major focus of mathematics education since 1990.

In the fall of 1992 the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium undertook a study to determine the extent to which local schools were implementing the NCTM Standards. The study of the schools in the Consortium focused on the broad themes of the Standards document: mathematics as …

Learning Technologies In The Classroom: Review Of Literature, John Pisapia, Jeanne Schlesinger, Amanda Parks

MERC Publications

This literature review focuses on the application of technology (primarily the computer) to education. It is organized to present background information to familiarize the reader with basic issues relevant to teaching with technology, the restructuring of American Schools, and the performance one could expect from the infusion of technology into schools and classrooms. Furthermore, it summarizes findings regarding access and equity, in-service and pre-service education, and funding and facilities.

After a decade of enthusiasm, there still is no single compelling vision driving the infusion of technology into the schools; four have been projected.

1. The Social Rationale. Policy makers want …

Increasing The Academic Pool Of Minority Students For Higher Education, Diane J. Simon

MERC Publications

The review of the literature on "Increasing the Academic Pool of Minority Students for Higher Education" was conducted in response to a request from the Virginia Department of Education R.F.P. #92-3 Team. The paper examines the factors that have an impact on increasing the number of minority students prepared to attend and succeed in college and reviews a number of successful programs, many of which are supported by business and industry. In addition to these two basic areas of inquiry, the R.F.P. #92-3 Team requested that the problem of increasing the minority student pool for college be examined in the …

A Study Of Time Orientation, Temporal Integration And Reading Comprehension: Back To The Future, Tacey L. Ruffner

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Problem. Lower-track high school students' combination of poor reading comprehension, present time orientation and shortened temporal integration is an area that has been identified in a range of divergent literature, but little studied in terms of educational practice. Previous research into time orientation and temporal integration has failed to investigate a connection with reading comprehension. Purpose. The purpose was to determine if there is a relationship between time orientation, temporal integration, reading achievement/high school track level and reading comprehension. Procedures. Two measures, a Time Orientation Questionnaire and a Cloze Test of Reading Comprehension, previously identified and pilot tested, were employed. …

Professional Competencies Needed By Extension Agents In The Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service., William Blaine Reynolds

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify the professional competencies needed by the Cooperative Extension agents in Louisiana as perceived by extension agents. Additional purposes of the study were to identify when the respondents believed the identified competencies should be acquired and to describe the responding agents with regard to selected demographic variables. One-hundred forty-one professional competency items were included in a questionnaire that was divided into two parts. The competencies were divided into nine categories that were designed to measure participants' perceptions as to the importance of need for the competencies by extension agents. A five-point Likert-type scale …

African American Students' Perception Of Mandatory Participation In A Remedial Program At An Historically Black University In The South., Deborah Burson Smith

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Academically underprepared college bound students and remedial instruction at the collegiate level continue to be serious and recurring problems for postsecondary institutions throughout the United States. Although many institutions have attempted to address the academic needs of underprepared students by providing mandatory programs with varied approaches in reading, writing, and mathematics, educators, theorists, and scholars have given little attention to the effects of mandatory participation on students' perceptions of a remedial program or classroom. This research is designed to provide an inside view of the remedial classroom and underprepared African American students' interpretations of certain practices that may impact their …

A Policy Approach To Educational Leadership In The State Legislature., Sue Wells Weaver

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated legislative expert influence in the context of educational policy decisions. Institutional and behavioral approaches to legislative study were compared. In a chi square analysis of all legislative education enrollments in the 1993 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, legislation introduction success was positively associated with author's level of credential and reputation expertise. Relative importance of type of expertise was indeterminable and some influence was unaccountable in the analysis. The policy approach, based on Theodore Lowi's theory that policy predicts politics, integrated the prior approaches. Lowi's distributive-regulatory-redistributive schema informed the independent policy variables, while influence, role, and subsystem …

Learning Technologies In The Classroom: Case Studies, John Pisapia

MERC Publications

These case studies were commissioned by the Virginia Department of Education during the development of the State Master Plan for Technology. The case studies complement an exhaustive review of the literature also conducted during the development of the Master Plan for Technology. The information found in these case studies makes it possible to approach technology decisions at the school level with a healthy blend of informed instinct and analytical deliberation.

The case studies collected information under three broad categories; an organizational profile, technology profile, and resource profile. Each of these areas were further broken down into sub areas to organize …

Makitab System Of Small Group Learning Interaction Analysis : A Manual For Researchers And Coders, Leonard King, Kevin Barry, Carmel Maloney, Collette Tayler

Research outputs pre 2011

The MAKITAB system of small-group learning interaction analysis has been developed over a 4 year period. When data were gathered late in 1989 on the verbal interaction of Grade 5 students participating in small-group cooperative learning, we were faced with the problem of having to develop an appropriate analysis system. An initial system was created using inductive approaches. Following further data gathering across other grade levels and subject areas, the system has undergone successive refinements. The final instrument, as presented in this manual, has reached a state of consistency that enables coding of most verbal eventualities as they occur in …

Regulating School Discipline Problems: An Evaluation Of The Carnarvon Primary School Discipline Policy: Final Research Report, Paul Omaji

Research outputs pre 2011

Schools in Australia and their surrounding communities have become gravely concerned about student behaviour problems. It is now commonly perceived that the violent component of this behaviour is on the increase. In one study, Omaji (1992a) showed that it is unwise for governments not to pay constructive attention to such perception and, also, that research and schools themselves have a critical role to play in dealing with student violence. In another study Omaji (1993) showed that options that schools have for managing or preventing the discipline problems or violence range from discipline policy, through pastoral counselling to the development of …

Teachers' Collective Bargaining: Its Occurrence And Impact On Wages, Employment, And Expenditures In States Without Collective Bargaining Legislation., Malcolm Michael Duplantis

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

This study analyzed the extent of teachers' unions activities in the eleven states without favorable collective bargaining legislation and the impact of collective bargaining agreements on teachers' wages, employment rates, and per-pupil expenditures. Specifically, school districts were examined in the six states which authorize, but do not require collective bargaining, and the five states which have no legislative provisions concerning collective bargaining for teachers. School districts were examined if student enrollment exceeded 10,000. A two-phased methodology was used to address the research questions. Phase 1 was a qualitative study which utilized data from a survey of school superintendents in selected …

Use Of The History Of Science In A Nonscience Majors Course: Does It Affect Students' Understanding Of The Nature Of Science?, Linda Easley Roach

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

In response to a call for more research into using the history of science to teach the nature of science, a call for curriculum materials for inclusion of the nature of science in undergraduate nonscience majors courses, and in keeping with the nature of science described in the literature, interactive nature-of-science historical vignettes were utilized in a quantitative and qualitative investigation. Interactive nature-of-science historical vignettes employ the interrupted story form and binary opposites involving conflict to generate student participation and spark discussion about the nature of science. They were utilized as an experimental technique in a university level, introductory nonscience …

Mathematics And Gender: A General History Of Recent Research And Common Perceptions., Mary E. Reeves

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

In the last two decades a tremendous volume of research data has been collected about differences between female and male students in mathematics. But although the amount of data collected has been large, there have been few conscious attempts to understand this data in social, economic, technological, and political terms. This history of academic research on gender differences connects the explosion of academic interest in the 1970s and 1980s with the launch of Sputnik in 1957 and the sense of technological crisis that pervades mathematics education and popular consciousness. The emergence of "Women's Lib" and interest in gender equity in …

The Effect Of Reading And Discussing Literature With Strong Women Characters On Sixth Grade Students’ Sex Stereotype And Occupational Attitudes, Leslie Caspi Edd

Dissertations

There is considerable evidence that children develop stereotyped attitudes early in life and that these attitudes affect their futures. Many researchers agree that children's attitudes can be influenced by what they read and some studies have shown that attitudes can be changed by exposure to selected literature. This study focused on a group of sixth grade children reading selected short stories and novels with female main characters. Literature discussion groups and written journals were used to facilitate response. The clays was racially and socioeconomically mixed as a result of busing through the Voluntary Ethnic Enrollment and Magnet Programs. The class …

After The Desegregation Era: The Legal Dilemma Posed By Race And Education, Kevin D. Brown

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Toward Transformative Classrooms: A Critical Analysis Of School Partnerships In A Multicultural Setting, Jan Latorre-Derby

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

Exclusion: Procedures And Provisions In Western Australia With Special Reference To The Role Of [The] Distance Education Centre In The Accommodation Of Excluded Students, Iyleen Vickers

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The problem at the centre of this research study was whether the educational provisions at the Western Australian Distance Education Centre met the special needs of those students who are classified as "at risk" and those who are excluded from Government schools on disciplinary grounds. Contextual data which related to these students, such as off-campus programs were examined also. The bounded case study was chosen as the research mode to investigate the problem. Distance Education Centre constituted the bounded case, and the Referral Program formed the unit of analysis. Data collection techniques included audio taped structured interviews with relevant personnel, …

Using Hypermedia To Improve The Dissemination And Accessibility Of Syllabus Documents With Particular Reference To Primary Mathematics, Alistair B. Campbell

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The fundamental question that this study set out to investigate was: Can the advantages of hypermedia be extended to curriculum materials that are for the sole use of teachers? To consider this question, three areas needed to be investigated: hypermedia (the medium); teachers (the target) and curriculum documents (the content). Hypermedia has a long history dating back to Bush (1986) who in 1945 imagined his Memex system as building information trails between ideas. However, it was not until the mid 1980s that technology caught up with the theory and hypermedia came of age. The evaluation of hypermedia documents is still …